Highlights

• Underlying EBIT of $236 million, at upper end of $220-240 million guidance
• Over-delivered on cost out target with group costs down $21 million
• Underlying net profit after tax of $142.5 million
• Group net debt reduced to below $635 million
• Strong resurgence in ratings performance with ongoing momentum
• Forecasting 5%-10% underlying EBIT growth in FY19
• New Prime affiliate agreement delivers material step up in revenue share, effective July 1, 2018, with further step up in FY20

Seven West Media’s managing director and chief executive officer Tim Worner said:

“Throughout the financial year we have maintained a single-minded focus on improving our core business with ratings, revenue and our costs savings initiatives the priority.

“I’m pleased to report that we have delivered underlying EBIT at the upper end of our guidance, we have over-delivered on our cost out targets and significantly reduced our debt.

“Our transformation accelerated in the second half of the financial year and delivered $61 million of cost savings on our initial $40 million target. These savings, which included a 7% reduction in FTEs, more than offset the anticipated AFL uplift and spectrum charge. The transformation will continue in FY19, targeting further cost reductions in each of the three operating businesses and will deliver a $10-20 million net group cost reduction, including cricket.

“At the same time we have delivered a record-breaking ratings performance in the 2018 calendar year to date, and grown our share across every key demo at the expense of our competitors, resulting in a 12th consecutive financial year at number one.

“The momentum will be driven further by our historic six-year agreement with Cricket Australia that, together with AFL, locks in premium sport all year round. Our cricket deal provides us 400 hours of premium sport across the summer, which we will carry live and free across the screens of 7. We are the first FTA network to have both the BBL and Tests, meaning we can cross-promote and monetise the two most popular forms of the sport like never before.

“Having the number one network, channel and multichannel is particularly advantageous as we are now operating in a growing market. The FTA metro market has delivered its second consecutive half of growth, with the sector benefiting from industry initiatives to promote the effectiveness and ROI that only TV delivers. We expect growth to continue in the 2019 financial year.

“Our production business Seven Studios is a key differentiator between us and our competitors. It delivered another year of strong earnings growth, grew our international market presence and is set to capitalise on the exponential global demand for content and formats.

“The recent successful launch of 7plus was a key milestone in our strategy to take full control of our direct to consumer products. It gives us a fully owned and operated platform to evolve our distribution model and drive greater monetisation of our content. Strategic new content deals are reshaping the acquisition and monetisation of rights and our 2.6 million monthly viewers now have more than 6,000 on-demand episodes to choose from.

“Our publishing assets are outperforming in their respective categories, while undertaking significant restructuring. The results are clear, with Pacific’s EBIT up 170% on last year and The West driving improved trends with a refreshed sales strategy.

“We are executing our strategy at great pace, maintaining our focus on the core to continue to drive a stronger performance in ratings and revenue, while transforming the business to be more lean and agile. Growing our studios business, digital assets and investment portfolio underpins growth across the business.

“We very well placed to meet the challenges, and capitalise on the opportunities, ahead of us, and forecast 2019 EBIT growth of 5%-10%.”

Results

Seven West Media reports a profit after income tax of $142.5 million on total revenue of $1,622.8 million. Profit last year was $166m on revenue of $1,679.4m.

EBITDA of $270.9 million is down from $306.7 million in the prior financial year with EBIT of $235.6 million after $261.4 million in FY18.

Outlook

Looking forward, the group’s strategic goals for the 2019 financial year include:

• Underlying 5%-10% Group EBIT growth
• Continued efforts to deliver and identify new cost savings
• Maintain focus on the core: revenue and ratings
• Targeting >40% summer share in growing market
• Ongoing investment in produced content and digital platforms
• Maximise value from owned content through every window
• Drive greater adoption of 7plus to be clear BVOD market leader
• Invest in verticals where we can leverage our audience and platform of brands

The ACCC has requested extra information about the deal from oOh!media and the organisation is reviewing that information and any other submissions it may have received.

oOh!media released its half year results this week with revenue jumping 11% with an underlying net profit of $14.9m.

Read more here.

oOh!media and Adshel are expecting some initial response from the ACCC by August 30, just over a week away.

“That date could still change though,” cautioned oOh!media CEO Brendon Cook, speaking to Mediaweek after the release of the out-of-home company’s half year results.

