Wednesday March 14, 2018

Radio Ratings: Network programmers on GfK survey #1, 2018

Mediaweek’s James Manning spends survey day with Nova’s Paul Jackson, ARN’s Duncan Campbell and SCA’s Guy Dobson. The truth, the whole truth… and a little bit of spin.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Nova Entertainment: Nova and smoothfm

“It’s going to be a good year… it should be fun,” said Nova Entertainment’s group program director Paul Jackson with a mischievous laugh as he surveyed the results from the first survey of the year.

Nova sets the bar high each year for performance and will need to stretch even further in 2018 if it wants to improve on 2017, which delivered at least one “this is the best day in the network’s history” moments.

While there was lots of change in many metro markets, Nova was the brand that returned all its breakfast shows this year. “Consistency is a word people often use when talking about us and that’s what we want to be,” Jackson told Mediaweek.

Southern Cross Austereo: Hit Network and Triple M

The chief creative officer Guy Dobson was very upbeat during his discussion with Mediaweek.

“It has been a great start to year from a company point of view,” said Dobson. “We added 360,000 listeners to the aggregate of all our stations.”

Replacing Hamish and Andy was always going to be a massive challenge, but Hit Network has met that task with the successful recruitment of Hughesy and Kate, who Dobson said delivered an incredibly strong start.

On Triple M he pointed to the strength of its new national drive offering: “Kennedy and Molloy were up everywhere they are on including a massive lift in Melbourne which is their heartland and where the program started.”

ARN: Duncan Campbell

With massive change in the Melbourne market causing havoc at KIIS FM and across some of the network drive results, national content director Duncan Campbell carefully explained the broadcaster knew it would be some time before the changes “kick in”.

Despite some carnage, he told Mediaweek the network was resilient. “We are in a strong #2 position just behind SCA from a national perspective. And well ahead of Nova, by the way.

“We only dropped to #2 because those new shows are going to take a bit of time to work.

“I refer back to the strategy we have discussed before. We wanted to bring shows into the market that had chemistry. The early adopters are being very positive about the new KIIS Melbourne Jase and PJ show. The challenge for us is to create levels of familiarity that enable us to realise the full potentials of those shows.

These are excerpts from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here, or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Network performance roundup

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the overall network performances in the first GfK Radio Ratings survey of 2018.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

ARN

At the end of 2017 ARN celebrated its best-ever result in survey 7, and then again claimed to be #1 national network across 2017 and for the fourth consecutive survey.

This has changed a little now as the station launches a new KIIS national drive show, a new KIIS Melbourne breakfast show and awaits the arrival of its new Melbourne breakfast host.

In Sydney, ARN remains the #1FM station and both #1FM and #2FM breakfast shows with KIIS 1065’s Kyle & Jackie O and WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda.

In Adelaide ARN remains the #1 overall station and breakfast show with Mix102.3’s Jodie and Soda.

ARN’s CEO Rob Atkinson said: “Last year we put in place a bold plan for our network to cement ARN as innovative market leaders in entertainment. It’s a long-term strategy to create the future of audio entertainment for our customers and listeners and given the changes that were made in the Melbourne and Perth, we anticipated it would take time for these markets to settle.

“We have total confidence in the talent, their chemistry and the shows we have put in place in all markets. We expect to see growth in audiences, share and engagement in coming surveys, complemented by our dedicated focus on our digital and social strategy including iHeartRadio with over 1m registered users.”

Macquarie Media

Macquarie Media News Talk stations 2GB and 3AW are again the #1 radio stations in Sydney and Melbourne according to today’s GfK Survey 1 results.

News Talk 2GB 873 is #1 in Sydney with 11.8% to record its 110th consecutive survey victory.

The Alan Jones Breakfast Show #1 (5:30-9:00 am) with 15.5% – this represents Alan’s 209th survey win.

News Talk 3AW 693 is #1 in Melbourne with 13.2% to continue its record of survey wins over the last 13 years.

Ross Stevenson & John Burns #1 in breakfast (5:30-8:30 am) with 20.2% – this represents 130 consecutive wins and a career total of 201 wins as Melbourne’s #1 breakfast show.

Nova

While other networks bed in new programming, Nova had a relatively stable survey with a couple of exceptions.

As far as network boasting goes, Nova can claim:

Nova Network is the #1 metro network for people 10+ in share 8.9% and cume 3,486,500 (355,000 listeners ahead of the nearest competitor).

Nova Network is also #1 breakfast, #1 drive, #1 nights and #1 25-64.

Nova’s Kate, Tim & Marty is the #1 National Drive show (4pm-6pm) in share 11.5% and cume 1,561,500.

Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery is the #1 National Nights show (7pm-10pm) in share 10.2% and cume 783,500.

Southern Cross Austereo

The combined FM and digital audiences of the Hit Network and Triple M deliver an unduplicated reach of 5,120,000. This represents an additional 360,000 listeners or an increase of 7.6%.

Brian Gallagher, chief sales officer of SCA, said, “Listeners are embracing digital radio with the latest figures showing a 24% increase in DAB+ digital radios (3.8m devices) in Australia in the past 12 months. It’s time to start talking about our digital audiences in the same breath as the rest of our stations.

