“Sam Smith is our new man,” Nova Entertainment chief marketing and digital officer Tony Thomas told Mediaweek. “After close to five years with Michael Bublé being our ambassador we have found someone big enough and strong enough to fill his shoes.”

Thomas said the UK hit machine has the personality and the music that are a perfect fit for what is now Nova’s highest-rating music brand in the Sydney and Melbourne markets. “Sam Smith does have broad appeal, which is what we like about his music. He has some great uptempo numbers that appeal to younger listeners and sit very well alongside the ballads on his current album and his back catalogue, which are suitable for an older demographic.

“That broad appeal is important to smoothfm because of how wide our listening demos are.

“Like Michael Bublé, Sam Smith is very down-to-earth, which is very good for the brand too.”

So far in 2018 Sam Smith has been very good for Nova Entertainment with a Nova Red Room in January at the Sydney Opera House, and now this ambassadorial role for the smoothfm brand.

“We are a big supporter of his music across both stations and he has been a supporter of ours. It is a great relationship with give and take from both sides,” noted Thomas.

When smoothfm launched with Michael Bublé, Thomas and his team tested the response to the artist and the marketing very closely. “It was very effective right across the life of the campaign. We have gone into this relationship with Sam Smith on the same basis that if he continues to test well and the campaign is effective for smoothfm then we are not looking for a limited timeframe.

“The job for us with this campaign is to build awareness and we know when that happens we convert that into listening. That shows in the cumes, which are right up there with the biggest cume audiences in Sydney and Melbourne.

“The product proposition delivers. We just need as many people to know about the station as possible and then convert them into listeners.”

When it comes to marketing smoothfm, Thomas said the strategy is more around a brand approach, rather than a more traditional radio marketing campaign that would focus on the presenters – usually the breakfast show. “The smoothfm brand is the sum of all parts – the music we play, the tone of our presenters. The brand is built around a relaxed proposition, and everything delivers on that whether it be a street event or our station on Foxtel.

“We do see a quick spike in awareness as well though when we launch a campaign that turns into some solid conversion.”

Nova Entertainment hasn’t dropped all of its annual marketing spend on this first burst of Sam Smith. “We usually run two campaign phases each year and that will be the same this year. There has been a lot of radio marketing already this year. We just have to have more cut-through and a really appealing creative message to make sure we stand out against all the rest.”

The TVC has been produced by Ted Horton’s Big Red, which has done all of smoothfm’s ad campaigns. Carat is the Nova Entertainment media agency.

TV and outdoor eat up most of the media spend, but smoothfm has added cinema this time.

Carat and Nova Entertainment look very closely at any digital spend. “Video is really important for us, but it has to be in the right environment for us and it has to work with all the other parts of the campaign.”

Thomas said securing Smith for the campaign was a little different from trying to involve Michael Bublé. “With Michael we were offering the promise of what smoothfm would be and that it would be successful. With Sam Smith, EMI and Sam’s management knew about the station and how successful it had been.”

The singer appears in the smoothfm TVC and acts out a role in the spot. He also lends his image and his music to the ads on television and in cinema, plus outdoor executions too.

The TVC shoot and images for the outdoor campaign were shot on one day when he was in Sydney earlier this year.

Apart from its bingeing model, which offers an entire season immediately instead of one episode at a time, much else it does is a carbon copy of what has always worked on traditional TV networks.

There are drama, animation, sitcoms, talk shows and reality. And while news is rumoured to be coming next, the industry is also arguing about which awards ceremonies its movies should be considered for (which in my book should be Emmys, given movies made for TV are telemovies and only movies made for big cinema screens should be Oscar worthy).

Given re-boots, re-imaginings and remakes are also scoring on free-to-air TV, Netflix is also cashing in on that, with Gilmore Girls, One Day At a Time, Fuller House and Queer Eye. Today yet another is poised for take-off and it could be its biggest nostalgia hit yet.

Netflix’s Lost In Space reboot (courtesy Netflix)

Lost In Space started life back in 1965 as a black and white TV series, but by the time it had gone to colour for its second and third seasons, the concept had been completely hijacked by breakout comedy relief character Dr Smith (Jonathan Harris). In the 1998 big screen version (note I said big screen again because it sure wasn’t a telemovie), Dr Smith was played by Gary Oldman. Despite the movie finally knocking Titanic off atop the box office chart after 15 weeks, it was widely considered to be a disappointment.

