Friday December 7, 2018

Podcast Week: Tracey Preston, crime busters, iTunes highlights

Incredible, unbelievable, surprising…but true. The astounding lengths people go to for the animals they love are explored in a new PodcastOne original series We’re All Animals.

Animal lover Tracey Preston’s We’re All Animals

The podcast series is hosted by former television journalist Tracey Preston, who is no stranger to the wonderful world of animals, having travelled the globe and experienced the rush of being touched by a wild gorilla, licked by a puma and had her thumb sucked by a lion.

In 2005 Preston left FTA TV and started her PR/media relations business Media Animal. “I have always been an animal lover and I have been to Africa lots of times,” said Preston.

Having a brush with gorillas came recently during a trip to Uganda to visit the mountain gorillas. “It was the most unbelievable experience I have had in the wild and I have had some wild experiences!”

Talking to Preston this week, Mediaweek was convinced about her passion for animals, something that also comes through loud and clear in the podcasts.

Throughout the series, Preston has tracked down passionate Australians who lay it all on the line, sacrificing relationships, finances and even their homes for the creatures they love.

“I admire the selfless people who have the courage to follow their heart and dedicate their lives to saving and protecting the animals they love,” said Preston.

She successfully pitched the idea of the series to PodcastOne. “I wanted to create a series which shines a light on the unsung heroes of the animal world and shares their amazing tales, and that’s exactly what I’ve done with We’re All Animals.”

The eight-part series features a bird whisperer who rescues birds and teaches them to fly again, a woman who trains horses to help humans, inside a wombat ICU unit and a trainer who saves dogs from the pound and gives them a second chance at life and much more.

“I have dedicated years of my life to telling stories about animals and what I’ve found is it’s often the people who save and protect these animals who have the most incredible stories to tell, so creating We’re All Animals and being able to share these stories is just wonderful,” said Preston.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have had such phenomenal experiences with animals and get a lot of joy out of sharing my stories with others”.

For more about Preston’s Media Animal business visit https://mediaanimal.tv/.

Listen to We’re All Animals here.

The Teacher’s Pet: Information helps police arrest suspect

It was the blockbuster podcast that captivated the world’s attention, and yesterday, following the arrest of the murder accused Chris Dawson, downloads for The Teacher’s Pet soared to more than 28.6 million, reports The Australian’s Olivia Caisley.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller yesterday credited the series, spearheaded by The Australian’s national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, with generating fresh leads and witnesses, contributing to the arrest of the former husband of Lynnette Dawson, who disappeared in 1982.

Dawson has never been charged in relation to her disappearance but is expected to be as soon as today when he is extradited to Sydney.

[Read the original]

See also in The Australian:
• The Teacher’s Pet: finally a trial for Chris Dawson
The Teacher’s Pet: friends and family at start of long road by Hedley Thomas

ABC’s Trace podcast reveals secrets from DNA lab

DNA samples collected from a bloodied magazine found in the home of murdered Melbourne mother, Maria James, reveal a paedophile priest who was never questioned over her death may still be in the frame for her murder, according to new episode of the true-crime podcast Trace.

Last week, the Victorian Coroner reopened the investigation into the 38-year-old cold case of James, whose murder was the subject of the ABC’s first true-crime podcast Trace.

After obtaining the bloodied magazine, the ABC’s Trace podcast had it tested at Adelaide’s Flinders University, along with a hair sample from Father O’Keeffe’s twin brother, to check if the priest can be linked to the crime scene.

[Read the ABC’s report on the latest developments]

Listen to the latest episode of Trace here

Sports Talk Media launches Let’s Talk 20/20 podcast

Australian independent sports broadcaster Sports Talk Media is launching a new podcast covering the men’s and women’s Big Bash League for the 2018/19 season.

Let’s Talk 20/20 will be a weekly, 12-episode series hosted by Brisbane-based sports journalists Cameron Anchor and Terry Pascoe, with the first episode available from Sunday 9th December.

Anchor said the podcast would be a superb opportunity for cricket fans to enjoy a fresh and honest perspective of the Big Bash League.

“The BBL and WBBL continue to grow and are among the most watched sports on TV, considering how many games are played over a 12-week period,” he said.

“You might not get a chance to watch them all, but Let’s Talk 20/20 will make you feel like you haven’t missed a thing.”

Anchor and Pascoe are keen to focus on the BBL and WBBL equally throughout the podcast series.

“For anyone doubting the quality [of the women’s game], just look at how well the Australian women’s team is doing,” Anchor said.

“Right now they’re showing the men how it should be done.”

Let’s Talk 20/20 will be available from 9th December from Podbean, iTunes and Spotify.

Visit www.stmediaaus.com for more information or email [email protected].

2018 Lists: Apple’s best podcasts of the year

Apple’s iTunes has released its best podcasts of the year as judged by the audio platform. The Australian list features:

• Chat 10 Looks 3 – Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb
• The Teacher’s Pet – Headley Thomas, The Australian
• Totally Obsessed – Dan Debuf
• Alice Fraser Trilogy – ABC Radio
• The Squiz Podcast
• Lady Startup – Mamamia
• Dispatch To A Friend – Gillian Bell and Annabelle Hickson
• Science Friction – ABC Radio National
• Please Explain – The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald
• Is It On? – BuzzFeed Australia
• Ask Me Anything – Mamamia

The list of the recommended US podcasts from Apple is as follows:

This year, investigative reporting underpinned the immersive storytelling of shows such as American Public Media’s In the Dark, The New York Times’s Caliphate, along with historical deep dives like Slate’s Slow Burn.