“Measuring an aggregated analogue and digital audience means we are giving our clients the ability to access more reach than ever before with an additional 360,000 listeners. And SCA is able to monetise all of our stations, be they FM or digital.”

The Hit Network delivers an aggregated FM and digital audience (for the market) of 3,393,000 (all people 10+), an 8.4% increase in reach.

The Triple M Network delivers an aggregated FM and digital audience (for the market) of 2,491,000 (all people 10+), an 8.8% increase in reach.

Hear more from SCA’s Brian Gallagher in this Mediaweek interview here.

Radio Ratings 1 2018 – Sydney: 2GB and WSFM the clear AM and FM market leaders

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the first radio ratings survey for 2018 in the Sydney market.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Highlights:

• 2GB and WSFM the clear AM and FM market leaders
• Biggest improver: 2GB with breakfast jump for Alan Jones
• Despite drop at KIIS FM, Kyle and Jackie still #1 FM breakfast
• Kate, Tim and Marty push Nova drive ahead of KIIS newcomers
• ABC Radio: Triple J surges including Ben and Liam in breakfast
• New Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck breakfast up, #2 overall

2GB 11.8%

The market leader has started with a bang as Alan Jones records his best breakfast share since survey 7, 2016. Highest share belongs to Steve Price on 17.0%, which is the same as his previous survey result. The station is again #1 overall 55-64, overtaking smoothfm and Gold this survey. 2GB remains #1 65+ but with a bigger share – +1.5 to 28.4%.

WSFM 9.0%

Despite a drop of 0.7, the station remains #1 FM and has posted its best survey 1 result in 12 years. Jonesy and Amanda dropped 1.0 to 9% as WSFM maintains 9% or better shares also in morning, afternoon and drive. WSFM drive is in fact #2 drive overall without a drive show. Despite dropping share 40-54, the station remains a clear leader in that demo. It was also down 55-64, surrendering top spot to 2GB, with smoothfm #2 FM in the demo.

smoothfm 95.3 8.5%

Breakfast with Bogart Torelli and new author Glenn Daniel was up 0.3 to 6.8%. Station highpoints are 9% in afternoon and 9.3% in evening, where it is #1 FM. smoothfm is the new FM champ 55-64 and remains competitive in other demos 18+.

KIIS 1065 8.1%

After its best survey result in two years at the end of 2017, the station has the staggers with share down 1.8. Kyle and Jackie O remain in double figures, which is where they were for six of the eight 2017 surveys. All dayparts were down with evening tumbling 3.0 to 6.2% while the new Wil and Woody drive show was off 1.7 to 9.1%. KIIS hit a sweet spot on the demos though and is now #1 18-24 and 25-39.

Nova 96.9 7.4%

Reliable as ever, the station is bang on its 2017 average although breakfast with Fitzy and Wippa was down 0.9 to 6.5%, its lowest share since 2016. Morning is the station low point with 5.5%. Kate, Tim and Marty are the new Sydney drive champs, displacing KIIS where Wil and Woody are now hosting. Share was down in all demos except 40+.

Triple M 4.9%

The station was out of sync with its interstate counterparts as share dropped 1.3. Breakfast with the Grill Team was down 1.9 to 6%. The new Kennedy Molloy drive show was the only slot not to dip this survey, albeit lifting by just 0.1 to 5.5%. The demos indicate listeners checked out 18-24 and 25-39, with the station relatively stable, and still competitive, 40-54.

104.1 2Day FM 4.1%

It seems like a recovery, but share was better than this in four surveys last year. The new breakfast with Em, Grant and Ed saw share lift 0.6 to 3.4%. The old breakfast show with Em had a share equal to that or better three times last year. With a new breakfast show and new music format, 2Day 18-24 share dropped 4.4 to 6.4% while 25-39 was up 2.3 to 9.1%.

2CH 1170 3.7%

Share was back below 4%, where it was for only the last survey of 2017. Breakfast was on 2.7%, which is the second-lowest result in the past eight surveys. Bob Rogers’s morning show remains station’s best on 5%. Share of 65+ was steady just over 10%.

Talking LifeStyle 954 3.4%

It only launched a year ago and already it is gone. No certainty about the future except that it will be a sport format. John Stanley and Garry Linnell’s breakfast started the year on 3.7%, which is their second-lowest share in the past 12 months. With an 8.1% share 65+, buying the audience in combination with 2GB makes sense.

Sky 0.8%

For the past two years the station has operated in a narrow band between 1.3% and 0.8%. The Big Sports Breakfast did 1.4%, which is below four of the 2017 results.

 

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Radio Ratings 1 2018 – Melbourne: 3AW and Fox FM the AM and FM market leaders

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the first radio ratings survey for 2018 in the Melbourne market.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Highlights: 

• 3AW and Fox FM the AM and FM market leaders
• 3AW loses share in Neil Mitchell and Steve Price evenings
• Fox breakfast blitzes the FM market with Fifi, Fev & Byron up 3.3
• New look SEN 1116 drops with biggest decline in morning & afternoon
• New look KIIS 101.1 sees share drop for new breakfast and drive
• New ABC Melbourne breakfast with Jacinta and Sami sheds share
• FM drive battle: Hughesy & Kate build Fox lead, smoothfm #2

3AW 13.2%

Breakfast with Ross and John, the highest-rating metro breakfast show, won its 130th consecutive survey – its 209th overall win. Despite dropping 2.7, Neil Mitchell remains the king of mornings as he won survey #179. Good 10+ shares also for Denis Walter and Tom Elliott while Nightline with Phil and Simon had a remarkable 26% share. The demos are unbeatable too with 40-54 up 2.5 to 10.5% while 3AW holds 21.8% 55-64. One of the biggest corrections you will ever see was 3AW’s 65+ share dropping 11.1 to 28.1%. But get this, 3AW still leads its nearest rival by over nine points.

