Channel Nine

Wallaby Mitchell turns statue (multimedia) - Channel Nine News
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One Day Cricket International, Sydney Cricket Ground - Channel Nine

Media Man media and communications director, Greg Tingle (Network Nine, Brisbane)

News

Nine, Fox top 'must-win' NRL rights fight - 21st August 2012

The Nine Network has secured its future by nailing down the NRL broadcast rights in a joint $1 billion deal announced with Fox Sports.

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) announced on Tuesday that Nine and Fox Sports had secured the NRL free-to-air and pay TV broadcast rights respectively, in a five-year deal worth $1.025 billion.

Nine chief executive David Gyngell says the deal, in which incumbents Nine and Fox Sports trumped bids from the Seven and Ten networks, had been a must-win for Nine but that the price is "fair and reasonable".

"We have certainly stepped up and paid as much money as we could," Mr Gyngell said.

Mr Gyngell also said the deal - the most valuable in the history of rugby league broadcast rights - would be revenue positive.

"This is an exclusive sports rights' deal," he said.

"In this deal, we are the only free-to-air network to have exclusive sport at prime-time."

The agreement comprises $925 million in cash, of which $90 million is paid at the start of the 2013 season, and $100 million in advertising.

Nine will show three free-to-air matches weekly, while Fox Sports will have five a week on pay channels.

Nine will also have State of Origin games and an evening Grand Final.

NRL rights were last secured by Nine and Fox Sports in 2005 in a $500 million, six-year deal.

Nine Entertainment, owned by private equity firm CVC, has about $3.6 billion of debt due for refinancing in 2013 and 2014.

Media buyer Harold Mitchell, executive chairman of Aegis Media, said Nine had not overpaid and would meet its share of the $1.025 billion price tag through advertising revenue.

"Advertising volume hasn't been growing but it hasn't been collapsing," Mr Mitchell said.

"Key to any network's success will be sports programming and (Nine) are a stronger network with it than without it.

"This secures their future."

Mr Mitchell said the $1 billion deal was a positive sign for Australia's advertising market, which was in "unbelievably good shape compared to the rest of the world".

Morningstar head of equities research Peter Warnes said Nine had paid a fair price but also had to secure the rugby league as a key driver of audience numbers.

"Where would Nine be if they lost it? They had to win it," Mr Warnes said.

"I think they've probably paid a fair price.

"Had it been $1.2 billion, it would have been over the top."

Ten Network had been rumoured to have secured a package of NRL games ahead of Tuesday's announcement but is now without either rugby league or AFL, the rights to which are held by Seven.

Mr Mitchell said the NRL deal "places Ten in a difficult position". (AAP)

News

The Voice news media report; Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia - 12th June 2012

The Voice enjoyed a media conference at Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park, this morning, with Voice coaches and finalists there to help promote the smash hit TV show, as the finals approach via Channel Nine.

Update...

The culling of eight singers from The Voice last night has set the stage for a controversial finale Channel Nine's talent comp.

Rachael Leahcar, Sarah De Bono, Darren Percival, and Karise Eden will battle it out in next week's grand final.

Only one singer per team was permitted to go through and critics and viewers took to Twitter to complain about the final line-up.

The ruling meant fan favourites on the same team were culled.

Both Leahcar and Percival battled a virus as well as the high-pressure nerves, which told in their limited vocal performances last night.

Good Charlotte rock god Joel Madden, who had culled Prinnie Stevens and Layken Heperi, chose Sarah DeBono over popular lad Ben Hazlewood.

During the show's preamble, Madden likened the semi-final line-up to The X Men: "We all have super powers. No one is better than anyone else."

The final performances will be on Sunday, with each contender performing one cover and one original song. The winner revealed on Monday night, no doubt to massive TV ratings, the likes of which have not been seen by Nine for years, is the inside word.

Each contender will perform one cover and one original song.

May the best man or woman win, and hopefully its also a win for the Australian entertainment industry.

News...

Australian TV Report With Ratings - The Voice leads...

