Sarah Keith, Group Managing Director, Involved Media
It’s been a long couple of locked down years for the television industry, so the recent opportunities for networks to gather their execs, talent and advertisers together in one room to celebrate their respective 2023 Upfronts signaled a fresh start for the industry. With plenty of exciting opportunities for networks and partners alike, here’s what we learnt from this season.
The five networks have two things in common.
Each network opened with a strong acknowledgement of country, recognising the unique position of First Nations people in the context of culture and history and their intimate relationship with the land. This was the TV networks demonstrating they understand the real need for inclusiveness in their organisations as well as their programming.
Secondly, BVOD has truly come of age as illustrated by each network’s companion technology, posing new opportunities for advertisers with interactive shoppable ads on CTV and enhanced targeting capabilities.
7plus has taken its existing suite of shoppable solutions to the next level, with an API-based tool, which delivers creative advertising assets to audiences in real time. Paramount announced its partnership with Innovid Ad Selector which asks the viewer questions related to the content and then builds scalable market segments that are interested in products or services relevant to their needs or interests.
There were two notable content deals which stand out for different reasons.
SBS is planning to enhance its existing premium BVOD content thanks to a multi-year partnership with Viaplay Group. Cementing themselves as the home of the best curated Nordic content, SBS will have exclusive access to hundreds of hours of Viaplay Originals and additional premium content from the home of some of the most watched international series on SBS On Demand.
The Seven Network has secured a shiny new channel, 7Bravo, thanks to its agreement with NBCUniversal, giving them access to all of NBCU’s scripted network and cable dramas as well as comedies.
Each network brought something different to the table.
Seven promised a depth of quality broadcast content with 10 7.30pm franchises, ensuring they have a full 52-week content slate, bolstered with NBCU content and the addition of 7Bravo to keep viewers in their ecosystem.
Nine Network is making a major play on its total media proposition. They showcased content across broadcast, publishing, digital and audio as a unified media platform, with 20 million signed in users. These first-party data signals are helping Nine look at consumption trends and can be a powerful tool for clients and brands in the Nine environment.
Paramount’s Network 10 is relying on well-established, returning shows like Gogglebox, MasterChef, The Bachelor/ette, Australian Survivor, The Project, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, and Have You Been Paying Attention?, plus, of course, their clearly defined digital channels Bold, Peach and Shake.
Foxtel is boasting tentpole sport plus premium content like newly commissioned dramedy Strife starring Asher Keddie and the return of Tim Minchin’s Upright.
And SBS is bringing multiculturalism and international storytelling to mainstream television thanks to the Viaplay Group partnership.
The BVOD improvements and enhancement will be key to ensuring client spend continues to grow on all the platforms, which with the VOZ go-live will bring greater transparency to audience delivery. VOZ didn’t feature as heavily as a more general mention of data and measurement, but if it goes live as planned it will be a game changer as it supports easier planning and buying of cross-screen audiences.
There is a lot of great content to look forward to on Australian screens and countless opportunities for advertisers to tap into broad audiences and in 2023 they will be able to be more accurately measured. The battle for viewers – and good content to reach and engage them – is becoming increasingly intense with the proliferation of FAST and SVOD channels, but this year’s Upfronts season proved that the networks are up to the challenge.