101.1 Fox FM 10.8%

Fantastic survey from Fox with the station up 2.4 with its best 10+ figure in over two years. The station also has a massive cume and the single biggest radio audience with 1.2m. Breakfast with Fifi, Fev and Byron did 10.3%, up 3.3 this survey to again be #1 FM with the station’s best result in over two years. Afternoon had a massive result too with share up 3.5 to 13.7% where Aaron Rich hosts until 3pm before Carrie and Tommy take over. And check this demo move – share 18-24 lifted 10.8 to 27.2%! Drive, now with Hughesy and Kate, took off too with share up 1.7 to 12.7% making them more popular than Hamish and Andy.

smoothfm 91.5 10.3%

The second-best share ever for the station with growth this survey in all dayparts. Breakfast with Mike Perso and Jennifer Hansen lifted 2.5 to 7.8%, which is their equal best. Strong demo growth where it matters – 40-54 +2.9 to 10.3%, 55-64 +2.8 to 14.9% and 65+ up 4.6 to 13.3%.

Gold 104.3 9.7%

The station without a breakfast show remarkably managed to hold onto share very well. Share was only down 0.1 ahead of the arrival of Christian O’Connell on June 4. Breakfast share was steady on 7.4% without Jo and Lehmo while morning and afternoon dayparts were both up over 1.0. Gold remains strongest 55-64 where share was up 2.2 to 13.7% where it remains #2 FM trailing smoothfm.

105.1 Triple M 7.4%

Nice recovery under way here with the best station share since survey 7, 2016. The good times have been driven by Jane Kennedy and Mick Molloy with their drive share up 2.2 to 8.7%, where they are a whisker away from #2 FM drive. The Hot Breakfast is also gaining momentum since the arrival of Wil Anderson with share up 0.3 to 7.9%. Share lifted 25-39 and 55-64.

Nova 100 7.0%

Overall share was lower by 1.0 although breakfast with Chrissie, Sam and Browny posted its highest-ever share of 8.4%. The breakfast cume also climbed 11,000. The rest of the day – not so good. All dayparts dropped with evening coming off the most – down 2.4. Kate, Tim and Marty have dropped from #1 FM at the end of 2017 to be equal #3 alongside Kennedy Molloy. Under 40 share was stable (if we disregard 10-17!), yet share was down 2.8 to 6.6% 40-54.

KIIS 101.1 5.7%

With the station turned upside down, there is no surprise to see a lot of listeners checking out. The station share is the lowest since survey 6, 2016 while the new breakfast share with Jase and PJ of 5.1% is the lowest since survey 4, 2016 when the station disappeared under 5% for one survey. All dayparts took a hit including drive, although despite share dropping 2.0 to 7.4%, Wil and Woody are the station’s best performing program. The demos? All down.

SEN 2.7%

Tough first book for the new managers with all dayparts down with the exception of evening. Breakfast with Garry and Tim was down 0.7 from how they ended 2017 while the new morning show with Gerard Whateley was down 1.3 to 3.1% from KB’s last morning programs. Meanwhile the new KB and Doc drive show was down 0.4 to 3.1%. The station did record a growing cume audience.

New managing director Craig Hutchison remains upbeat though. In a statement he said:

“It’s early days for us but what we’ve achieved in an incredibly short space of time should signal to our listeners and brand partners that the future of 1116 SEN is really bright.

“We’ve secured some of sport’s biggest names including the most-acclaimed sports broadcaster in the country in Gerard Whateley; we’ve taken listeners to the Super Bowl in an Australian-first radio live broadcast; and we’re currently broadcasting the highly anticipated four-test series between Australia and South Africa following a broadcast rights deal secured with Cricket South Africa.

“We’re forging a new path and trialing new things with the commitment that there will be something for all sports fans in the new 1116 SEN world.”

Talking Lifestyle 1278 0.2%

Faced with a share this small, management had no option other than to abandon ship. Will sport do any better? Will Macquarie somehow partner with Crocmedia? Questions that will be answered soon.

 

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Radio Ratings 1 2018 – Brisbane: Nova still #1 despite breakfast drop

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the first radio ratings survey for 2018 in the Brisbane market.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Highlights: 

• Nova still #1 despite breakfast drop; Kate, Tim & Marty #1 drive
• Hit 105 and 97.3FM both lift as they close in on market leader
• Hit 105 breakfast with Stav, Abby and Matt takes top spot

Nova 106.9 12.8%

The station can still boast Brisbane leadership but it has posted its lowest share in 12 months and no longer has the #1 breakfast show. Interestingly, Nova’s lowest share of the year for the past two years has been the first survey so watch out for the market champ to fight back soon. Nova does maintain the biggest station cume and the biggest breakfast cume. Ash, Kip and Luttsy are on 12.2%, which is just 0.2 behind the leader. Greg Burns is now on air in Brisbane too and with Katie Mattin in afternoon they rank #1 workday. Drive with Kate, Tim and Marty is #1, with share up 0.5 to 15.3%. Nova has dropped from #1 to #2 in both 18-24 and 25-39.