News and Politics grew as podcast genres in 2018 with The New York Times’ The Daily and Crooked Media’s The Wilderness, while celebrities and a healthy mix of independents topped this year’s new shows, including Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, Oprah’s Master Class and Parcast Network’s Conspiracy Theories and Unexplained Mysteries.

Best Podcasts of the Year

• In The Dark
• Caliphate
• The Dream
• Everything is Alive
• Slow Burn
• Dr. Death
• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
• Bubble
• Bundyville
• A Very Fatal Murder
• Wolverine: The Long Night
• Serial
• The Daily
• This American Life
• 99% Invisible

Meanwhile Apple has also revealed the most downloaded podcasts for Australian listeners in 2018-12-06

Most Downloaded new Podcast Shows in 2018: (Australian listeners)

• The Teacher’s Pet
• Unravel True Crime
• The Betoota Advocate
• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
• Russia, If You’re Listening
• The Sunday Triple M NRL Catch Up — Paul Kent, Gorden Tallis, Ryan Girdler, Anthony Maroon

Most Downloaded Podcast Shows of 2018: (Australian listeners)

• ABC Radio: Conversations
• The Joe Rogan Experience
• TED Talks Daily
• Stuff You Should Know
• Casefile True Crime
• The Teacher’s Pet

Over and out: Final day of radio ratings sees legends depart

By James Manning

Before the 6am breakfast shows started, Those Two Girls were on-air at the Hit Network from 5am. Their special guest today was Grant Denyer  who was promoting his Christmas single Driving Home For Christmas. The girls – Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills – will be taking over from Denyer and other Hit Network breakfast shows for the next two weeks.

Later in the morning, Denyer revealed he will be back next year with both Ed and Ash (see separate announcement.)

At 2GB Alan Jones checked out for the year after recently recovering from a return of his health problems that have dogged him for some time.

Jones pleaded to his listeners for not so much correspondence during the break so he didn’t have to reply to everybody. Christmas cards OK perhaps?

3AW held its Christmas party last night, revealed Ross and John early this morning. “A good time was had by all,” said Ross Stevenson without giving away too many details. The highest-rating metro breakfast show in Australia still has one more week on-air.

Some of our long-term staff have decided to dessert us, started Kyle Sandilands this morning. He discussed the departure of EP Bruno Bouchet and how “Palestine” (new EP Sonia Jahshan) has been given the “filthy [executive producer’s] hat”.

“You are no boss of me,” Kyle reminded her after a newspaper article might have suggested otherwise. “I know that,” Jahshan told him.

Bruno then explained how a media item about his departure [not Mediaweek’s!] wasn’t exactly 100% correct.

The show’s censor Vanda is also departing. Kyle said she had only ever spoken on her first day. And she had a brief word this morning. “She sounds like a sex worker,” laughed Jackie. “There will be guys jerking off after hearing Vanda,” suggested Kyle.

It was a rare moment of reflection from the #1 FM Sydney breakfast show as the hosts talked with the large team.

“Also departing is the station’s boss Rob, who I never knew,” said Kyle. The hosts then discussed whether Rob Atkinson was Irish, Scottish or English. “He’s English,” said newsreader Brooklyn Ross correctly.

On Matty John’s final day on radio at Triple M Sydney he got to choose all the music. Screaming Jets, almost the Triple M network’s house band, started the final day party with C’mon. Johns flies out of the country for a holiday today heading to the UK.

The celebration of his radio career has been under way for some time, with special calls from some of his Triple M characters across the final week.

Callers today to The Grill Team had their chance to farewell Johns across the show, some with very good stories.

Amongst the farewell calls was a message from Kyle and Jackie O. “The only other show we have actually liked,” said the KIIS Sydney breakfast hosts. “We shared many cigarette breaks when we worked at the same studios.”

Ray Hadley also had some thoughts on Johns’ departure. “Thank Christ”.

Triple M Sydney boss Jamie Angel was on-air after 7am for his tribute via an aircheck of Jamie on Angel FM.

“I’ve never heard so much shit in my life,” said the real Ray Hadley on a call. “If they loved you so much why didn’t they listen?”

Gus Worland’s best mate Hugh Jackman called in just before 8am.

A tearful Gus Worland paid a very moving tribute to his departing colleague late in the show. There was a moment of dead air when he finished as people composed themselves. It was a moment when you wished you were watching television to fully comprehend the emotion between the team.

The real Jamie Angel came on air at the end. “I’m not drunk and I don’t do drugs,” he explained.

It was also the last show for EP Max Dudley who is moving to Triple M Brisbane.

Matty’s outgoing tune: Tom Jones and Green Green Grass Of Home as he flies out to Ireland.

Meanwhile at Triple M Melbourne, in true showbiz tradition, Eddie McGuire was teasing a big announcement about the show for 2019 (a confusing announcement that The Footy Show was continuing, sort of). The first hour of the Hot Breakfast didn’t vary much from what it has delivered all year – plenty of AFL news including updates of what is happening at Collingwood.

Wil Anderson steered the show towards cricket after 7am when he joined Ed and Luke Darcy.

Like Matty Johns, McGuire was also leaving the country today.