Cook added that after the previous ACCC investigation, “they were able to learn a lot about the market, and they made some comments about it last year.

“We and HT&E, and even JCDecaux and APN Outdoor for that matter, have taken on board those comments. Everyone has presumed, based on those comments and the legal advice we all received, that we think the ACCC will be more amenable to this transaction.

“We won’t second guess what they are doing, but hopefully they will see things the way we and our lawyers see it.”

When asked if they had noticed that any big advertisers had expressed concern about what market consolidation might mean for ad rates. Cook said: “No, we haven’t. To be fair, out-of-home competition hasn’t been reduced by this transaction. People don’t buy out-of-home per se – they buy different products within out-of-home for different reasons. There is competition across company and within formats.

“A large proportion of industry revenues comes from five holding companies who have their own trading desks, which represent a significant portion of the revenue of any media company.

“We have to perform for clients in terms of return on investment.

“The reality is there are significant counter-prevailing conditions that would affect any media company and make it more difficult for any traditional media company to think it could increase rates against performance-based metrics.”

As to any concerns from smaller out-of-home competitors, Cook said: “It is not our position to comment on that. It is up to the ACCC to factor in what is self-interest and what is real.”

By James Manning

Essential Media CEO Chris Hilton told Mediaweek production on Living Universe started eight years ago.

“I went to Cornell University to meet the space scientist who put the Rover on Mars and I asked him, if he had a show, what would he want it to be. The ideas in Living Universe were his and I have produced it.

“It had a long gestation – five years in financing with partners dropping in and dropping out. It ended up three years in production at a cost of about $7m.”

Hilton said about $1.3m of that went on CGI.

“It is a French-Australian co-production because they managed quite a bit of money for the CGI, which was done in France.”

Clearly proud of the final product, Hilton added: “It turned out pretty awesome.”

The official production credits list it as a co-production between Essential and ZED in France with co-production partner CuriosityStream.com in the US and financed with the assistance of Screen Australia, Create NSW, and Creative Europe – MEDIA Program of the European Union.

It is hoped the production will have wide appeal. “It is pitched at a general audience with the hope kids and parents might go together. It worked well in test screenings.”

Hilton called it “pretty nerdy” with a storyline that covers the search for life on other planets.

“The people in Living Universe are like evangelists. Given there are trillions of stars in the universe it would be impossible that life doesn’t exist on another planet around another star.

“The question our documentary asks is how do we find out given the nearest is 4.5 light years away. Our fastest space craft, Voyager 2, took 40 years to get to Pluto, which means it would take 80,000 years to get to the nearest planet around the nearest star.”

Hilton is a believer that there must be life elsewhere after working on many science films over the years. However, he noted perhaps only be a robot could be sent on an inter-galactic mission.

“That means we have to look after this place even if we do find life on other planets because we won’t be able to get there very easily.”

Living Universe is narrated by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki for Australia, while the four-part Search For Second Earth documentary series launched on ABC last week in a Tuesday timeslot.

—

This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

By Kruti Joshi

Apart from this, the publisher has another reason to celebrate. One of its original brands in the homes category, Australian House & Garden, turned 70 earlier this year. Lisa Green has been its editor for 12 years.

“The magazine has changed quite significantly,” she told Mediaweek. “The pace of things has brought about the biggest change. We are now publishing content on multiple platforms.

“When I first started we sat down and mapped out our website.”

However, there are two things that remain unchanged, according to Green. The first is the role of the editor. “We have been mini business managers in a way for a long time. You always have to be across everything that is going on,” Green said.

The second thing that hasn’t changed is the interest and passion that people have about their homes in Australia.

“It hasn’t ever really waned. You do see some correlation in the long term with what is happening in the property market and magazine sales. If you look right back, you can see where the booms and dips have been. It feels more constant now,” Green said. “Even if the property market is a bit wobbly at the moment, it may just be an indication that people are renovating more.

“Either way, the homes magazine market has been stable – certainly for House & Garden.”

—

This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

Marketers are largely overlooking the semiotic codes called Bold & Brave and Free Agent, which are increasingly representative of contemporary Australian womanhood.

Bauer, in partnership with leading brand strategy agency The Lab, interviewed thought leaders including academics, social commentators and business leaders and carried out semiotic analysis of TV, film, social media and content across a number of categories. The findings were then explored with female consumers aged 18-24 and 34-45.

