Nine wowed attendees of its 2023 Upfront event at Luna Park in Sydney on Wednesday.
The broadcaster revealed a raft of new and returning content announcements, commercial changes, new investments and innovative user experiences.
Below is a breakdown of what to expect from Nine over the next 12 months.
New Shows in 2022
My Mum Your Dad
Still to come in 2022, Australia’s hearts will be opened to a whole new world of grown-up love in My Mum Your Dad.
Kate Langbroek presents this series about single parents looking for love for the second time around. What they don’t know is their adult children are secretly guiding them through the perils of modern dating.
My Mum Your Dad is produced by ITV Studios Australia for the 9Network.
Kate Langbroek
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: My Mum Your Dad coming to Nine
News Shows in 2023
Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
In a brand-new series for the Nine Network, culinary superstar and CEO Gordon Ramsay and business mogul Janine Allis will mentor and guide competing teams in Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.
Produced by Endemol Shine Australia (A Banijay company) and Studio Ramsay Global (a FOX Entertainment company), Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars is a bold and competitive format, already broadcasting in the UK and US and coming to the Nine Network in 2023.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Gordon Ramsay teams up with Nine for Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
The Summit
In the rugged Alps of New Zealand’s southern island, a group of strangers will embark on an epic quest. With their backpacks containing an equal share of 1 million dollars, the group must reach the peak of a distant mountain in just 14 days to win the cash they’re carrying.
The Summit is a Nine Network and Endemol Shine Australia (A Banijay company) original series, produced by Endemol Shine Australia.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine announces action reality, The Summit
Warnie
There has never been and never will be another like him. Over two big nights, Warnie will be the tribute to one of the greatest Australians of all time, the Aussie larrikin who lived and loved large in the Nine Network’s must see drama event of 2023.
Warnie is produced for the Nine Network by Screentime, a Banijay company, in association with VicScreen. Cast to be announced soon.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine to pay tribute to Shane Warne’s life in Warnie
Human Error
Inspired by actual events, Nine Network’s new drama series, Human Error, follows Detective Holly O’Rourke and her homicide team as a seemingly open-and-shut murder investigation threatens to destroy her career, her family, and her faith in justice.
From the creative talents behind Underbelly, Bump, Offspring and Love My Way, Human Error is produced by John Edwards, Dan Edwards, Greg Haddrick and Samantha Winston, with The Age’s crime reporter and podcaster John Sylvester (Underbelly) as story consultant. Cast to be announced soon.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine’s new Aussie drama, Human Error
RPA
RPA is the program that ignited Australia’s love of observational documentaries. For 17 years it gave viewers around the country an access-all-areas pass to the inner workings of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
And now it’s back, narrated by Rodger Corser. RPA follows patients who share their stories, as well as the surgeons and physicians who not only put broken bodies back together, but in many cases have to break the news to these patients that their prognosis isn’t good. These real-life moments are captured in all their unfiltered emotional rawness.
Big Miracles
Big Miracles is a new series filled with pure hope, in the name of love, about the most emotional human experience of all: trying to have children. Big Miracles is produced by Ronde Media for the Nine Network.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine brings Big Miracles
Australia’s Most Identical
A brand new special event series, Australia’s Most Identical is the ultimate search for the nation’s most identical twins.
Hosted by Scott Cam and Dr Jana Pittman, both parents of twins, this social investigation series will find and ultimately determine the nation’s most identical siblings.
Through a series of scientific and entertaining challenges, 100 sets of twins will be put under the microscope until one pair is crowned Australia’s Most Identical.
Australia’s leading “Twin Experts” Professor Sarah Wilson and Professor Jeff Craig will supervise and assess the results, in consultation with Twin Research Australia, which is based at the University of Melbourne.
Returning Shows in 2022
Love Island Australia
Prepare to dive in and fall in love with a hot new group of singles on the fourth season of Love Island Australia, to be filmed in a new villa on the program’s return to the beautiful island of Mallorca in Spain.
Love Island’s own Cupid, Sophie Monk, is back as host, alongside the narrator, Irish presenter Eoghan McDermott.
Love Island Australia is produced by ITV Studios Australia for the Nine Network.
