Archives: Media Releases

JAMES BRACEY HOSTING SUNDAY TO THURSDAY 
ROZ KELLY TAKES OVER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
ROZ KELLY TO HOST SPORTS SUNDAY

James Bracey and Roz Kelly have joined the 9News Sydney sports desk full time in a new look for Sydney’s No.1 news service.

The ultra-versatile Bracey sits beside news anchor Peter Overton on the 9News desk for the Sunday to Thursday 6.00pm bulletins, while Kelly steps up for the weekend rounds of sport on Friday and Saturday nights alongside Georgie Gardner.

Already a well-known face to viewers on Nine’s Wide World of Sports coverage, James was humbled by being chosen to step into the 9News Sydney team permanently.

He said: “Sport and Nine go hand-in-hand, so I’m over the moon to join the 9News team. I grew up admiring Ken Sutcliffe and his on-air rapport with Brian Henderson and Peter Overton. It’s surreal to now find myself in that same chair alongside Pete.”

Roz Kelly, who shot to prominence in her first stint at 9News from 2010 to 2014, said: “The Nine newsroom holds a special place in my heart. It’s where I honed my craft as a young reporter coming through the ranks, picking the brains of Ken Sutcliffe, Tim Sheridan, Peter Overton, Georgie Gardner and Damian Ryan, just to name a few.

“I have carried their advice with me throughout my career, so to now officially return to the newsroom where it all began and reconnect with this world-class team is a great honour and responsibility not lost on me.”

9News Sydney chief presenter, Peter Overton, said: “I am delighted to work alongside James and Roz and it’s terrific to have them joining our news team. They are so good at what they do and bring great energy to their roles.”

9News Sydney 6.00pm newsreader, Georgie Gardner, said: “James and Roz are great assets to the 6.00pm news team and will enhance our bulletins with their breadth of sporting knowledge and broadcasting experience. They bring great passion and professionalism and are thoroughly deserving of their new roles.”

Roz will also step into the role as host of Sports Sunday as well as continuing her Super Rugby and tennis commitments. James will continue to host NRL on Nine, including State of Origin and the NRL Grand Final, as well as the Australian Open.

Nine’s Director of Sport, Brent Williams, said: “Roz Kelly is one of Australia’s most versatile and experienced sports hosts and we are thrilled to have her taking the reins of our flagship national program, Sports Sunday. Her depth of knowledge and passion across all sports makes her the perfect person for the role.

“Along with Sports Sunday and 9News, Roz will continue in her role as an integral member of our Australian Open and Stan Sport Rugby coverage.”

9News has remained Sydney’s No.1 news bulletin for 11 consecutive years in Sydney.

For further information please contact:  
Jane McLaren
jane.mclaren@nine.com.au

Monday, May 9, 2022

As an unprecedented growth in audience consumption towards digital platforms continues, Nine has today announced significant technology initiatives to bring brands closer than ever before to Nine’s 15 million signed in users.   

Following on from recent announcements of Nine’s Centre Of Digital Excellence (CODE) – which will underpin the company’s acceleration towards a digital transformation – the next generation of data driven insights and measurement tools have been revealed during today’s Big Ideas Store session ‘Data with a Conscience’.

Audience Profile is a state-of-the-art planning tool that will revolutionise the way marketers identify which 9Now programs or Nine websites most efficiently reach their target audience, while Audience Explorer is a new and enhanced dashboard utilizing Nine’s rich first party data for campaign measurement.

“The next generation of Nine’s data insights and measurement tools bring rich campaign reporting and insights to the world of BVOD and publishing,” said Ben Campbell, Nine’s Director of Advertising & Data Products. “We are excited to bring these to market and look forward to introducing digital audio soon.”

The platform will provide greater insights into audiences and be a game changer for people-based marketing solutions. For example, marketers can select Women 35-49 and be able to make informed decisions around which Nine shows and websites deliver that audience with the greatest reach and efficiency.

Alternatively, the interactive dashboards can be used to profile audiences of a show or site such as 100% Footy NRL; filter by index and see exactly which audiences most highly index against that content.

Sitting alongside Audience Profile will be Nine’s new and enhanced Audience Explorer campaign measurement dashboard, which will help brands better understand more about the users who saw their campaigns. The platform allows clients to unlock key metrics including delivered spend plus impressions, average CPM, unique user reach and cost per reach, with new charts plotting the metrics day-by-day throughout the duration of the campaign.

