A Hugh-ge day in Australian media
I’m not sure if you saw the plumes of purple smoke coming out from ABC’s Ultimo headquarters, the ABC has confirmed the expected news that former Channel Nine chief Hugh Marks will be the new Managing Director.
As soon as Marks was first mooted for the role, I thought it made a lot of sense. It was under his watch that TV broadcaster Nine merged with newspaper and radio news media company Fairfax. He kept a steady hand on the organisation and it felt like Nine was moving in the right direction.
Here’s ABC chair Kim Williams on the appointment:
"Hugh is an unusually good fit for the ABC, having experience with the only organisation [Nine Entertainment] comparable in range and depth to the ABC."
That unusual good fit is his experience running TV, newspapers, and radio. The ABC doesn’t run print papers, but it is a heavy-hitter in Australian news with dominant services running across it’s radio, TV, and online platforms.
He has the experience, but the challenges he is set to face are going to be so wildly different to the challenges he dealt with at Nine just a few years ago. Loosely, I’d suggest that all media organisations from, lets say 2010 to 2020, were facing a need to revamp operations to meet the challenges of online distribution. For the ABC, but this holds true of a lot of media orgs (including Nine), there was a lot of attention to rebrands and efforts made to update on-air presentation to seem more modern.
But were efforts made in the right direction? At the ABC some could argue fairly enough that there was a lot of effort made to embrace lifestyle over substance in a quest to seem contemporary and shed the perceived stuffiness of ‘Aunty’, which has rightfully started to reverse direction. Away from editorial concerns, though, I’d flag concerns that to stay ahead of trends, efforts need to be made to introduce video to ABC Radio (opening the door to iView integration and YouTube distribution), iView needs 4k streaming (4k TVs are rapidly becoming the default), and there needs to be serious consideration given to improving radio distribution of adult music service Double J (once teens are onboarded to youth station Triple J, they are then left with nowhere to go once they age out - one doesn’t suddenly turn 30 and become interested in talk radio).
From 2020 onwards, every media company that isn’t Netflix and YouTube are now competing in a market where Netflix and YouTube are dominant, often default viewing services. What can the ABC do to maintain relevance in that sort of media environment? I recall during a haircut a barber complaining to me about his toddler watching YouTube, but the guy (in his 30s and from NZ, but had lived locally for at least five or so years) had no idea that ABC Kids was a thing.
In a fractured media environment, living in that sort of silo will be more common. What does the ABC do to break through that?
Hugh Marks has the best job now in Australian media, but also the most difficult.
The guy with the second best job is the current acting head of Nine. Currently sitting in Hugh Marks old chair (this is a metaphor - surely the boss gets a new chair when he starts) is Matt Stanton. Will he get the nod and stay on as the permanent CEO? And will we find out this week, or does this get pushed into the new year?
Nine faces a lot of the same problems as the ABC does in terms of charting an opportunity for the future. The radio assets are smaller in number, but the online footprint is bigger. And then there’s the pressure of the commercial realities on the job. Big, but fun, challenges to solve.
And did you notice how I got through discussion on pressures facing modern media orgs and the future without mentioning TikTok…
The news media embrace of TikTok
The Wall St Journal today has a piece looking into the way traditional news outlets have embraced TikTok. Y’know, for kids.
Just as the future of TikTok in the US is in question, with a possible ban looming, US news networks are apparently dipping their toes into the water with some success.
But is TikTok a platform where resources should be dedicated?
The platform doesn’t generate much ad revenue for publishers or news networks, but executives say it’s worth investing in as a longer-term play. Even if young adults aren’t signing up for TV packages or news services now, the companies believe they can cultivate them as future customers by engaging on TikTok.
“When the kids have good jobs or they want deeper information, then a subscription to The Wall Street Journal is just a click away,” said Freddy Tran Nager, associate director of the digital social media master’s degree program at the University of Southern California.
I’m pretty skeptical that a TikTok user then starts seeking news on other platforms. Instead, users are being trained to become TikTok news consumers and media outside of that experience has too great a disconnect.
If news platforms want to attract TikTok viewers, or “the kids” as they’re sometimes known, there’s a need to ensure there is on-site content that offers a TikTok-like consumption experience. It’s not that people are so simple that they cannot move from one platform to another without hand-holding, but people need to be onboarded. Consider the jump one makes as a news consumer who get most of their news and information through platforms like TikTok - it’s no different than you, a person used to consuming news media from traditional news outlets trying to figure out how to get value out of TikTok.
More Squid Game partnerships
Tony Maglio at Indiewire has a look at the MANY Squid Game partnerships Netflix has engaged in. This paragraph caught my interest:
Carl’s Jr. will counter its competitors with a Young-Hee Burger and Chicken sandwich (presumably, these are two different sandwiches) and a four-burger package for 456 Mexican pesos. Before you consider that a steal, converted to USD, that’s like $23. KFC and Domino’s are also getting in on the action — we’re still only in the fast-food sector.
That actually sounds like pretty standard Carl’s Jr prices - I’m not actually sure one can get four Carl’s Jr burgers for that price in Australia. I also note that Carl’s Jr is the worst of the burgers and clearly Carl’s Snr should have spent more time encouraging home economics lessons. But, I digress.
It got me thinking about the pricing of the Australian Squid Game meal at McDonalds.
This is a 10 nugget meal, medium fries, and a medium drink. Plus the candy dalgona.
But what does that go for at the same store with no candy treat?
That’s a $4 upcharge. Considering you get the dalgona novelty treat, it isn’t too bad.
Apple TV+ has renewed Silo for two more seasons, which will bring the series to a close. Read: Variety
Ted Danson comedy A Man on The Inside has been renewed for a second season, to debut in 2025. Read: thefutoncritic
Rowan Atkinson will star in Man vs Baby for Netflix, a follow-up of Man vs Bee. Read: C21
Blackmagic has opened pre-orders for the URSA Cine Immersive commercial camera, which shoots high-quality 3D immersive video for Apple Vision Pro headsets. It will cost costs $29,995 (or, if it helps you do the math, it’s the same price as 8.6 Vision Pros). Read: The Verge
Seasons 1-20 of Law & Order debut on Hulu in the US on Dec 20. This is great news for people trying to watch the Law & Order crossover episodes of Homicide: Life on The Street on Peacock, where they were only getting half the story. Read: TV Line
Also coming to Hulu is the 7-season original run of Gilmore Girls. It is not-exclusive. Read: thefutoncritic
The Lionel Messi animated show Messi and the Giants has been picked up by Disney+. I remember as a kid in the 80s every notable big celebrity would have their own kids cartoon, from Chuck Norris to Mr T. Okay, those may be the only two. But still, I like this as a thing that happens. Read: Variety
Jamie Lee Curtis is believed to be the frontrunner to star as Jessica Fletcher in an upcoming movie version of Murder She Wrote. Why? This should just be a TV show. Read: Deadline
Because streaming platforms are designed to make watching the closing credits near-impossible, Chuck Lorre has stopped it with that vanity card nonsense at the end of his Max series Bookie. Read: Variety
Peacock and Max were the fastest growing US services in Q3. Read: Worldscreen
Nothing is confirmed, but Busy Phillips seems to think Girls5Eva is done for. Read: What’s On Netflix
The White Lotus returns Feb 16 on HBO/Max for season 3.
1923 returns for season 2 on Paramount+.
In the second season of 1923, a cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara (Helen Mirren) back at Dutton ranch.
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight debuts on Netflix in Q2 2025.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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Back in the 70’s there was a kids’ cartoon series based on the Osmonds. (Younger readers may need to look that name up in Wikipedia.)