News Corp Australia gave media buyers a sleek and structured presentation at D_Coded that hit at the core of their offerings – effective ROI, interesting content and new innovations – backed by clients who have seen the results.
Mediaweek spoke to media buyers who attended the event and discovered what stood out for them and for their clients, including the partnership with Tubi and achieving ROI.
Peter Horgan, outgoing CEO of Omnicom Media Group, said News Corp Australia’s holistic solutions were strong and it was clear how their data is activated through the platforms and engagement they are selling, backed by the case studies of Subway, Chemist Warehouse, Inspiring Vacations and Mars Petcare.
“I thought the onstage Q&A with Rodica Titeica (Subway Australia CMO) was actually really powerful in terms of having the client talking about their own experience dealing with the sales team,” he said.
“I think the challenge with news is it’s always been quite difficult to navigate, and I think Lou and her team have really done their best to try and simplify and own the whole briefing, response and measurement proposition.”
Brittney Crowley, head of Sydney investments, UM, noted News Corp’s scale and ability to target were robust offerings.
She also pointed out News Corp’s emphasis on trust and brand safety in the presentation and engaged reach as highlights.
“We can have goals and KPIs to reach as much audience as we need to, but it’s really about converting that audience,” she said. “I think more businesses are strapped for cash and they have higher business targets. We really need to be proving the effectiveness of the dollars that we’re investing.”
Kevin Fernandes, Havas’ national head of partnerships and AdTech, highlighted News Corp’s insights into its reach, measurable outcomes and engagement which he said is the “silver bullet that a lot of agencies look for.”
“I’m glad that the presentation was in agency language for us. I’ve been to multiple upfronts where the bells and the whistles are spoken about, but the real-term applications are very limited.”
From an indie agency perspective, CEO of IMAA Sam Buchanan said the announcements resonated well with independent agencies. “Being able to target is nothing without scale.”
Brian Gallagher, chair of Boomtown, applauded News Corp for talking about their results and what their products did for their business. “That’s rare to get that public commentary from senior clients about success and I think for me that made the whole thing,” he added.
News Corp Australia’s partnership with Tubi
Tubi x News Corp
D_Coded also marked the official welcome of Tubi into the News Corp Australia fold. The Fox-owned ad-supported streaming platform boasts 97 million monthly viewers globally and is a highly sought-after platform by Gen Z and Millennials.
In a chat with Mediaweek, Lou Barrett, News Corp Australia’s managing director of client partnerships, called Tubi a “sleeping giant” that’s primed for advertisers.
“Tubi is the big one. We haven’t had any CTV in our stable before, which allows us to engage with advertisers who have traditionally focused on broadcast TV and streaming services.”
Lou Barrett_D_Coded 2025
For media buyers, the general consensus was that Tubi is an “interesting” and “exciting” offering.
Sue Squillace, CEO of Mediahub ANZ, called the video platform a complement that rounds out what News Corp can offer. “If the content on Tubi is good, viewers will follow. And I think that’s the critical thing – having the content right.”
Also sharing a similar view on the importance of the content slate was Horgan, particularly as it competes with YouTube. He said: “It really comes down to are they (News Corp Australia) willing to invest in content.”
Buchanan had a ‘watch-and-see’ stance in terms of what Tubi will mean for indie agencies. He said: “I know what they (News Corps) can do when they throw the might and the force behind all of the assets to grow it. I think it will be really interesting to see how it plays out.”
Fernandes called Tubi an “attractive proposition” but noted that for Havas clients that would be dependent on the “premiumness” and how brand safe the content is.
Meanwhile Crowley noted that while there is already so much competition in the streaming platform space, “the fact that it is free is attractive for consumers and for advertisers.”
She added: “We’d want to understand more about how we’re driving audiences to view in that environment, how we’re engaging them, considering the wider video landscape.”
D_Coded’s stand outs
The event clearly proved a successful afternoon for News Corp Australia as it put all its offerings and insights on the table for partners, clients and agencies.
For Gallagher, while admittedly not a customer of news products, he expressed interest in a closer look at the Intent Connect, the insights platform. “It seems to me that they’ve taken a really broad and differentiated array of products, and through that dashboard, they’re bringing together all the core values of those properties.
“I’d like to have a bit of a deeper dive on that. I think that looks really interesting.”
Crowley noted there is potential for advertisers to increase spend by being smarter with opportunities at News Corp. He said: “I think there’s great opportunity for partners and agencies to work with News Corp and be very upfront about their business challenges, the best way to attack those, to activate, and then measure effectiveness and outcomes – which is really what clients are wanting to know. So, that may convert into increased spend.”
Fernandes highlighted the case studies presented and the real-time applications of their products as highlights. He also pointed to the use of AI and how Intent Content will evolve. “I’m excited to see how we can bring that into our world and unlock some more media dollars,” he said.
Horgan’s stand outs from the afternoon was ROI. “There are a lot of powerful assets there making it more simple to transact with, owning the journey for agencies and de-risking and starting to prove our ROI, I think that becomes self-fulfilling.”
For Buchanan, News Corp “hit the nail on the head” with its CTV and video offering and the ability to use and dive into their data and access that, in addition to the tech partnerships.
Meanwhile, Squillace’s highlight was the client testimonials that proved to be a “really good way to showcase and demonstrate their theme around engagement, reach and results.”