Marketers can filter by uniques to see a detailed profile of audiences exposed to the campaign or filter by click through rate to understand who engaged.

The announcements were made during today’s Big Ideas Store session, with the panel consisting of ADMA’s Head of Regulatory & Advocacy Advisory Sarla Fernando, ThinkPremiumDigital General Manager Venessa Hunt, Nine’s Director of Advertising & Data Products Ben Campbell, and Nine’s Director of Audience and Automation Jordan King.

With many Australians’ understanding of how their data is being used increasing significantly during Covid due to check-in and other digital collections, the spotlight has been thrown on ethical data and how marketers can approach impending legislation change around data and privacy.

For more information:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Nearly 80 per cent of Australians believe brands should use their power to make an impact for real world change on social and workplace inequality, according to new research conducted by Nine and cultural insights agency FiftyFive5.

As conflict in Ukraine rages on, and culture wars dominate climate change and LGBTQIA+ rights, marketers are facing growing pressure from consumers for their brands to be seen as playing an activist role in a range of social issues.

The research, which explores the influence brands have as champions of change and whether taking a stand is as beneficial for profits as it is for society, shows that 63% of Australians believe brands can drive change on climate, and 54% respondents believe brands can be a force for good on job creation.

“We’ve been noticing for some time now that consumers have elevated the role that trusted brands play in our everyday lives,” said Nine’s Director of Insights and Strategy, Toby Boon.

“In the absence of what many Australians feel is proactive change from government on issues ranging from climate change to inequality, consumers are turning to brands to lead the charge for a better society. But equally, they’re holding brands to a higher standard than ever before, and authenticity is key.”

According to the study, consumers are looking beyond the brand into the company, with an overwhelming number of Australians demanding that the internal policies of a business reflect the values presented in its brand marketing.

Set amongst a deeply decisive landscape, nearly all Australians are on the same page with their expectations of how corporate Australia can act, with 87% expecting brands to operate ethically, 81% expecting brands to be socially responsible, and 79% expecting brands to tackle workplace inequality.

The issues that people feel are hitting closest to home are the soaring cost of living (60%), climate change (51%), healthcare (40%) and the economy (39%). It is why consumers are agitating for activism from the brands they touch.

Michelle Newton, Director, Cultural Forecasting of FiftyFive5, said consumers now expect brands to take a position on issues.

“We conducted a study with a national representation of Australians to reveal the level of participation that brands can have in addressing some of the larger, social cultural issues in this country,” she said.

“We learnt that consumers not only want brands to participate in issues like workplace equality and climate change, but there is also an expectation that they will take a stand and do better across a variety of issues.”

With nearly one in two consumers wanting to see brands engage in activities that would increase awareness of a particular social issue, businesses that don’t take a position may feel the impact.

Nowhere is this more visible than in the key consumer targets of Gen Z and Gen X, with these generations overwhelmingly (62% of Zs; 57% of Xs) determined to withhold custom from businesses that are not supportive of LGBTQIA+ rights.

“Brands that want to take a stand on a cause or campaign on an issue should follow six key steps,” said Boon. “Line up your internal policies with your external positions, identify the issues most relevant to your brand and consumers, back up your position with action, commit for the long term, be authentic, and own your past mistakes.

“Brand activism isn’t new, but the transparency must be there. There is a lot going on in the world at the moment, and providing they’re genuine, brands can transcend from being a product to something much more ethereal and meaningful that impacts on our world and our children’s future.”

The research conducted by Powered and FiftyFive5 is part of Powered’s Cultural Conversation series presented at The Big Idea Store in today’s session, The Revolution will be Advertised, held from 11am-12pm.

For more information:

Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

The Big Ideas Store is now open for its fifth year. From today, Powered by Nine’s renowned event will ignite conversation with two weeks of high-profile speakers, creative workshops, exclusive research, and an immersive art gallery pop-up taking over the panoramic 22nd floor of Nine’s HQ in North Sydney. 

Famous for its big ideas and big thinking, The Big Ideas Store – which will run from today to Friday, May 13 – has planted itself as a must-see annual event that engages the industry and sparks conversation. 

Week one will dig deep into topics such as whether consumers want brands to play the role of activist and agitate for social change in exclusive research for Nine; how brands can play a role in Australia reaching United Nations’ goals for Sustainable Development; are marketers prioritising innovation and the future like Metaverse at the expense of technology currently available to enhance effectiveness; and data collection with a conscience and whether ethical data is the industry’s next big challenge.    