Lego Masters Christmas
Lego Masters, one of the biggest hits on television, will return later this year for a two-part Lego Bricksmas Special.
This year’s festivities will begin early as some of Australia’s favourite celebrities team up with contestants from the past four seasons in a very special Christmas celebration.
The two-part Christmas special will feature Poh Ling Yeow, Emma Watkins, Darren Palmer and Lincoln Lewis.
Under Investigation with Liz Hayes
Under Investigation with Liz Hayes reveals investigative twists and turns that make for a gripping viewing experience.
In each episode, Liz Hayes is joined by a new team of crime and forensic experts who are specially equipped with the know-how to delve deeper into cold cases and ask the right questions to solve them.
Paramedics
Returning Thursday, September 29, the factual series Paramedics is an insight into the dedication of our frontline first responders at work.
With a call for help made every 11 seconds to emergency services in Victoria, paramedics work around the clock, bringing hope even in the most dangerous and life-changing medical emergencies.
Snackmasters
Snackmasters sweetened up TV screens in 2021, uncovering the secrets in the recipes of some of Australia’s most famous snacks, including the mysterious ingredients of the Cheese Twistie.
Join hosts Scott Pickett and Poh Ling Yeow as each episode of Snackmasters sees two top chefs in a battle to make perfect replicas of one of the nation’s best-loved snacks, while inveterate snack lover Yvie Jones gains access to the production lines for these treats, giving viewers a sneak peek inside the factories where the snacks are made.
Taronga: Who’s Who In The Zoo
Dual Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts again lends her voice to this award-winning observational documentary series as staff from Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them in sight of a brighter future.
Taronga: Who’s Who In The Zoo is produced by McAvoy Media for the Nine Network.
Dream Listings
Everyone is trying to get a piece of the Byron Bay pie. It’s where Hollywood A-listers are living the dream and Instagram influencers are flocking to in droves.
Viewers will get a glimpse into Australia’s most prestigious playground, where the spectacular beaches and seaside glamour set the scene for all the action. There will be beachside deals, tussles for premier property listings, and feuds over negotiations as these agents work to secure a piece of paradise for their prestige clients.
Dream Listings is produced by EQ Media Group for the Nine Network.
Country Home Rescue with Shaynna Blaze
For 14 seasons we’ve seen Shaynna Blaze as a judge on The Block, as well as helping homeowners spruce up their spaces on Selling Houses Australia. Now, for the first time, Shaynna is doing it for herself and her family in the heartwarming new series, Country Home Rescue.
Vision Australia’s Carols By Candlelight
Australia’s annual Christmas Eve tradition continues this year with some of this country’s best performers coming together for Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight, broadcast live from Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday, December 24, at 8.00pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.
Returning Shows In 2023
Married At First Sight
Celebrating a milestone anniversary, the 10th season of Married at First Sight will raise the stakes with a new cast of participants ready for a chance at love. As the experiment marks a decade, expect more weddings, commitment ceremonies, and dramatic dinner parties.
Certified clinical sexologist Alessandra Rampolla and relationship experts John Aiken and Mel Schilling will return to pair brave singles from across the country. Testing the bonds of couples, our experts will once again explore the influence of science in developing genuine, long-lasting relationships.
The Block
The Block is back in 2023 for its 19th season.
Television’s toughest building challenge will transform a brand-new Melbourne property with host Scott Cam welcoming a new batch of eager Blockheads to build five new family homes.
Lego Masters
Lego Masters exploded onto our screens in 2019 and has cemented itself as one of the most popular shows on TV.
In 2023, the show is back with an allstar cast as the best of the best return with a new wave of building and imagination for Lego Masters: Grand Masters. In this construction contest, the elite Lego builders of the past four seasons will be competing for the ultimate title of Grand Masters.
Host Hamish Blake and resident judge Ryan “Brickman” McNaught will be joined by the fan favourites and previous champions, all ingenious builders.
Travel Guides
Logie Award-winning Travel Guides will be returning in 2023 with the ultimate traveller’s guide for your next escape.
The travel critics are back as they take off for a seventh season filled with more adventurous destinations.
