Friday September 14, 2018
‘News websites could almost become news channels,’ says News Corp’s Robert McKnight
By Kruti Joshi
He told Mediaweek: “I don’t think anyone has been thinking about the audience at Studio 10 for a long time. I hope they turn that around.
“Shows have to evolve and it can’t stay stagnant.
“If you have to take it in a different direction, great, but don’t take it down. Stop doing things for the sake of doing things. Do them because they benefit the audience.
“They have made good decisions as far as the casting goes, but the content has to back it up.”
McKnight was dismissed from his role as the executive producer of Studio 10 in February this year. He then took Ten to court, claiming the network owed him 13 weeks’ pay. The matter has since been settled out of court.
“I worked bloody hard on that show. I worked a lot of hours and put in a lot of effort so there is not one part of me that wants to see it die. I want to see it grow,” McKnight said.
The day after his dismissal was announced, News Corp approached the TV veteran for the role of head of video at the organisation.
“Any video you see on any of the News Corp platforms, one way or another, comes from my team,” McKnight said. “Our aim is to get the right content into the right story.”
His aim is to continually increase the company’s video streams – something he has already achieved.
“We literally had a record month in August. We had 72 million streams in one month,” he said. “That is a 48.6% increase year-on-year.
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This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.
The new media age: Shaping our world with courage and truth
By Megan Clarken, President, Nielsen
I love the media industry. We have the ability to shape the world. We raise awareness, we create connections among people from across the world, we create joy.
But it’s no secret that our industry is facing unprecedented challenges.
People are making their voices heard, driving a cultural shift unlike anything we’ve seen before. Claims of so called fake news have created mistrust even among venerable institutions, reports of sexual abuse and discrimination in the entertainment world have raised legitimate concerns about management practices and policies, and apprehension over privacy on social media platforms has focused a harsh light on advertising practices in an increasingly selective and contextual consumer environment.
The diverse voices behind these cultural changes are requiring the media industry to look carefully at whose voices we listen to and communicate with – particularly through ad campaigns. Yet the business challenges created as the industry shifts have become the focus for many. In the world of advertising, we hear voice after voice admiring the problems of comparability between digital and traditional business models, admiring the problem of competition, admiring the problem of consumer advertising appetite and the fight for attention.
What we don’t hear enough is the acknowledgement of the outstanding hard work that exists behind the scenes to do something about these things and evoke evolution. Trust me – the body of work is immense, and the industry is making progress.
The industry is working to address the growing cultural challenges and do something about them. The TimesUp movement is responding with force to the discrimination and sexual abuse issues unfolding inside of our industry. News organisations are doing some of their best work ever in reporting the news and uncovering scandal and prejudice. Networks, studios and individuals are holding themselves and everyone else accountable for personal actions. Social media companies are owning up to past shortcomings and taking bold steps to improve practices.
There is also much being done to transform the way media and advertising work. The examples of the industry’s collaboration can be seen in the Media Rating Council’s work on viewability, dealing with different opinions of what viewability should be. It can be seen in the consortium of leading television publishers that have banded together to standardise the selling of audience segments in order to deliver cross-publisher targeting and independent posting for advanced audiences. We see it from our clients – both media buyers and sellers – who are working with us to take concrete steps forward to evolve the currency that our industry transacts on to more accurately reflect the world we share.
It’s not necessarily intuitive to see the role that a measurement company plays in this cultural conversation. But at its core, audience measurement is about reflecting the way real people live their lives. It’s a way to understand who they are, the stories they watch and listen to, and what resonates with them. What provokes consumers also provokes what we do – not just at Nielsen but across this industry. The US media industry accounts for more than US$100 billion in advertising dollars each year and has the power to shape our views in ways that last way beyond the initial experience.
Each stakeholder across the media landscape has a role to play to help keep our industry vibrant. Broadcasters, networks, advertisers, agencies, actors, data providers – we are the threads that create the delicate fabric of our industry. To truly evolve our industry, stakeholders across media need to work together.
It’s essential that we work as a team to keep the fabric of media tight and strong. Like any fabric, if a single thread becomes loose, it can compromise the entire fabric. And without the media industry, the world would be a less integrated, less informed and less connected place. But keeping the integrity of the fabric – the industry – takes courage.
In my years in the media industry, I’ve found that courage takes strong personal values. Values are inside of us and are instilled in us as children. And I’ve found that while my behaviours and attitudes – how I think or act – have shifted, my values remain the same. When I think about those values in the context of my role with Nielsen, I’ve found my values align with what we do: reporting with integrity, with honesty and with truth.
The goal of audience measurement is to provide a foundation of truth. That truth brings uniformity to the fabric through the knowledge we share with the players we serve. It does so by bringing reality to both the buyers and the sellers of content and advertising, providing assurance that those transactions can be made from a basis of trust. This is our role as part of the media industry team to keep the fabric of our ecosystem tight. No loose ends, no shredding threads – that takes teamwork. The stakes are high, but the rewards, not just for the industry, but for the value that they bring to the world, are priceless.
