By James Manning

Although it’s still very early days, 10’s chief sales officer Rod Prosser told Mediaweek’s James Manning after just one week of its new summer programming strategy things have been going well.

10 had the top six shows for viewers under 50 in week 3.

Prosser talked about market response to the no summer sport offering, the new shows about to be unloaded and his new advertising team.

10’s new summer programming strategy

Moving I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! forward and going head-to-head with sport has so far exceeded our expectations.

We always thought that after losing the Big Bash League, that if we got our product right and invested heavily into the program and provided a strong alternative to sport that we would get the viewers.

We managed to beat the cricket every night so far and on many nights the Australian Open too. It won’t be so easy this week as the tennis gets toward the pointy end of the tournament.

We have now delivered on a strategy that we took to market back in September. Our alternative to sport can work and we now have a platform to launch our first quarter off.

Programming for viewers under 50

Even though we could have crowed about total people audiences last week or 25-54, we focused on under 50. It is a demo we are fixated on.

Market feedback to changes

There have been a number of agencies that said last year, let’s wait and see how the new strategy goes.

Some of them got it straight away, but advertisers are used to a long legacy of 10 having sport and repeat programming over the summer. Some media buyers were therefore reluctant to pounce. We gave those people a gentle reminder last week that we delivered and our strategy works.

Things hotting up from mid-February

I’m A Celebrity runs until mid next month and we have many tested formats taking over from then. The big thing for us, which is new to this market, is Sunday Night Takeaway. People fond of seeing hosts Chris and Julia together on Celebrity can continue to enjoy them straight away on the new Sunday show. For us Sunday Night is an interesting proposition because the format is really well suited to integration.

Dancing With The Stars is a format tested here and that launches Monday nights. It has got a good reaction from buyers because it is well known and from the reels they got a sense of how contemporary it is now.

Ambulance is coming back quickly on Tuesday nights because it did so well for us.

Changing Rooms then follows on Wednesday and Thursday nights. It is a known format to some Australians, yet it is a new format to many more.

This schedule launches as Celebrity finishes. Other returning formats are Show Me The Movie on Fridays, Hughesy, We Have A Problem on Tuesdays and Gogglebox on Thursdays.

Early evening competition

[We asked Prosser about Seven’s confirmation it will be launching My Kitchen Rules at 7pm.]

We are not going to respond to that. We are committed to The Project and we won’t change our scheduling. I wonder what it might to do the Home And Away audience.

10’s marketing spend

Our focus over summer has been the launch of Celebrity, and then you will see activity around Sunday Night Takeaway, Dancing With The Stars and Changing Rooms. As we get into February you will start to see our Project marketing spend commence.

Changing Rooms host Natalie Bassingthwaighte

10’s advertising team sorted

We have had a fairly smooth transition from MCN into our offices in Sydney and across the country. We have most of the team in place although there are a couple of senior people to start in Sydney. Lisa Squillace starts on February 11 and Diane Ho starts on February 18 leading the Sydney sales operation.

We will be having a robust discussion this quarter with the market about our data offering. Last year we announced a partnership with data technology agency Venntifact and 10’s partnership with Tealium, a leader in real-time customer data solutions.

10 Play, 10 Daily and 10 All Access

They are all critical to the mix of our whole platform. We keep referring to 10 as offering an entertainment platform.

You might have noticed that 10 Bold and 10 Peach have been performing well after we have been marketing them the right way. Viewers know what they are going to get when they see the overall 10 brand.

Will 10 launch another multichannel?

We talk about this a lot internally – a fourth channel. Our priority has always been to get the suite of existing channels performing at their best and that will be important this year. What we do in terms of another channel after that I’m not sure.

The drama tells the story of a group of very different people. With very different backgrounds. At very different stages of life. All bonded by where they found themselves seated at a wedding. The singles table.

After a few too many champagnes (and wines and whiskeys and beers), the solution to all of their problems seems to be buying a house together. A really big, five bedroom house.

Network 10’s head of drama Rick Maier said: “Who knew a singles table at a wedding could be this much fun? What happens next is the platform for a brilliantly original, sharp and contemporary series. We have our families, and we also have the random people we collect on the way.

“Writers Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett have created a group of individuals we hope everyone can relate to. And it’s no surprise these scripts have been the draw-card for this outstanding ensemble. Hoodlum and Pino Amenta (series producer) will bring it all to life with a cracking production team and a definite spring in their step. Very much looking forward to this one. Five Bedrooms should be a treat.”

Hoodlum Entertainment’s executive producers, Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson, said: “Five Bedrooms has been a labour of love for Hoodlum and we are thrilled to see it come to life with this loveable cast. The series was inspired by the dream to own your own home and the harsh reality of being able to afford it.

“Five Bedrooms is a great platform for our fantastic characters to come together and find their place in this new unconventional family. We are excited to team up with writers Christine Bartlett and Michael Lucas and for the support of Network 10, Screen Australia, Film Victoria and Sky Vision who have been champions of this Australian drama from the outset.”

Five Bedrooms will commence filming in Melbourne this week and is a Hoodlum Entertainment production for Network 10.

Major production investment from Screen Australia.

Financed with support from Film Victoria.

Sky Vision to distribute internationally.

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Top Photo: Five Bedrooms cast- Roy Joseph, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Kat Stewart and Stephen Peacocke

In this role, Riminton will cover and investigate the most important news and issues that affect Australians for 10’s news brands including 10 News First, The Project, Studio 10, 10 Daily and 10 Speaks. He will report to network director of news content Ross Dagan.

Dagan said: “Hugh is one of Australia’s most experienced correspondents. As our national affairs editor, he will have a roving brief across the network to cover issues that matter most to Australians and break stories. From how we make ends meet, to where our country is heading and our place in the world, Hugh will have all you need to know. We’re very fortunate to have someone of Hugh’s calibre in this role.”

Riminton said: “There are a lot of big shifts happening in Australia and around the world. There is a real gap in the market when it comes to reporting what really matters to Australians in ways that everyone can understand. That’s our mission and it’s great to be focused on highlighting these important issues.

“We’re going digging. Send me your tips.”

Riminton is a multi-award winning journalist and author whose reporting work over 30 years has taken him around the world and to almost every corner of Australia.

He has been a foreign correspondent and presenter for CNN and Channel 9 and a political editor and newsreader for 10.

Riminton was a foundation board member of the veterans’ welfare charity Soldier On. He chairs the refugee education fund, the John Mac Foundation, and is also on the advisory board of Media Diversity Australia.

He has received numerous awards, including two Walkleys, a Logie, honours from the Human Rights Commission and the UN Association Media Award.

The data showed more than 10.7 million people tuned in to commercial radio each week in the five major capital cities during 2018, an increase of 270,000 listeners or 2.6% over the previous year.

“2018 was a strong year for commercial radio, with gains in the all-important breakfast radio shift as well as for morning and drive time shows,” said CRA chief executive officer Joan Warner.

“Breakfast radio continues to be a powerhouse, attracting 7.7 million listeners every week, and has increased audiences every year for the past 10 years. That’s down to the quality of the on-air talent and being able to deliver the mix of entertainment and information that people are looking for at the start of the day.”

More than 7.7 million people tuned into commercial breakfast radio every week (Mon-Fri) in 2018, up 2.6% from 7.5 million in 2017. Nearly 6.9 million tuned in to drive radio, up 1.8%.

The figures are based on an average of the eight metropolitan radio surveys conducted by GfK Research in 2018, which involved a representative sample of 60,000 participants.

Commercial radio continued to reach Australians across all age groups, reaching 87% of 10-17 year olds, 78% of 18-24s, 78% of 25-39s, 81% of 40-54s, 77% of 55-64s and 66% of people aged 65+ every week.

Warner said it was easier than ever for people to listen to radio through multiple platforms, with significant increases in people listening online and through DAB+ digital radio, which provides access to extra stations.

More than 4.2 million Australians listened to radio via a DAB+ digital radio each week (up from 3.6 million in 2017) and 2.2 million listened online on a connected device such as a mobile phone, computer or tablet (up from nearly 1.9 million).

There was little change in place of listening. In 2018, 42% of commercial radio listening took place at home, 36% in the car, 20% at work and 2% elsewhere.  

Many regular on-air teams are back this week for the first ratings period of 2019, which started on January 20. Survey results will be released on March 12.

Sources: GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1-8, 2014-2018, and Nielsen Survey 1-8, 2008-2013. SMBAP, All people 10+, Mon-Sun 12mn-12mn, unless otherwise stated.

By James Manning

Until the end of 2018, the duo were just available to listeners in Sydney and Brisbane on the Macquarie Media sports radio station. Now they can be heard along the east coast as they took over breakfast on the Melbourne Macquarie Sports Radio station today.

Not are they also on air in another big market, Levy and Riddell are working a little harder too – starting at 5.30am and going through until 10am.

The last hour of their show from 9am each weekday will see them joined by Jimmy Bartel who will ensure there is plenty of AFL expertise on offer for listeners.

Macquarie Sports Mark Rydell and Mark Levy prepare for their east coast network debut

The smallish Macquarie Sports Melbourne audience would have got a shock this morning after David Armstrong finished reading the Macquarie News and the Sydney-based broadcasters started their show.

