The year online meets the Olympics

31Jan08

THE
popularity of online video would continue to grow this year, and
someone may even work out how to make money out of it, said News
Digital Media chief executive Richard Freudenstein.

News sites such as NDM’s news.com.au are making more and more use of video, popularised online by sites such as YouTube.

"People haven’t worked out how to make money out of that yet but I
think you will see advertisers begin to work out how to (do) it," he
said.

Another trend would be increasing demand for content delivered to mobile phones.

"We’re seeing fantastic take-up of our mobile offering and it will become more and more important," he said.

Freudenstein predicted advertising revenue growth in digital media
would come in at the top end of industry estimates of 20 to 30 per
cent.

The Beijing Olympic Games in August was likely to generate lots of
online traffic and should prove a boon for news websites, Freudenstein
predicted.

SEARCHING, the "geoweb" – otherwise known as maps – and video
websites would be the hot areas on the internet this year, said
Google’s Australia and New Zealand general manager Karim Temsamani.

And the rise of advertising revenues going online would continue, he predicted.

He said the internet was unlikely to suffer as a result of unsettled
broader business conditions. "We see growth in online and search
marketing in 2008 continuing at the same rate as last year," Mr
Temsamani said.

Talent

TALENT agent Kevin Whyte said 2008 is already defined by the US writers strike.

"It’s not showing a great deal of inside knowledge to say there’s
going to be a lot more local production and some of that will be filler
but some will stick," he said.

Hopefully, that would shift the balance back to more local production and greater risk-taking.

As managing director of Token Artists, Whyte oversees a burgeoning
stable of television, radio and live stars including Rove McManus, Adam
Hills and Wil Anderson.

Whyte’s clients dominate commercial FM radio and he saw the
Melbourne market as the interesting market this year. "There’s some
high-quality new entrants (including his own Peter Helliar and Myf
Warhurst) and not all of them can win."

But the keenest change for 2008 was already under way, Whyte joked.
"Talent salaries have quickly ballooned by 50-75 per cent and network
executives should take consideration of that in future negotiations."

Media buying

OUTDOOR advertising, internet search and television would be the
star media performers this year, said Lee Stephens, chief executive of
media buying group Aegis Media Pacific. Most media buyers are tipping
TV advertising, which grew 8.1 per cent to $3.8 billion last year, will
halve this year, but Aegis predicted a stronger performance based on
strong bookings in January and February.

"It’s been a firm start," Mr Stephens said. "The January start and
forward bookings have been strong. We hear that (Seven’s) Olympic
packages have been fully subscribed to. They’ll start in May and
there’ll be strong activity into August."

"Our key risks are in the mortgage belts of Sydney and Melbourne,"
he said. "Another rate rise or two will put risk back into the year."

At Carat, the media agency owned by Aegis, the digital team has
doubled in size and the company’s new search marketing division is up
and running.

Radio

FM radio will be "all about funny" this year as the commercial networks battle for the last laugh in the ratings.

"It will be very competitive," said Dean Buchanan, group programming
director of DMG Radio Australia, owner of the Nova and Vega networks.
"There’s lots to watch, particularly in the Sydney and Melbourne
markets, where there have been a lot of line-up changes. At Nova: "It
will be all about funny in breakfast and in drive. Our goal for Nova is
to continue to be superstrong (in the) under-40 (age group)."

Nova is also trying to sneak a jump on its rivals by starting its
drive shift an hour earlier, at 3pm. After finally getting its formula
right, Vega will be seeking to grow its target 40-to-54 year old
audience with a TV campaign to kick off in a couple of weeks.

The Sydney market has undergone the most upheaval in 2008 with
changes to the breakfast shows at Nova and Mix 106.5 and the morning
programs at 2GB and ABC 702.

Mix has taken the bold step of ditching both its breakfast hosts,
replacing them with Dancing With the Stars duo Sonia Kruger and Todd
McKenney.

The industry was waiting to see if the Triple M rock network has
"bottomed out" after slumping to its worst ratings year in 2007,
Buchanan said.

Regulation

FIGHTING for the public’s right to know will continue to be a key
mission for the Australian Press Council in 2008, said chairman Ken
McKinnon. "We’re all wanting to see what the new federal Government
will do," he said. "We will be looking for (action) by the Government
which will act as a spur and lead to smaller changes to state and
territory laws."

Labor has already pledged to abolish conclusive certificates, used
by ministers to declare certain information is not in the public
interest and therefore cannot be released; create an information
commissioner to take over the decision-making on what can be released;
and address the issue of shield laws for journalists and
whistleblowers.

