Nine pulled out all the stops to impress advertisers, brands, and media buyers at Wednesday’s Upfront 2023 event at Luna Park.
The broadcaster revealed a slew of announcements, from new and returning content announcements, to commercial changes, new investments, and innovative user experiences.
Mediaweek spoke to three media agency figures to get their thoughts on Nine’s announcements, the big selling points and what it means for advertising spend.
CEO Mike Sneesby
Impressive selling points
Nine dazzled attendees with a slick and star-studded production that rivalled the likes of a Hollywood awards show. But for Jessica Longley – client and marketplace director at Wavemaker – three main selling points stood out.
Longley said: “The increased 9Now live viewing experiences such as the ‘Start Over’ feature and the Summer Release, the rich media and video inclusion within the digital publishing mastheads, and the NTN (News Traffic Network), which will help to ensure that our clients and advertisers are in front of the right people at the right time and gain further integration opportunities across the Nine Network.”
Jessica Longley
Jessica Bray, senior strategist and media team lead at Audience Precision, was impressed at Nine’s entire media ecosystem – print radio, TV, online and audio – and its offering, calling it: “something that no one else can offer.”
Bray noted that the broadcaster’s focus on text to audio and enabling video in digital titles as interesting points in the presentation.
The senior strategist also called the upgrades to the 9Now functionality and NTN big selling points. “Watching live or from the start, but keeping the advertising consistent, I think, is unique. The HD streaming sets them apart on the 9Now platform.”
Bray said of the NTN: “I thought that was a very smart move from them, bringing another revenue stream for them and kind of utilising their strong radio footprint.”
Jessica Bray
The most significant selling point for Carat’s chief investment officer Craig Cooper was seeing Nine’s entire network of brands come together following mergers and acquisitions, such as Fairfax and Macquarie Radio.
“It felt like one company and quite seamless. That was the first time, after the last couple of years, that Nine put a united front together,” he said.
How Nine’s 2022 offerings set them up for a successful 2023
All three agreed that Nine hit the ground running following last year and is now taking an advantage over the other networks with its combined offerings.
Longley said: “I am eager to see how Nine stacks up from a BVOD and content slate perspective once the remaining networks go to market with their upfronts, as well as the digital and data offerings.
“Nine didn’t go too heavy on data for 2023 and instead focused on content, integration, live streaming, and additional increased investments locally and nationally.”
Bray noted that Nine set the bar high as the first to kick off the Upfront season: “They’ve got solid content, sticking to what they know works – news, love, reality – it’s quite safe. But that’s great for advertisers.”
Cooper noted that Nine focused on their data and data capabilities last year, which has worked in their favour. He said: “I think the other networks have been playing a bit of catch-up in that area because Nine has a strategy to hit its now 20 million unique users within their ecosystem.”
“Nine was very strong last year from a vision point of view. But it felt a bit disjointed between the different platforms like digital radio, publishing, and TV. This year, the upfront felt a lot more unified.”
In contrast to the other network offerings, he diplomatically said: “Against the other networks – each network has its strengths.”
All about the primetime
Looking at the new and returning content in the year ahead, Nine has invested in more content for audiences.
Among the key formats making the return is The Block, Lego Masters, Love Island and MAFS. The network will also deliver a slew of new drama, reality shows and documentaries on Nine and Stan Originals.
Highlights for Longley include The Summit, Big Miracles, Warnie 2023, and the Stan Original series, Bali 2002.
Cast of The Block 2022
Bray noted that it was wise of Nine to stick with what they know, what is safe, and, importantly, consistent for advertisers.
“There’s lots of focus on love and reality in different shapes and sizes, and we know that works,” she added.
Cooper said that while it was good to see Nine’s suite of stable, powerful, and linear TV brands, it was the new and upcoming content that caught his attention.
“It was good to see that they’re taking some risks again. I think Warnie makes absolute sense that Nine have something like that. It’ll be interesting to see the cast for that show.
“The one I think we all found quite hilarious was My Mum, Your Dad, which I think is probably going to be a ratings winner,” he predicted.
However, the CIO didn’t share the same enthusiasm for The Summit, which he said seemed like a mixture of Survivor and The Amazing Race.
“Whether or not we have space for that in the market with the other well-established platforms, I’m not sure. But the imagery looks amazing,” he added.
See also: Nine Upfront 2023: New and Returning programs
Will Nine’s announcements bring in the big bucks?
Whether Nine’s raft of new announcements made the network more attractive to media buyers, each noted there were varying degrees of potential.
Longley said that while new and exciting announcements are attractive to media buyers, the announcements would need to be back up with substance.
“For example, we know linear TV audiences are challenged, and BVOD audiences are growing. The new ‘Start Over’ feature ensures audiences won’t miss out on their favourite programming if they are late to live stream, which means more eyeballs (and reach) on ads, which leads to stronger client results,” the Wavemaker director explained.
Meanwhile, Bray said Nine had enough tentpole programming for a range of brands, making it more attractive to media buyers.
“There are no real gaps in flagship programming throughout the year,” the senior strategist said. “Their line-up bookends solid performers, one into the next. So, investment in Nine won’t leave us any gaps in the audience throughout the year.”
Cooper noted that with the plethora of announcements, there were attractive aspects because of Nine’s focus on diverse content and stories to reach a broad audience across Australia on various platforms.
“They’re probably the only one in Australia that has that umbrella strategy across multiple platforms. It comes down to cost if a client is going to partner with Nine. Traditionally, Nine comes with a premium, and it depends on whether a client is willing to pay that premium,” he said.
Craig Cooper
Moving the needle on advertising spend
The multitude of innovative new announcements on Wednesday showed how brands could benefit from Nine’s ecosystem. Each shared what for them might move the needle on the amount advertisers spent.
Longley noted that for her, it was the integration opportunities across radio, publishing and television that allowed for additional touchpoints to reach Wavemaker’s clients in the right place and at the right time.
“The multiple launches and updates across multiple channels across the Nine portfolios mean there is something to suit most clients looking for new ways to reach audiences,” the director added.
9Now, April 2022
For Bray, it was the BVOD offering and its additional functionality. She said: “The additional functionality of the buttons, to watch from the start, as well as elevating it by premiering programmes before free to air, like Love Island to follow the audience where they’re watching.”
The senior strategist also added the utilisation of Nine’s BVOD offering with the first-party data. She said: “Nine is focusing on that to allow for a great offering for advertisers to tap into and target. It’ll be interesting to see how the other networks try to match this.”
Cooper also highlighted the sleek 9Now UX upgrades – the ‘Start Over’ function and confirming that ads will still play – as a standout to advertisers and called Nine a leader in the BVOD space and “driving the free BVOD experience in Australia.”
The CIO also added the announcement of the Nine Traffic Network as a lucrative space for advertisers, given Nine’s 2019 take over Macquarie Radio and its Australian Traffic Network (ATN).
“Audio ads are quite lucrative, the 10-second line before the traffic or weather. ATN’s premise is it goes across all networks – SCA, ARN, Nova and Nine Radio. But if Nine Radio is coming out of that conglomerate, then what does that mean for ATN?
“It’s smart for Nine. More influence and greater yield in that area, but it does leave us questioning what’s going to happen with ATN,” Cooper noted.
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Top image, left to right: Jessica Longley, Craig Cooper and Jessica Bray