Bartel was part of the most recent incarnation of the sports station’s Melbourne breakfast show. The most recent host of the dedicated Melbourne breakfast show was Matt Thompson who also works for the AFL. Also working across part of the summer ratings break, Thompson gave a low-key farewell to Melbourne listeners last Friday morning.

Macquarie Media has indicated that Thompson will be staying with the station.

During the show today, Mark Levy revealed McDonald’s has come on board as a sponsor.

Elsewhere in the Melbourne market, the highest-rating Australian metro radio show, 3AW’s Ross and John, started their second week after returning on January 14.

At Fox FM, the market-leading FM breakfast show Fifi, Fev and Byron started their new year with a new intro carrying a message from the show’s sponsor – Mandalay Living.

The Triple M Hot Breakfast team was back as Eddie, Darc and Wil loaded the program with new sponsorship deals for horse racing and the Super Bowl. The program didn’t attend last year, but the trio will be heading to Atlanta shortly for a week of special Super Bowl shows. The show had some fun with their newsreader Seb Costello who was married during the holidays with Luke Darcy acting as the reception’s MC.

At SEN 1116, breakfast co-host Tim Watson was back at work, but he won’t be joined by colleague Garry Lyon until next week. Taking his place was SEN contributor, the Herald Sun’s Sam Edmund.

In Sydney the market’s highest rating breakfast program – The Alan Jones Breakfast Show – is being hosted by Steve Price until Friday this week. Jones returns to the program after the Australia Day holiday on Monday.

The market’s #1 FM breakfast show returned as The Kyle and Jackie O Show helped celebrate KIIS 1065’s fifth birthday. Jackie Henderson told listeners she had a busy break which included several trips, including one to Fiji with Roxy Jacenko.

The show went to air with recently promoted new executive producer Sonia Jahshan after Bruno Bouchet stepped down at the end of 2018. It was the first show today for new producer Tom “Draco” Whitaker who has moved across to KIIS from 2Day FM.

Jonesy and Amanda returned to WSFM, but did Jonesy look a little tired as Amanda powered through their breakfast video for listeners? Special guests on day one include Julia Morris from the jungle.

Part of the fun on KIIS this morning was a grilling the hosts gave the long-suffering Intern Pete about his suspicious frequent trips to Russia! Pete will be hoping for a less controversial start to the year after his performance at the Steve Smith press conference in March last year.

Both Sydney Southern Cross Austereo shows were out of the blocks early last week and both now feature hosts coming out of Melbourne on many days.

2Day FM has a new line-up to start the new year. Both Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee have returned, but they are now joined, officially, by former Hit Network evening host Ash London.

At Triple M Sydney, Lawrence Mooney gets his first major radio hosting role as he hosts Moonman In The Morning. It’s a big team with Mooney being joined by former Grill Team members Gus Worland and Chris Page, plus Queensland broadcaster and recent star of The Block Jess Eva. The show spent last week making sure the audience got to know both Mooney and Eva.

Mooney, who has been a longtime member of the Triple M family with regular spots on other breakfast shows and Kennedy Molloy, might be getting paid in cash and contra. There are plenty of ads for forthcoming comedy shows.

Off the back of record ratings in 2018, Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa started the new year with the NSW premier as their first guest – Gladys Berejiklian. Show regular Dr Chris Brown was also on the line from South Africa where he is hosting I’m A Celebrity for 10.

At Mix 102.3 Adelaide, a $10,000 prize went off on Jodie and Soda’s breakfast show as a listener guessed the Secret Sound.

Quite a few changes around the dial on ABC Radio, although not anything like the start of 2018.

In Melbourne, morning announcer Jon Faine told his listeners that 2019 would be his year on air the station – his 23rd.

ABC Melbourne’s Jon Faine

Myf Warhurst was back at lunchtime with writer and musician Dave Warner her first guest for 2019.

At ABC Radio Brisbane, Loretta Ryan joined breakfast presenter Craig Zonca as Rebecca Levingston moves to a new role in mornings.

ABC Radio Perth has several new presenters in 2019, starting with Barry Nicholls who will present an early-bird statewide breakfast show from 4am – 6am. Russell Woolf and Nadia Mitsopoulos take over the Perth breakfast slot from 6am – 10am.

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Top Photo: Kyle and Jackie celebrate the station’s fifth birthday with their team

Harrison has held the 10 Daily deputy editor role since the site launched in May 2018. He will continue to report to 10 Daily managing editor Mel Cornford who will be focusing largely on her strategic, commercial and product responsibilities for the site.