The Free Agent code recognises the importance of humankind with women participating equally alongside men and being unapologetically themselves. Liberated from self-doubt and cultural norms, women have moved away from being engaged in the struggle to having already won the battle. Realness, honesty and doing things for yourself are celebrated.

Meanwhile, the Bold & Brave code acknowledges the societal change toward protest such as the #metoo movement, but recognises women’s need to take individuals paths to protest. It also demonstrates women as embracing positions of power and authority to achieve positive change.

However, the research shows Australia remains a conservative country when it comes to the representation of women. The other two of the total four semiotic codes reflect this. The Woman’s Touch and Inner Girl are more traditional and dominant in the society, and are being recycled by some Australian brands.

On the back of the research Bauer Media is launching Speak Her Language, a series of content and creative workshops with Story54. The aim of it is to give marketers a deeper understanding of how to connect with the new identities of Australian women by leveraging The Significant Study insights for more effective campaigns.

Story54 GM Jane Waterhouse said: “The Australian woman continues to evolve and yet this is not reflected in how brands are communicating with this important half of the population. This research shows that women now see their status and position in society very differently from even five years ago and it’s crucial that marketers keep up with this change.

“Bauer continues to invest to provide our partners with the latest trends and research on the Australian woman. Ultimately our goal is to help brands have a more progressive representation of Australian women in advertising, to keep pace with what’s happening around the world.”

The Significant Study is the latest finding from Bauer Media’s ongoing Female Futures initiative. Since the launch of the initiative, Bauer brands have campaigned for No Gender Selective Tax and launched The Weekly’s Women of the Future, 10 Million Words corporate promise and digital home Women to Love.

The company also launched a series of content and creative workshops with Story54.

APN Outdoor has extended its existing contract with Sydney Airport in a new landmark deal.

The five-and-a-half-year agreement covers advertising assets across all domestic and international terminals, as well as external billboards approaching and within the Sydney Airport precinct.

The extension of the partnership between APN Outdoor and Sydney Airport will add T3 Domestic terminal to the former’s already existing assets at T1 International terminal and T2 Domestic terminal.

APN Outdoor will take on the rights to T3 on July 1, 2019. This is the first time Sydney Airport has worked with one advertising provider across external billboards and all its terminals. The extension of the T1 and T2 agreement is effective January 1, 2019.

As part of the new agreement, Sydney Airport will upgrade existing advertising assets and develop new assets at T3.

APN Outdoor chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton said: “Sydney Airport is the gateway to Australia and we are very proud to be its advertising partner and delighted to be able to extend and expand our relationship with the airport.

“The addition of T3 to our existing contracts for T1 and T2 creates a fantastic opportunity for Sydney Airport, APN Outdoor, marketers and agencies to create new and innovative marketing campaigns across Australia’s busiest airport.

“We are very excited about the innovation the partnership between Sydney Airport and APN Outdoor will create, including the development of new digital assets and new ways of using airport advertising that will enhance the passenger experience.

“At the same time, we will capitalise on Dn’A – APN Outdoor’s new industry-leading data and analytics capability – to help create more engaging and effective campaigns for advertisers at Sydney Airport, as well as furthering our investment in research to deepen our understanding of airport audiences.”

Sydney Airport general manager for retail Glyn Williams said: “The partnership with APN Outdoor will enable Sydney Airport to deliver a strategic advertising portfolio across the airport precinct, harnessing technology and innovation to enhance the experience for the more than 43 million passengers we serve each year.”

Warburton said APN Outdoor plans to appoint a senior sales lead and other dedicated specialists to work with Sydney Airport.

The expansion and extension of APN Outdoor’s agreement with Sydney Airport follows the addition of Queenstown Airport to the company’s New Zealand airport assets earlier this year and the renewal of its contracts with Christchurch Airport, as well as the Adelaide and Parafield Airports.

—

Top Photo: Sydney Airport GM for retail Glyn Williams, and APN Outdoor CEO and MD James Warburton

Adshel New Zealand has expanded of its Immerse portfolio of products with the addition of Adshel Live Panoramas. It combines Adshel’s static Panorama format with the smart digital capability and technology of Adshel Live.