The week will wrap up with a session delving into how brands have evolved the influencer marketing journey. Featuring panellists Roxy Jacenko and Sharyn Smith, founder of The Influencer Group, alongside Powered’s Anna Quinn and Jessica Parry, ‘Buying Under the Influence’ will explore the challenges and what the future holds for influencer marketing. 

Week two will tackle the groundbreaking science into Attention in advertising; how reality TV shows like Married at First Sight play a unique role in shaping culture; the dark arts of advertising; and two new exclusive pieces of research – a new insight study exploring the evolution of Australian families, while the second explores the trends and consumer shifts as brands plan for this Christmas (only 237 sleeps to go!).     

The Big Ideas Store will culminate with The Great Debate, with two teams battling over one of the industry’s most perennial discussions: ‘that the media plan is more important than the creative idea’.   

“The level of diversity in opinions and people speaking this year, and the broad church of topics we’re covering excites me,” said Liana Dubois, Director of Powered. “Our two-week lineup will explore all these fields in detail, and really help brands navigate the changing face of popular culture.”

Register for The Big Ideas Store at https://thebigideasstore.com.au/

For more information:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

HOSTED BY PETER OVERTON AND ALICIA LOXLEY

Nine has assembled an expert panel of political minds for its coverage of the 2022 federal election on Saturday, May 21: Australia Decides.

Our comprehensive coverage begins at 7.00am with Weekend Today, which will offer an analysis of the key election issues and the policies that each party is hoping will capture your vote.

We will be there when polling booths open at 8.00am as Australians head to the polls to determine who will govern the nation for the next three years.

A special election-day edition of 9News will be broadcast at 4.00pm.

Then at 5.00pm our election-evening coverage begins. We’ll have late breaking news and interviews from the polling booths as politicians scramble for the final votes.

Viewers in all capital cities will hear the very latest from reporters on the ground in electorates right around the country in their local editions of 9News at 6.00pm. These bulletins will also feature early results from Nine’s exclusive election prediction system.

Our rolling coverage on election night, hosted by Peter Overton and Alicia Loxley, begins at 7.00pm, delivering live results with unparalleled analysis from some of the biggest political names in the country.

Nine’s Political Editor, Chris Uhlmann, will spearhead our in-depth assessment as the votes are tallied. He will also appear on Nine’s unrivalled panel, which will feature:

• Julie Bishop (LIB) – former Minister for Foreign Affairs (2013 – 2018) and former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (2007 – 2018)
• Bill Shorten (ALP) – contested the last two federal elections as Leader of the Labor Party (2013 – 2019)
• Senator Jane Hume (LIB) – Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy and Minister for Women’s Economic Security
• Senator Matt Canavan (NAT) – Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate and former Minister for Resources and Northern Australia
• Kate Ellis (ALP) – former Minister for Youth and Minister for Sport and the youngest person to become an Australian government minister

Nine’s political expert Charles Croucher will gauge the pulse of the nation while dissecting the verdict of our viewers and breaking down key battlegrounds.

We will cross regularly to Sarah Abo and Chris O’Keefe who will each be stationed at the Liberal’s and the ALP’s HQ as Australia waits to see who will take the keys to The Lodge for the next three years.

Nine’s team of reporters will be stationed in electorates across the country, bringing viewers the latest in breaking news from key seats.

Using our own state-of-the-art election system, we will also calculate results as determined by our team of experts at Nine’s Decision Desk.

And as the results come into Nine’s Election HQ we will broadcast them in our Virtual Tally Room.

Throughout the campaign, 9news.com.au is your one-stop destination for rolling online coverage, as well as providing expert analysis and the latest in breaking news. 9news.com.au also features a range of easy-to-understand ‘explainers’, such as How is the Australian government elected?

Plus, be sure to check out our two new podcasts: Deb Knight’s Pollie Waffle and On The Trail: Election 2022 with Charles Croucher – available on all leading podcast platforms.

AUSTRALIA DECIDES
SATURDAY, MAY 21, ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW

For further information, please contact:
Jane McLaren
jane.mclaren@nine.com.au

Monday, May 2, 2022

DRIVE returns to screens across the 9Network on Sunday 1st May, taking viewers along for the ride on some of Australia’s most iconic road trips and uncovering hidden gems on roads less traveled. 

Following the successful launch of the DRIVE series earlier this year, Season 2 will run over 10 episodes on Channel 9 at 1pm Sunday and stream on 9Now.

