03/12/18
Mediaworks Announces Proposed QMS Merger, 2019 Television And Radio Lineup
Three’s flagship breakfast and current affairs shows and Newshub continue to combat the competition, recording strong performances across the board last week. Newshub Live at 6pm won its timeslot on Wednesday with a share of 30.2%, while Newshub Live at 4pm won on Monday (19.6% audience share, 1.1 rating point) and Tuesday ( 18.0% share, 1.3 rating), all in the key 25-54
demographic. The AM Show had another impressive week, winning on Monday (25.1% share, 1.4 rating), Tuesday ( 33.8% share, 1.9 rating) and
Thursday (30.7% share, 1.8 rating), while The Project beat Seven Sharp on Tuesday (19.0% share. 4.5 rating) and Thursday (15.3% share, 3.4 rating).
Three also won the night on both Thursday and Saturday amongst the coveted 25-54 demographic, reaching an overall share
of 22.3% and 21.4% respectively. Timeslot wins included Thursday Action Movie Commando (20.6% share, 4.3 rating) and Saturday Family Movie The Karate Kid (19.9% share, 4.1 rating). Audiences also came to Three for their movie fix on Sunday night with the premiere of
critically acclaimed Hidden Figures winning its timeslot amongst 25-54s, hitting a a 20.6% share and 4.5 rating.
Other wins for the week included:
Monday: 9-1-1 (15.3% share, 3.4 rating),
Friday: The Graham Norton Show (18.2% share, 5.1 rating).
This week on Three, hit US procedural drama 9-1-1 finals tonight with an epic Christmas special featuring a toy store stampede, The Season of Bond kicks off on
Wednesdays starting with GoldenEye, and Three will be premiering a selection of movies including Trolls, Why Him? and Brad Pitt World War II romantic thriller Allied.
On ThreeNow, House Rules’ sixth season debuted in second place in our on demand top 10. Video streaming of the hit Aussie reno show was up 119% on
week one last year and live streaming, which has been a major growth area for ThreeNow this year, was up by over 310%.
In radio, MediaWorks remains the number one network in New Zealand with 2.35 million listeners tuning in every week* and
is the home of the 25-54 demo with six of the top seven music stations nationwide by share**: The Rock, More FM, The
Breeze, The Sound, The Edge and Mai FM.
Magic Talk will launch in January, including an exciting new addition to the MediaWorks stable - Peter Williams - who
will be on talk radio for the first time. Magic Talk will be aimed at the 45+ demographic with almost 90% talk radio
across the week in a fresh approach to talk and music in one place. And after five years on The Edge, Night Show host Steph said goodbye to the station as she embarks on a year of travelling overseas.
Last week Three announced its’ 2019 content lineup, featuring several new and returning local and international shows
which promise to draw in the coveted 25-54 demographic. Dancing with the Stars NZ will return, with Newshub’s Mike McRoberts and model, social media influencer and author Matilda Rice, who found love on our first ever local Bachelor series with Art Green, revealed as the first two contestants. Patrick Gower will front a fascinating two-part
documentary called Patrick Gower: On Weed which will explore the pros and cons of legalising marijuana for medicinal and recreational use.
New local dramas coming to Three include The Gulf and Jonah***, centred on the life of late All Black Jonah Lomu, while Clarke Gayford will be welcomed back to the MediaWorks family
with Fish of the Day, and The Project’s Kanoa Lloyd will host lifestyle series Moving Out with Kanoa. The 2019 series of The Block NZ will be titled Firehouse, Married at First Sight NZ is back for a third season, and NZ On Air’s funding decision regarding Comedy Pilot Week*** is due this week.
Finally, we are pleased to confirm that MediaWorks and QMS Media NZ have entered into a heads of agreement for a
proposed merger. This would see QMS merge its NZ out-of-home, digital media and production businesses into MediaWorks,
NZ’s leading radio, TV and digital business, and in return receive a material but not controlling share of the company
in the expanded MediaWorks business. Not only would this deliver compelling value for advertisers via a combined sales
network, but also an unrivaled destination for advertisers to build brands and maximise reach.
ends