The Voice leaped to 2.13 million viewers as the talent show heads towards to its finale.

That figure (based on actual broadcast time - not the preliminary figure of 2.15 million) is up on last Monday's 1.90 million audience in the capital cities and it appears the two finales on Sunday and Monday should hit around three million viewers for Nine.

The program gave Nine a 29.6 per cent channel share against Seven's 21.0 per cent and ABC1's 13.3 per cent, with its current affairs line-up led by 736,000 viewers for PM Julia Gillard's appearance on Q&A.

A key result for Nine was Tricky Business's performance into its fifth week. Preliminary figures from OzTAM demonstrate the Aussie drama rose to 1.091 million viewers, higher than its launch episode in May. But the actual figures based on broadcast times show the drama starring Gigi Edgley averaged 682,000 viewers with its number rocketed by The Voice's over-run as "Team Seal" decided its contestant for Sunday and Monday's finale.

Seven News came in second for the night with 1.55 million viewers and rare wins over Nine in Sydney and Melbourne. The Block continued to build for Nine, up to 1.49 million in the 7pm slot, besting Masterchef Australia (1.08 million), ABC News (1.05 million) and Home and Away (1.01 million).

Revenge continued its awesome run for Seven with 1.218 million viewers.

ABC1 had a stronger Monday night than usual, led by Q&A. Four Corners was up to 734,000 viewers, Australian Story 719,000 and Media Watch 712,000, all well up on their 2012 averages in the 600,000 region.

Fox Sports Monday Night Football match between the Panthers and Warriors bested the platform, with 278,000 viewers while 210,000 watched the afternoon AFL match between Melbourne and Collingwood. Seven's AFL figures were not yet available for publication.

OZTAM OVERNIGHT RANKINGS FOR MONDAY JUNE 11, 2012

1 THE VOICE Nine 2,154,000

2 SEVEN NEWS 1,549,000

3 THE BLOCK Nine 1,485,000

4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,296,000

5 NINE NEWS 1,279,000

6 REVENGE Seven 1,218,000

7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,137,000

8 TRICKY BUSINESS Nine 1,091,000

9 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,082,000

10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,053,000

11 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,006,000

12 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 998,000

13 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven

14 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 837,000

15 BILLY CONNOLLY'S ROUTE 66 SNEAK PEEK Seven 799,000

Media Man does not represent The Voice, Shine Australia or Channel Nine

News

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Profiles

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Underbelly WWE Afterburn The Oscars

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Logie Awards

The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. One of three major free-to-air commercial networks in Australia, its former slogan "Still The One" refers to the network's past ratings success, being the most popular television station on a national basis since the introduction of television in Australia. Nationally, the network has consistently proven itself the most watched television network, defeated only twice by its main rival, the Seven Network, in 2000 and 2007.

History

Origins

TCN-9, the first regularly transmitting television station in Australia, launched on September 16, 1956. John Godson introduced the station and Bruce Gyngell presented the first programme, This Is Television and in doing so becoming the first person to appear on Australian television. Later that year, GTV-9 in Melbourne began testing transmissions to telecast the 1956 Summer Olympics later forming the National Television Network alongside QTQ-9 in Brisbane and NWS-9 in Adelaide, the basis of the current Nine Network.

In the late 1980s, STW-9 Perth became a Nine Network owned and operated station when Bond Media purchased the network. However, in 1989, Bond Media sold the Perth-based station to Sunraysia Television for AU$95 million, due to the Federal cross-media ownership laws, which restricted the level of national reach for media owners.

2000s
The network's Melbourne headquarters on Bendigo Street in Richmond, Victoria.
The network's Melbourne headquarters on Bendigo Street in Richmond, Victoria.

Digital television was introduced to all of the network's owned and operated stations on January 1, 2001 - this was soon followed by the gradual introduction of widescreen and high definition programming. Darwin station NTD was integrated into the network on New Year's Day 2003. Following the rebrand to Nine Darwin, the station decreased Network Ten programming from their line-up.