“We are taking an undeserved break,” said Ed Kavalee on 2Day FM breakfast where he co-hosts with Grant Denyer and Ash London.

The show let Denyer loose on a phone topic he has wanted to do for a long time: “What have you done on your meds?” Every caller got $250 cash from Kmart.

Later on the program Spice Girls tickets were given away plus a trip to the UK too.

Jonesy and Amanda gave away a new car on the final Jonesy & Amanda show for 2018. The program, executive produced by award winning producer Laura Bouchet, gave the prize for the best Goolie of the year in the segment What Gets My Goolies.

Nova Entertainment breakfast shows wrapped up all around Australia.

Nova 100’s Chrissie, Sam & Browny celebrated the festive season with their final show. The team was joined by all their friends to wrap up the year including Peter Helliar, Santo Cilauro, Tony Martin, Tom Gleisner, Dave O’Neil, Dilruk Jayasinha, Denise Scott and Nazeem Hussain.

After their last show this year, Nova 100 Chrissie, Sam & Browny are joining key partners and clients by hosting Chrissie, Ham and Brownies – a special morning tea for guests at Nova 100’s Richmond studios.

Chrissie, Sam & Browny with Tony Martin

In Adelaide, Nova 919’s Dylan & Hayley breakfast show have been celebrating Christmas for a while.

Events included Dylan & Haley’s Christmas Carols, and Dylan & Hayley’s Show Pet.

Nova Brisbane’s breakfast team, Ash, Kip & Luttsy with Susie O’Neill, broadcast from the top of the Story Bridge for their last show of the year.

The Nova team convinced others to join them on what’s been dubbed “The Climb” including Queensland band Busby Marou who went to the top with two guitars to perform. This was the first time a band has performed live on the top of the Story Bridge.

Twelve listeners also won a chance to join the breakfast team with one a lucky winner of a Fiji family holiday for four worth $4500 thanks to Flight Centre.

Matty J, Matt De Groot and Sarah McGilvray

In Sydney, Fitzy and Wippa are off on summer break after their most successful year together. Taking their place for two weeks is Australian Bachelor Matty J.

He will join Nova’s Matt De Groot and Sarah McGilvray, as a host on Nova’s summer breakfast Matt, Sarah and Matty J, from Monday 10 December at 6am.

Matty J said, “For me, Fitzy & Wippa stand at the pinnacle of the radio industry so to be asked to fill in for them over summer is such a huge honour. I couldn’t be happier to work with a station I’ve grown up listening to and alongside two absolute legends, Matt and Sarah. This is such a ‘pinch myself’ moment – if you told me 12 months ago I’d be doing this, I’d have said you were crazy!”

Summer breakfast with Matt, Sarah and Matty J will be heard for two weeks from 10 to 21 December, 6am to 9am, on Nova 96.9 in Sydney. Fitzy & Wippa will return on Monday 21 January 2019.

The Hit Network confirms Grant, Ed and Ash for 2Day breakfast

As radio stations around Australia farewell breakfast shows for the year, SCA’s Hit Network has confirmed Ash London will be a permanent member of 2DayFM breakfast with Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee in 2019.

With her unrivalled knowledge and passion for the music industry, London will work both ends of the day and also continue to host her nightly national music show – Ash London Live weeknights 6.30pm-8pm.

The Hit Network’s national drive time line-up ontinues in 2019 with Carrie & Tommy, from 3pm – 4.30pm, and Hughesy & Kate, 4.30pm – 6.30pm, returning.

Carrie & Tommy are the most-listened to FM Drive show in their timeslot and Hughesy & Kate are Australia’s #1 tune-in for women 18-54. Collectively they have over 2.5 million and growing listeners around the country.

Danny Lakey, new to The Hit Network in 2018 with his national overnight show, will host late nights, 8pm-11pm, in 2019.

Those Two Girls will return to the early morning breakfast slot from 5am-6am. The Brisbane-based Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills have become popular for their open, honest and entertaining conversations around everyday life.

The laugher and fun doesn’t stop there with Collective Noun moving to a slightly later time slot, 11pm-1am. Mid-dawns will be announced in the new year.

Gemma Fordham, head of the Hit Network said, “We are so thrilled Ash has agreed to join our 2DayFM breakfast team full-time next year. She is the real deal, connects authentically with audiences and brings a fun, fresh and frank take on the day. The chemistry she has with Grant and Ed will only continue to flourish and we are excited about what is ahead for them.

“2DayFM breakfast is committed to playing more music when you wake up because we know that’s what our audience wants and that’s the 2DayFM difference.

“In all dayparts the Hit Network has never been stronger and continues to grow with the best of the best leading our shows across the country. Audiences love our line-up of talent and our ever-evolving music strategy that sets us apart from the pack. We will kick off the year with a brand-new breakfast show for Adelaide with local icons and darlings Andrew “Cosi” Costello and Rebecca “Bec” Morse which we know will resonate with South Australians. We can’t wait for another cracking year in 2019.”

Twitter MD reveals live and brand innovation key to 2019

By James Manning

Suzy Nicoletti was a special guest on Your Money this week.

When asked about the platform’s performance in 2018, Nicoletti told hosts Ingrid Willinge and James Manning:

“We have had another tremendous year with four quarters globally of profitability and 29% YOY revenue growth.

“Australia is part of Twitter’s Asia Pacific region which is the fastest growing region for the company. We have been happy with the success and have a lot of momentum moving into 2019.”