See Megan Clarken, President, Nielsen, opening the 2018 Consumer 360 conference discussing the state of the media industry today, the hard work being done to address current challenges and the opportunities ahead.
Megan Clarken will be in Sydney next week and is a keynote speaker at the AANA RESET event on Tuesday.
PodcastOne Australia celebrates 1st birthday: 54m downloads year one
“PodcastOne Australia may only be one year old, but we feel the business is much more mature than that,” said CEO of SCA Grant Blackley.
“We are thrilled to have achieved so many milestones to date and are excited for what we know will be a very bright future.
See also: Read Mediaweek’s latest Podcast Week column here
“As the podcasting industry continues to grow in audience and commercial appeal, PodcastOne is well positioned to take advantage of that growth,” said head of podcasting Grant Tothill.
31% of all Australian podcast listeners 18-54 have listened to a PodcastOne podcast in the last month, with over 98% of downloads being driven by original Australian podcasts.
“The demand for original Australian podcast content continues to grow, and we have a clear focus on creating premium quality podcasts that engage audiences,” said Tothill.
With 63% of listeners taking action as the result of a podcast sponsorship, the commercial benefit of podcasting continues to prove itself as a new emerging advertising medium.
“PodcastOne Australia is able to provide advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach highly engaged audiences through a range of bespoke advertising executions,” added Tothill.
“We are excited to see the continued growth of podcasting in the next 12 months and look forward to playing a role to drive new listeners and advertisers to the world of podcasting.”
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Top Image: Grant Blackley
Fairfax reporter Michael Gordon to be remembered in Fellowship Program
Applications will open in October for the program of annual grants totalling as much as $30,000.
Michael Gordon, the much-loved and widely respected former political editor of The Age, died suddenly in February this year.
To encourage and enable the kind of journalism he exemplified, the Michael Gordon Fellowships will fund reporting projects in the field of social justice journalism in Australia and internationally – covering areas such as indigenous affairs, migration policy, human rights and Third World development.
Foundation supporters of the program include the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, the National Press Club, Fairfax Media, the ABC, Sky News, Hawthorn Football Club and Grant Rule and Sophie Oh.
The Fellowships will be open to salaried and recognised freelance journalists working in all media across Australia, and to accomplished university journalism students – covering costs such as labour, travel, accommodation and associated expenses.
They will by administered and promoted by the MPC and awarded by an independent panel appointed by the club and the Gordon family.
MPC chief executive Mark Baker said the Club was proud to host a program that will enable important journalism at a time when many journalists and media organisations are struggling with funding.
“Michael was a fearless and compassionate journalist whose reporting on social justice issues made a real difference to our understanding in areas such as indigenous affairs and migration policy. We hope these fellowship grants will help continue some of that vital work,” Baker said.
Michael Gordon’s wife Robyn Carter said: “On behalf of Michael’s family, I would like to thank all those who remember and respect his contribution to Australian journalism and are generously supporting the Michael Gordon Fellowships.”
Further funding commitments to secure the program in future years are invited from media organisations, corporate sponsors, philanthropic organisations and individuals.
Andrew Mercado on TV: Drama & laughs with Playing For Keeps, Black Comedy
There are several Aussie shows already competing with each other on that night, but some are struggling. Back In Very Small Business is not funny at all and Bite Club is a disappointing dud. Now we have a drama about AFL football and that is a risky proposition when half the country prefers NRL. But like Footballers’ Wives, a UK drama that traversed similar ground, this is a show about the wives and girlfriends of the players.
Madeleine West in Playing For Keeps
Madeleine West plays the coach’s wife Kath and she is sensational, with a fabulous wardrobe and an even wilder sex life. That is a boring name though, given every actress in the show has a much more glamorous moniker in real life (Olympia Valance, Cece Peters and Isabella Giovanazzo).
Playing For Keeps describes itself as “dangerous” but it’s about as dangerous as a perfume made for Chemist Warehouse (and I suspect that’s where Tahlia by Tahlia will end up, the self-titled fragrance from Olympia Valance’s character). Tahlia is meant to be the mean girl but “when you get to know her, she’s actually really nice”.
I like Playing For Keeps and its likable cast, but the promos suggest it’s going to be an even bitchier version of The Real Housewives Of Melbourne and, given every reality show today features monstrous women, where is the monster in this? Playing For Keeps might come across as playing it too safe, and in today’s crowded schedule, how else do you get people to notice you? People still talk about that night back in 2002 when Chardonnay’s (Susie Amy) boobs caught on fire in Footballers’ Wives. Is it wrong that I want an Aussie version to be even more outrageous than that?
Next Wednesday also sees the return of Black Comedy, a show that understands how being outrageous is the way to go viral. After Ten’s Pilot Week, there has been much talk about how hard it is to do an Aussie sketch comedy, but this ABC show has always been a quiet achiever. Some of the originals have not returned for this third series (Deborah Mailman, Steven Oliver), and they are sorely missed, but with some promising newcomers and guest stars (Mia Wasikowska, Adam Goodes), there is a lot to enjoy here.