Now Lost In Space is back and this time it is soaring with a gravitas it has never had before. All the original characters on the Netflix reboot are back, but this time they are multidimensional with never-before-hinted-at family dynamics and flashbacks that explain the drama even further. And Dr Smith, now being played by Parker Posey, has not just changed sex but is so sociopathic I am actually scared at what could be coming next from her. Danger, Will Robinson, indeed!

It’s now set in the year 2046 (because that 1997 setting from the original has well and truly dated). I hope a future episode will explain how eldest daughter Judy has a different skin tone and hair colour from the rest of her all-ginger family. Maybe the Robot can figure it out but it has its own issues to deal with, given it also has a far more violent past than the original ever imagined.

Nicollette Sheridan in Dynasty

For someone not into sci-fi or space shows, I am totally on board with Netflix’s Lost In Space. And it is also time for me to retract all former comments made about the new Dynasty, which is made by the CW but Netflixed to the rest of the world.

Just like the original series, the arrival of Alexis Carrington has come just in time to jolt the series from the brink of cancellation. Filling the shoes of Joan Collins is no easy task, but Nicollette Sheridan’s entrance doubled its ratings, and then doubled them again with her next episode. Having now played three iconic primetime soap vixens (Paige Matheson on Knots Landing and Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives), Nicollette Sheridan’s Alexis isn’t original, but it doesn’t matter that because like Netflix, she is in a class of her own.

Parrot Analytics recently conducted a survey on Australians’ viewing preferences and what they really value about their local content.

In doing so, the research company identified many of the success factors that contribute to content emerging as a local hit. The survey involved participation from 500 Australians and the following question was asked:

What qualities of Australian-made TV shows can’t be found in shows produced overseas (e.g. in the USA)?

In analysing the responses, a set of overarching categories were identified. The content of each individual answer was then assigned to the category or categories where there was the best fit.

The results of the study revealed a very clear outcome: The vast majority of the responses, to a greater or lesser extent, included the idea that Australian-made TV was “relatable” to Australians.

• Andrew Mercado: An open letter to Jane Kennedy regarding TV reboots

Parrot Analytics also found that successful locally made content includes people that talk like Australians, have the same sense of humour, live in places that look the same as those of the audience consuming the content, and also share the same cultural assumptions.

Being able to relate well to the content is the single biggest advantage Australians believe that Australian TV has over content from other places.

This overall result can be broken down further, which reveals in detail what it is exactly that Australians like about their locally produced content. The largest proportion of the detailed response categories relate to “Humour”: 34% of answers include “Humour” as one of the qualities that separate Australian content from TV shows produced in other countries. “Aussie humour” is clearly a source of great pride and something that Australians believe cannot readily be found in content from elsewhere.

This notion was expressed in many different ways by survey respondents, with some of the more common descriptions being “self-deprecating”, “dry wit”, “irreverent” and “down to earth”.

Nearly as important as “Humour” is “Familiarity”, which 32% of answers included. Australians enjoy seeing recognisable locations, storylines that reflect “Australian stuff” and a reflection of the culture and social mores of Australia, rather than somewhere else. “Authenticity” was a common word in answers in this category, while some of the more detailed answers also delved into ideas like “cultural identity” and the “Australian perspective”. 17% of answers specifically named a particular aspect of Australian culture, the inclusion of which respondents felt differentiated Australian-made content from imported TV.

Examples in this category were very wide-ranging, such as a character in an emergency calling 000 rather than 911, more than a few mentions of “bogans” and the rather excellent observation that Australian TV has “swearing instead of guns”.

The next most common quality named was the Australian accent itself. Although still related to the larger point of familiarity and recognisability, 15% of Australians thought that the presence of the “Aussie accent” in Australian content, as well as slang, was important enough to them to specifically and separately cite this.

Isentia NZ’s global young leader

Isentia NZ has announced that its head of insight Ngaire Crawford has been named chair of the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) Global Young Leaders Group.

Ngaire Crawford

Ngaire Crawford will drive the strategy of this group, which will organise education initiatives and events to promote AMEC.

Isentia NZ’s Country Manager Russ Horell said: “Isentia NZ is overjoyed that Ngaire has been recognised as a global authority on media measurement. It is just what she deserves for her many years of providing actionable insights and enabling New Zealanders to make smarter business decisions.”

AMEC represents organisations and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research. It currently has more than 160 members and 86 countries worldwide. Ngaire will have a specific focus on up-and-coming talent in the industry.