Adshel Immerse will now allow another option for advertisers to wrap an entire bus shelter containing a digital screen and utilising all six creative rotations on that screen exclusively. This is equivalent to advertising a 6×3 billboard at street level.

Adshel sales and marketing director Ben Gibb said: “Our traditional Panorama product has been a popular way of delivering large format impact at street level. In recent years we’ve converted some of our best Adshel Immerse sites to Adshel Live sites. Adshel Live Panoramas will enable advertisers to completely takeover the bus shelter and the digital screen. To combine the impact of a Panorama with the opportunity to engage audiences further across all six creative rotations on our high-definition digital screen is extremely appealing to our clients.”

The format will initially be launched at three high profile sites located on Auckland’s Queen Street and Ponsonby Road, and on Wellington’s Oriental Parade.

Gibb said: “These sites have been selected based on a combination of high pedestrian and vehicle traffic, proximity to key retail, entertainment and recreation districts, transport hubs, restaurants, bars and cafes.”

All Adshel Live Panorama sites feature state of the art 75-inch, ultra-high definition screens capable of 4K content, which adapt to the ambient light conditions. The format will be available from October 1.

With the expansion of the Adshel Live network to 283 screens by October 2018, the Adshel Live network will deliver over 4 million contacts (DTVs) per day.

In addition to Adshel Live Panoramas and the standard Panorama format, Adshel Immerse also encompasses special builds and unique printing techniques that allow advertisers to create a bespoke brand experience, by taking over a bus shelter and bringing creative concepts to life.

This development is part of Adshel’s continued commitment to drive creativity and innovation within the sector and deliver impact at street level.

By James Manning

The box office again hovered above $10m, but was actually up 7% on the previous weekend.

#1 The Meg $3.40m

The fantasy thriller opened on 413 screens with a screen average of $8,243. The movie is another hit that can go on the CV of busy Ruby Rose, who plays Jaxx Herd in the film.

#2 Mission: Impossible – Fallout $1.85m

A third weekend on the chart sees the movie shed 316 screens to 300. Screen average was just over $6,000 with total box office passing $15m.

#3 BlacKkKlansman $1.04m

Spike Lee’s biographical drama just made it over $1m with a screen average of $4,087 from its 255 screens.

#4 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again $1.0m

A fifth weekend in the top five for the hit musical, which holds on close to 350 screens, returning it a screen average of $2,908 over the weekend as total box office passed $20m.

#5 The Spy Who Dumped Me $724,000

The comedy hovers in the top five for a second weekend with takings down 52% from its opening with 289 screens returning an average of $2,506 per screen.

By James Manning

The channel had trouble competing after 7.30pm with Dance Boss on 447,000 followed by Gordon Ramsay on 279,000 and then the final Single Wives on 131,000.

Earlier in the night the channel led the 6pm hour with News while Home And Away started its week on 730,000 after an average of 669,000 last week.

Nine

A memorable edition of A Current Affair featured reporter Chris Allen confronting the man accused of murdering Lyn Dawson on a Gold Coast street. The episode did 886,000 after a week 33 average of 754,000.

The Block then kept its number above 1m followed by Doctor Doctor on 684,000 after 665,000 a week ago.

TEN

The Project featured actors Kat Stewart and then Gyton Grantley with 533,000 watching after 7pm.

Survivor then featured a double elimination with Anita the first to go followed by Zach at tribal council at the end of the show. After 651,000 watching on Monday last week the audience last night was 666,000.

Have You Been Paying Attention? hovered close to 750,000 again, which is where it was last week. Tony Martin made his first appearance on the show since his gig doing voiceovers at The Logies.

Drunk History

Pilot Week then continued with Eureka’s Drunk History. It is perhaps a big ask expecting viewers to warm to the unusual format in one go. However, despite the late timeslot, a good lead-in helped the show pull the best audience yet after two nights. There was much to like about the program and watching the hosts was as entertaining as the historical recreations. The numbers for far:

Pilot Week:

• Skit Happens 350,000
• Drunk History 367,000
• Disgrace 229,000

ABC

Australian Story did 591,000 followed by Four Corners on 463,000.

Media Watch then did 459,000.

After 9.30pm Q&A was on 356,000.

SBS

The biggest audience was 304,000 for Inside Windsor Castle.