ABC’s Black Comedy
Next Wednesday, start with Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, switch over to Playing For Keeps, and end your night with Bondi Blackfella, one of the more hilarious new skits on Black Comedy.
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Top Photo: Cast of TEN’s Playing For Keeps
Melbourne Radio Wrap: Day 5 – Game on, Macquarie Sports Radio
Macquarie Sports 1278 10+ 0.3%, Breakfast 0.1%
Cumulative audience: 39,000, Breakfast 7,000
Pulling these numbers out you realise the challenge ahead for the rebranded TalkingLifestyle, previously known as Magic 1278. Matt Thompson has been handed the keys to breakfast after Tony Leonard started the session after launch. Thompson has two good comrades to help out – Tony Shaw and the busiest man in sports media, Jimmy Bartel. Having two AFL stars helps the station, but in addition to specialist sports offerings at SEN and RSN, there are AFL stars also co-hosting breakfast at FM stations Nova, Triple M and Fox.
Jimmy Bartel
Breakfast has the lowest possible share and its cume breakfast audience just halved from 14,000 to 7,000. The only way is up. You hear that a lot, right? But in this case it truly must be.
Drive with David Schwarz and Mark Allan performs best with a share of 0.9% and a cume audience of 27,000, which is three times or more the size of the other dayparts.
Despite some AFL matches into various cities, the station is hanging its hat on live EPL and rugby union internationals until the summer of cricket starts.
After GfK survey 5, Macquarie Media noted:
Our new national sports network, Macquarie Sports Radio, launched on Wednesday April 4. We are pleased with the engagement that we are seeing with our new programs on-air, online and via download. Our new team of presenters such as Matt Thompson, Jimmy Bartel, Tony Shaw, David Morrow and Tiffany Cherry are breaking stories and gaining access to the biggest and best names in sport.
The drive show with David Schwarz and Mark Allen (Monday to Friday 4pm-7pm) is proving to be an excellent example of informing, engaging and entertaining a network audience.
Read our other detailed station-by-station Sydney and Melbourne radio wraps here.
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Ten drops first 2018 Bachelorette promo
She finished the show in a committed relationship with Grant Kemp. This ended in a messy feud with much speculation about the reason behind their breakup.
The 2018 season of The Bachelorette is produced by Warner Bros.
Osher Günsberg will return as host on the series.
A premiere date for the show is yet to be announced. However, it is expected to air after the final episode of The Bachelor, which is currently on TEN.
The Block gets a special edition of Monopoly
The show has partnered with Imagination Gaming and Winning Moves International Limited, an authorised licensee of Hasbro, for a limited edition of Monopoly.
To be in the draw to own an apartment from this season of The Block, fans need to buy the special edition of Monopoly. Every game contains a unique numbered Golden Ticket which, once registered, puts fans in the draw to win. The competition is open until December 29, 2018.
The Block presenter Scott Cam said: “The Blockheads have done a fantastic renovation on the iconic Gatwick, and to think someone will have the chance to win a multimillion-dollar apartment just by buying Monopoly – The Block Special Edition is incredible.”
The Block edition of Monopoly has customised Block-themed tokens, Community and Chance cards. All 14 seasons of The Block properties are featured on the board game – with Dux House in Albert Park taking the sought-after famous Mayfair tile.
Nine’s director of commercial development Alison Hurbert-Burns: “Bringing The Block and Monopoly together to create the biggest prize in Australian TV history is a first that we think our audience will love. This is the kind of brand integration that takes The Block beyond the screen and provides new ways for fans to be involved with the show. We’re thankful to our partners at Imagination Gaming for bringing this to life.”
Monopoly – The Block Special Edition is now available at Big W, GiftBox, Games World, Mr Toys, Toyworld, Thingz Gifts and other leading retailers.
When and where to watch the NRL finals week 2 on free-to-air TV
The second finals weekend kicks off on today at 7pm (AEST). The Sharks will take on the Panthers, with a preliminary final spot against the Storm on the line. Penrith’s James Maloney will face off against Cronulla’s Matt Moylan after the pair famously swapped teams before the season commenced.
In the second semifinal this weekend, the Rabbitohs will play against the Dragons on Saturday September 15.
In the inaugural NRLW competition, the Roosters v Broncos game today and Dragons v Warriors tomorrow will be screen on 9Gem.