Nicoletti noted that Australia is a significant part of its region’s business.

“What is really fuelling the Asia Pacific is the video product and in Australia that was how we launched Twitter in this market. It’s what consumers want and it’s what brands want.

“We have therefore had a massive focus on premium content which has been driving this country forward.”

Also helping drive the region is Japan, while Thailand is now one of Twitter’s fastest growing markets. “We expect to see a lot of user growth alongside revenue strength in the overall region.”

When asked if the Twitter Australian audience was mature, and had perhaps plateaued, Nicoletti said the audience is always growing and changing.

“There are things about the audience [in Australia] that are very consistent. When we look at the trends for the year, what we see for the fifth year in a row is #auspol is the #1 conversation happening on Twitter.

Suzy Nicoletti with Mediaweek’s James Manning

“We are the most engaged place for politics and if you look into that, the conversation surrounding #libspill was actually bigger than any other political conversation in the Asia Pacific. This market definitely likes politics in addition to sport and social movements and it always has a bit of fun.”

Despite what the Twitter platform offers individual users for no charge, Twitter is constantly working with brands about what extra it can offer.

“Around 75% of our users in Australia follow brands. The brands are actually a really integral part of what brought the platform together for us in Australia.

“A lot of the strategy to date has been offering premium brand safe content whether it might be the FIFA World Cup or the Melbourne Cup. When we work with brands there is a lot we can do with moments. One thing we are starting to move into, which we will see a lot more of next year, is aligning with a brand purpose – standing for something.

Consumers are starting to change and they want to see brands actually align with what matters to them.

“The days of just seeing a hashtag and liking it to feel you are involved has changed. The online to offline paradigm has really come to life. We saw this with climate change being our sixth biggest 2018 trend. That led into climate strike which is an actual movement that happened last week with students.

“Also something like #metoo, which started on Twitter and became global. It was a top hashtag in Australia and we had Tracy Spicer using the platform to inform about the campaign she later launched. We are seeing the online and offline world merge and socials movements are a big part of that.”

When speaking about learnings from users this year, Nicoletti said: “The Australian audience always wants more! We are very proud of our live streams with big audiences again for the Melbourne Cup and the ARIA Awards, but what we are seeing now is people also wanting more bespoke content.

“We have done an SBS World Cup show and we are working with AFL armchair experts where people want the expertise and exclusive access.

“We are also seeing a rise in women’s sports that are moving up the ranks including AFL women’s league and the Matildas.”

Policing users on the platform is critical, said Nicoletti. “Our CEO and founder Jack Dorsey was in Australia earlier this year and we need to have a platform where people can express themselves and feel comfortable when they share their perspectives.

“Making sure we have a very safe platform is important and we have made a number of changes to our policies to make sure it is a safe place.”

For the future, Nicoletti is predicting more big brand innovation. “Brands are more comfortable on Twitter and we will start to see bigger plays. From a product perspective live is going to become more discoverable.”

Watch Twitter CEO Suzy Nicoletti on Mediaweek TV on Your Money.

https://www.yourmoney.com.au/shows/mediaweek/

triple j's Hottest 100 announces dates, details, and new charity partner

triple j’s Hottest 100 will once again be on January 27, the second year since moving it off Australia day. Voting opens on December 10 and closes on January 22nd.

A key change to the Hottest 100 this year is triple j’s new charity partner. After three years and raising over $600,000 with AIME to help support Indigenous kids through high school and into university, the Hottest 100 will now partner with Lifeline.

Ket dates:

• Mon 10 Dec 2018: Voting opens, 8am
• Tues 22 Jan, 2019: Voting closes, 9am
• Sat 26 Jan 2019: Australia Day
• Sun 27 Jan 2019: Hottest 100, from 12pm AEDT
• Mon 28 Jan 2019: Hottest 200-101, from 12pm AEDT
• Mon 28 Jan 2019: Classic Hottest 100 of 1998 on Double J, from 10am AEDT
• Sun 3 Feb 2019: Hottest 100 replay

For more info on triple j’s partnership with Lifeline you can read more here.

Audience360 adds a new managing director to its team

Audience360 has appointed Jenny Parkes (pictured) as its new managing director, joining Davor Vilusic at the helm.

Audience360 is regarded as an industry leader in transparent audiences and has a number of exclusive data partnerships with key industry leaders including carsales.com.au (automotive), Webjet.com.au (travel), AFL.com.au (sport), Future Publishing (tech) and others, providing advertisers with unique access to reach first-party branded audiences across programmatic and social channels.

Parkes’ leadership experience spans start-ups and established organisations across mobile adtech, publishing, TV and radio.

Parkes said she is looking forward to working with “the incredible team at Audience360,” and was attracted to the role because of the positioning Audience360 has in the market, and their unique product offering.

“I’ve always regarded Audience360 as a leader in first-party intent data, and the opportunity to work with some of Australia’s most trusted brands is just so appealing,” said Parkes.

“I am looking forward to growing the Audience360 business, helping brands to connect with their customers via Audience360’s premium audiences and customer segments, and working with our partners to monetise their data and introducing new verticals and partners to our network.”

Davor Vilusic, joint managing director of Audience360 said: “We are delighted to welcome Jenny to our Audience360 team to help drive our further commercial success.

“Jenny brings a wealth of senior industry experience, which is such a great asset for Audience360 and our clients,” said Vilusic.

