Nine launches AO2023; says ratings success not contingent on Aussie success
Nine hosted media agencies and brands last night at Melbourne Park, ahead of its summer tennis schedule, which proved a successful launchpad for the company in 2022.
Speaking to Mumbrella, head of sports sales, Matt Granger said that now being the home of all four Grand Slams, “it makes it clear for audiences across all touch points that Nine is the home of tennis”.
Todd Woodbridge, James Bracey, Anne Gruber, Brent Williams, and Matt Granger
He said the way it has been able to build out its tennis ecosystem has been “powerful for brands“, keeping tennis relevant and connected to audiences year-round.
“This is the first year with the US Open [which begins later this month] and the first year having all four, so that’s really the connection point and the promotional point to be able to launch into the next event. That has allowed us to get closer to tennis by having that coverage across all Grand Slams than we ever had before.”
Granger said Nine and Tennis Australia value the “crucial” partnerships in place with brands, with the event being a reflection of that, in particular those long-term partnerships such as Kia, which has been a headline sponsor of the event for more than 20 years.
“We really work together as a combination around delivering the best of those objectives that they’re looking to achieve and constantly challenge what we can do.”
But the focus is always about amplifying the audience experience and contextually relevant content. So with the Kia example, that’s lifting the experience, that’s highlighting an area and it’s not taking audiences away. So I think we build a level of trust around doing that, not just in broadcast, but across all our content.”
Ash Barty’s AO 2022 win was a ratings hit for Nine across its platforms
With bumper ratings this year, aided by the success of Ash Barty, the doubles pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis and Dylan Alcott, Nine will be looking to back up the performance of the event again in 2023.
Asked about how it can deliver the same results next year, with Barty and Alcott both now retired, and no guaranteed success from other Australian stars, Granger said there is always the factor around certain player’s success that is taken in to account, but not really knowing is part of the event.
“We always take a balanced approach around those highs and lows and take a certainly a balanced audience projection. What’s really interesting with the success of Ash, Nick, and Dylan, is even when you take that audience out pro rata, our audience was up on what we projected this year. So the strength of the base that’s still there is extremely powerful, and as the ultimate summer platform for brands to launch their new year has only gone from strength to strength.”
Asked about how Nine may fit a prospective cricket season in on top of its Australian Open coverage, Granger opted for a safe “no comment”, with a wry smile.
During the presentation, Nine said it will elevate the sport to the next level in 2023, “with significant investment in our total content proposition across Nine’s television, publishing, audio and digital offerings”.
Anne Gruber, Nine’s head of content partnerships for sport said the tennis audience has a hunger for a constant feed of content and immersion. Gruber said that 9Podcasts will be releasing two new Australian Open podcasts – a six-part documentary series Stories of the AO, and a WWOS AO podcast during the Open for fans to catch up on the latest tennis news.
“The capability for audiences to have 360-degree intel, 24/7 on the game and its players is becoming even more crucial as we move towards next year. Each of our platforms – across broadcast, publishing, digital and audio – deliver strengths for marketers, but we know that the power of them together creates meaningful connections with millions of Australians.”
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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