BROADCAST TIMES
Friday September 14 – (NRLW) Roosters v Broncos
• Sydney 5pm live on 9Gem
• Brisbane 5pm live on 9Gem
• Melbourne 5pm live on 9Gem
• Adelaide 4.30pm live on 9Gem
• Perth 3pm live on 9Gem
Friday September 14 – Sharks v Panthers
• Sydney 7pm live on Nine
• Brisbane 7pm live on Nine
• Melbourne 7pm live on 9Gem
• Adelaide 6.30pm live on 9Gem
• Perth 5pm live on 9Gem
Saturday September 15 – (NRLW) Dragons v Warriors
• Sydney 5pm live on 9Gem
• Brisbane 5pm live on 9Gem
• Melbourne 5pm live on 9Gem
• Adelaide 4.30pm live on 9Gem
• Perth 3pm live on 9Gem
Saturday September 15 – Rabbitohs v Dragons
• Sydney 7pm live on Nine
• Brisbane 7pm live on Nine
• Melbourne 7pm live on 9Gem
• Adelaide 6.30pm live on 9Gem
• Perth 5pm live on 9Gem
Aussies in Asia: Founder of Frontier Digital Ventures, Shaun Di Gregorio
Now, after predicting the crash of print in the classified ads business and working with leading dotcom outfits, Shaun Di Gregorio – recognised as a global leader in the online classifieds arena – is the CEO and founder of ASX-listed Kuala Lumpur-based multinational company Frontier Digital Ventures, which in 2016 The Australian Financial Review described as having built a stake in a “far-flung online classifieds business”.
“I started at REA not long after the first dotcom crash,” Di Gregorio told Mediaweek. “The crash was quite significant but one thing it did achieve was to sort the real online businesses from the not so real.
“When you looked at the Australian landscape, what stood out was the value of classified advertising and the potential for disruption.
“I’d previously worked at Trader.com (1999-2001), which owned Trading Post and was in the process of shifting that publication to online. I remember telling the management team that it was highly likely that the print publication wouldn’t be around in less than 10 years – needless to say that didn’t go down very well but it was plain to see.
“The biggest of the classifieds was real estate so I took a gamble that property advertising would move to online and undergo a major shift in how people consumed property content.
“Australians are real estate junkies, they love technology and there was more than A$1 billon being spent in print, so the pieces of the puzzle were all there, just waiting for someone to put them into place.”
The biggest change Di Gregorio has seen in the global classifieds is that online has virtually hoovered up almost all the classified dollars.
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This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.
Mediaweek Asia: OTT tax?, iflix, People TV, Coconuts, iQiyi Sports & more
Thailand proposes ASEAN-wide tax on OTT operators
Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) wants to propose a tax regime to the ASEAN Telecommunications Regulators Council by the end of the year, to set a regulatory framework governing OTT companies in ASEAN, with appropriate state benefits. According to a report conducted by the Digital Advertising Association, the ad budget allocated to OTTs this year in Thailand is expected to reach 14 billion baht (A$560 million), which is a 21% increase from 2017. Facebook and YouTube continue to be the top gainers. In contrast, ad budgets allocated to TV have been falling since 2015, and are now valued at 2 billion baht.
iflix signs content deal with Jukin Media for FailArmy
KL-based video streamer iflix has signed a content partnership with Jukin Media, a global digital media company and one of the most-watched online video humour producers in the world. The partnership means that Jukin’s signature channel, FailArmy, will be available to all iflix users worldwide for free. The new FailArmy channel will include FailArmy’s signature comedic programming, created from the thousands of weekly video submissions from people who fail around the world. This includes FailArmy’s flagship Fails of the Week compilation series, which has been released every week for more than 400 consecutive weeks to a following that has vaulted the series to several billion total video views. FailArmy has more than 30 million followers on social media platforms. iflix this week also announced an “aggressive increase” to its commissioning slate for 2019, following the solid performance of its existing iflix originals such as Coconuts TV on iflix.
Indonesia’s TV ad spend grows at Asian Games
The 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia have sent TV ad spend soaring, to Rp 4.98 trillion (A$468 million). Advertisements were booked for broadcast from August 2 through to September and were distributed to 13 TV stations, according to a press release. “The revenue for two television stations owned by Surya Citra Media – SCTV and Indosiar – as the broadcast right holders of the 2018 Asian Games, reached Rp 1.29 trillion or 25.92% of total advertisement spending.” RCTI –Indonesia’s first commercial and privately owned TV network – received Rp 818.87 billion in ad revenue for the games.
China’s iQiyi Sports funds streaming platform
iQChina’s one-month-old online sports video streaming platform iQiyi Sports has completed fundraising of its Series A round of RMB 850 million (A$174 million) after securing a second tranche of financing from China Sports Capital, according to DealStreetAsia. iQiyi Sports was founded in August by Beijing Xinai Sports Media Technology, a joint venture between the Baidu-owned Netflix-like video streamer iQiyi and media firm Super Sports Media, a subsidiary of Chinese sports and entertainment company DDMC Group. iQiyi Sports now has Chinese broadcasting rights for English Premier League, UEFA Nations League, Australian Open and ATP Tour.
Singapore’s Starhub launches People TV
Singapore’s pay-TV operator Starhub claims an Asia-first as it launches People TV HD, the free streaming network from People magazine and Entertainment Weekly. This launch will be followed on October 1 with the launch of Hits Movies HD. People TV celebrates its second anniversary in September and its programming includes original series and specials, which encompass celebrity, pop culture, lifestyle and human-interest genres. Programming also includes live red-carpet coverage and exclusive, behind-the-scenes access into People magazine cover stories, popular cast reunions and high-profile celebrity interviews. Hits Movies HD features Hollywood movies from the 1960s to 1990s.