“Our strategy positions us well for continued growth, and I’m excited to be working with Jenny and our team to achieve our objectives.”

Parkes’ most recent roles have all been in the media as head of sales at Snakk Media, group business manager at Nine Entertainment Co, director of sales operations at News Corp Australia and group sales director at Nova Entertainment.

New-look Bondi Vet returning to TV: This time on Nine

A new version of the program formerly hosted by Dr Chris Brown is returning to television as Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast.

The new series will follow the adventures of Alex Hynes, Danni Dusek, Lewis Hunt and Peter Ricci, for insights into the rewarding world of four special vets dedicated to caring for animals every day.

From literally coast-to-coast, the vets face many challenges, and while all being very different people, they share the same passion for animals.

Dr Alex Hynes is an emergency veterinarian who is always in the thick of the action at Brisbane’s Animal Emergency Service. When she is not saving lives in the emergency room, she is pursuing her other passion in life, health and fitness.

Dr Peter Ricci, the Perth-based veterinarian, lives and breathes animals as he works around the clock, at the emergency hospital at Murdoch University and Perth Zoo, as well as looking after his own menagerie of animals at home.

In Sydney, the show follows Dr Lewis Hunt, who was destined to be a vet – he is the son of one. He runs his practice on the Northern Beaches, adored by clients for his warmth and the wholehearted approach to his work.

The new series’ fourth vet, Dr Danni Dusek from Melbourne, is being promoted as the new darling of the series, with her emotional and candid approach to the job and her clients.

Joining the team will also be the tenacious Dr Kate Adams. No ordinary veterinarian, she runs the ever-busy Bondi Vet Hospital and works tirelessly to ensure pets and other animals always get the treatment they require.

Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast will premiere in 2019.

The program is produced by WTFN for Nine and has been in production for the past few months and has a new cast and a new broadcaster.

Bondi Vet originally debuted on 10 in 2009 and ran for eight seasons.

WTFN’s CEO Daryl Talbot said that after the success of Vet On The Hill on Nine on Friday nights, the network was keen to acquire the new Bondi Vet series.

Talbot said that Bondi Vet has been a huge part of the success of WTFN and will be for a long time to come: “Steve Oemcke [WTFN co-founder] and I created Bondi Vet to appeal to audiences in Australia and abroad.

“While the show was very successful for us in Australia, people may not realise it is very big for us overseas. Our key clients in Europe and North America are excited about the re-fresh of the show with a new cast and new locations and have already signed up for the new series.”

Meanwhile, Talbot said WTFN has ended the official ratings year on a high with its hit ob-doc Paramedics also on Nine finishing the week as the number one non-news show, and topping all of the key demographics.

Since debuting in October, Paramedics has been the surprise hit of 2018 leading the resurgence in observational documentaries, and last week pulling in a national audience of more than 1.1 million viewers.

“For producers, TV is all about timing,” said Talbot. “Steve and I first pitched Paramedics to the networks at the beginning of 2016, but we just couldn’t get the series across the line.

Adrian Swift at Nine loved the idea and loved the cast of Paramedics, and kept pushing it forward until it became a reality.”

Back at the 10, WTFN’s flagship lifestyle show The Living Room has also ended the year with a strong performance. The 90-minute Christmas episode of The Living Room with guest appearances from Guy Sebastian and Robert Irwin drew a national audience of 620,000. The show was number 1 in people 18-49 nationally, number 1 in people under 50 nationally and number 2 in people 16-39. The Living Room was Ten’s second highest rating show for the final week of survey.

“It’s seven years since Steve and I originally created The Living Room but the formula is as strong today as it was back then,” said Talbot.

“For us the show is about the right mix of information with an overlay of entertainment. But after many years getting to know this particular audience we always focus on the content in the stories first, then let the entertainment flow from there.

“In 2019 our production team led by EP Virginia Hodgson will continue doing what they’ve done so well this year: well researched stories with a twist and a human touch. I don’t want to jinx us, but who knows, we may even collect a fifth Logie for the show.”

TV ratings Analysis: December 6

• Nine’s Paramedics continues to drive Thursday win
• First numbers: Seven’s cricket score beats internal forecast

By James Maning

Seven

There was more interest in Seven’s daytime than its primetime yesterday as the network started coverage of the First Test against India.

The cricket numbers were down slightly on the comparable match last year, but that was back when Nine didn’t have to share the rights with Fox Cricket.

Here are the numbers for day one:

Session 3 773k (Metro 554/Regional 228k)
Session 2 588k (398k/190k)
Session 1 454k (301k/153k)
Lunch break 437k (285k/152k)

In a statement this morning Kurt Burnette, Seven’s chief revenue officer, said:

“We are thrilled with the ratings of day one, which have surpassed our forecasts.

“Seven reached 2.67 million Australians and secured a 53% commercial share of daytime viewing in metro areas.

“Our production and commentary teams have hit it for six, proving once again that no-one does sport like 7Sport.

“And this is just the beginning – we still have the day/night tests and men’s Big Bash to come. Roll on summer!”

Meanwhile in primetime Home And Away did 558,00 with Orange Is The New Brown on 310,000.

Nine

Paramedics was the main difference between the networks with the ob doc from WTFN pulling 775,000 viewers at 8.30pm which doesn’t happen much any more.

Before it RBT did 550,000.

10

The Project was again 10’s best, but with a smaller audience of 357,000.