But McKinnon said the council would be advocating a lengthy wish
list of other changes. "One is that the costs charged for (freedom of
information) applications be made less prohibitive and not used as a
way of preventing applications," he said.

"Second, that applications are considered in a timely way. Many
government instrumentalities frustrate … requests for information,
especially from newspapers, by delaying responses or having
pettifogging considerations.

"We would also like to see … some kind of executive order that
puts the onus on people within government to release (information)
rather than defend against releasing. And we would like to see news
conferences held by politicians cleaned up so they are less spin and
more information."

The use of suppression orders by the courts also required reform, he said.

STEPHEN Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the
Digital Economy, predicted continued growth of user generated content
such as blogs, YouTube and MySpace in 2008. "This trend will only
accelerate as we move towards faster broadband," he said.

Senator Conroy also expects TV viewers to increasingly be drawn to free-to-air digital TV.

"The 2008 Beijing Olympics will showcase the benefits of digital TV such as clearer picture, sound and greater viewing choice."

"Australians will also continue to enjoy the converged media world,
for example increasingly using their mobile phones to watch television
and access such things as news clips and sports updates," he said.

DIGITAL free-to-air television issues and the continuing internet
debate are expected to keep the Opposition’s new communications
spokesman Bruce Billson busy.

"In broadband we see emerging the issue of the three Rs: the right speed, the right price and now reliability," he said.

On the TV front, Mr Billson said the issues surrounding future
digital channels A and B – which are to be sold by the Government this
year – to be crystallised. "There might be some difficulty putting
together a strong commercial case for Channel A (which can be used for
narrowcasting)," he said.

"And Channel B (earmarked for mobile TV) is being viewed more as a
hedging option for other types of mobile services." Mr Billson also
hopes the federal Government will maintain the previous government’s
commitment to fund an ABC Kids digital TV channel.

KEEPING abreast of the frenetic pace of change will require
increased agility on the part of regulatory body the Australian
Communications and Media Authority this year, said chairman Chris
Chapman.

In broadcasting, a review of children’s TV standards is due to be
completed by year’s end and the codes of practice for the TV and radio
will also be examined.

The long-awaited auction for the licences of new digital channels A
and B is expected to take place, with ACMA awaiting word on timing from
Communications Minister Conroy, and the rollout of high definition TV
channels will gather speed.

"From the commercial broadcasters there will be a hell of a lot of
activity and strategy throughout this year," Mr Chapman said.

On the internet side, the trial of ISP-level content filters is to
be concluded by the end of June and the Convergent Devices Code,
covering online content classification, complaint handling and safety
issues, will be in place by July 20. ACMA will also continue its work
to improve internet security as well as prosecuting its war on spam.

He predicted a key trend of 2008 would be the continued blurring of
the boundaries between traditionally separate sectors as technological
developments transform the media and communications industries.

Community

THE biggest challenge for the community broadcasting sector this
year will be getting the 40 capital city radio stations ready to
broadcast digitally from January 1 next year, said Barry Melville,
general manager of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.
"We’re keen for as many (of the stations) as possible to take up the
opportunity. That is challenge No1," he said. "It’s going pretty well."

The community stations received $10.1million in last year’s federal
budget to help make the switch, but Melville said there were concerns
that may not be enough.

The other big project for 2008 is to launch a fully accredited
training scheme that would recognise the role of the sector as a talent
crucible for the mainstream media.

The CBAA has been working on such a scheme for 3 1/2 years, but
again money is the rub, Melville said, with existing funding for the
project running out on June 30 and the Rudd Government yet to confirm
there will be more.

Meanwhile, the community TV sector is waiting to hear what
government assistance stations will receive with their shift to digital
transmission.

Although the analog signal is not due to be switched off until 2013,
the community stations say their audiences are already eroding as more
viewers buy digital TV sets.

Advertising

THE globalisation of the advertising industry, with multinational
companies centralising their advertising accounts, will become an
increasing trend in 2008, Chris Mort, chief of McCann Worldgroup
predicted.

"I believe this year there will be a stronger global influence coming into the business," Mr Mort said.

"It means you are going to find it is becoming more aggressive at the local level from an agency point of view."

Like all media-driven industries, Mort expects 2008 to be the year of digital influence.

"Without doubt the ongoing digital thing is going to continue to
happen because there is not a client we talk to where it is not top of
mind for them."

