Media Tonic

Now there’s a headline that wouldn’t have made any sense ten years ago. The rest of this post covers off latest developments in Subscription TV as they relate to the West Australian market.

Subscription television numbers continue to grow nationally; current rate of growth is 5% (Dec 09 vs Dec 08). WA is a poster child for subscription growth; penetration here is now 32% of All People (OzTAM). That’s one percentage point behind Melbourne; remarkable given our late start…

MCN continues to show Free To Air stations a clean pair of heels technologically; the free iPhone ap lets IQ subscribers (55% of Foxtel households) check schedules two weeks in advance, remotely record programs and set reminders. They can also access Green Button advertising; click during a TVC to download content to the IQ hard drive. Gives rise to some cute interactive possibilities where you use a single ad to trigger a story, a competition or an information package.

XBOX Live users can now subscribe to Foxtel without the need for a set top box. This targets young people who move house often.

Mobile Foxtel already has 100,000 subscribers and ad packages are available separately for that medium.

MCN has a presentation which discusses the (extensive) cannibalisation of FTA by their new digital stations. Happy to send you a copy under cover of darkness.

Brian Walsh says Foxtel are “now Australia’s first choice in home entertainment”; probably a fair call. If you’d like to discuss a campaign or debate the stats, hit the green button on your iPhone now. 9388 7844.

OzTAM research provided by MCN suggests Freeview stations are cannibalising the Free to Air audience while Subscription continues to grow.

Year on year, MCN was up 6% in the first 15 weeks of 2010, while the combined Commercial FTA’s audience, including the Freeview multi-channels was down 2%. When you remove the multi-channels, the 7-9-10 combined audience was 14% less than in 2010*.

Obviously this would be creating some audience delivery issues with advertisers.

If you’d like further stats or want to discuss advertising on Foxtel via MCN, reject cannibalism and call this number: 9388 7844. Dave or Mark.

Pic: Windell Oskay EvilMadScientist.com *S-S 0600-2400, All People 16-54

Twenty20′s Big Bash rated its pants off in January (307,000 viewers, a best ever – 18.5% up on the 2009 final) and Subscription TV continued to rise at the expense of Free To Air stations.

Traditionally a strong period for STV, January was up 10% and FTA down 2%. In subscription homes, STV stations accounted for 64% of viewing. Overall, between 6AM and midnight, STV leads individual FTA networks with 26% of metro viewing. Source: OzTAM.

Thought we’d start with the Kim Williams quote:

“Since the launch of digital in 2004, this is the most significant milestone in FOXTEL’s history. With FOXTEL Next Generation, a new phase of television will be created for Australian consumers. We are moving forward, adapting technology to give our subscribers the power to tailor viewing to their needs.”

Over 30 new channels, the launch of the download service and an improved interface. For example, iQ users just hit the green button during a promo to queue a program for later viewing.

As of Oct 1st, subscribers have three viewing options; Live, On Demand and Record to iQ. All subscribers will have free access to iQ but there are a range of iQ products. The download option (free to subscribers) allows viewing over the net – true viewing portability.

10 new HD channels, 16 dedicated movie channels, new sports channels and 8 timeshift channels. Net, new technology, new content and unprecedented flexibility. There’s good detail on the specifics at the Foxtel site.

Hoping this is a trigger for you to re-examine the balance of your FTA/subscription spend since further market share gains for subscription seem likely. Of course, Dave and Mark are keen to provide stats or brief you personally. 9388 7844.

Subscription TV continues to improve its position relative to free-to-air. OzTAM results for the first half of 2009 show Subscription up 4.1% in metro and FTA down 1.5%. Subscription has a larger audience share than any free-to-air network with 23.2%. Ten Network on 17.4%. ABC 12.7%.

We’d be buying shares in Consolidated Media too if we were Kerry Stokes.

So the numbers are in on another half year. If you’d like a personal briefing on who’s doing what to whom, have your people call their people on 9388 7844. Source. Ukulele Music.

Oil and gas leases: Government says “Use It or Lose It”
Water licences: Government says “Use It or Lose It”
Rights to broadcast sporting events on television: Government says: “Hi”.

Kim Williams, in his talk to the National Press Club on June 16 said that 75% of sport on the free-to-air protected list is not broadcast, live or delayed. As he’s done many times, he called for a Use It or Lose It approach to sporting broadcast rights. It was a speech filled with common sense.

In view of the slated $43 billion investment in high speed broadband, he called for an early review of the Broadcasting Services Act rather than what’s currently planned: a 2011 After The Equine Has Bolted Review.

This guy has some strange ideas: “It’s time we put the consumer at the centre of media regulation. The purpose of any new rules should not be to protect some media companies or help others”. Honestly, Kim.

By the way, if you’d like a briefing on Multiview Analytics, the new measurement system that starts July 1st across all subscription TV, give us a call. Dave or Mark; 9388 7844.

UK research commissioned by Thinkbox and the Internet Ad Bureau looked at detailed behaviour of ‘tech-savvy’ users as an indication of future media patterns. Interesting conclusions:

Our industry partners Foxtel are very strong in this area. If you’d like a briefing on future directions, contact Mark or Dave and we’ll put something together for you.
08 9388 7844.

'I tried out for the iPhone ad, but ended up in this.'

Gadget blog Gizmodo and the SMH have fairly downbeat assessments of the Tivo offering. No ad-skipping, smaller hard drive etc. Perhaps a bit tricky to get $700 up front when people are buying iPhones like it’s the Ark of the Covenant.

Here is our preferred option: Foxtel iQ.

MCN’s new web site is waaaay ahead of the pack in terms of product detail and downloadable content. It includes customisable PowerPoint presentations, media packs, complete material requirements and specifications and hopelessly thorough channel information. In the channels section you can specify a demographic or a genre and the database filters the channels down to those relevant. Big time saver.

Yes. But. Is there a competition hook? Will they lavish prizes on me with a launch promotion? Indeed: Media Tonic provide the following clickable image for your convenience …

mcn.com.au

Having taken over the management, Foxtel is to re-brand Arena using the successful Bravo format out of the states. Following programming and branding deals with NBC Universal, the channel is now clearly targetting a 16 – 39 year old female demographic. *Wonders if the reader has a client with this demographic*

Lead product is Heidi Klum’s Project Runway, the fashion design reality show to be hosted locally by Kristy Hinze (pictured, as you do). Other content includes Top Chef, My Life on the D-List, Entourage, Celebrity Apprentice and Janice Dickinson’s Modeling Agency.

Foxtel’s Brian Walsh describes the new brand as “very contemporary, very bold and very heavy on graphics”.

The new look Arena launches May 4th. Source