Hosted by industry experts and journalists James Ward, Trent Nikolic, and Emma Notarfrancesco, each episode is designed to appeal to a broad audience, from motor lovers to weekend drivers, through local stories, breathtaking scenery, and a diverse range of cars.

“We’re thrilled with the performance of our first ever DRIVE series”, said CEO Simon Halfhide. “Given the recent shift to more Australians exploring their own backyard our goal was to take viewers on an inspiring road trip that was both aspirational, yet within reach.”

“It was also great to see more than 50 percent of the average audience throughout the first season were female. This shows we’re striking the right balance between automotive tech and the lifestyle content more geared to families.”

DRIVE Season 2 will feature the very first drives in all new vehicles, the latest electric cars, SUV’s and hot hatches, while travelling across lakes, deserts, and even visiting a gigantic solar farm.

Drive’s Director of Content, James Ward says, “This new season of DRIVE promises more cars, more roads and great local stories, all while discovering those ‘off the main road’ hidden gems that families can add to their next great escape.

“Nowhere else can audiences get the pairing of expert automotive knowledge, with the front seat immersive road trip experience that television provides.”

DRIVE will return to the 9Network on Sunday May 1^st at 1pm.

For more information contact:
Caitlin Lynch
Senior Communications Manager, Nine
clynch@nine.com.au

Friday, April 29, 2022

IS THE MEDIA PLAN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CREATIVE IDEA?

It is one of the most hotly debated topics in adland and is as old as the industry itself – is the medium more important than the message? 

Great creative advertising and messaging can capture the imagination and bring money-can’t-buy adoration for brands. But is an eye-catching campaign any good without maximum eyeballs seeing it?    

Now, six industry brains will go head-to-head as they settle the issue once and for all [and that’s not taking any creative licence!] in the return of The Big Ideas Store Great Debate, to be held on Thursday, May 12, which will round out two weeks of thought provoking insights and creative workshops.  

Arguing in support of the motion that the media plan is more important than the creative idea is Powered’s Director of Strategy & Insights, Toby Boon, alongside Remi Baker, Head of Strategy, Sydney at PHD and Nick Durrant, Managing Director at MAGNA. 

“This is the ultimate question in advertising, and the answer has always been in front of us – it’s obviously the media plan, and we will prove it. When you look at the science and data…who are we to dispute the evidence?” quips Boon.

Against the motion, Powered’s Director of Enterprise, Michele O’Neill – who captained last year’s winning debate team – will lead Elaine Li, Senior Creative at Howatson+Company, and Kellie Box, Senior Strategic Planner Special Group to argue that the creative is more important than the plan.

“Bring it on Boon!” says O’Neill. 

The Great Debate will be held at Nine’s North Sydney headquarters, or can be viewed virtually. Register here: thebigideasstore.com.au

For more information:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au 

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Nine’s radio stations have today launched community support programs in each market to help vital local and charitable organisations drive awareness and raise funds. 

Branded locally as 2GB Supports, 3AW Supports, 4BC Supports, and 6PR Supports, the program will be underwritten by $1.6 million in airtime and production each year. 

Nine Radio’s Managing Director, Tom Malone says it’s a big and important commitment from the business: “Nine is the only commercial broadcaster producing live and local content in key shifts in all markets. This puts us at the heart of the cities we serve.

“We want to support these communities even further with dedicated and targeted marketing across our talk stations, digital platforms and social channels to provide a voice for the important work of so many wonderful and unsung community and charity organisations.”

Each month, 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR will champion a different charity in their respective markets, spreading the word of these critical community groups while helping to raise much needed funds to support their endeavours.

Malone added: “Every week, two million Australians tune into our radio stations. Our team of broadcasters know it is an enormous privilege to speak directly with so many of our listeners, and champion their causes. This program will deepen our relationship with our listeners and the communities we serve.”

To view this month’s charities in your market, head to:

2gb.com/supports

3aw.com.au/supports

4bc.com.au/supports

6pr.com.au/supports

For further information, please contact: 
Terry Stuart
Senior Communications Manager
tstuart@nine.com.au

Thursday, April 21, 2022

As we head into the Easter long weekend, the 9Network has the greatest share of viewers across the 5 City Metro for the year-to-date.

With more hit programs than any other network, the 9Network is leading both the survey year and calendar year with all key demos and Total People. 

