Media Wrap: Group M backs TV; The FT sold to Nikkei; Salmat appoints CMO

Sarah Homewood
By Sarah Homewood | 27 July 2015
 

Group M backs TV

GroupM, Australia’s biggest buyer of airtime, has committed to spend another $650 million on television advertising in the 2015-16 financial year despite threats it would shift more of its dollars to digital media. As reported in The Australian, Group M has inked deals with Seven, Nine and Ten in regards to what piece of the pie each network can expect.

The FT sold to Nikkei

Japanese media company, Nikkei has bought the The Financial Times for a whopping US$1.3 billion, making it one of the biggest newspaper deals ever. The Australian Financial Review reported that several publishers were interested in buying the paper, with German publisher Axel Springer had still been in talks until 15 minutes before the announcement of the sale to Nikkei.

Turnbull puts licence fee cuts on the agenda

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has put television licence fee cuts high on the political agenda, The Australian reports. The move by Turnbull comes after a series of meetings with the executives of the commercial TV networks, where they lobbied the Minister to remove the broadcasting licence fees.

Salmat appoints CMO

Also in The Australian, catalogues and marketing services firm Salmat has named former Optus vice-president of product marketing, Sarah Pike as its CMO. Pike has been tasked with not only helping the business embark on a company wide transformation, but also establishing its first centralised marketing team.

Are cooking shows facing fatigue?

With Seven and Nine set to go head to head in a cooking show war, The AFR is reporting that audience figures may be on the way down. Starcom MediaVest's national investment director, Andy Taylor, told The AFR: “Both of the shows will have value, both will deliver fantastic audiences. Cooking shows have been, and still are, the hotspot for audiences. But we are getting to wear-out factor, and to put them head-to-head just increases that."

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