Tim Worner: “Some people want you to believe no-one is watching television anymore.”
While numbers may be down, Seven CEO reminds us numbers are still big on Free to Air in an increasingly fragmented landscape.
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“Some people want you to believe no-one is watching television anymore.
“This is simply not the case,” Seven CEO Tim Worner told shareholders today at the Seven West Media AGM.
“This week millions of Australians have already engaged with Seven on broadcast television.
“But it does not stop there. We have extended the windowing of our content into video on demand and just last week we have gone one step further with the launch of a new service. All of our channels streamed live wherever you are.
“That sort of reach and engagement at such an enormous scale across all of these platforms is something that only companies such as ours can deliver. That will become more valuable in a fragmenting market.
“We deliver a market-leading presence in broadcast television, magazine and newspaper publishing and online. We deliver huge audiences, but at our core is our content.”
7Live is the first network to roll out all of its channels as a streaming service. The move has raised concerns amongst regional broadcasters pushing for media reform. As yet 7Live still does not prevent viewers from watching content from interstate markets, meaning viewers in Perth can watch Sydney broadcasts ahead of their linear playout.
But it also launched strongly on Melbourne Cup Day.
“We started 7 Live on the day the nation stops,” said Worner.
“In addition to the broadcast coverage averaging more than 2.9 million viewers, over 400,000 viewers accessed our new live streaming service on Melbourne Cup Day.
“This was an Australian record for the most concurrent live streams ever consumed.
“There is only one way such a sudden change in behaviour could be achieved. Through the reach and therefore the power of free-to-air television.”
OzTAM’s new streaming measurement system will launch later this year.
Tim Worner also gave an outline of its priorities for the immediate future.
“While we maintain a prudent cost approach in our core operations, we will continue to invest in transforming our business, developing new revenue streams and investing in areas where we can create shareholder value.
“Now as I have outlined, transformation takes time. It is critical for us as a business to evolve and improve returns for shareholders.
“Our strategy driving this transformation is built around three pillars. One: Expand our ownership of content.
“Two: Maintain our leadership and grow our audiences with leading positions in video, mobile and data.
“And, three: Diversify and increase our earnings through strategic acquisitions, through building new businesses beyond television and publishing and by driving greater efficiencies through our existing activities.”
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8 Responses
We are watching much less television than a decade ago and the younger members of the family hardly watch any TV at all. Television needs to produce programmes that will draw their eyes away from their iPhones and iPads. Sadly, I don’t think the industry has the depth of talent anymore to be able to do that.
Earth to Tim: Total usual viewing audience of around 4M in a country of 22M. What was the percentage ten years ago? What’s it going to be in ten years?
Nearly 24m now.
Nine are switching their main channel to HD and I think that 7 are playing a waiting game as 7’s HD channel is just a RC button press away. I believe that content and not video quality is the main driver of viewing habits. Broadcasting sport on a HD “digital” channel allows for more advertising content per hour than on the “main” channel. Trying to second-guess a TV bosses mind is a mug’s game.
“building new businesses beyond television and publishing” is an interesting phrase from a Co with a heavy machinery franchise.
I’m not sure the using the Melbourne Cup numbers, not matetr the platform, accurately reflects the viewing habits of Australians, as it has always rated well. I know everyone in my particular household/circle watches far less FTA than we used to do.
And nothing about making the primary channel HD >>We deliver a market-leading presence in broadcast television<< yeah right when it suits you or are forced to do it,and when you do you make a big thing of it as if it was your discovery
Agree, im not youg , just young of heart, but if you look at the stuff 7mate,7two has on It just repeat-after repeat, of the same series we saw last year, nothing much new, and still bad programming , with block of home shopping , still on early thursday morning, i know i can watch plus7 , which i do, but , what about people stuck in hospital, no wifi, and have to pay $10 a day , to watch freeview tv, like in Ryde Hospital!!
Nobody is saying that. What we (the audience and consumers) are saying is that we dont watch as much anymore like we used to because of: a) Better choice not neccesarily on tv but on the web & b) The poor management and scheduling and programming of your content. That is why audiences in particular the youth audience is and has been dropping. Content is king always will be. If you get the content and the management of that content right than audiences will gradually return. Gradually because of how long the management has been stuffing them around.