At a primary channel level, Channel 9 is also leading both the calendar year and survey year with all key demos and Total People. 

The cracking start to 2022 was spearheaded by the Australian Open in January, which broke viewing records.

The combination of the Women’s Final and the Men’s Doubles Final on Saturday, January 29 gave the 9Network the highest primetime commercial shares in OzTAM history with People 25-54 (81.2%), 16-39 (84.9%) and Total People (78.6%).

The Women’s Final soared to a national Total TV average audience of 3.835 million. It is the highest rating Australian Open Women’s Final of all time and Australia’s highest rating program of the year to date. The Women’s Final recorded the highest live BVOD audience of the Australian Open ever, with 241,000 people tuning in on 9Now.

On 9Now, more than 657 million minutes of Australian Open coverage was streamed, representing a year-on-year increase of 171%.

Nine’s broadcast of the Men’s Final of the Australian Open achieved a national Total TV average audience of 2.333 million. It is the highest rating Men’s Final in four years. On 9Now, the Men’s Final recorded a Live BVOD Audience of 227,000 – a year-on-year increase of 157% and the highest live BVOD Audience of an Australian Open Men’s Final ever.

The all-Aussie Men’s Doubles Final was the highest rating Australian Open Men’s Doubles match of all time. It drew a national Total TV average audience of 2.482 million.

Married at First Sight has once again completely dominated all opposition in the first quarter of 2022. Currently the series has a national Total TV average audience of 1.985 million viewers per episode. The finale is the highest rating non-sports program of the year with a national Total TV average audience of 2.361 million, of which 561,000 are from 9Now.

Underbelly: Vanishing Act is the highest rating new Australian drama launch in three years. Episode one has a national Total TV average audience of 1.477 million, which episode two has a national Total TV average audience of 1.516 million.

Travel Guides returned with a bang two weeks ago and currently has a national Total TV average audience of 1.129 million viewers per episode.

Also performing strongly for Nine in Quarter One were The Hundred with Andy Lee (national Total TV average audience of 738,000 viewers per episode) and Under Investigation with Liz Hayes (national Total TV average audience of 626,000 viewers per episode).

In the BVOD space, 9Now is the No. 1 commercial free-to-air (CFTA) BVOD platform, winning every survey week of the year so far. 9Now is leading the survey year-to-date (SYTD) on minutes streamed with Total People, as well as the key demos 25-54 and 18-39.

9Now is also the No. 1 commercial free-to-air (CFTA) BVOD platform across the calendar year, winning every week of the year so far. 9Now is leading the calendar year-to-date (CYTD) on minutes streamed with Total People, as well as the key demos 25-54 and 18-39.

For further information, please contact: 
Terry Stuart
Senior Communications Manager
tstuart@nine.com.au

Thursday, April 14, 2022

The Thing About Pam, based on one of the most perplexing murder cases in modern-day America, premieres Tuesday, April 19, at 8.50pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.

The Thing About Pam is based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in her husband Russ’s conviction, although he insisted he didn’t kill her. He was later exonerated. This brutal crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp.

A thorough examination of the scheme was featured on several episodes of Dateline NBC, becoming one of the most popular topics to ever air on the hit franchise. It also became the subject of a popular 2019 podcast, The Thing About Pam, which has been downloaded over 20 million times.

The limited series also features Katy Mixon as Betsy Faria (American Housewife, Mike & Molly, My Name is Earl, Two and a Half Men), Glenn Fleshler as Russ Faria (The Joker, Billions, True Detective, Watchmen, The Twilight Zone), Gideon Adlon as Mariah Day (The Craft: Legacy, The Mustang, Blockers, The Society), Sean Bridgers as Mark Hupp (The Underground Railroad, Deadwood, Get Shorty), Suanne Spoke as Janet (Station 19, Second Chances with Jason Nash, Whiplash) and Mac Brandt as Detective McCarrick (Lovecraft Country, Kingdom, Night Shift, Game Over, Man!, Venom).

The Thing About Pam is executive produced by Renée Zellweger, Carmella Casinelli, Jenny Klein (showrunner), Mary-Margaret Kunze, Scott Winant, Jessika Borsiczky, Liz Cole, Noah Oppenheim, Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold and Mary Lisio.

Blumhouse Television, NBC News Studios and Big Picture Co. produce.

For further information, please contact:
Christabel Huynh
9Network Publicity
christabel.huynh@nine.com.au

Thursday, April 14, 2022