Today, MediaWorks announced via a story published on 3News that John Campbell would be leaving Campbell Live and that the show would be replaced by an alternative current affairs programme in the 7pm slot. The new show is expected to start within the next six to eight weeks and will run Monday to Thursday, with a yet-to-be-announced entertainment show running on Friday evenings.
Dancing with the Stars, the show that seems to be made up of Shortland Street actors, radio presenters and politicians and is renowned for its second series where Rodney Hide dropped his partner during his cha-cha-cha performance is back again this year after a six-year hiatus and MediaWorks has whipped out some convincing projection (pun intended) techniques to get us interested.
Contestant Matilda Rice may have won the heart of bachelor Arthur Green on The Bachelor NZ, but online clothing retailer The Iconic won the eyeballs of the hit show’s viewers. In a clever retail marketing strategy, the Australian site was the exclusive wardrobe provider of dresses for the rose ceremonies.
Generally, the radio survey coincides with a tornado of rushed interviews, press releases and victory-claiming promotions from both sides of the commercial network divide. This time, however, the survey results uncharacteristically wafted by with little response from either side. StopPress gives a rundown of the results and looks at the survey standoff between MediaWorks and NZME. PLUS: a consideration of how the survey might change in the future.
Today, Campbell Live tweeted a clip of a song ‘Love lifts us up where we belong’ to celebrate the fact that it was the number one show on TV3 once again last night. Despite its recent ratings boost, the show is still under official review by MediaWorks, but the team is regularly showing its gratitude to the viewers for supporting it and making the decision to get rid of it more difficult for the powers that be. It’s also maintaining its competitive streak and trying to beat the opposition, which it did in entertainingly petty fashion last night.
After farts, contestant scandals and fiery familial encounters, The Bachelor NZ concluded on Wednesday and, according to data from Nielsen, the finale attracted 900,500 viewers. This number averaged out at 461,1000 over the course of the show, and the ratings show that 227,100 viewers in the 25-54 demographic tuned in to watch Art Green choose Matilda Rice over Dani Robinson.
As we’ve seen with the Campbell Live debate, fans believe the importance of the show can’t be reduced to ratings because it also serves an important social function. And broadcasters seem to be saying something similar when quantifying the success of reality shows that include a high level of sponsorship integration because they are leading to commercial results for advertisers. So is that also the case for the inaugural season of Our First Home, which wrapped up earlier this week after three live auctions?
The idea that Campbell Live is, to use the often emotive language of the media, ‘on the chopping block’, seems to have been popping up for a few years now, and that’s not entirely surprising given the changes to the free-to-air TV market and media in general. But it was officially confirmed yesterday when MediaWorks management said it was undertaking a review. The Herald’s John Drinnan wrote about that decision and alluded to a rumour that Jono and Ben could be taking over the slot, but MediaWorks has taken the unusual step of responding to that story by issuing a clarification and saying it’s a “complete fabrication”.
Rarely do the players in the TV market set aside their fierce competition and come together in support of a common cause. However, the emergence of global mode options on internet service providers Slingshot, Orcon and other companies has risen sufficient concern for MediaWorks, Sky, TVNZ and Spark (the owner of Lightbox) unify. A joint statement by the quartet of companies today stated that they are “taking action against internet and technology companies who sell and promote services that enable access to international geo-blocked TV and movie services.”
Industry happenings at FCB, TVNZ, MediaWorks, RadiumOne, ApolloNation, Raydar, Ad2one, Snakk Media and Pead PR.
Until recently, advertising across MediaWorks’ various properties was sold by independent sales arms. And while this approach worked at a time when the lines between channels were clearly defined, it has become largely impracticable to a company that is already running integrated campaigns on major shows and is also on the verge of launching an ambitious cross-channel show fronted by Paul Henry. Since last May MediaWorks has been restructuring its sales teams, and the company’s head of revenue Liz Fraser and commerical director Paul Hancox believe they have now finalised a structure that is better suited to a landscape typified by blurred media lines.
As Colin Peacock noted in MediaWatch this week, as two X Factor judges were sent packing for bullying and lambasted for having an over-inflated opinion of themselves, a man who has “built his reputation on his ego and on picking on people poorly equipped to defend themselves on air” is getting set to kick off his experimental, multi-media breakfast news show on April 7. And MediaWorks has launched the last phase of its marketing push to get New Zealanders to tune in.