97.3FM 12.1%

A big lift from the end of last year on 10.4% to 12.1% after a year that saw shares of 12% or better just twice. Bianca, Terry and Bob in breakfast were up 0.8 to 10.8%, which is better than four of their survey results last year. The new Wil and Woody drive show has been welcomed warmly with share up 1.8 to 12.2%. The 40-54 demo boomed – up 6.6 to a winning share of 19.7%.

Hit 105 11.8%

The station has posted its best share in over two years, as has breakfast with Stav, Abby and Matt, who are #1 on 12.4%. Most dayparts were up with afternoon on 13.9% (+2.2), just 0.1 behind Nova. Hughesy and Kate saw share drop 0.5 to 12.7%, where they are #2 for their first survey at their new Brisbane home. Hit is the new demo leader 18-24 and 25-39.

104.5 Triple M 9.7%

After three successive station shares in single figures, the target must be to get back above 10%, which Triple M managed in five surveys last year. The new Marto and Robin breakfast show, now with added Lawrence Mooney, was down 0.1 to 10%. The new Kennedy Molloy drive show debuted in Brisbane with a share of 10.6% – up 0.8 from the last survey of 2017. All demos were steady.

4KQ 8.2%

The biggest fall in the market was a drop of 2.0 at the AM music station. The damage was done by the music shifts morning, afternoon, and drive while breakfast with Laurel, Gary and Mark was relatively unscathed, down 0.8 to 8.1%. Key demos were down, with 50-54 down 5.0 to 3.3%.

4BC 5.6%

Share dipped under 6% after hovering in that rarified air only for the second time in two years. Ray Hadley continues to command the biggest share, although his numbers dropped from 8.7% to 8.2%.

Talking Lifestyle 882 0.9%

Share actually lifted here, but off an incredibly low base – up from 0.5% to 0.9%. Morning and evening were the high points with 1.3% each.

 

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Radio Ratings 1 2018 – Adelaide: Mix 102.3 smashes it out of the park

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the first radio ratings survey for 2018 in the Adelaide market.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Highlights:

• Mix 102.3 smashes it out of the park: Station up 3.8 to 16.1%
• Mix breakfast with Jodie and Soda back at #1, up 3.3 to 15.1%
• Nova sheds audience under 40, Fiveaa small drop in breakfast
• Wil and Woody a hit in Adelaide as Mix drive climbs 2.4 to 15.2%

Mix 102.3 16.1%

The best survey for some time for the Adelaide member of the KIIS network with a rise of 3.8 from survey 8, 2017, although suggestions it’s a statistical quirk are probably out of order given the station was on 15.8% near the end of 2016. Breakfast with Jodie and Soda jumped 3.3 to 15.1%, which is their best in over two years. The ratings surges washed across the day with morning up 5.2 to 17.9% and afternoon up 6.0 to 19.8%. Even newcomers Wil and Woody were up on Hughesy and Kate’s last curtailed survey. Demo shares were off the dial too – 40-54 up 8.7 to 22.9%. Maybe GfK should be getting a please explain.

Fiveaa 10.8%

A drop of 0.9 to start the year. Mixed results across the day with Penbo and Will dropping 1.1 to 13.8%, which means they are no longer #1 overall, but they do hold a very narrow lead over an improving ABC Adelaide. The strongest performance was a lift of 1.7 in morning for Leon Byner.

Triple M 10.6%

After five surveys in double figures in 2017, Triple M ended the year on 9.3%. The good news is the station has lifted 1.3 and is back above 10%. Doing the heavy lifting was breakfast with Roo and Ditts (+0.8 to 11.5%) and Kennedy Molloy (+1.6 to 10.3%).

Nova 91.9 9.6%

Biggest move in the market was in the wrong direction for Nova with a drop of 2.4. Breakfast with Lewis & Lowe was down 1.7 to 8.5%, which is their lowest share in over two years. Kate, Tim and Marty were down 3.0 to 12.3% where they rank #2 behind Mix. Demos under 40 were knocked around – 18-24 was down 3.0 and 25-39 was down 6.4.

Hit 107 9.1%

With the big movement elsewhere, Hit was a sea of tranquility this survey. All moves were less than 1.0 with breakfast down 0.8 to 8.0%. Hughesy and Kate have arrived at SCA Adelaide on 10.0%, the daypart dropping 0.2 from last year. Demo moves were a bit more pronounced, with Hit the new 18-24 leader, up 4.4 to 25.4%, taking top spot from Nova.

Cruise 1323 9.0%

After a very strong 2017, the AM music station dipped 0.4. Biggest moves were morning down 1.3 to 9.7% while drive was up 1.6 to 8.8%.

 

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Radio Ratings 1 2018 – Perth: Strong start for Mix 94.5, #1 overall

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the first radio ratings survey for 2018 in the Perth market.

GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Highlights:

• Strong start for Mix 94.5 – #1 overall; Clairsy, Matt & Kymba #1 breakfast
• New 92.9 breakfast with Heidi, Xavier & Ryan an instant hit, grows share
• Kate, Tim & Marty still #1 drive despite challenges from Mix and 92.9

Mix 94.5 15.7%

The station has started the year with its best result since the end of 2016. As well as remaining #1 station in the market, Mix breakfast with Clairsy, Matt and Kymba is also #1 this survey after displacing Nova from the top. Kennedy Molloy have lifted the drive share 1.0 to 15.9% although the station narrowly trails Nova. Mix has built its lead 40-54, with share up 4.1 to 24.9%.

Nova 93.7 12.8%

Nathan, Nat and Shaun lifted breakfast share although they weren’t able to keep top spot as Mix surged past them. Morning and afternoon dipped, but drive lifted, with Kate, Tim and Marty hanging onto first place. Nova lost leadership 18-24, but remains #1 25-39.

Hit 92.9 10.7%

After three successive surveys in single figures, the station has busted back above 10%. The new breakfast show with Heidi Anderson joined by Xavier Ellis and Ryan Jon has got some instant traction with share up 1.8 to 10.4%. Success flowed across the day with morning up 2.0, afternoon up 2.9 and drive was up 1.8 to 11.8% for Hughesy and Kate’s new Perth home. The key demos lifted with 92.9 now #1 18-24 with share up 3.0 to 27.0%. 92.9 is also a stronger #2 25-39 with share up 4.0 to 18.4%.

96FM 9.0%

After two surveys in double figures – the only two in the past two years – 96FM has slipped back into single figures. The new breakfast show with Lisa Fernandez and Paul Hogan has launched with 7.8%, a drop of 1.1 from the last survey of 2017. Drive was the only daypart to lift, with Wil & Woody recording an improved drive share of 9.3% (+0.9) as they move from breakfast at another station to drive in Perth. Share 18-24 is certainly back on the radar. After 6.2% at the end of 2017, 2018 has started with 14.6%.

6PR 6.2%

Tough survey to start the year with Steve Mills and Basil Zempilas down 2.5 to 8.6% in breakfast. They only had one survey lower than that last year. Share 40-54 tumbled 7.3 to just 3.7%. Better news in their key demos – 65+ managed to grow 2.3 to 13.8% and 55-64 was up 2.5 to 10.8%.

6iX 4.7%

After a poor end to 2017, the station has recovered a little, up 0.4. Breakfast drifted lower though to 3.5% but morning and afternoon were both up over 1.0. Share 55-64 was up 4.1 to 12.8%.

 

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Fox Sports announces exclusive French Open live coverage

Fox Sports has announced it will continue to be the only place to watch live, start-to-finish coverage of the French Open tennis at Roland-Garros after securing a new three-year agreement.

Foxtel is promising viewers will receive the most comprehensive daily coverage from the opening day to the Men’s and Women’s Final live and in HD, in a new arrangement that will see SBS become the free-to-air broadcast partner.

Fox Sports will deliver primetime daily coverage starting at 7pm with the first three hours of each day’s play exclusively live until the Quarter Finals.

From the Quarter Finals onwards, Fox Sports will continue to deliver live and HD coverage right through to the Men’s and Women’s Finals, which will be simulcast with SBS.

Fox Sports’ coverage includes the best men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches, including additional court feeds and hours of exclusive content across the tournament.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany said: “As the home of Roland-Garros for the past 20 years, it’s fantastic to extend this strong partnership. We’ve recently witnessed an incredible fortnight of action at the Australian Open with Federer claiming his 20th Grand Slam and Wozniacki securing her maiden title, and interest in tennis continues to grow.

“Fox Sports and Foxtel’s streaming service, Foxtel Now, will be the only place to watch the stars back in Grand Slam action with start to finish coverage of the Roland-Garros. This adds to our premium tennis offering, with live coverage of Wimbledon and the US Open also available on the Foxtel platform.”

The 2018 French Open commences on May 21 2018.

TV Ratings Analysis: Tuesday March 13

• Seven narrowly in front as Dan & Gemma depart My Kitchen Rules in front of 1m+
• Nine jags biggest audiences and key demos with last dates on Married At First Sight
• Busy days on the beach: Bondi Rescue returns to TEN schedule in Celebrity slot

By James Manning

Seven

Home and Away’s metro audience was again close to 650,000.

My Kitchen Rules featured a real cook-off with good work from both the teams. Dan and Gemma got reasonable marks from the judges for everything but their main of roast lamb. It was soon evident they were in trouble though as Alex and Emily picked up a perfect 10 from both judges for their entrée of roasted bone marrow with brussels sprouts. Tonight could be interesting with the channel teasing a wet and wild pool party challenge. The Tuesday MKR episode did 1.03m after 1.01m a week ago.

The Good Doctor featured some challenging surgery for two patients. The show was key to Seven winning the night all people with 869,000 watching. It was only the second-ever episode under 900,000 after 838,000 last week.

Grey’s Anatomy then did 232,000.

Nine

A Current Affair posted its second 900,000+ audience this week with a report on the Church of Scientology’s new Netflix-style TV network.

Married At First Sight saw the couples “enjoying” their final dates ahead of decision day. The episode was on 1.23m, close to last week’s 1.26m on Tuesday.