How To Stay Married got the 7.30pm slot with 275,000 watching.

ABC

After ABC News and 7.30, Grand Designs performed best with 456,000.

Endeavour then did 316,000.

SBS

Part three of Alex Polizzi’s Secret Italy was in Naples with 203,000 watching.

The numbers then dipped a little to 187,000 for the return of Vikings in a double episode.

Week 49 TV: Thursday
THURSDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC12.7%717.0%922.4%10 8.1%SBS One5.8%
ABC 22.8%7TWO3.4%GO!3.7%10 Boss3.4%VICELAND1.2%
ABC ME0.8%7mate3.7%GEM3.8%10 Peach2.2%Food Net1.3%
ABC NEWS2.2%7flix2.4%9Life2.1%  NITV0.4%
  7Food0.7      
TOTAL18.5% 27.2% 32.0% 13.7% 8.6%
THURSDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine Affiliates10 AffiliatesSBS
ABC13.1%716.6%919.2%WIN8.1%SBS One4.3%
ABC 23.2%7TWO4.9%GO!5.0%WIN Boss2.7%VICELAND1.3%
ABC ME2.3%7mate3.9%GEM6.1%WIN Peach1.3%Food Net1.4%
ABC NEWS2.0%7flix1.9%9Life1.5%Sky News  on WIN0.8%NITV0.4%
TOTAL20.6% 27.3% 31.8% 12.9% 7.0%

 

THURSDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
83.4%16.6%

 

THURSDAY FTA
  1. Seven News Seven   906,000
  2. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven   861,000
  3. Nine News 6:30 Nine 824,000
  4. Nine News Nine 811,000
  5. Paramedics Nine 775,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 681,000
  7. ABC News ABC 651,000
  8. Home And Away Seven   558,000
  9. RBT Nine 550,000
  10. Seven’s Cricket: First Test – Australia V India D1 S3 Seven   544,000
  11. 7.30 ABC 533,000
  12. Grand Designs Australia ABC 456,000
  13. Hot Seat Nine 448,000
  14. Seven’s Cricket: First Test – Australia V India D1 S2 Seven   398,000
  15. The Project 7pm   10 357,000
  16. 10 News First   10 316,000
  17. Chicago Med -Ep1 Nine 316,000
  18. Endeavour (R) ABC 316,000
  19. Orange Is The New Brown Seven   310,000
  20. Seven’s Cricket: First Test – Australia V India D1 S1 Seven   301,000
Demo Top 5

16-39 Top Five

  1. Paramedics Nine 163,000
  2. Seven News Seven   108,000
  3. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven   103,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 99,000
  5. Home And Away Seven     96,000

 

18-49 Top Five

  1. Paramedics Nine 283,000
  2. Seven News Seven   199,000
  3. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven   194,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 191,000
  5. Home And Away Seven   173,000

 

25-54 Top Five

  1. Paramedics Nine 310,000
  2. Seven News Seven   265,000
  3. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven   248,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 236,000
  5. Nine News Nine 231,000
THURSDAY MULTICHANNEL
  1. The Big Bang Theory Tx2 9GO! 170,000
  2. The Big Bang Theory Tx1 9GO! 163,000
  3. Death In Paradise 9Gem 153,000
  4. Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 152,000
  5. Hey Duggee AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 146,000
  6. Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 146,000
  7. Andy’s Wild Adventures ABCKIDS/COMEDY 141,000
  8. Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 140,000
  9. Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
  10. Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
  11. Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  12. Olobob Top AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
  13. Peg + Cat AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 124,000
  14. Spicks And Specks ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
  15. Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 118,000
  16. Floogals AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 116,000
  17. Luo Bao Bei ABCKIDS/COMEDY 115,000
  18. Murdoch Mysteries PM 7TWO 114,000
  19. Rita And Crocodile AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 112,000
  20. Play School AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 112,000
THURSDAY STV
  1. Live: Aus V Ind 1st Test Day 1 FOX CRICKET 214,000
  2. Live: Tea For Two FOX CRICKET 169,000
  3. Live: Aus V Ind 1st Test Day 1 FOX CRICKET 162,000
  4. Live: Aus V Ind 1st Test Day 1 FOX CRICKET 137,000
  5. Live: The Big Break FOX CRICKET 114,000
  6. Live: Cricket 360 FOX CRICKET 95,000
  7. Love It Or List It Australia LifeStyle Channel 59,000
  8. Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 58,000
  9. The Bolt Report Sky News Live 51,000
  10. Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes LifeStyle Channel 51,000
  11. Live: Test Cricket Live On Fox FOX CRICKET 50,000
  12. Gold Rush Discovery Channel 42,000
  13. Bones TVH!TS 41,000
  14. Credlin Sky News Live 40,000
  15. Conroy & Kroger Sky News Live 38,000
  16. PML Overtime Sky News Live 37,000
  17. Red Sparrow Foxtel Movies Premiere 37,000
  18. Inside The Factory Xmas Special 2017 LifeStyle Channel 36,000
  19. Live: Pak V NZ 3rd Test Day 4 FOX CRICKET 32,000
  20. A Discovery Of Witches FOX8 32,000

Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM

Media News Roundup

Business of Media

Inside Greg Hywood’s farewell Long & Winding Road party

Fairfax Media’s almost redundant boss Greg Hywood was in fine spirits at the “The Long & Winding Road” party he threw on Wednesday night at Carriageworks, the Eveleigh arts institution on whose board sits his trusty adviser Sue Cato, reports The Australian’s Margin Call column.

