Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner and veteran Seven sports commentator Bruce McAvaney this week hosted the launch of Seven’s forthcoming summer of cricket. The share market has given Seven’s acquisition of domestic cricket rights, which it is sharing Foxtel, a big tick as the Seven share price has trended upward ever since the announcement back in April. After the presentations to advertisers and media buyers, Tim Worner spoke with Mediaweek’s James Manning to talk about the chance of media M&A activity, how Seven will pay for the cricket and the changing face of the FTA business model.

Meanwhile, Nova Entertainment has been busy building the business into different areas and diversifying the income streams from being just radio dependent. To explain the latest initiative and to update us on the recent launches if Nova chief commercial officer Peter Charlton.

By James Manning

• Read part 1 of the Tim Worner Q&A here
• Seven details summer of cricket coverage: Test and BBL all in one place

You and Kurt Burnette have promised advertisers a combined Seven commercial channel share of 40%-50% during the cricket. How hard will that be?

It is very gettable. As you may have learnt over the years, we don’t throw around numbers that we don’t think we are not able to get and that is a very achievable target.

You acknowledged recently some of the AFL ratings have been soft this year. Does that challenge any of your long-term predictions about sports rights?

Not at all. Year-on-year it looked slightly soft but, since I said that, the numbers have strengthened. The ratings for live sport don’t worry me at all. Particularly not the two biggest sports in Australia – AFL and cricket. The ratings for those sports are bankable. We are able to have certainty about that for the next five seasons.

Nine has told us it is having a pretty good year, but how good has it been for Seven?

• Nine’s Hamish Turner says Love Island model works best under 40

Since ratings began [2001], this has been our best year with the highest share we have ever had. We have obviously had some pretty handy first-halves, but this is our highest share and that is without the Commonwealth Games. We are on target and there are some reachable targets for the whole year in terms of [winning] all the demographics and that is what we are aiming for now.

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For this new venture Nova Entertainment has partnered with habitat., a creative and strategic specialist, to utilise the assets of both partners to become the experts in live experiences for brands.

Nathan Reay, Nova Entertainment’s head of M&A, strategy & partnerships, told Mediaweek: “We have been active in event and activations for some time and we have helped clients with smaller activations over a long period of time. A year ago we thought we should be doing more within this space. habitat. is a company we have partnered with historically in the event space. We looked around for partners and it was our view there was a real gap in the market for an events business that can help clients with small scale activations, but also through to large scale events.

“At the larger events end of the spectrum, there is a real possibility of linking with Nova’s assets whether it be radio or digital or podcasting, giving brands the chance of really amplifying their events as well.

“With exp. you can have an events company that builds your event and you can have also have a media company that amplifies your event. That is a really exciting proposition for all clients. Given our Red Room experience and our smoothfm Festival of Chocolate, which has also been very successful, it is a space we want to play more in.”

Nova Entertainment will be the home of the business and will manage day-to-day relations with clients. “habitat. will be part of the engine room that sits behind exp. and will work alongside Nova’s create team,” added Reay.

Staff will be seconded from both partners for new clients with new hires dependent on the amount of business exp. attracts initially.

“Media companies need to react to the business they attract, but we won’t be holding back on searching for that new business.”

habitat. partners Mark Vincent and Antony Neeson

habitat. has been running since 2012 when former high school friends Mark Vincent and Antony Neeson reunited in business. Vincent has a background in radio sales while Neeson worked as an agency art director.

Brands habitat. have worked with include M&Ms, Oreos, Visit Victoria, Volvo, Land Rover Discovery, Visit Canberra, Vivid Festival and many more.

Neeson told Mediaweek the initial reception has been strong: “We did a national sales presentation recently with Kate Murphy, who heads Nova’s Create team, and we have already had five briefs from that in less than a week.

“Our vision is to be the first name in branded experiences in the Australasia market. The formation of exp. takes us one giant step closer to that.”

Reay said they are open for business to any client from any category, although it is hard to imagine they’d take on another radio broadcaster.

Reay: “There is one project we are close to announcing some initial clients.”