Cornford said: “10 Daily is growing at an average 25% each month – that’s huge! There is still so much potential for growth and it’s fantastic to have Chris in the editor’s chair dedicated to leading the site editorially while we focus on expanding 10 Daily’s commercial and product offering.

“Chris lives and breathes what 10 Daily is all about and has played a huge role in the site’s continued success since launch. He has been an incredible asset and leader to the team with his creative ideas, sensational headlines and strong editorial acumen. A huge congrats to Chris on this well-deserved promotion!”

Harrison said: “I’m so excited to be leading the 10 Daily team as editor. The past seven months since launch have been the most fun I’ve had in journalism. Super busy but super worth it. We have such a versatile new product with such a brilliant mix of content. We’re serious when we need to be and fun when we don’t. I love the place and the team and am honoured to be leading it with Mel Cornford, whose incredible hard work has made 10 Daily go from strength to strength. Long may it continue.”

Harrison’s career spans over 20 years as a journalist, editor and award-winning author. Prior to joining 10 Daily, Harrison was most recently publisher of Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Kotaku at Allure Media. Before that he was opinion editor at HuffPost Australia. He spent several years at News Corp Australia as a property editor and columnist, and was a frequent contributor to opinion site The Punch. He is also the bestselling author of two books and winner of a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award.

Cornford continued: “There’s incredible momentum going into our second year. Our content is really resonating with our target under 50s audience. We’re doing things differently, launching new editorial initiatives and breaking visitor and engagement records week by week – and I’m thrilled with those results.

“We’ve quickly integrated 10 Daily with 10’s broadcast newsroom, giving us easy access to some of Australia’s most renowned journalists – that’s invaluable. It’s been a phenomenal first seven months and we have so many big things planned for 2019, including plenty of exciting options for our advertisers.”

Foxtel Movies is celebrating Aussies in Film this Australia Day long weekend with the biggest titles featuring the most coveted stars, screening across four days from 6am Friday January 25 to Monday January 28 2019.

The Aussies in Film pop-up showcases the movies that propelled our home grown talent to mega stardom, from Thor: Ragnarok, The Greatest Showman, I Tonya, Bridesmaids, 10 Things I Hate About You, Braveheart, Black Hawk Down, The Impossible , Moulin Rouge, Pitch Perfect 3, Avatar, X-Men, 12 Strong and the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia.

Stars featured across the weekend include Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Eric Bana, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Rose Byrne, Russell Crowe, Toni Collette, Rebel Wilson, Joel Edgerton, Sam Worthington, Liam Hemsworth, Abbie Cornish, Guy Pearce, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Hugo Weaving, Radha Mitchell and Kylie Minogue.

The Aussies in Film weekend will be available on Channel 404, available to Foxtel Movies and Platinum subscribers in HD. All titles are available to stream On Demand via FoxFlicks on internet connected iQ3 and iQ4 boxes, on devices with Foxtel Go and via Foxtel Now.

Some of the movies include:

Thor: Ragnorak (2017)

Thor must face the Hulk in a gladiator match and save his people from the ruthless Hela. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett and Tom Hiddleston.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Inspired by the legend of P.T. Barnum, step right up into the spellbinding imagination of a man who set out to reveal that life itself can be the most thrilling show of all. Starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams & Zac Efron.

Bridesmaids (2011)

It’s girl power when Kristen Wiig stars as Annie, a maid of honour whose life unravels as she leads her closest friend and a group of colourful bridesmaids on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Also starring Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson.

Black Hawk Down (2001)

True account of the disastrous US raid to capture a Somali warlord in 1993. When the mission goes wrong elite forces must fight their way out. Starring Eric Bana, Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor.

I, Tonya (2018)

Based on the unbelievable but true events, I, TONYA is a darkly comedic tale of American figure skater, Tonya Harding, and one of the most sensational scandals in sports history. Starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney.

The idea to transform Blue Monday into “Zenith Monday” stemmed from an agency-wide competition. To celebrate Zenith’s 30th anniversary this past October, a global contest ‘If I were CEO for a day’ asked employees to come up with ideas on how they want to see Zenith evolve. Zenith Mexico won with their idea of Zenith Monday, which sees more than 6,000 employees in the agency’s global network encouraged to participate in team building activities that promote good causes and benefit their community.

Zenith Sydney – Youth off Streets

Nickie Scriven, CEO, Zenith Australia, said: “We are delighted to continue our support of disadvantaged youths by running bespoke activities with youth charities in our three key states.

“In Sydney, we have partnered with Youth off the Streets where staff will be supporting them throughout the year through volunteering and fund raising initiatives.