An executive assistant with a passion for salsa dancing may not be everyone’s ideal night out, but it was central to last night’s Date Night, which did 500,000, up from 440,000 a week ago.

TEN

Just hours after being confirmed as having the #1 breakfast show in Melbourne with a big ratings rise, Fifi Box was the guest at the desk on The Project with 519,000 after 7pm. March is comedy month in Melbourne and on The Project, and last night’s contributions included an appearance from Hung Le while Fiona O’Loughlin talked about her jungle triumph.

Bondi Rescue returned to the schedule at 7.30pm and found it challenging competing against two massive reality franchises. The two episodes returned audiences of 343,000 and 380,000.

Hughesy, We Have A Problem then did 403,000 after 451,000 last week with a bigger lead-in audience.

ABC

The Checkout investigated the use of food additive MSG with 492,000 watching.

The first of the three-part series The Human Body did 412,000 at 8.30pm.

The two-part Hyper Evolution: The Rise Of The Robots started with 229,000 at 9.30pm.

SBS

A repeat of Billy Connolly’s UK Who Do You Think You Are? did 260,000.

Insight then asked, can changing our gut bacteria change us? The repeat episode did 239,000.

Week 11 TV: Tuesday
TUESDAY METRO
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC11.0%724.3%923.2%TEN10.0%SBS One5.3%
ABC 22.4%7TWO2.9%GO!2.1%ONE2.7%VICELAND0.8%
ABC ME0.5%7mate2.7%GEM3.2%ELEVEN2.8%Food Net0.8%
ABC News1.5%7flix1.8%9Life1.8%NITV0.1%
TOTAL15.4%31.8%30.3%15.5%7.0%
TUESDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine AffiliatesTen AffiliatesSBS
ABC9.8%726.9%918.3%WIN9.0%SBS One4.6%
ABC 22.8%7TWO4.4%GO!3.6%ONE2.3%VICELAND0.6%
ABC ME0.9%7mate3.4%GEM5.0%ELEVEN2.8%Food Net0.9%
NEWS 241.6%7flix1.5%9Life1.5%NITV0.2%
TOTAL15.1%36.2%28.4%14.1%6.3%
TUESDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
86.6%13.4%
Tuesday fta
  1. Married At First Sight Nine 1,230,000
  2. My Kitchen Rules Seven 1,032,000
  3. Seven News Seven 998,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 955,000
  5. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 931,000
  6. Nine News Nine 908,000
  7. A Current Affair Nine 908,000
  8. The Good Doctor Seven 869,000
  9. ABC News ABC 720,000
  10. Home And Away Seven 646,000
  11. 7.30 ABC 595,000
  12. The Chase Australia Seven 565,000
  13. The Project 7pm Ten 519,000
  14. Date Night Nine 500,000
  15. The Checkout ABC 492,000
  16. Hot Seat Nine 452,000
  17. Ten Eyewitness News First At Five Ten 424,000
  18. The Human Body: Secrets Of Your Life Revealed ABC 412,000
  19. Hughesy, We Have A Problem Ten 403,000
  20. Bondi Rescue E2 Ten 380,000
Demo Top fives

16-39 Top 5

  1. Married At First Sight Nine 382,000
  2. My Kitchen Rules Seven 243,000
  3. Date Night Nine 172,000
  4. A Current Affair Nine 169,000
  5. The Project 7pm Ten 159,000

 

18-49 Top 5

  1. Married At First Sight Nine 622,000
  2. My Kitchen Rules Seven 407,000
  3. A Current Affair Nine 290,000
  4. The Good Doctor Seven 282,000
  5. Nine News 6:30 Nine 273,000

 

25-54 Top 5

  1. Married At First Sight Nine 653,000
  2. My Kitchen Rules Seven 449,000
  3. The Good Doctor Seven 326,000
  4. A Current Affair Nine 322,000
  5. Nine News 6:30 Nine 317,000
Tuesday multichannel
  1. Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 216,000
  2. Peppa Pig-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 199,000
  3. Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 193,000
  4. Floogals-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 190,000
  5. Kazoops!-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 186,000
  6. The Hive-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 186,000
  7. Fireman Sam-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 171,000
  8. Go Jetters ABCKIDS/COMEDY 159,000
  9. Hey Duggee-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 157,000
  10. Peppa Pig-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 156,000
  11. Dot. ABCKIDS/COMEDY 150,000
  12. Noddy Toyland Detective-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 142,000
  13. PJ Masks-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 134,000
  14. Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures ABCKIDS/COMEDY 134,000
  15. Midsomer Murders 9Gem 134,000
  16. New Tricks 9Gem 133,000
  17. Thomas And Friends-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
  18. Neighbours ELEVEN 127,000
  19. Dinosaur Train-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  20. Pie In The Sky-PM 7TWO 122,000
Tuesday subscription tv
  1. Paul Murray Live SKY NEWS LIVE 55,000
  2. The Bolt Report SKY NEWS LIVE 49,000
  3. PML Overtime SKY NEWS LIVE 45,000
  4. Jones & Co SKY NEWS LIVE 45,000
  5. Live: Back Page FOX SPORTS 501 45,000
  6. Credlin SKY NEWS LIVE 39,000
  7. Sofia The First Disney Junior 38,000
  8. Live: WWE Raw FOX8 38,000
  9. Grand Designs LifeStyle Channel 38,000
  10. Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 37,000
  11. Kid-E-Cats Nick Jr. 37,000
  12. Murdoch Mysteries 13TH STREET 37,000
  13. Family Guy FOX8 36,000
  14. Escape To The Continent LifeStyle Channel 36,000
  15. The Fan FOX LEAGUE 35,000
  16. The Big Bang Theory COMEDY CHANNEL 35,000
  17. Speers SKY NEWS LIVE 35,000
  18. Escape To The Country LifeStyle Channel 34,000
  19. American Dad! FOX8 33,000
  20. Doc McStuffins Disney Junior 33,000