Reay and head of commercial Peter Charlton will be the two senior Nova Entertainment executives heading the initial activity.

Other recent Nova Entertainment initiatives include the Acast podcasting offering, the launch of the millennial platform GOAT and the recent strategic partnership with the esports company ESL.

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Top photo: Nova Entertainment’s Nathan Reay

Hosted by entertainment journalist Pete Timbs (pictured), the podcast takes fans behind the curtain to reveal the real lives of some of the biggest names in Australian entertainment.

The series launches on July 12 and features personalities such as singer Shannon Noll, who speaks candidly about struggling to put food on the table, battling trolls and his brushes with the law.

Roxy Jacenko shares some dark family secrets, Bridie Carter talks about life after McLeod’s Daughters and the experience of being outed as an alcoholic by the Australian media, while journalist Elle Halliwell shares the harrowing tale of her battle with leukaemia and having to make the choice between herself and her unborn baby.

Additional episodes feature Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand and The Morning Show’s Larry Emdur.

Who Are You follows on from the launch of Who podcast Binge List, a podcast designed for TV fans, and the brand has further podcast concepts in the works adding to Pacific’s growing stable of audio offerings, which include New Idea Royals, New Idea Investigates, a podcast that delves into Australia’s most intriguing crime cold cases with reporter Mary-Ann Harris, and That’s Life! How I Survived, which details gripping true stories of women who have survived against the odds.

Headquartered in Sydney with additional operations in Auckland, Big Picture is a leading supplier of video production and equipment for concert tours, music festivals, broadcast, corporate and special events.

The deal strengthens NEP’s Live Events business and market standing by adding live entertainment event capabilities in Australia and New Zealand, complementing the already strong reputation of NEP’s Mediatec Asia Pacific brand in the region. The deal also adds extensive LED screens and flypacks, as well as two outside broadcast trucks, to NEP’s deep pool of existing global resources.

“The addition of Big Picture’s AV technology and talented staff allows NEP’s Live Events companies to better serve our clients in the region, and enables us to fully support the live entertainment market locally,” said Kevin Rabbitt, CEO of NEP. “It’s a great fit for NEP, Big Picture and Mediatec Asia Pacific. Our cultures – and our people – are aligned: we put our clients first.”

“NEP is a great home for Big Picture. Like us, all of NEP’s divisions focus on delivering superior service to their clients,” said Joe Bonanno, managing director of Big Picture. “We’re excited to join the group and tap into even greater technical and engineering resources, broader geographic support, and innovative broadcast and media solutions for our clients.”

Big Picture will continue to operate under the Big Picture brand, with Joe Bonanno staying on to run the Big Picture day-to-day business. Owen Davison of Mediatec Asia Pacific will continue to run Mediatec Asia Pacific, focusing on live sporting events, as well as corporate, television, broadcast and special events, in the market.

Elliott brings more than 20 years’ experience working in senior marketing, sales and communications planning roles with media owners and agencies. She joins from Mediacom Brisbane, where she was Director, Client Communications Planning.

At Zenith, Elliott will work on key clients Lite n’ Easy and Brisbane City Council and will report to Warwick Taylor.

Warwick Taylor said: “Megan brings to Zenith very senior client relationship skills, plus a wealth of client experience from government to consumer brands. She will be a valuable member of the Zenith team and for our clients in this new senior role.”

Megan Elliott said: “Zenith is doing interesting work in the Brisbane market and I am excited to be joining the team. I look forward to working closely with clients to bring true return on investment outcomes and help them understand and flourish in the changing consumer and media landscape.”

Elliott joins Zenith Brisbane on August 27.

Production for Reckoning began this week in Sydney, Australia with the assistance of Create NSW.

Reckoning explores the darkest corners of the human psyche through the eyes of two fathers, one of whom is a serial-killer. Mike (Aden Young) and Leo (Sam Trammell) try to do what’s best for the people they love and the families they protect. But as both struggle to suppress their inner demons, the murder of a local teenager sets them on a course of mutual destruction that will emanate through every facet of their quiet, suburban community.

