The Australian Open kicks off today on Nine, after months of preparing for a COVID-safe event, with big brands back on board and the chance to capitalise on “challenged” programming by competitors.
The tournament, which was moved from its usual mid-January start and pushed into the official ratings period, saw the world’s top tennis players quarantine for two weeks across Australia.
Nine’s director of sport Brent Williams told AdNews he expects the tennis to draw its usual big ratings despite the delay from COVID-19.
“We are confident that with all the players that are here, and the great story lines around this tournament, whether it's Serena Williams going for the record 24, Dylan Alcott going for his seventh in a row, or Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur, and Ash Barty trying to win a home Grand Slam, there's enough stories that are going to keep people excited, and interested around this tournament,” says Williams.
“We’re confident that this is going to give us the strong lead into our slate of programming for 2021 as it has done for the last several years.”
Matt Granger, Nine’s director of sport sales, says the tennis is likely to benefit from the same bump in audiences that AFL and the NRL experienced, with the pre-tournament events attracting strong viewers.
“We know how much Australians love sport and how desperately they're looking forward to this,” Granger says.
“And obviously we haven't had a grand slam for some time. To have it back in Melbourne after what Victoria has been through, back in Australia with our best players and teams here to play is pretty exciting.
“We saw this last year with the sport as well, those audiences were desperate for it and some of our competitors have some programming that's been challenged a little bit at the moment, so I think there's a real opportunity for us to capitalise even further as it moves into February.”
Key sponsors have returned to the Australian Open, including Kia, UberEats, ANZ, Peters and Chemist Warehouse, while Samsung, AHM and Telstra have signed on.
Given that brands’ on-ground presence will be wound back due to COVID-19 restrictions, we can expect big things in their digital and TV advertising.
“We’ve seen more partners moving into our digital, radio and publishing offering,” Granger says.
“We've created virtual content hubs to be able to fulfill all their needs. And, really what's been exciting among this is that we have clients here who some are rebranding, some are launching new products, some are repositioning an offering, some are evolving their brand story. We've been able to deliver all of those from that Nine content ecosystem which is so unique.”
And despite the lulled market, as it recovers from the pandemic, Granger says smaller businesses are also active in the market, particularly food-delivery, tech and domestic travel brands.
“We've actually seen more people come in from a mid-tier level, who are really using this as a reach platform,” he says.
“It might not be a partner sponsor but still make the launch of the year, and get their business going. And there are lots of new categories who are using it in a different way as well. So, the interest there has been high if not higher for the Australian Open.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.