Sponsorship funding model

TVNZ has announced a second series of Mind Over Money, the personal finance show fronted by TV psychologist Nigel Latta and including advice from Kiwibank. The Mind Over Money production is a joint venture between TVNZ and Kiwibank. TVNZ sees it as a promising new funding model for local productions.

Sceptics have questioned the integrity of this sponsorship model but series 1 last year was a ratings success with an average audience of 410,700. Kiwibank says the program spurred over 80,000 to visit Kiwibank’s Mind Over Money website and almost half of those polled by Kiwibank (44%) said the show affected their personal money management. TVNZ commercial director Paul Maher said series 2 would take Mind Over Money “up a notch” in 2018. The six half-hour episodes in the next series will air Mondays on TVNZ 1 from April 16 and will stream on TVNZ OnDemand.

Married in NZ

Married At First Sight Australia has wrapped its fifth season with its biggest ratings to-date on Three, making it New Zealand’s highest rating reality series amongst 25-54 year olds for 2018. The series averaged an 8.5 rating and 28.1% audience share in the 25-54 demographic, winning its timeslot each night it aired for the past five weeks. Overall, Married At First Sight Australia increased its share by 34% year-on-year, with the number of ThreeNow streams almost doubling since last season. Last Wednesday’s explosive season finale was the highest rating show of the year, winning its time slot with a rating of 12.2 and 38.3% audience share in the 25-54 demographic.

RNZ v NZ Government

Tensions are running high between Radio New Zealand and the government after former head of news and content boss Carol Hirschfeld misled the chief executive and chairman over a secret prearranged meeting with the broadcasting minister Clare Curran, and resigned. Hirschfeld is a former high-profile TV journalist who supported Curran’s plan for a free-to-air TV channel, despite public resistance from the chief executive and board. Her departure has been a shock for RNZ, which has been wary of rushing into TV in case it undermines its radio product.

Hirschfeld’s errant denials led to the RNZ board unintentionally misleading Parliament. The embarrassing correction came to a head this week when chairman Richard Griffin had to amend testimony. Details of Curran’s talks with Hirchsfeld and Hirschfield’s reasoning have not been spelt out. But Curran has been looking for a replacement for Griffin, whose term finishes at the end of April. Hirshfeld is said to have supported TV plans.

7pm the comedy slot

Comedy reigns on the 7pm TV shows in New Zealand, with veteran comic and broadcaster Jeremy Corbett recently replacing Josh Thomson on Three’s The Project. Corbett joins Jesse Mulligan on the program.

All three have featured on MediaWorks’ long-running comedy show Seven Days. The TVNZ 7pm show Seven Sharp meanwhile features comedian/satirist Jeremy Wells alongside former TVNZ Breakfast host Hilary Barry.

Think TV back in business

The NZ free-to-air TV marketing body Think TV was woken from its slumber last week. Intense rivalry during the Mark Weldon era at MediaWorks had put Think TV into hibernation. Weldon’s replacement Michael Anderson joined in for a display of cooperation attending the pre-Easter resurrection, alongside TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick and Sky TV-Prime chief executive John Fellet.

Employment online launch

NZME’s employment website YUDU has officially launched. The website has been running in beta mode since November last year. YUDU targets the 43% of workers who are passive job seekers, as well as those actively looking for job opportunities. It features free job listings until July 1. NZME also announced a new website brand for property called OneRoof, to be launched next year.

Ad spend up

Interactive advertising reported in 2017 reached $923m for the full year according to a report from IABNZ this week. $257m of that spend came in Q4. This represents a 7% year-on-year increase.

29% ($267m) of total revenue was served to desktop devices over the year while mobile devices (smartphone and tablet) attracted $20.3m or 7% of revenue.

Smartphone revenue reached $55m or 6% of total revenue. The smartphone revenue reported reflects revenue generated by NZ publishers and is net of search and social.

By John Drinnan

Fellet insists the timing is coincidental and he had told the Sky board three days earlier he would be ending his 27 years with the firm, the past 17 as chief executive. Fellet will stay on until a replacement is found and will continue as a director afterwards with expertise on acquiring content.

These are challenging times for Sky – as they are for all media companies. Fellet’s departure removes ballast from a firm and a TV sector. At a personal level his style made him popular with financial analysts at result time. He had a reputation as a canny businessman who cleverly kept government and regulators at bay for 20 years amidst widespread criticism about Sky’s hold of the national game rugby.