Also joining the cast are Simone Kessell (Pine Gap, The Crossing), Laura Gordon (Undertow, Secret City 2), Gloria Garayua (How To Get Away With Murder, Bounty Hunters), Mitzi Ruhlmann (Hiding, The Code), Milly Alcock (Pine Gap, Fighting Season), Ed Oxenbould (Wildlife, Paper Planes), Finn Little (Tidelands, Angel of Mine), Anthony Phelan (The Kettering Incident, Deep Water) and Diana Glenn (The Slap, Secrets and Lies).

Set in California, the 10-episode series is being filmed and wholly produced and post-produced in Australia.

Created by David Hubbard (Noel), who is co-showrunner with David Eick (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies), Reckoning is executive produced by Playmaker’s David Taylor and David Maher (The Code, Chosen), produced by Diane Haddon (The Code, Friday On My Mind), directed and co-executive produced by Shawn Seet (The Code, Storm Boy) with Jennifer Leacey (Bite Club, Pulse) and Peter Andrikidis (Bite Club, Underbelly) also directing.

“We are excited to have Aden and Sam leading a talented ensemble cast to bring this riveting and suspenseful thriller to life,” said Playmaker’s Taylor and Maher.

“Aden and Sam and the fantastic ensemble cast are crushing it in rehearsals. We’re thrilled that production has started in beautiful Sydney,” said Marie Jacobson, EVP, programming and production, Sony Pictures Television Networks.

An Australian production from Playmaker, Sony Pictures Television Networks commissioned Reckoning for its international channels, including AXN, in select territories in Europe and Latin America. A broadcaster in Australia is yet to be revealed. Sony Pictures Television Distribution will handle worldwide sales of the series, which is set to debut next year.

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Top photo: Sam Trammell (credit: DFree / Shutterstock)

The metro audience didn’t hit 2m until game 3 in 2006.

The biggest metro State Of Origin audience was 2,708,000 for game 1 in 2016.

Source: Nine Network/OzTAM

*On GEM in Perth in 2013

By James Manning

Seven

Home and Away was again just below 700,000.

On House Rules round three of the backyard battles continued with 610,000 watching.

The Front Bar did 288,000 with 196,000 in Melbourne. The number was just behind Origin in that market on 234,000.

Nine

State Of Origin Game 3 saw the event move back to what is supposed to be a more popular Wednesday night. With a dead rubber after NSW had already won the series, the match did 1.77m. That’s the lowest State Of Origin metro audience since 2006 when 1.64m watched game two.

The metro audiences for the State Of Origin games this year on Nine:

Game 1: 2,353,000
Game 2: 2,122,000 (Sunday)
Game 3: 1,774,000

• State Of Origin: Nine’s history of big rugby league audiences

The AFL Footy Show did 188,000 with 111,000 in Melbourne. It was screened later in the night with Tony Jones filling in for Eddie McGuire.

TEN

The Project was on 607,000 as Waleed Aly and Lisa Wilkinson fired up.

MasterChef Australia decided who would get the Super Power benefit. Up against State Of Origin, the episode did 747,000.

The US dramas were next – Instinct with 338,000 and then Madam Secretary with 144,000.

ABC

Germaine Greer was the guest of Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery as the academic and the TV host strolled around Cambridge with plenty of time spent poking about the Cambridge University Library. The episode did 441,000.

The Weekly has moved into the 8.30pm slot and the episode had a funny Gruen parody complete with The Pitch segment. Kitty Flanagan talked podcasts and then Tom Gleeson had another episode of Go Away – this time visiting Cairns. The episode did 448,000.

Series three of You Can’t Ask That then returned with 306,000.

Adam Hills: The Last Leg was next on 182,000.

Tonightly’s midweek FTA spot did 67,000.

SBS

Episode three of Robson Green’s Australian Adventure did 302,000 at 7.30pm.

24 Hours In Emergency repeat then did 167,000.

Stage 5 of the Tour de France was speeding through beautiful parts of Brittany with 175,000 watching.

The FIFA World Cup clash between France and Belgium was on 222,000 with a 4am start.