The skill set of staff coming into ad agencies would also continue to evolve this year, he said.

"The people who come into business now will continue to be the sort
of people who are multi-skilled and they are going to be very sharp,
very aggressive and very talented people."

THE creative elements of the advertising industry would become
increasingly focused on digital opportunities in the coming 12 months,
Matt Eastwood, vice-chairman and national creative director of DDB
predicted.

"There will be true integration of online/offline activity," Mr
Eastwood said. "We will see the breaking down of ‘traditional’ creative
roles." Part of that shift will be a redefining of the art
director/copywriter teams formed in the 1960s by DDB’s founder and
advertising legend Bill Bernbach in the US.

"At DDB, we are now working in teams of three: writer, art director and interactive art director," he said.

The increasing importance of broadband will be another element that charts the course of advertising.

"Better, more ‘video intense’ digital work will become prevalent as
broadband roll-out reaches critical mass. In the last year, broadband
officially crossed over the 50 per cent penetration mark and as a
result, we will finally start to see online ideas go to the next
level." Another area he saw as crucial was the emergence of
high-definition television.

"There’s a big brouhaha brewing in the digital/HDTV space: TiVo, Foxtel HD, free-to-air HD," he said.

"There’s no doubt we’ll see a lot of money being spent as all the
players battle for a share of voice. But the result may be even greater
confusion for the consumer."

Magazines

LAST year’s magazine industry consolidation may well continue during
2008, but with the focus of activity shifting to the smaller, niche
publishers, said ACP Magazines chief executive Scott Lorson.

He is also expecting considerable launch activity, not least from
ACP itself, which has already announced an upcoming local version of
Grazia.

The upmarket weekly glossy has been a big hit in Britain. But rivals
warn the magazine could eat into the sales of ACP’s existing monthly
titles.

"We are extremely excited to introduce Grazia to Australia and
remain very confident in the magazine’s prospects," Mr Lorson said.

"As with all successful launches, there will be an element of
cannibalisation. However, our research strongly suggests that Grazia
will stimulate and expand the market, which will benefit both ACP and
our advertisers."

Extending the online reach of ACP’s magazine brands was also critical to the evolution of its portfolio.

AFTER going on a shopping spree last year the major publishers will
concentrate on getting the most out of their new brands in 2008,
predicts Pacific Magazines chief executive Nick Chan.

During 2007 News Limited (publisher of The Australian) acquired FPC
Magazines, ACP Magazines snapped up Emap Australia and Pacific bought
four Time group titles, including Who and InStyle.

"Now we have done the acquisition part I hope we will see the
publishers using each of the brands to do new and exciting things," Mr
Chan said.

"For Pacific itself, 2008 will be one of our most fantastic years.
We have Who and InStyle into the fold now that integration has been
done, and from our perspective it’s a very exciting phase."

Mr Chan forecasted no easing in our fascination with famous people, which has driven a boom in the celebrity news category.

His first task of the year is to find editors for two of his top
titles after a stunning poaching raid by arch-rival ACP Magazines over
the Christmas holidays.

Mr Chan said the defection of New Idea’s Robyn Foyster and Girlfriend’s Sarah Oakes was "disappointing".

Production

AFTER years of lobbying, the Screen Producers Association of
Australia will spend much of 2008 overseeing and assessing the
implementation of the Howard government’s $283 million Australian
screen production incentive package.

Primarily, SPAA will be working through administrative issues with
the Film Finance Corporation, particularly on the ground-breaking 40
per cent producer rebate for Australian films.

"It’s all becoming a bit clearer but the issue now is to get the
bloody thing to work and whether we can engage with the investment
community to get more investment into the industry," said SPAA’s
executive director Geoff Brown. "We want to see some sophisticated
money on terms that work for both the investors and producers at budget
levels that make sense on the back of good scripts."

In the meantime, SPAA expects the FFC and the new screen agency,
Screen Australia, to co-invest as the new arrangements are implemented,
subject to the FFC retaining its budgets, as expected.

The eligibility test for the 40 per cent government rebate was a hot
issue after Warner Bros last week confirmed it postponed George
Miller’s Justice League due to uncertainty about the initiative.

"We’re concerned that the test SPAA put forward to government late
last year wasn’t picked up, that projects should have substantial
Australian creative control," said Brown.

"We don’t want to put an issue out there that makes the US money go
away but we need substantial Australian creative control. I’m just
saying there’s a note of caution for us, that the scheme works
primarily for Australian independent production."

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