Ex-Nine CEO moving into the ABC hot seat

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-24

The ABC has advised that Nine Entertainment’s former CEO Hugh Marks will succeed David Anderson as the public broadcaster’s managing director. The appointment of Marks follows an extensive domestic and international search for Anderson’s replacement, after he resigned in March after just one year of his second five-year contract. The ABC’s chairman has praised Marks, saying he is the the right person to lead the public broadcaster as it pursues renewal and investment. Marks says the ABC needs to broaden its audience reach; he will take up the role in March.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

ABC to get extra $126m funding after election

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

The federal government will boost funding for the ABC in its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has advised that the public broadcaster will receive an additional $40.9m in 2026-27, $42.2m in the following financial year and $43m in 2028-29. Rowland has also indicated that the government will legislate five-year funding agreements for the ABC. The former Coalition government had significantly reduced the ABC’s funding.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

ABC to get extra $126m funding after election

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

The federal government will boost funding for the ABC in its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has advised that the public broadcaster will receive an additional $40.9m in 2026-27, $42.2m in the following financial year and $43m in 2028-29. Rowland has also indicated that the government will legislate five-year funding agreements for the ABC. The former Coalition government had significantly reduced the ABC’s funding.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Nine mulls future of talkback amid exits and cuts

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Dec-24

Nine Entertainment’s radio division posted revenue of $103m in 2023, compared with $131.8m in 2019. Nine Radio contributes less than four per cent of the listed media group’s overall revenue, and 1.6 per cent of group EBITDA. Nine’s flagship radio stations are focused on talkback, which is competing with podcasts and streaming music platforms for audiences. Nine Radio director Tom Malone is confident about the future of the group’s radio arm. However, further on-air changes at Nine’s radio stations are possible following an overhaul at 6PR in Perth, where a recent ‘reset’ resulted in several presenters being axed and the breakfast show being extended by an hour.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE RADIO PTY LTD, 6PR SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD

Australia Post, ABC, Aussie Broadband, CSIRO and Red Cross win most trusted services and communications brands in 2024

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Dec-24

Roy Morgan has presented the annual Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards for services companies and communications brands. Over 200 brands were in the running for these awards, across the five categories of Services, Charities, Government Services, Media and Telecommunications. Aussie Broadband has been named Australia’s ‘Most Trusted Brand in Telecommunications’ for a third consecutive year, ahead of Amaysim and TPG. Red Cross has won the ‘Most Trusted Brand in Charities’ Award for the first time, ahead of the RSPCA and The Salvation Army. The ‘Most Trusted Brand in Services’ award has been won by Australia Post, one of the few brands that touches nearly all Australians on a frequent basis. The ABC has in turn been named the ‘Most Trusted Media Brand’, having led this category since the inception of the survey six years ago, while the CSIRO is the winner of the ‘Most Trusted Brand in Government Services’ for 2024.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSSIE BROADBAND LIMITED – ASX ABB, RED CROSS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, CSIRO

Broadcasters go all in on reality shows

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 17 : 3-Dec-24

The Nine Network’s head of programming Hamish Turner notes that the death of reality television had been forecast two decades ago. However, the format remains as popular as ever, and research from Ampere Analysis has found that unscripted shows now account for 75 per cent of all TV programs that are commissioned worldwide. Unscripted shows also comprise four out of every five TV shows that are commissioned in Australia. Local free-to-air networks will rely heavily on reality TV again in 2025; the Ten Network will broadcast the latest iteration of ‘Big Brother’, more than 20 years after launching the format in Australia.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, AMPERE ANALYSIS

14.8 million Australians read magazines in print or online

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Nov-24

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2024 shows that 11.5 million Australians aged 14+ (51.1%) now read print magazines. This market broadens to 14.8 million Australians aged 14+ (65.6%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app. There were widespread increases in print readership over the last year with six magazine categories increasing their readership. The most widely read magazine category continues to be Food & Entertainment, with a massive readership of 7,408,000, over 3 million ahead of any other magazine category and reaching nearly a third of the population. Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with print readership of 1,825,000 (up 1.1 per cent from a year ago), ahead of The Australian Women’s Weekly on 1.2 million. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,871 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2024.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

News Publishing reaches 21.8 million Australians with engagement across multiple brands

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Nov-24

The latest Total News Publishing readership figures from Roy Morgan show that news now reaches 21.8 million Australians aged 14+ each month, and 18.4 million every week. The Roy Morgan data underscores the depth and diversity of Australians’ engagement with news; some 93 per cent of Australians read up to five news brands every month, 63% engage with at least three categories in any given month and 51% engage with four or more news brands. However, General News remains the most read category at 93% of the population. These figures shine a light on the variety of news publishing content and the passions of highly engaged and attentive audiences that advertisers can tap into. The Total News Publishing audience data is based on monthly readership averaged over the 12 months to September 2024.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Crown versus Alan Jones, accused sexual predator

Original article by Stephen Lunn, Liam Mendes, Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 19-Nov-24

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones was charged on Monday with 24 counts of historical sexual and assault ­offences by NSW police, with his lawyer, Chris Murphy, saying Jones "denies any misconduct" and will "assert" his innocence in court. The charges followed Jones’ arrest at his Circular Quay apartment at around 7.45am, with his alleged offences involving eight males. Assistant commissioner in charge of state crimes Michael Fitzgerald told a press conference that the youngest of Jones’s alleged victims was 17, and that police ­believe more people would come forward with allegations against Jones; Jones was granted conditional bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on 18 December.

CORPORATES

ABC sorry for fake gunshot in Afghanistan stories

Original article by Sophie Elsworth, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Nov-24

The interim report of an independent review of the ABC’s ‘fake audio’ scandal has concluded that there is no evidence that the public broadcaster’s employees had any intention to mislead audiences by doctoring the Afghanistan footage. However, director of news Justin Stevens has released a statement on the ABC’s website in which he says the broadcaster "sincerely regrets and apologises" for the editing errors which resulted in additional gunshots being added to the video footage of an Australian military operation in Afghanistan. Stevens also said the video editor who had worked on the stories has left the ABC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION