Paramount, the parent company of our familiar Network 10, had its Upfronts yesterday. Basically, the network got to show off that it’s focusing more than ever on local content and e-commerce.
Network 10 always does its best work when it leans into what makes it different from other networks.
Gems like Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Dog House are what make the network beloved. Wholesome, fun and very Australian, for better or worse.
So, it was comforting to see that Network 10 plans to lean into itself next year and not away from itself. The Upfronts made it clear the network isn’t planning 2023 trying to be someone else; instead, it will focus on strengthening its biggest strengths.
B&T sat down with Daniel Monaghan, senior vice president of content and programming at Paramount Australia & New Zealand and Rod Prosser, chief sales officer at Paramount ANZ, to talk all things 2023.
So what is the focus for 2023? For Prosser, it’s about “Development around e-commerce, but ultimately, we are a broadcaster and are excited about the new formats.”
New formats include Tom Gleeson’s Taskmaster and MasterChef spin-off, Dessert Masters. Plus, a spin-off of The Dog House, Dog’s Behaving Badly. See? 10 is leaning into what it does best. The network is also reinvesting in another season of Would I Lie To You? and a slew of Australian-made dramas.
Monaghan quickly assures me that Gleeson’s Network 10 gig won’t mean he’s pissing off Ita Buttrose and leaving the ABC, “He’ll keep doing Hard Quiz.” Phew!
Plus, there’s news that The Bachelors will be moving to January. It was originally scheduled to premiere in October, and the move has rumours swirling that the network wasn’t happy with the final results. If La Nina leaves us alone, Bach and Beach will be our 2023 Summer vibes.
But Monaghan assures me it’s not a move from prime time but rather a move into a peak period. “We are giving it our prime spot. It went to 2023 because we are so excited about how the time has played out. It’s put the heat into summer,” he said.
The Bachelor’s move also means I’m A Celeb which usually plays in that period, will be moved until Easter. This will mean Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown won’t be up against Nine’s tennis season.
Monaghan and Prosser are pleased as punch about the debut of a new e-commerce partnership with Twitter called The Checkout, using Paramount ANZ’s brand-safe content and trusted profiles. Aussie TV audiences will simultaneously be able to tune into TV and join the conversation on Twitter, where they comment, interact, and shop.
Don't just look at my outfit, here's your chance to buy it!
❤ this Tweet and you can look as good as me #SawItOnRod pic.twitter.com/y1eOPvfs0n
— Rod Prosser (@RodProsser1) October 6, 2022
Prosser took the lead on this one and said: “Obviously, we want to sell products for our advertisers, and if we can collaborate with other partners, then we will!
“We know people in the home are multi-screening across devices. It allows e-commerce to come to life on Twitter.
“You can get things quickly, from a certain look to a certain product. From my point of view, we know that our partnership with Twitter makes sense. Sixty per cent of television content discussed on Twitter is Paramount+, so we have really leant into our audience with this one.”
And what do they hope people take away from the upfront? “That we are a much bigger business than we were two years ago.
“We are integrated across multiple businesses, and it’s important to our advertisers to recognise that we are more than channel 10. It’s a lot, certainly from my point of view, that advertisers recognise we are an entertainment company.
“Our breadth and depth that we are innovating all the time, hence why we are talking around ad-product and e-commerce,” Prosser said.