Media News Roundup

Business Of Media

Fairfax Media promotes James Chessell to group executive editor Metro Publishing

Fairfax Media has announced the appointment of James Chessell as group executive editor – Australian Metro Publishing, effective immediately.

James Chessell

Chessell will lead editorial teams at Fairfax’s capital city mastheads The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times, Brisbane Times, WAtoday and Life Media.

Managing director of Australian Metro Publishing Chris Janz said: “James is a journalist and editor of remarkable talent. He’s one of Australia’s best business journalists with extensive international experience and an insider’s knowledge of the local and global political landscape.

“James brings a new energy to our newsroom leadership. He will be unrelenting in pursuing our strategic mission to deliver agenda-setting journalism that sets us apart and is valued by our readers. I’m confident this will allow us to continue growing our subscriber and engaged reader base, while always safeguarding the editorial independence of our titles.”

Prior to this appointment, Chessell was national editor of The SMH and The Age with responsibility for federal politics, business and world coverage.

Chessell began his career as a cadet at The Age before moving to The Sydney Morning Herald. At The Australian and The Australian Financial Review his roles have included financial services editor, companies editor, business editor and Europe correspondent.

Chessell has won the Citi Journalism Award for Excellence and was part of the Financial Review team that won a Walkley Award for its coverage of corporate governance failures at retailer David Jones.

A process has commenced to recruit for the vacated national editor role.

Former Seven journalist Dylan Howard settles with Nine after seeking restraint order

An Australian journalist who was named as one of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s “army of spies” has succeeded in stopping Channel Nine airing footage of him obtained in the lobby of his New York office, reports Fairfax Media legal affairs reporter Michaela Whitbourn.

Dylan Howard, a former Channel Seven journalist who is now the chief content officer at US magazine giant American Media Inc – publisher of titles including OK! USA, National Enquirer and US Weekly – filed proceedings against Channel Nine last week alleging trespass to land.

Howard and American Media sought court orders restraining the broadcaster from airing footage obtained in the lobby of the publisher’s New York headquarters on March 7 this year and requiring Channel Nine to hand over the allegedly “improperly obtained material” for destruction.

Nine journalist Liam Bartlett, who works for 60 Minutes, was also named as a defendant.

But the NSW Supreme Court heard on Tuesday that the matter had been settled.

[Read the original]

Vice Media names A+E’s Nancy Dubuc as CEO, co-founder Shane Smith exec chair

Vice Media has named A+E’s Nancy Dubuc as chief executive officer and pushed co-founder Shane Smith up to the role of executive chairman, reports Bloomberg.

Nancy Dubuc (credit: Shutterstock)

Dubuc, currently CEO of cable programmer A+E Television Networks, is already deeply involved with the company as a member of the board and the executive overseeing A+E’s investment in Vice. Smith in his new role will focus on deals and content. She’ll leave her current post next month.

“Vice has taken a number of recent steps to ensure its workplace becomes one of the most progressive in the world, including a commitment to 50/50 by 2020 across all levels of the company including management,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Disney owns 10% of Vice directly. A+E has an additional 18% and shares ownership of Viceland with Vice.

[Read the original]

REA analysis: Clear market leader and one of the most profitable portals in the world

Tech entrepreneur and business advisor Mike DelPrete has published an analysis of real estate portals REA Group and Domain:

Both businesses are growing at the same, strong rate, with all revenue growth coming from depth products.

Domain has a much more diversified revenue stream, at the expense of profitability.

Domain is generating 1/4 the listing revenue of REA Group, and is not having a competitive impact.

REA is the clear market leader and one of the biggest and most profitable portals in the world. Domain was recently spun out from Fairfax Media and listed on the Australian stock exchange, and is now able to invest and focus on its core mission.

REA Group generates the vast majority of its total revenue from listing fees (depth and subscription), around 84%. Domain, on the other hand, generates only 47% of total revenues from listing fees.

REA’s profit margin continues to improve, while Domain’s is going down as the business invests in new growth areas. The market leaders are able to continue monetising their audience without needing to diversify.

Read more at mikedp.com.

Television

Meet TV’s new super producers: Big Little Lies co-stars Witherspoon and Kidman

Within 45 minutes on Monday night, there were separate announcements that Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, stars of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Big Little Lies, will serve as executive producers and stars of two new projects, reports The New York Times.

Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (credit: Shutterstock)

Witherspoon struck a deal to adapt the best-selling novel “Little Fires Everywhere”, by Celeste Ng, as a limited series for the streaming service Hulu. Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, initiated the project and will produce it in conjunction with Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street and ABC Signature Studios.