On January 30, 2006, the network and its affiliate stations relaunched to coincide with Nine's 50th year of broadcasting. The decision to relaunch was made by interim CEO Sam Chisholm and late PBL Deputy Chairman Kerry Packer early in 2005. The new logo designed by Bruce Dunlop Associates lacked Nine's distinctive Nine dots, which had been an Australian television icon since 1970. The rebranding of Nine also saw National Nine News, A Current Affair, Today, Nightline, Wide World of Sports, and Sunday receive new designs.

On October 18, 2006 James Packer sold 50% of the network's parent company PBL Media to CVC Asia-Pacific, in a deal valued $4.6 billion. PBL Media later purchased regional network NBN Television, on May 1, 2007 for an estimated $250 million. A further 25% of PBL Media was sold to CVC on June 1, 2007 for $515 million, effectively forgoing control of the day-to-day operations of the network. On September 27, 2007, PBL Media announced their intention to start a high definition multichannel, to be launched in March 2008.

Programming

List of programs broadcast by the Nine Network

The Nine Network broadcasts a range of programming from Australian and overseas sources, which include American television network CBS. Nine's current Australian programming lineup consists of television shows including; Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, Getaway, McLeod's Daughters, Sea Patrol, Missing Persons Unit, Mornings with Kerri-Anne, Temptation, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Footy Show and What's Good For You?. Australian content on Channel Nine is predominately comprised of non-scripted programs.

American programming on Nine includes; Gilmore Girls, Close to Home, Cold Case, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, ER, Men In Trees, Nip/Tuck, Survivor, The Closer, Weeds, and Without a Trace.

In an attempt to attract advertisers, as they are more interested in programmes for younger audiences, new programming will be targeted towards the younger generation in 2008. Among the new programs in Nine's 2008 line-up are: Cashmere Mafia, The Return of Jezebel James, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pushing Daisies, Canterbury's Law, New Amsterdam, Big Shots, Chuck and Aliens in America.

News & Current Affairs

National Nine News

The Nine Network's news service is called National Nine News. For decades National Nine News has traditionally been the top rating news service nationally for Australians, however the Seven Network has overtaken them in the past few years. National Nine News produces several news bulletins and programs including; Today, National Nine News (morning, afternoon and evening editions, plus Nightline). As well as this, the news service also assists in production of; A Current Affair, 60 Minutes, and Sunday. During the early hours of weekdays and Sunday mornings, Nine rebroadcasts some of American television network ABC's news and current affairs programming, including Good Morning America and 20/20.

Sport

Nine's Wide World of Sport

Channel Nine broadcasts all sporting events under the Wide World of Sports brand. The flagship sports of the brand are National Rugby League, Cricket and formerly Australian Rules Football until Nine lost the rights in 2006. NRL games are broadcast in prime time in New South Wales and Queensland on Friday nights, however are usually screened after midnight (or not at all) in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Nine's other popular recurring sporting events include the Rugby League State of Origin, Telstra Swimming Championships, British Open, US Golf Open, US Tennis Open, Wimbledon, Commonwealth Bank Series cricket, and Test cricket. As well as this, the Nine Network, in joint partnership with subscription television provider Foxtel, has broadcast rights for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Availability

The Nine Network is simulcast in analogue, standard definition and 1080i high definition. Nine is broadcast in metropolitan areas via Nine Network owned-and-operated stations, these include TCN Sydney, GTV Melbourne, QTQ Brisbane, and NTD Darwin. Nine Network programming is also carried into other metropolitan areas and regional Australia by locally-branded affiliate networks and stations, including NWS Adelaide, STW Perth, WIN Television, NBN Television, and Imparja Television. (Credit: Wikipedia).

Articles

Strong local content, by John elder and Tom Reilly - 5th October 2008
(The Sunday Age)

Ferguson dumped as Nine scrambles for No. 1 - 12th January 2009
(The Sydney Morning Herald)

Media Man does not represent Channel Nine