Along for the notably upbeat inner-city knees-up was Roger Corbett, who as Fairfax chairman appointed Hywood.

Joining Hywood was a bevy of the media company’s distinguished employees and former employees: Michael Stutchbury, Darren Goodsir, Pam Williams, Brett Clegg, Kate McClymont, the recently elevated Chris Janz (whose enlarged Nine exec gig was foreshadowed by Margin Call) and the recently redundant Mark Hawthorne.

Fairfax’s billionaire director Jack Cowin was along performing his final act for the media company and was swooped on by a bandana-less Peter FitzSimons (who didn’t miss the opportunity to give his rah-rah republican recruitment pitch).

[Read the original]

News Brands

WIN News’s Alison Dance selected for Fellowship Program

WIN News Central West journalist Alison Dance has been named one of 14 successful fellows to form the inaugural Our Watch Fellowship Program.

The new program is an initiative of national charity Our Watch and is administered by the Walkley Foundation. Its goal is to develop journalists’ best practice reporting on violence against women, while deepening their understanding of this issue and its complexities.

The 14 successful fellows hail from diverse media backgrounds, platforms and locations around Australia.

WIN’s Network news director Stella Lauri was delighted at news of Dance’s selection. “Violence against women is not restricted by factors such as geographical location, cultural background or socio-economic bracket.

“Alison is driven, and extremely committed to quality journalism,” Dance said. “I’m certain the expert mentorship and key learnings from this program will ensure issues of violence against women in regional Australia continue to be reported with accuracy and sensitivity. Congratulations to Alison on her well-deserved achievement.”

Commencing in 2019, the Our Watch Fellowship program comprises a series of three retreats scheduled in February, March and June.

The other successful Fellows are:

• Kylie Boltin, SBS
• Liz Burke, News.com.au
• Dimity Clancey, A Current Affair, Nine
• Maddison Connaughton, The Saturday Paper
• Nour Haydar, ABC
• Ivy Jensen, The Riverine Herald
• Sarah Malik, SBS
• Sherele Moody, News Corp
• Lauren Novak, The Advertiser
• Gary Nunn, Freelance
• Miki Perkins, The Age
• Emma Race, ABC
• Gina Rushton, BuzzFeed News

Podcasting

Mamamia tell marketers every savvy brand needs a podcast plan

At a Mamamia Presents: Podcasts Unplugged event held at Sydney’s Museum Of Contemporary Art his week, Mamamia advised brands to sharpen their plans for podcasts in the media mix, as audiences and creativity continue to explode in Australia, as they are around the world.

Regular podcast listeners in Australia are up 40% year-on-year, to 5 million. Mamamia’s leading podcasters include Mia Freedman, Holly Wainwright, Rachel Corbett, Jessie Stephens, Leigh Campbell and others across over 20 shows.

What particularly distinguishes “premium listening”, as Mamamia described it, is the combination of on-demand, intimate, active listening, made for a mobile, multi-tasking world.

“If our eyes and ears divide and conquer, we get even more done,” said Rachel Corbett, Mamamia’s head of podcasts. It all adds up to stand-out results for brands that get the marketing integration right.

The Mamamia Presents: Podcasts Unplugged event came hot on the heels of Apple this week announcing Mamamia as the only commercial podcaster to have two shows in its top 10 Australian podcasts of 2018 – Lady Start Up and Ask Me Anything – as well as two of the most downloaded podcasts of the year – Mamamia Out Loud and No Filter – despite neither being daily shows, unlike many others at the top of the table.

See Podcast Week for more on that list today.

Mamamia reminded guests it remains Australia’s biggest owned and operated podcast company in 2018.

Mia Freedman, Mamamia founder and chief creative officer, said: “It’s not true that every brand needs a podcast. But every brand does need a podcast strategy. We’ve been working with brands to create award-winning premium audio for four years which is why brands are now coming to us first.”

Bel Cook, head of audio sales at Mamamia, said: “Testament to the intimate, highly engaged conversations with women our podcasts deliver, our partners are seeing results like 78% unaided recall, and 85% reported purchase. We’re proud of the results achieved, but even more proud that brands like Estee Lauder Company, Westpac and Woolworths Group have chosen to partner with us time and time again.”

See also Mediaweek’s Podcast Week column today.

Television

Foxtel loses another key executive who leaves after 22 years

Duane Hatherly has announced his departure from Foxtel where he was the long time director of production.

Foxtel’s executive director of television Brian Walsh told staff yesterday:

“I completely understand Duane’s position and as difficult as this has been to accept, acknowledge that this is the right time for him to spread his wings.

“It would be hard to find anyone who has demonstrated as much as loyalty and commitment to Foxtel as Duane. He joined the company 22 years ago as a graphics designer, straight off the plane from Toronto and made his way up the ladder in promos, then administration, channel and genre management, including head of Lifestyle and finally as our director of production.

“I am personally indebted to Duane for his unwavering loyalty, reliability and support over all these years. In every respect, he has been a pillar of support to me and I will be forever grateful.”

Kidman and Strahovski nominated for Golden Globes, others miss out

Nicole Kidman and Yvonne Strahovski have been nominated for Golden Globes, but the news was not so good for fellow Australians Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie, Toni Collette and Joel Edgerton, AP’s Peter Mitchell.