Coconuts ups its online coverage of food and travel
Southeast Asia’s online media outfit Coconuts is launching two new websites – Coco Food and Coco Travel – and revamping its food-and-drink and its lifestyle pages on its eight city websites. Heading the revamp is Cindy Kuan, the company’s new managing editor: food, lifestyle and travel, and she will be based in Singapore.
Cindy Kuan
Arrest warrants for Thai newspaper editor
Suzanne Buchanan, the British-based editor of Samui Times, a small Thailand online publication, said she was surprised that she was issued an arrest warrant by a court in Koh Samui, a budget travellers resort island. The warrant was issued over her website’s coverage of the alleged rape of a young British woman on neighboring island Koh Tao. “It seems very strange to me that this time the authorities are going after the Samui Times,” she told UCA News. “I think the authorities are upset with negative publicity for Koh Tao and wish to silence the small publications who report on it.” Police have accused Buchanan of violating the country’s Computer Crime Act by publishing claims by a 19-year-old British tourist that she was drugged and raped on Koh Tao. Police claim the rape as described by the woman did not take place. Buchanan says she is not planning to return to Thailand any time soon. All up, 12 warrants have been issued for people either publishing or reposting the news of the rape and nine of those 12 have been arrested.
John Pilger calls for Ricketson release
Filmmaker and journalist John Pilger has joined a rising international chorus calling on Cambodian authorities to release jailed Australian documentary-maker James Ricketson, according to Asia Times. Pilger and others have urged the Australian Government to apply more pressure on Cambodian PM Hun Sen to release the elderly filmmaker on humanitarian grounds. “James Ricketson is a fine film-maker and journalist, who has used his work to raise social awareness and to support the victims of the scourge of poverty,” Pilger said. “The Australian Government has the responsibility to do a great deal more to help an Australian citizen in urgent humanitarian need.” John Pilger’s 1979 film Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia alerted the world to the devastation of Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era. In 1989, Hun Sen personally thanked Pilger for his “invaluable work in helping to rescue the Khmer people”, and now Pilger wants him to return the favour by releasing Ricketson.
Mediaweek Asia: In Brief
• Singapore Press Holdings is running a promotion through to October 31 giving free 12-month digital access to The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao – Singapore’s largest Chinese-language newspaper – to people who buy the new Samsung Galaxy mobile devices, the Galaxy Tab S4 and Galaxy Tab A 10.5” and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
• Bangkok police shut down a forum on Monday organised by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to discuss whether senior military officers in Myanmar should face justice for alleged human rights abuses committed by their forces against Rohingya Muslims. About a dozen policemen attended ordered the panellists not to speak.
• Singapore content marketing outfit, Click2View – co-founded and co-owned by former Aussie journo Simon Kearney – claims its commercial director Artur Akhmetzyanov has an edge into insight on marketing content because he doubles as Singapore’s only Russian stand-up comic. Akhmetzyanov, who won the Bangkok International Comedy Competition this month, argues that the key to both comedy and marketing is attention.
• Yangon-based women’s lifestyle site For Her Myanmar has raised six-figure funding from an anonymous international investor.
The platform will invest the funding to create more personalised service for members of its For Her Myanmar Club, which was set up last year with over 1,200 members. The site itself was founded in 2016 and has over 500,000 followers on Facebook and over 300,000 monthly visitors to the website.
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Top Photo: Mark Francis global director of digital programming, iflix
TV Ratings Analysis: September 14
By Kruti Joshi
Seven
Seven News was the most-watched show on TV last night with an audience of 915,000.
Home and Away was the network’s best-performing non-news show. It ranked just inside the top 10 at #9 with 566,000.
Jim “The Ghost” Jess and John Worsfold were the special guests on last night’s episode of The Front Bar. Jess revealed the story behind his nickname: “Tommy Hafey started it. I was very shy. I’d turn up at training, sneak in, change at locker 47 and avoid eye contact with everybody. I would be out there.”
The Front Bar did 383,000.
Nine
In the absence of The Block, Nine’s top performers were the news and A Current Affair. The primary share for the channel was 15.5%.
Other Nine programs in the top 20 were RBT, Driving Test and Hot Seat.
TEN
The Bachelor was the most-watched non-news program on free-to-air television on Thursday night. Tenille’s exit from the show was watched by 869,00 people. Things were said, shots were fired and a tantrum was thrown. Nick told Tenille that he felt like there was still a barrier between them. She said it was his responsibility to make her want to open up. Then, it was wasn’t too long before she was in tears and bolted for the exit once again. After another short conversation with Nick, she got in the car and left before the rose ceremony, saying there was no point in taking part, knowing the outcome.