It’s been exciting times at MediaWorks in recent months, with big restructures in the business and man-slaughterers, fraudsters, bullies and drink drivers featuring on TV. Across at TVNZ, there hasn’t been quite as much drama and its new reality format Our First Home has been plodding along rather than taking the nation by storm, but one moment has made it to US clip show The Soup. Plus: searches for the word ‘fart’ spike after a case of flatulence on The Bachelor NZ.
After around ten years of broadcasting, originally as a Kiwi-only music station and more recently with some international artists thrown in the mix, MediaWorks has announced that Kiwi FM will close on March 31.
MediaWorks’ decision to fire X Factor NZ judges husband and wife duo Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, after their scathing comments towards contestant Joe Irvine, has had a positive impact on the show’s rating, lifting viewership by 100,000 sets of eyes. Plus: a look at some of MediaWorks’ other missteps over the last few weeks.
The radio industry has been fizzing in recent months. MediaWorks claimed that it was leading the charge on a new research methodology, NZME then decided to independently finance an industry-wide T1 survey after it was scrapped earlier this year, and then Gill Stewart stepped down from her position as the general manager of The Radio Bureau (TRB). So is there still a place for TRB?
Industry happenings at TRB, MediaWorks, SenateSHJ, Pead PR and Frucor Beverages.
In a new section that explores the media consumption habits of reasonably well-known New Zealand humans, Guy Williams, regular 7 Days panelist, co-host of The Edge Drive Show and serial offender on Jono and Ben at Ten, explains his fondness for podcasts, social media, sport and big natural boobs.
Last year the big free-to-air ratings battle was between The Block NZ and MKR NZ. This year it’s X-Factor NZ and Our First Home. And, early on in the piece, it’s a tight tussle, with the first episode of the second season of MediaWorks’ talent show charting slightly bigger ratings than TVNZ’s new reno-reality show. PLUS: TVNZ’s Our First Home game extends the show to the second screen.
Industry happenings at NZME, Bauer, The Business Herald, MediaWorks, Singapore Airlines, Rydges Hotels and CRV Ambreed.
In December, the radio industry came to an accord that the radio survey scheduled for the first half of the year would not occur. However, it now seems that after several weeks of contemplation, NZME has taken matters into its own hands and earlier today announced it will fully fund an independent survey of radio audiences in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. And this move has caught MediaWorks off-guard.
Industry happenings at MPA, MediaWorks, OMD, CAANZ, The Pond and Unity Films.
From March, Prime News, which airs on Sky-owned Prime, will be produced by the MediaWorks news division at their Auckland Flower Street Studios as part of a new deal between the two networks. And the deal comes with additional revenue potential for MediaWorks, because the network will also be selling advertising and sponsorship associated with the show. PLUS: Top Gear heads to TV3.
Industry happenings at Spark, NZME, Dentsu Aegis, MediaWorks, Icebreaker, Pure SEO and Vega.
MediaWorks Radio and Radio Tarana (which has been broadcasting in New Zealand since 1996) have formed a new partnership in an effort to create fresh commercial opportunities for their respective clients. And the move makes sense for both the network and radio station, given the demographic changes in New Zealand over the last two decades.
In an era where the online realm has allowed marketers and media owners to measure, track and chart everything in real-time, it seems slightly anachronistic to record radio listenership by getting people to fill in a paper diary. And the radio industry seems to agree, because it’s currently reviewing its research methodology and, as a result, it won’t be conducting its regular T1 survey.
In keeping with an ongoing tradition, a few industry players gave us their take on the year for our annual opinion harvest. Here’s what Paul Hancox, commercial director at MediaWorks, thought about 2014.
We asked some stalwarts a simple question. Here’s what Liz Fraser, group head of revenue at MediaWorks, had to say.
Last week, MediaWorks continued its restructuring process by announcing it would operate one newsroom across its TV, radio and online assets, with Mark Jennings taking on the top role. It also announced the integration of digital across the business and, as a result of these changes, the roles of TV chief executive Paul Maher and head of interactive Siobhan McKenna were disestablished. Chief executive Mark Weldon said there would be no more job losses in TV and interactive. But it’s thought two more long-serving senior MediaWorks staff members are also set to depart: senior legal counsel/company secretary Clare Bradley, who has been with the company since 2000, and chief financial officer and director of technology Peter Crossan, who has been with the company since 1999.
MediaWorks has taken a novel approach to finding a ‘social media expert’ for Paul Henry in lead up to his new show by creating a bespoke miscrosite that features a monochromatic mugshot of the controversial TV host above a short blurb—written in his dismissive voice—that explains why he is on the hunt for someone talented in the esoteric art of social media.