In Australian media news this fortnight, ACMA registers new TV code of practice, GfK releases Survey 7 results, Magazine Publishers Australia (MPA) release first Magazine Media 360° Report, Magic 1278 Melbourne joins with Magic 882 Brisbane, Bloomberg launches Gadfly, AFR wins award, Freeview launches a new campaign and SBS announces 2016 content.

 

Get some free insect ice cream from The Economist

The Economist has launched an experiential campaign that’s serving ice cream containing real insects.

It starts in Sydney today (18 November), followed by Melbourne on 24 November. The campaign will run for 10 weekdays in both cities. The insect ice cream cart will operate on weekdays and location updates will be available daily via The Economist Asia Facebook page.

The aim of the campaign is to engage people with its editorial content and recruit new subscribers.

The branded cart will offer flavours such as Scurry Berry, a fruity ice cream with a mix of insect bits, and the smooth and chocolatey Choc Hopper, containing real grasshopper chunks.

People will be able to read an article published in The Economist last year: ‘Why Eating Insects Makes Sense’. The story explores the idea of using insects to feed the ever-growing global population, projected to reach 11 billion by the end of the century. Feeding that many will be a challenge – further complicated by the impact of climate change on agriculture, the article argues. Consuming less meat and eating more insects could boost food supply and feed the world sustainably.

 

ACMA registers new TV code of practice

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has agreed to register a new Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice, submitted by Free TV, the industry group reprÓesenting commercial free-to-air broadcasters.

The Code includes:

• No alcohol advertisements in the evening before 8.30pm (unless as an accompaniment to a sports program on a weekend or public holiday),
• a ban on gambling advertisements in any program classified G, C or P between 6am and 8.30am and between 4pm and 7pm (and during any children’s program broadcast between 5am and 8.30pm),
• prominent and legible consumer advice at the start of all films classified PG or above, all programs classified M which commence between 7.30pm and 8.30pm and any program classified MA15+,
• clear display of classification symbols at the start of and after breaks in programs, and in program promotions
• a requirement that all advertising and program promotions broadcast between 7.30pm and 8.30pm during a sports program or programs be classified no higher than PG, and
• a ban between 5am and 8.30pm on the promotion of a program classified M or MA15+ during any children’s G classified program (except for ‘up next’ pointers to the following program).

 

GfK releases Survey 7 results

GfK has announced its Survey 7 results for radio audience measurement in the five major metropolitan markets:

• Sydney » 
• Melbourne » 
• Brisbane » 
• Adelaide »
• Perth » 

 

Magazine Publishers Australia (MPA) release first Magazine Media 360° Report

The Magazine Publishers Australia (MPA) have released for the first time the Magazine Media 360° Report, combining print, digital and social data from 46 Australian magazine brands from EMMA, Nielsen, and publishers’ website and social data.

The report found Australian magazine total multiplatform audience grew by more than 2 million in three months to September 2015, to a total of 49.2 million.

The top 5 brands are:

1. Better Homes and Gardens: 3.236 million,
2. Woman’s Day: 2.706 million,
3. New Idea: 2.704 million,
4. Taste.com.au: 2.645 million, and
5. Australian Women’s Weekly: 2.651 million.

 

News.com.au launches native advertising offering

News.com.au is launching News Corp Australia’s first full service native advertising offering.

Full service news.com.au native includes:

• use of data, insights, audience and behavioural targeting,
• a guaranteed view model with agreed page-views across campaigns,
• new creative storytelling templates, including new page furnishings, interactive capabilities and native video,
• content amplification to search and social including Google and Facebook, and
• an expanded commercial integration team.

 

Magic 1278 Melbourne joins with Magic 882 Brisbane

Magic 1278 and Magic 882 Brisbane has moved to a “networked” model resulting in redundancies of some presenters, programming and administrative staff.

The two stations, along with 2CH in Sydney, will share some content in the new model.

MRN chief operating officer Adam Lang says the move will offer the audience “the best choice of ‘The songs you know and love’, presenters and content”, while advertisers will have access to “an attractive audience to both agency and direct advertisers”.

“These changes will allow MRN to offer advertisers a true network approach to music for the important 40+ demographic in the Melbourne and Brisbane markets,” he said.

“It is an unfortunate consequence of these changes that some roles will be made redundant. This is a critical requirement toward bringing each station greater commercial appeal for our audience and clients. It does not reflect in any way on our hard working team members who have been made redundant. I would like to thank all of our Magic staff for their professionalism and dedication to our audience,” Lang said.

Both stations will broadcast networked content from presenters:

• John Blackman and Jane Holmes at Breakfast (6am to 10am),
• Dave Ferguson from 10am to 2pm, and
• Donna Lynch in the Evenings from 8pm to midnight.

A new afternoons presenter and weekend lineup will be announced soon.

 

Bloomberg launches Gadfly

Bloomberg has launched a new fast-commentary section, Bloomberg Gadfly, with the goal to “provide rapid, smart takeaways on the day’s most important news on markets, finance, companies and technology”, says editor-in-chief John Micklethwait.

Gadfly is an expansion opinion section, Bloomberg View, and is led by Timothy L. O’Brien in New York with assistance from Edwards Evans in London, Paul Sillitoe in Hong Kong and Beth Williams in New York.

 

AFR wins award

Fairfax Media’s The Australian Financial Review Magazine was named Newspaper Inserted Magazine of the Year for the third consecutive year at the 2015 Australian Magazine Awards.

Judges cited: “Keeping true to its brand, The Australian Financial Review Magazine continues to grow and innovate. Its brand extensions and digital offerings put this title above the rest.”

The AFR Magazine’s readership has grown 8% in the past year.

 

Freeview launches new campaign

Free-to-air television body Freeview has launched a major new campaign, ‘Keeping up with the Freemans’ to highlight the key features of its hybrid TV service.   

 

 

Freeview also announced Changhong Australia as its latest certified Freeview-Plus Smart TV producer.

 

SBS announces 2016 content

SBS has previewed its content for 2016, including 24 Australian documentary commissions, 10 Indigenous productions, two new Australian dramas and five new locally-made food shows.

The network has also launched its new Food Network, Australia’s first free 24/7 television channel dedicated to food.

In 2016 SBS will introduce on-demand support for Apple TV and Google Chromecast.

SBS Managing Director, Michael Ebeid, said: “In 2016 Australian audiences can expect

engaging programs that explore and celebrate the people and stories of modern multicultural

Australia in a way that no other media company can and importantly, they can come to SBS for a genuine point of difference.”

New shows include:

• The Family Law: a comedy drama adapted from Benjamin Law’s critically-acclaimed memoir of the same name,
• Deep Water, the first cross-genre and cross-platform network event with a four-part drama series, a feature documentary and an online prequel series that document the gay hate crime epidemic of Sydney in the 1980s and 1990s,
• drama series The Missing, Tutankhamun starring Sam Neill and The Last Panthers,
• documentaries Vietnam: The War That Made Australia, Untold Australia, a four-part series which will explore hidden worlds of multiculturalism across the country, and The Logan Project a series charting the journey of the Queensland town’s aspiring singers and musicians, and
• food programs Inside Heston’s World, a three-part observational documentary with Heston Blumenthal, Poh & Co with Poh Ling Yeow, Food Safari Fire with Maeve O’Meara, Destination Flavour Scandinavia with Adam Liaw, and Gourmet Farmer: Fat Pig Kitchen with Matthew Evans.