Last night’s episode of Gogglebox ranked #6 and had 825,000 watching. The Project was #11 with an audience of 524,000.
ABC
The News and 7.30 were the channel’s best performers with 645,000 and 536,000 people watching.
Grand Designs Australia did 470,000.
Week 37 TV: Thursday
| THURSDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | Ten | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 10.5% | 7 | 18.3% | 9 | 15.5% | TEN | 18.3% | SBS One | 5.1% |
| ABC 2 | 2.5% | 7TWO | 4.3% | GO! | 4.7% | ONE | 2.1% | VICELAND | 0.7% |
| ABC ME | 0.8% | 7mate | 5.3% | GEM | 2.0% | ELEVEN | 2.3% | Food Net | 0.9% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.6% | 7flix | 2.9% | 9Life | 2.0% | NITV | 0.2% | ||
| TOTAL | 15.4% | 30.8% | 24.1% | 22.7% | 7.0% | ||||
| THURSDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | Ten Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 10.4% | 7 | 19.1% | 9 | 14.3% | WIN | 14.4% | SBS One | 4.4% |
| ABC 2 | 3.4% | 7TWO | 6.8% | GO! | 5.3% | ONE | 2.3% | VICELAND | 0.9% |
| ABC ME | 0.8% | 7mate | 5.4% | GEM | 2.9% | ELEVEN | 1.8% | Food Net | 0.9% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.5% | 7flix | 2.4% | 9Life | 1.6% | Sky News on WIN | 1.2% | NITV | 0.3% |
| TOTAL | 16.1% | 33.7% | 24.1% | 19.7% | 6.5% | ||||
| THURSDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 84.8% | 15.2% | ||||||||
THURSDAY FTA
- Seven News Seven 915,000
- Nine News Nine 890,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 886,000
- The Bachelor Australia Ten 869,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 857,000
- Gogglebox Ten 825,000
- A Current Affair Nine 687,000
- ABC News ABC 645,000
- Home And Away Seven 566,000
- 7.30 ABC 536,000
- The Project 7pm Ten 524,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 520,000
- RBT Nine 472,000
- Grand Designs Australia ABC 470,000
- Driving Test Nine 463,000
- Hot Seat Nine 461,000
- The Front Bar Seven 383,000
- Ten Eyewitness News First At Five Ten 356,000
- Loch Ness ABC 336,000
- The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 315,000
Dem0 Top Fives
16-39 Top 5
- The Bachelor Australia Ten 358,000
- Gogglebox Ten 296,000
- The Project 7pm Ten 154,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 134,000
- Nine News Nine 124,000
18-49 Top 5
- The Bachelor Australia Ten 503,000
- Gogglebox Ten 431,000
- The Project 7pm Ten 238,000
- Nine News Nine 234,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 231,000
25-54 Top 5
- The Bachelor Australia Ten 497,000
- Gogglebox Ten 454,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 282,000
- Nine News Nine 278,000
- The Project 7pm Ten 263,000
THURSDAY Multichannel
- Kingsman: The Secret Service PM 7mate 199,000
- The Big Bang Theory Tx2 9GO! 186,000
- Father Brown-Pm 7TWO 180,000
- The Big Bang Theory Tx1 9GO! 166,000
- Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 166,000
- Charlie And Lola AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 158,000
- Murdoch Mysteries-Pm 7TWO 154,000
- Go Jetters AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 154,000
- Johnny English Reborn 9GO! 152,000
- Becca’s Bunch AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
- Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 147,000
- Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 147,000
- Kiddets AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 146,000
- Neighbours ELEVEN 139,000
- Little Roy-Pm ABCKIDS/COMEDY 132,000
- Murdoch Mysteries-Ep.2 Pm 7TWO 132,000
- Luo Bao Bei AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
- Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 128,000
- Rusty Rivets ABCKIDS/COMEDY 127,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
THURSDAY Subscription TV
- Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 74,000
- Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 65,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 55,000
- Live: The Late Show With Matty Johns FOX LEAGUE 52,000
- The Bolt Report Sky News Live 52,000
- Outsiders Sky News Live 51,000
- Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 49,000
- Unforgotten BBC First 48,000
- Criminal Minds TVH!TS 40,000
- Selling Houses Australia LifeStyle Channel 40,000
- Family Guy FOX8 38,000
- Family Guy FOX8 37,000
- As Time Goes By FOX Classics 36,000
- PML Overtime Sky News Live 34,000
- Jeopardy! FOX Classics 33,000
- NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 32,000
- NCIS TVH!TS 31,000
- Curious George Nick Jr. 30,000
- Peppa Pig Nick Jr. 30,000
- The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes LifeStyle Channel 30,000
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
Hoyts Group steps up thinking about Val Morgan-QMS merger
Street Talk understands Hoyts has drafted in veteran UBS investment banker – and WPP AUNZ chairman – Rob Mactier to help progress what started as an idea and a chat between chairmen.
It is understood the mooted structure would see Val Morgan merged into QMS and the combined entity could trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Hoyts and its owner Dalian Wanda would take about 45% of the listed company, and a few board seats.
