Katie Finney.
The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
Katie Finney, National Television Sales Director, Seven West Media
At least once a week, through trade media, the global digital platforms’ spin machines or LinkedIn comments, we hear that television is dead, dying or will be dead soon. Since 1956, when Bruce Gyngell greeted Australians with “Good evening and welcome to television”, the Australian television industry has had to compete for the attention of consumers – first, against local rivals and now also against global digital giants.
Government regulation protected our audiences by ensuring they saw and heard Australian voices and stories. This protection is why, despite competition, we have a thriving industry that competes on the world stage. However, current government regulation does not protect the Australian media industry against streamers and global platforms in the same way. Is this a death sentence for our local industry? It's easy to say “yes”, and we certainly are fighting with one hand tied behind our back, but I believe that through innovation, live streaming and the fact that Australian audiences continue to vote with their remote, our local industry has found the cure and will survive and thrive.
The first stage of the TV survival “treatment” is allowing Australians to access the number one and number two sports in this country for free via streaming. It seems weird that in our sporting nation, as many as 40% of homes (that is, the homes that only have connected TV sets) have not been able to watch the AFL or cricket without paying.
But now they can, with 7plus adding cricket and AFL for the first time. It’s the biggest game changer ever in live streaming, with an estimated 4.5-billion-minute increase to 7plus and a 20% increase in daily users. With the digital rights, Seven is also targeting the harder-to-reach younger audiences to complement the core audience, giving them the content they want and revolutionising cricket and AFL coverage with alternate commentary and nightly shows that will set the agenda for daily sports conversations. We are also creating a daily home for fans – dedicated team hubs hosting full match replays, minis, highlights, press conferences, news, and exclusive team content. With this hub, viewers will go to 7plus and brands can access these audiences in a brand-safe environment versus platforms like YouTube, where AFL content is housed illegally and in breach of broadcast rights agreements.
The second stage of the “treatment” is giving audiences more reasons to choose local platforms for entertainment. At Seven, we call it the bonfires and fireworks strategy. The bonfires are the premium library of content on 7plus, which is only getting bigger on free ad-supported platforms as global studios make more of their content available rather than behind the paywall of their platforms. Then there are the fireworks, which at Seven are first-run exclusives that will add huge audience spikes to the bonfires. As a viewer, I am super excited that some of the biggest shows for 2025 from the US will be available for free on 7plus first. This scheduling will also mean that brands can leverage cultural moments associated with US dramas like Suits LA and connect with them on a platform where audiences are used to seeing advertising.
The third stage of the survival treatment is advocacy and proving to the naysayers that television is still the most effective channel. In 2025, both Seven and Nine have put their money where their mouths are to measure and prove the effectiveness of our channels. Throughout the year, the narrative will shift from dying to working. Is television the only channel for your media mix? No, but it is still the channel that will do the heavy lifting for your outdoor, radio, social, and search ads. With more marketers seeing the results and not looking at last click as the success metric, more companies will discover how the television screen will build and grow their brand.
With growing audiences, more content choices and new opportunities for brands to connect with audiences through data in a more meaningful way, television will move through its current challenges, prove the naysayers wrong, and remain the largest and most effective screen in the house.
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.