Narrated by Denise Scott, Travel Guides is produced by Nine.
Parental Guidance
When it comes to parenting, everyone has an opinion. Parental Guidance returns in 2023, putting 12 new parenting styles under the microscope to find out what works best.
When Parental Guidance first premiered, it broke new ground and got the nation confronting the biggest question: how should we be raising our future adults?
Now, in this thought-provoking series, Today host Ally Langdon and parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson are back, laying down bigger and tougher parenting challenges. Designed to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each parenting style, these challenges are all grounded in real-life scenarios.
Parental Guidance is produced by Eureka Productions for the Nine Network.
The Hundred with Andy Lee
The Hundred with Andy Lee is back in 2023, with 100 everyday Aussies and some of our funniest comedians coming together to find out what the country is really thinking.
The Hundred with Andy Lee is an original concept by Screentime (A Banijay company) and Andy Lee, in association with the Nine Network.
Emergency
Emergency is back for a fourth series in 2023 with returning favourites and new faces saving lives on the frontline of one of Australia’s busiest hospitals.
Join the doctors and nurses for an insight into the raw inner workings of Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Emergency Department as they pull back the curtain for access to teams of medical heroes dealing with life-and-death cases every day.
Emergency is produced by WTFN for the Nine Network.
Million Dollar Murders
In the return of this landmark series, retired Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace takes viewers inside six unsolved crimes. These cases are the most chilling murder mysteries in Australia, with the biggest rewards on offer, one million dollars for information that leads to a conviction.
Australian Crime Stories: The Investigators
The team behind the international award-winning series Australian Crime Stories is back with a brand new series in a brand new format. Australian Crime Stories: The Investigators is lifting the lid on the personal case files of some of Australia’s greatest detectives.
Australian Crime Stories: The Investigators will share the greatest stories of determined and exceptional police work; the murder that seemed unsolvable; the crime king who seemed untouchable; and the psycho who seemed unstoppable.
Australian Crime Stories: The Investigators is produced by The Full Box for the Nine Network.
Frozen Planet II
Eleven years after the phenomenal first series, Frozen Planet II returns to the Arctic and Antarctic with a spellbinding journey through these magical lands.
Presented by Sir David Attenborough, this series observes the species that thrive at the North and South Poles, as well as exploring life beyond the Poles – seeing wildlife drama play out in all the world’s coldest regions: from high mountains and frozen deserts to snowbound forests and icy oceans.
Millionaire Hot Seat
Millionaire Hot Seat, hosted by Eddie McGuire, is Australia’s longest running quiz show and since it premiered in 2009, the show has given away over $60 million dollars. Every episode 6 contestants go head-to-head to win a huge $1 million prize.
Space Invaders
Inspirational series Space Invaders returns for Season 3, bigger and better, and with a new co-host, to help families confront their physical and emotional baggage.
Our team of remarkable and passionate Space Invaders, the dynamic duo of declutter guru Peter Walsh and renovation queen Cherie Barber, will be joined this season by obsessive collector Angie Kent (Gogglebox) as they show those in need how to transform their lives.
Country House Hunters Australia
Country House Hunters Australia returns for a third season in 2023, helping prospective homeowners take the leap and relocate from the busy city to the peaceful countryside.
When it comes to dream properties, who better to point you to your happily ever after than Getaway’s Catriona Rowntree? Searching for hidden gems across sweeping plains and often overlooked landscapes, she helps would-be buyers locate their forever home in rural Australia.
The payoff is finding the perfect peaceful, rural retreat away from the stresses and pressures of life in the bustling city.
Getaway
Australia’s longest-running travel and lifestyle program returns to Nine for its 32nd season in 2023.
Join Catriona Rowntree, David Reyne, Jason Dundas, Charli Robinson and other favourite faces as they explore breathtaking locations across Australia and around the world, and offer holiday tips and ideas to cater for all tastes and budgets. After two years of lockdowns, disruptions and cancelled holidays, Aussies are itching to dust off their passports and get travelling once again, and the Getaway team will lead the way as they explore the globe.
9Now to undergo major changes with new design and UI
9Now has announced its “most significant transformation since its launch” in the Nine Upfronts today, in what the broadcaster is calling an Australian-first transformation.