Ex-media sales executive Denise Shrivell behind ad-ban campaign
A former Fairfax Media and News Corp sales executive with 30 years of experience in the industry, Denise Shrivell owns and operates MediaScope, a small advisory business with no staff.
Contacted yesterday about her links to US online activist group Sleeping Giants, Shrivell admitted she was behind an influence campaign in the $16 billion Australian advertising industry to pressure brands to pull their ad spending from Sky News.
“I have some quite strong personal views about some of the content that appears on Sky News and I’m part of our media industry,” Shrivell said. “I speak to marketers, advertisers, media planners and buyers about considering the type of content they are advertising around.”
New Apple iPhone models make switching telcos easier
That prospect comes courtesy of an update made to the latest batch of iPhones, which now have dual SIM capabilities, with the devices sporting the standard nano-SIM and also an embedded digital eSIM chip.
An eSIM is a chip inside the phone that will be activated by Apple’s software and will give consumers a chance to switch mobile providers without changing a physical SIM. It’s a particularly useful feature for travellers as it gives them the ability to not pay any roaming charges when they are overseas and get to keep their contacts intact.
Audio
Renewed search for Lyn Dawson spikes The Teacher’s Pet downloads
News Corp is reporting that the podcast series by The Australian’s national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, The Teacher’s Pet, was listened to more than 600,000 times on Wednesday September 13. This takes its overall downloads to 19.1 million since its release in May 2018, making The Teacher’s Pet one of News Corp’s most successful podcast series ever.
Speaking to The Australian, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said that the investigation by Thomas had provided new opportunity to gain evidence and new leads.
This is what exactly what Thomas had hoped for when he set out to revisit the 1982 disappearance of Dawson as a podcast. In a conversation with Mediaweek earlier this year, during the initial episodes of the podcast, Thomas said: “The case has a travesty of justice all through it.”
Hedley had initially reported on the Dawson case about 17 years ago when the first coronial proceedings into the disappearance had been finalised.
What was going to be a minimum of an eight-part series in May has built out to be a 14-episode podcast series, which culiminated with a two-hour episode.
The Teacher’s Pet is the first podcast series from Thomas. He had been investigating the case for six months before the first episode dropped in May 2018.
He said then: “It’s been an intense six months. I have never worked harder.
“This was partly because this is all new to me. I didn’t understand it at first. I am an old dinosaur of print newspaper journalism.”
Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe podcast hits the road
The Double J podcast will transform as a live show at the Darebin Music Feast, hosted at the Thornbury Theatre, on October 21.
Now in its 22nd year, the event encompasses 120 events across 26 different venues.
The Bang On presenters said: “Ever since we did our live show in Sydney last year as part of Yack Festival, people have been asking, ‘When are you going to bring it to Melbourne?’ Now, we’ve finally been able to make it happen, and at a beautiful venue. We don’t want to spoil it, but let’s just say we have some very fun things planned.”
EON Broadcasting appoints a new general manager for Sydney’s 2CH
EON Broadcasting CEO John Williams said: “Cherie comes to us with a very impressive media track record both in Australia and internationally. Her previous experience includes senior management, programming and marketing roles with Arena and Weather Channel, 2MMMFM, 2DAYFM, NRJ Paris France and MIX 106.5 Sydney. She was also national program director for the Australian Radio Network’s Gold and Mix formats and ARN group general manager marketing promotions, research and news.”
Nine Network and local critic next up in Wagners’ legal pursuit
Speaking on behalf of his rich-listed brothers, Denis Wagner said the family’s intent was to “promptly and vigorously” pursue the outstanding cases following Jones’s big loss on Wednesday in the Queensland Supreme Court.
The 2GB radio star was judged to have committed the “gravest kind” of defamation by blaming the Wagners for the deaths of 12 people in the 2011 Grantham flood disaster west of Brisbane and corruption in their business dealings. The record payout smashed the $398,500 cap on non-economic defamation damages, surpassing the $2.6m paid to Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney. The $4.6m awarded to actress Rebel Wilson last year was slashed to $600,000 on appeal.
Television
Leslie Moonves CBS drama won’t interrupt Ten: Paul Anderson
Anderson does not expect the departure of Moonves – one of the US entertainment industry’s most powerful players and also the US network’s CEO – and subsequent appointment of chief operating officer Joe Ianniello as interim CEO on Sunday to result in changes locally, noting that long-serving Ianniello had been closely involved with CBS’s acquisition of Ten.
“Joe Ianniello has been at CBS for a long time, and he’s been a key part of the acquisition of Ten so at this stage we presume it’s going to be business as usual,” Anderson told The Australian yesterday.
Learning to trust the process during tough times at Network Ten
However, after handing the keys to administrators KordaMentha on June 15, 2017 and emerging from receivership five months later with a new owner in US media giant CBS, Anderson has a newfound appreciation and gratitude for the team that helped keep Ten running during the network’s dark hour.