“In Melbourne, Zenith continue to work with Kids Under Cover and are also supporting SecondBite by rescuing food at weekend markets and preparing fresh and nutritious meals for people in need.

“And in Brisbane, the team are raising much needed funds for Youngcare to help to improve the lives of young people with high-care needs.

“The Zenith Monday initiative is a great way of bringing our teams together to lend a hand in their local communities, and feel passionate about doing their bit to help others overcome disadvantage.”

Matt James, Global Brand President, Zenith, added: “At Zenith, we believe in giving back to the communities that support us. By transforming a day of sadness, our brilliant specialists are creating one small way to send positive thinking and acting around our global network.”

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Top Photo: Melbourne – SecondBite – Joshua Lee and Kate Unsworth

Aquaman slid down three spots to land in fourth place bringing its total to $37.04m, while Bohemian Rhapsody finally drops out of the top five after 12 weeks and a mammoth $48.97m as it inches closer to the $50.38m it needs to fall into the top 10 for the all-time Australian box office.

In a week with a very flat box office nine films each cracked the $1m dollar mark as the school holidays draw to a close. Some of the key films outside of the top five include:
#6 Mary, Queen of Scots– $1.22m (first week)
#7 Storm Boy– $1.21m (first week)
#8 Bohemian Rhapsody– $1.09m (12 weeks, $48.97m)
#9 Ralph Breaks the Internet– $1.07m (five weeks, $17.90m)
#14 A Star is Born– $226,184 (14 weeks, $34.63m)

#1 Glass $3.36m

The latest endeavour by M. Night Shyamalan and a continuation of the stories told in Unbreakable and Split, has found an audience in its first week in theatres. The unique look at superheros and villains averaged $8,005 after being shown on 421 screens.

#2 How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World $2.16m

The third film in the How to Train You Dragon Franchise has seen its popularity hold strong for a third consecutive week, bringing its school holiday total to $17.13m. The Dreamworks Pictures film averaged $6,535 across 332 screens.

#3 Instant Family $2.07m

The family comedy starring Mark Whalberg and Rose Byrne has stayed in third spot in its second week of release after averaging $7,594 on 273 screens (The second highest average in Australia).

#4 Aquaman $2.02m

Slipping three spots but still bringing in over $2m the latest entry into the DC universe averaged $5,830 over 348 screens.

#5 Mary Poppins Returns $1.63m

The sequel to the Disney classic has brought its overall total to $15.28m after four weeks in Australian cinemas. The Emily Blunt vehicle averaged $4,755 on 344 screens.

Week 4 2019 – Summer schedule – Monday

FTA early evening TV news

• Seven News 931,000 and 784,000 (no Perth for second half hour)
• Nine News 842,000 and 860,000
• ABC News 666,000
• 10 News First 433,000
• SBS World News 143,000

Breakfast TV

• Sunrise 257,000
• Today 211,000
• ABC News Breakfast 105,000

Seven

The Big Bash League match was a one sided affair with the Hobart Hurricanes easily accounting for the Adelaide Strikers. The Hurricanes didn’t lose a wicket as they easily overhauled the Strikers’ total.

The audiences for each session were again close to 400,000.

Nine

The Australian Open tennis should deliver good numbers across the rest of the week as the world’s best compete for a place in the quarterfinals.

The evening session average last night was 794,000 compared to 538,000 on day 1. Late night viewing was on 497,000 and daytime average was 305,000.

The Monday primary share was 26.6%, up from 19.8% on the first night of the tournament a week ago.

See our separate features this week with a deeper dive into the Australian Open TV ratings from the first week of the tournament.

10

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! saw former Nine personality Shane Crawford cop a horrid challenge as he entered the jungle. The audience watching was 743,000, down from the previous Monday crowd of 890,000. A bigger tennis crowd of 250,000 would have something to do with the drop. Despite the tennis, Celebrity managed to rank #1 under 50 again.

The Project was just under half a million as Steve Price entertained with his forceful arguments. Yet he turned into a very gentle co-host when former Celebrity colleague Nazeem Hussain was on. Price would be an asset on the show every night.

At 9pm 10 went with a Royal Family special – Kate v Meghan: Princesses at War – which featured almost every British royal watcher you could imagine. It did OK numbers too given the opposition – 402,000.

ABC

Back Roads was in Marble Bar with 501,000 watching at 8pm.

The final part of Hawke: The Larrikin and the Leader did 310,000 after 8.30pm.

A repeat of War On Waste, episode two of three, did 153,000.

SBS

Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Agents did 156,000, which was the channel’s best.

Share dipped below 4% for only the second time this year.