Political comedy Vice led movie nominations with six nods, followed by musical A Star is Born, historical comedy The Favourite and road trip movie Green Book. Lady Gaga was nominated for best actress for A Star is Born.

Limited series The Assassination of Gianni Versace won the most nominations in the television category with four nods.

Kidman was nominated on Thursday at the Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles for best actress in a drama for her role in Destroyer.

Kidman, however, did not score a rare double nod, with her name not called out in the supporting actress category for Boy Erased.

Strahovski was nominated for a supporting actress Golden Globe for her performance in the TV drama series The Handmaid’s Tale.

Key television nominees

Best drama television series

• The Americans
• Bodyguard
• Homecoming
• Killing Eve
• Pose

Best comedy television series

• Barry
• The Good Place
• Kidding
• The Kominsky Method
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

[Read the original]

See a complete list of the 2019 Golden Globe nominees here.

SBS’s The Family Law returns for a third and final season in January

In 2016, The Family Law made TV history on SBS as the first ever show with an Asian-Australian family as leads. In January 2019, it will make history again: as Australia’s first-ever TV comedy about teen sexuality.

Everyone’s favourite Chinese-Australian family, The Laws, will be back for one final spin, this time with added hormone-induced angst and awkward, sexual fumbling. The third and final season of the award-winning series returns with a double episode of The Family Law launching on Saturday, 12 January at 8.30pm on SBS and SBS Viceland simultaneously. All six episodes of The Family Law season three will also drop on SBS On Demand that evening.

SBS director of television and online content Marshall Heald said:

“I’ve always loved this series and have been so personally and professionally proud to be associated with it. Season three has more depth, and the characters are incredibly rounded and authentic. It’s warm and funny – sometimes bittersweet – but most importantly, there are real human hearts beating throughout. I feel like I’ve seen this family grow up and they’re very dear to me. I’m laughing with them, never at them.

“I know an enormous amount of love and effort went into making the show be so beautiful and heart-warming. It’s also a real triumph for diversity on screen – under-represented faces and voices but defiantly Australian in every regard.”

Creator and co-writer Benjamin Law said:

“We’re so proud of how The Family Law broke ground in showcasing an Asian-Australian family in TV comedy with season one. Given ongoing debates around youth sexuality and gender identity in Australia right now, we’re especially proud season three will look at these issues head-on. We think it’s our best – and funniest – season yet.”

Honey Badger claims secret Bachelor ‘contract’ led to decision

It’s been repeatedly denied by former contestants, but Nick “The Honey Badger” Cummins seems to have confirmed The Bachelor’s worst-kept secret, reports news.com.au’s Bronte Coy.

This year’s Bachelor, who infamously dumped both Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley in the finale, was speaking to ABC’s Radio National on Wednesday when he cited contractual obligations as the reason why he made the shocking decision.

Network 10 denied the claims when contacted by news.com.au.

“As if! There is no way 10 would have a contract that says The Bachelor Australia couple has to stay together after the show finishes. Not a chance, it’s up to them,” a spokesperson said.

It comes after former Bachelorette Sophie Monk was forced to deny claims that she was contractually obliged to pretend she was still dating winner Stu Laundy after the show finished airing last year.

[Read the original]

Sports Media

Seven West Media kicks off its new era with Test cricket launch

Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner says the broadcaster has more tricks up its sleeve that it will roll out over its cricket coverage this summer, as the network kicked off a new free-to-air era for the sport that rival Nine has broadcast for the last four decades, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.

The first Test match between Australia and India kicked off on Thursday, marking the schedule’s men’s first free-to-air game following a month of limited overs internationals on pay TV provider Foxtel.

“It’s come together extraordinarily well, it’s a big day in the history of our company. That’s the way we’ve approached this day, we’re taking on something that’s almost a public service. We have to make sure we deliver,” Worner said.

[Read the original]

Social media discusses Fox Cricket and Seven's Test coverage

Opinions are well and truly split on day one of Australia’s Test series against India, as both networks came in for their share of praise and criticism, reports Sporting News.

The morning got off to a terrible start for Seven – the free-to-air channel somehow failed to fully capture the all-important coin toss, much to the annoyance of those watching.

Fox Cricket won compliments on almost all aspects of its HD coverage with no ad-breaks.

Still, the pay TV broadcaster wasn’t exempt from haters, with many social media users believing Fox’s all-star call team – headlined by Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Kerry O’Keeffe – was too chatty.

[Read the original]

Mitchell, Ponting lead the way as Seven steps into Test broadcasting

Alison Mitchell and Ricky Ponting were the standouts as Channel Seven began its era of broadcasting Test cricket, although those hoping the wheel would be reinvented would have been slightly disappointed as Australia and India began their four-Test series in Adelaide, reports Fairfax Media’s Phil Lutton.

A pre-match interview with fast bowler Mitchell Starc, as he strolled across the ground, was a nice touch and gave the feel of a more-relaxed coverage, which had been part of Seven’s plan as it tried to give Test cricket a more contemporary twist in line with other sports.

The real stars were Ponting, the former Australia captain, and Mitchell, an accomplished English broadcaster who anchored the coverage with her customary professionalism.

It didn’t come as a surprise that either were excellent because we had heard and seen them before. Ponting’s work in the shorter-form BBL translated easily to the longer Test format, while Mitchell’s smooth delivery and knowledge of the game made their interactions seamless.

[Read the original]

To Top