“Thinking back to happier times, or perhaps more troubled times, as a former CFO, the thought of administration and receivership always sends a shiver down my spine and took me to a place with some pretty dark thoughts and career-ending thinking,” Anderson told the Turnaround Management Association conference in Sydney on Thursday.
TMA Australia is an industry body for those in turnaround management, law, insolvency, accounting and consulting.
Seven acquires two-part ITV documentary Queen Of The World
The two-part series offers an insight into Her Majesty The Queen’s role as a figure on the global stage and the baton she is passing to the younger members of the Royal Family as they continue to build the Commonwealth connection.
Queen Of The World features behind-the-scenes moments with the Sovereign and other members of the Royal Family, including the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex.
Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington’s spoiler about final season
Speaking to MTV News, Harington, 31, listed a number of hit series such as The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and The Wire, which all had controversial endings.
“They all ended in a way that is never going to satisfy you,” he said.
“I think a TV series that’s spanned eight, nine years is an incredibly difficult thing to end,” he said. “I think not everyone’s going to be happy, you know, and you can’t please everyone.”
BoJack Horseman canters to season five
Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the series focuses on BoJack, a horse/man who experienced great success as the lead actor on a corny 1990s sitcom.
Yet despite his wealth and fame, he cuts a self-destructive and lonely figure in a Hollywood populated by other hybrid creatures. If it sounds kind of depressing, it is at times, and some viewers associate the show with the genre that goes under the new portmanteau sad-com.
Publishing
News Corp cutting editorial jobs at major Australian mastheads to reduce costs
Sources said News Corp is cutting about 30 editorial jobs, ranging from journalists to the outsourcing of production staff across its Australian publishing portfolio, including The Australian, Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph. It’s believed the redundancies are a mix of voluntary and forced.
It’s believed some production staff will leave News Corp and join Pagemasters as sub-editors. Pagemasters is a subsidiary of Australian Associated Press, which is owned by Fairfax Media, News Corp and Seven West Media.
The cost cuts are part of an overarching restructuring and transformation project within News Corp’s Australian business. Sources said there is no headcount target. Rather the measures are part of overall budget reduction targets.
A women’s journalism award is given to… a male photographer
This presented something of a quandary for the National Press Club’s Press Gallery Journalist of the Year judges, because Sharri is not their kind of person.
For a start, Sharri works for the Telegraph. She appears on Sky News, which traumatises many within Canberra’s leftist bubble. Also, Sharri is not a reflexive mob-thinker. And she’s young, female, competitive and ambitious. These are qualities that upset some older journalists, be they men or women.
But judges couldn’t give the prize to an alternative press gallery journalist, because that would invite deeply unflattering comparisons between their work and Sharri’s. Nobody in the press gallery could possibly match Markson for output and impact in 2018.
So they changed the rules.
Putting all sizes on magazine covers sends healthy message
The cover star was Sara-Marie Fedele of Big Brother and “bum dance” fame and, when I saw her grinning back at me from that glossy cover, I was shocked.
Here was a chubby girl in a glam dress taking up space usually reserved for very slender twiglets whose bodies I envied but could never achieve.
Looking at Fedele didn’t make me want to put on weight to look like her. Nor did it put me immediately at ease with my own, perfectly healthy, body. But it was the first time my monthly bible had dared to suggest that bodies that were not model-thin were capable of being something other than a source of shame and a “before” picture.
Sports Media
Get the grassroots right and the rest will follow, writes Alan Jones
I speak at a stack of functions around the country on a range of matters, not essentially rugby. But invariably, at question time, I am inundated with questions about rugby, about the performance of the national team, the failure of the rugby administration and, above all, the failure to acknowledge the remarkable rugby work done at a grassroots level.
I have coached at every level – at schoolboy level, at sub-district level, at grade level and at national level. I think I know the scene.
And what people point out is that in spite of the administration and in spite of the appalling levels of funding, rugby is alive and well at the grassroots level.
We often talk about the “rugby family”. Families live in homes. And in the house of rugby, if you don’t spend anything on the floor and spend it all on the roof, the house will collapse.
Fox Sports hosts staying tight-lipped on Dally M predictions
Hollis and Lara Pitt will host the event at a new venue this year, Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal, where the biggest names in rugby league will gather on September 26.
“It is part of the job – we are journalists so first and foremost we are impartial,” Hollis told Confidential.
Hollis yesterday posed alongside Roosters star James Tedesco, who is nominated for fullback of the year at the awards that will be broadcast on Fox Sports.
Entertainment
Paul Hogan, Shane Jacobson filming new movie in Melbourne
Jacobson and Paul Hogan were spotted on Fitzroy St in St Kilda on Wednesday, shooting scenes for Hoges’ comeback movie The Very Excellent Mr Dundee.
Hogan, 78, has insisted this comedy – in which he is said to play an exaggerated version of himself – is definitely not a Crocodile Dundee film. And that’s probably a good thing, given the dodgy Dundee costume Jacobson was sporting.
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