Opinion

The Australian TV industry needs to ditch the Logies ASAP

The Logies make TV look stale, old and terminal, and no marketer wants to be a part of it, argue's CHE Proximity's chief media officer Ben Shepherd. The industry needs to walk away now, before the fun and games of this year's roasting turn more problematic.

There were two large events last week. One was the Logie Awards and the other was the Adobe Symposium. Let’s first look at the Logies. The Logies on Sunday were not the best three-hour advertisement for the TV industry.

The winner of the Gold used 10 minutes to deliver a cutting assessment of the current state of the industry – admitting openly he’d gamed the awards in an obvious fashion and won the award.

He admitted he wasn’t the most popular person on TV.

He stated the industry was dying.

He acknowledged that ad-free subscription channels like Stan and Netflix were where viewers attention was heading.

The largest free-to-air networks were nowhere to be found in the winners list, and the ABC – which has been attacked more than ever over the past 12 months – was the biggest winner.

It was bizarre, and to the viewer looked more like a wake than a celebration. It was a roast to the industry where a lot of the participants didn’t realise they were being roasted.

The ratings were another red flag to TV. It rated 885,000 metro viewers across the five capital cities. 43.1% of the viewers were over 55. Only 23% were under 35. What does that say about our TV stars and the audiences who follow them? It says they’re not young, that’s for sure.

TV cannot have its night of nights look like this if it wants to present as modern, progressive and relevant to all audiences. The Logies make TV look stale, old and terminal.

Three days earlier, Adobe hired out the ICC and put on the Adobe Symposium. Every marketer with any influence was there. As were the teams. And their agencies. Every consultancy was there. Every technology company was there. Everyone was there.

Adobe put on an event that was expensive. It celebrated its clients. Marketers want to be on that stage. It has become the event and it positions Adobe in the centre of the modern marketing ecosystem.

The audience was relevant and powerful. The industry is thriving. And you know what? Most of them paid to be there.

Can TV compete with it? It’s yet to be seen, but the technology platforms are their main competition.

And it’s not going to beat them if it thinks the Logies are an industry endorsement worth broadcasting anymore. No marketer wants to go to the Logies, but they all want to go to Adobe Symposium.

Ben Shepherd is the chief media officer at CHE Proximity. This piece was originally published on LinkedIn, and has been republished here with permission. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.