Kidman reached an agreement with HBO with her project, a limited series called The Undoing, based on the novel “You Should Have Known”, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The veteran television hitmaker David E. Kelley, who has written every episode of Big Little Lies, will produce the show with Kidman, along with Bruna Papandrea, Witherspoon’s former producing partner.

In addition to her deals with HBO and Hulu, Witherspoon is producing three shows for Apple – a series about a morning show, with Jennifer Aniston; a drama starring Octavia Spencer; and a comedy starring Kristen Wiig.

[Read the original]

HBO reveals it will invest big time in search for Game Of Thrones “successor shows”

Details remain scarce about the hotly anticipated spinoffs (HBO prefers the term “successor shows”) that will follow Game of Thrones when the epic fantasy series ends its run next year, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

But HBO executives have made one thing clear: they aren’t playing it safe.

Speaking at a panel titled “The Best of HBO” at the INTV conference in Israel on Tuesday, Francesca Orsi, HBO senior VP of drama, said the network has budgeted the Game of Thrones spinoffs near the level of the original series, and above the budget GoT had in its first few seasons. “$50 million (per season) would never fly for what we are trying to do. We are going big,” Orsi said.

Orsi said HBO was confident the scripts for season 2 of Big Little Lies “are as good, if not better, than last season” and that the network would not have ordered another season if it hadn’t been sure that “we have more to do and say and there’s passion on the part of the cast”. She admitted, however, that the choice to continue required major renegotiation with the show’s cast, including that the transition from a one-season effort to a second season was a financial hurdle, requiring huge renegotiations with the cast, which includes Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

“From a budget standpoint, going into season 2 of Big Little Lies without any options in place, we’ve been… um… short of raped,” she said. (Orsi later said she regretted her choice of words.)

“Obviously, I am embarrassed by my poor choice of words. We are extremely proud of Big Little Lies and excited for the second season,” Orsi said later in a statement.

[Read the original]

Radio

ABC completes radio streaming rollout: 19 regional stations now online

The ABC has launched the live streaming of the remaining 19 regional radio stations in its regional network.

The stations now streaming are: Wollongong, Bega, Rockhampton, Mount Gambier, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Mackay, Port Lincoln, Wagga Wagga, Maroochydore, Albany, Renmark, Orange, Bundaberg, Geraldton, Shepparton, Tamworth, Townsville and Esperance.

The addition of these 19 stations completes the ABC rollout of live streaming to 42 regional sites, which commenced in 2015.

Director of ABC regional and local Michael Mason said the completion of this work marked a major milestone for ABC Radio in rural and regional Australia.

“Listeners to all our stations – whether they are in our major capital cities or in remote regional areas – will now have access to our content on the go,” Mason said. “Making our live content available online or through an app extends our audience reach significantly and gives expats and family members living outside their communities the means to connect. This can be particularly important in times of emergencies.”

Audiences can access the ABC online streams via their local station websites, on the ABC Radio website abc.net.au/radio and on the ABC listen app which is available for both iPhone and Android.

News Brands

How a major London daily print product has introduced poo emoji as part of redesign

The Evening Standard has dropped “London” from its masthead, introduced emojis into the weather and put the business section on pink pages in its first redesign in a decade, reports the UK Press Gazette.

The new-look daily newspaper has gone from a muted yellow to a bright red, both in its new single-decker masthead and the livery of its stands and distributors.

On page two, a five-day weather forecast now includes emojis as a quick summary of how to feel about what nature has in store – including a smiley “pile of poo” emoji for when it’s set to rain.

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne took over as Standard editor in mid-May last year, hired by Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev.

The Evening Standard distributes 888,000 free copies a day.

[Read the original]

Sports Media

Lehmo returns to radio – Former Gold breakfast announcer secures new weekend role

ABC Radio has signed Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann as the new host of ABC Radio’s Saturday and Sunday AFL programs during the 2018 season.

Emma Race, Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann and Angela Pippos

Saturdays will see Lehmo team up with sports commentator Angela Pippos to look at the big issues and the happenings in AFL that week.

On Sundays Lehmo will be joined by the Outer Sanctum podcast’s Emma Race for a relaxed and fun review of the week that was, before previewing the games.

Lehmo co-hosted Melbourne’s Gold FM breakfast program for seven years until his surprise departure late in 2017.

Prior to Gold he co-hosted the national drive show on Triple M with Wil Anderson and SAFM’s breakfast show in Adelaide. He is a regular panelist on The Project, and has been a regular in several television shows, including Utopia (series 1, 2 and 3), It’s A Date (Series 2), Good News Week and Rove Live among them. He was also a regular panellist on Before the Game for more than six years.

Lehmo said: “When I was growing up in the country in the 70s and 80s, ABC Radio was our connection to the world of sport. My dad pretty much had a mini transistor radio stuck to his ear every Saturday of my childhood. For me now to be broadcasting to the ABC’s loyal audience on the station’s flagship sports program is a true honour. I love every element of our great game from the players to the coaches to the fans to the colourful characters, and I hope to speak to them all this year. I can’t wait to get started.”

Nick Morris, manager ABC Sport, said: “I am delighted we have been able to bring together such a strong team for our weekend programs. Lehmo, Angela and Emma, supported by our AFL team around the country, will provide great insights and entertainment to our audiences across the season.”

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