The market-leading user experience (UI) redesign will give users complete control of their viewing experience, offering an amalgamated experience of interactive digital and broadcast content.
The upgrade will include an innovative 9Now homepage, offering viewers the choice to start streaming content immediately, a “start over” option for live programs to be started from the beginning, personalised household profiles and the introduction of a “discover” package.
The redesign will also introduce a new 24/7 Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channel with exclusive additional content and an interactive advertising experience on connected TVs (CTV), offered live in full HD.
Australian-first interactivity
The newly introduced interactivity of 9Now will provide new opportunities for advertisers, with the rollout of sponsored content and products expanding.
In 2023, 9Now will see interactive “shoppable” ads on CTV, giving viewers the option to interact with brands directly from their television, all to create an Australian-first immersive shopping experience.
Faster than before
Changes to the UI aren’t all, with the redesign seeing user experience of sports get an upgrade with live sports will now streaming in HD at 50 frames per second with Dolby 5.1 sound, offering an Australian first in live sports streaming.
Advertising will also stream in HD, with 9Now furthering its investment in the Live infrastructure, 9Now will offer stand-alone, exclusive FAST channels that have been specially designed for an immersive viewing experience.
Target reframing
The targeting of content and advertising has also received a redesign, with 9Now adding household location targeting to the platform.
This targeting is achieved by leveraging declared postcode data from signed-in authenticated viewers, with segments spanning capital cities to regional areas.
Closing transformation is a new partnership with Mastercard, which will see targeting based on credit card transaction data that will be made available across 9Now in the months to come.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: 9Now redesigned with completely new user experience
Nine to supercharge Brisbane Times with new investment
The Brisbane Times has received a large investment from Nine, with the broadcaster announcing an expansion of the masthead in 2023, joining esteemed publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and WAToday.
The investment from Nine will ensure the South-East Queensland newspaper can continue to provide breaking local news and analysis to the more than two million people who now reside in the Greater Brisbane area.
The growth of the Brisbane Times will feature an array of diverse voices that reflect the region and will see the masthead integrated deeper into Nine’s network of award-winning news assets, from 9News to Brisbane’s top talk radio station 4BC.
The investment aims to have Brisbane Times provide a news service unique to any other currently serving the Queensland market.
Boasting a healthy 621,000 monthly readers, the Brisbane Times site is set to enhance key brands across the region, from Domain to Drive and Good Weekend in addition to providing tailored news content to its readers.
Nine has said the investment will “supercharge” the media conglomerate’s presence in Queensland, with the future of the masthead looking to produce breaking news and stories unique and important to the region of South-East Queensland.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine to supercharge Brisbane Times with new investment
Eye in the Sky: Nine launches Premium Traffic Network
Nine will launch an “eye in the sky” inspired premium cross-platform traffic brand, NTN, that will deliver up-to-date traffic news to listeners across Nine’s market-leading radio stations 2GB (Sydney), 2AW (Melbourne), 4BC (Brisbane) and 6PR (Perth).
The product will also launch across audio live streaming and digital platforms across the above-mentioned four cities.
The platform is a unique one that will provide advertisers with the opportunity to give brands the ability to own traffic updates across the company.
The traffic network is also set to roll out on TODAY in 2023, Nine’s breakfast program, offering brands access to a premium product with high reach frequency across audio, television and digital.
Nine’s audio platforms have a wide reach, delivering over 10 million live streams monthly, while talk stations under Nine ownership have been achieving their biggest ever audience of two million listeners a week.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine announces Premium Traffic Network
Nine makes big commercial changes to publishing & radio brands
Nine has announced a raft of commercial changes across its publishing and radio assets at the network’s 2023 Upfront event.
Among the game changers for advertisers placing their content in Today’s Paper – the daily downloadable version of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.
Brands will now be able to digitally insert streaming video or rich media advertising, including false covers and digital catalogues, in a major leap in innovation for the network.
Nine noted that brands will be able to open a whole new world of digital opportunity at scale, providing limitless, integrated opportunities in a premium environment to deliver an unrivalled digital advertising experience.