Sky was initially depicted as a clever newcomer, but as it dominated the TV sector it has been compared with incumbents TVNZ and Telecom. “I never heard of the term ‘tall poppy syndrome’ until I moved to New Zealand,” Fellet chuckled. “There became an element of cutting down the tall poppy once we were bigger than TVNZ,” he told Mediaweek.

Fellet grew up at a ranch in Arizona and went to university on a baseball scholarship. He once quipped he has skills at two things – pay TV and coaching baseball. He is well-known in the sport here and was last year inducted into the New Zealand baseball Hall of Fame. Sky’s famously unglamorous studios are out in the suburban boondocks of Auckland’s Mount Wellington, and his office in a backlot fits his low-key style.

He says he made habit of eating lunch in the staff cafeteria, often as not mixing with installers and customer service workers.

As for his ability to fend off Government intervention over the past 20 years, Fellet says that the current challenges facing Sky are testament to Sky’s argument that, while it held a pay TV monopoly, new competition was just around the corner.

That is apparent with 2019 Rugby World Cup TV rights. The frontrunner is believed to be a joint venture of TVNZ and the dominant telco, Spark. Fellet insists the loss is no big thing and Sky has missed out before. When it has won rights, Sky usually played quarter finals onwards live where the All Blacks were playing on its free-to-air channel Prime. “It was really a free-to-air play rather than pay TV. The heat games were good to have but they did not attract new subscriptions,” he says.

Rugby plays a fundamental role in Sky’s business but the pivotal point is the renewal of the SANZAR (SuperRugby) deal in 2020. “ Bidders won’t be getting down to talk about it seriously till next year but then we will be pretty active,” he says.

There has been speculation that Amazon will be bidding, but Fellet questions that. Sport is key for Sky. Half of its customers take the sports package. Sky recently introduced a Sky Lite package that came to $55 with the sports package, compared to $80 beforehand. Can the Sky business model survive against much cheaper non-sports offers subscription video on demand services like Netflix and Spark’s Lightbox?

“The business model we have now is quite stable with baby boomers – churn is pretty low. Currently it is at the post-Netflix launch low.

“The issue for Sky is getting new subs,” he says.

Fellet’s resignation was not out of the blue. He had indicated he would step aside as CEO if the Vodafone-Sky merger had gone ahead last year. (The merger was rejected by the Commerce Commission over Sky’s influence in the wholesale programming market. There was some scepticism in the market.)

Tech sector observers like Paul Brislen doubted the merged firm would have been swift enough, joking that it would have been like two dinosaurs humping.

Fellet says Sky is fighting fit and the culture at Sky is young and fresh. “You could put a millennial in this job tomorrow if you like – but would they be able to negotiate deals like for the rugby?” he asks.

By James Manning

Seven

The first day of Commonwealth Games competition saw the channel again well in front, but the crowd was well down on the Opening Ceremony.

Seven this morning reported “7.8m viewers watched first day of full event coverage – a third of the population”. (Network national reach estimate based on Metro and Regional for 1 min of Commonwealth Games telecast viewed.)

Commonwealth Games on Seven

April 4: Opening Ceremony 2.0m, Primetime primary share 43.8%

April 5: Night 1 1.23m/1.16m, Afternoon 554k, Day 418k, Primetime primary share 33.0%

Nine

A Current Affair was again under 700,000 with the Thursday edition now screening in all markets after the end of daylight saving.

The live NRL did 287,000 with 194,000 in Sydney and 84,000 in Brisbane.

A combination of the timeslot and the Comm Games saw the NRL Footy Show audience on 76,000 in Sydney and 23,000 in Brisbane.

The AFL Footy Show had 128,000 watching in Melbourne.

TEN

Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow were guests on The Project for the 7pm audience of 396,000.

Episode three of Show Me The Movie did 372,000 up against Aussie gold medal performances. That’s actually the same number watching a week ago – guests Merrick Watts and Cal Wilson helped keep the crowd.

The penultimate episode of Gogglebox season nine then did 561,000, which was up close to 100,000 on last week when there were live NRL and AFL on offer.

ABC

Call The Midwife did 494,000 at 8pm and the final of this season of Unforgotten followed with 329,000.

SBS

Great British Railway Journeys did 250,000 at 7.30pm followed by Luke Nguyen’s Food Trail on 132,000.

The 2015 Nicole Kidman/Werner Herzog movie Queen Of The Desert then did 108,000.