With the ability for digital wraparounds, clickable video set in a print product, as well as advertising that crosses between the print and digital products, the innovation provides limitless opportunities for brands.
The announcement comes as Nine also reveals more initiatives within its publishing division, including on-demand audio, where curated stories and news in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will be converted to audio with the use of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence.
Curated content of some of the day’s biggest stories, investigative journalism and lifestyle features will become more accessible than ever.
Nine Radio
Nine has also launched its addressable data targeting capability across its digital radio assets.
As part of accessing Nine’s broader 20 million signed-in users, advertisers can target logged-in users across Nine’s radio stations, 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR.
With Nine’s audio already delivering more than 10 million live streams each month, live digital streaming on connected devices is now fully addressable alongside Nine’s television assets.
Nine’s data capabilities will include demo, location, 9Tribes – the network’s market-leading segmentation product – and intent segments from data partners including Flybuys and Equifax.
In addition to the targeting capabilities, Nine will offer best-in-market attribution reporting from its location data partner, Near. Advertisers will be able to measure the effectiveness of their audio ads in driving listeners in-store.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: Nine announces big commercial changes across publishing and radio
9Network to launch flagship 6PM Tasmanian News Bulletin
Nine has announced it will complete its Australia-wide broadcast news network in 2023 with a flagship 6pm bulletin dedicated to Tasmania.
The hour-long 9News Tasmania bulletin will be produced by Nine and broadcast by Nine’s Tasmanian affiliate, live from a new Hobart studio seven days a week.
It will also create more local employment opportunities for journalists and production across Tasmania, as well as regional bureaus located in Launceston and on the North West Coast.
The 9News Tasmania 6pm bulletin will launch in early 2023. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Good Food set to cook up a storm in 2021
It has been the authority on Australian food and drink culture for more than 40 years, and now food superbrand Good Food is set to dominate further in 2023.
After a two-year COVID pause, Nine can announce the globally renowned Good Food Guide hats are back with the guide publishing in November 2022.
The Good Food Kitchen TV series returns for a second season in October, plus the Good Food events program will relaunch in 2023, providing brands with the most dynamic cross-platform opportunity in Australia.
The Good Food Guide 2023 will be published in magazine format in November, with separate editions in NSW and Victoria. More than 700 restaurants are being reviewed independently and anonymously to award one, two, or the pinnacle of three hats.
With the dining scene thriving again, the Good Food Guide will precede a new-look Good Food website with fresh content across its key pillars of recipes, reviews and restaurant news.
Advertisers will be able to maximise the high-impact, integrated power of Good Food through enhanced print and digital experiences, brand partnerships and live events.
Good Food Kitchen, hosted by favourite Good Food contributor Adam Liaw and renowned chef Danielle Alvarez, will screen on 9Now from October 11, with the eight-part series featuring irresistible recipes by Julia Busuttil Nishimara, Khanh Nyugen, Rosheen Kaul, Hugh Allen, Brent Savage and Josh Niland, among others.
Good Food Kitchen will also have its own digital destination on the Good Food website, featuring all the video and recipe content.
Nine Upfront 2023: Full integration of Australian Financial Review to cross-platform superbrand
As Australia’s only daily business publication, The Australian Financial Review (AFR) has expanded into a fully integrated cross-platform superbrand that spans print, digital, podcasts and market-leading summits and lists business.
Boasting 3.5 million subscribers across print and digital, the AFR is Australia’s most read subscription-only premium business publication, the AFR integration will allow brands to reach an affluent audience at scale.
The AFR has an innovative list of interests reflected in its readerships, such as Sustainability Leaders, BOSS Young Executives, Best Places to Work and Most Innovative Companies.
The list also includes live events from mining, banking and cryptocurrency to property, ESG and energy and climate summits, creating a Total Publishing proposition that will give brands the opportunity to connect with some of the most influential people in the nation.
The AFR has recently launched its quarterly title Fin Magazine and Walkley Award-winning podcasts, giving advertisers an attractive combination of platforms to choose from.
The Financial Review Rich List marks its 40th anniversary in 2023, the masthead looks ahead to develop sponsorship as it delivers business and political news.