Nine Network boosts on-demand service 9Now

Nine Network will spend a record $2 million-plus to beef up the content on its broadcast video on-­demand service 9Now.

Nine Network will spend a record $2 million-plus to beef up the content on its broadcast video on-­demand service 9Now over the summer as rivals Seven Network and Foxtel unleash their cricket coverage.

Nine program director Hamish Turner said the media group would add a string of comedy, drama and dating shows from next month. “What we’re trying to do is ensure that we have a real consistent product offering and ensure that there’s always something there for our audience to consume,” he told The Australian ahead of Nine’s 2019 Upfront showcase on Wednesday.

Audiences will be able to watch new US time-travel drama series Manifest and US media drama New Amsterdam on 9Now, as well as the Australian Open in January.

Nine surprised the market in June when it struck a last-minute agreement with Tennis Australia and Seven to add an extra year to its five-year Australian Open rights deal to start this summer. Nine secured the 2019 rights for $48.5 million, compared with $60m from 2020.

Nine commercial director of digital sales Pippa Leary said summer was the “prime time for people to binge”.

9Now dominates the Australian BVOD market, with 2.37 million users last month and a registered user base of seven million, according to Nine, which cites figures from Nielsen.

Network Ten’s video on ­demand service TenPlay clocked 1.52 million users in September, Seven’s 7plus had 1.40 million users and SBS on-demand had 1.20 million users.

Ms Leary said 9Now’s seven million registered users allowed the company to pitch data about viewer habits to advertisers.

Nine has built its own identity graph that links all devices to create anonymised user profiles, which it believes is unique. A connected TV was usually controlled by someone “slightly older and slightly more male”, Ms Leary said. Desktop and mobile phone viewers were younger and more female. “It’s really interesting to see how the family splits up and then comes back together,” she said.

9Now is delivering revenue growth of more than 65 per cent this year after two years of 90 per cent growth. “The revenue that rolls off 9Now is ­extremely profitable for us,” Ms Leary said.

9Now’s revenue surged 89 per cent to $40.8m for the 12 months to June 30, from $21.6m a year earlier, with earnings up more than threefold to $19.4m.

TV industry group Think TV is bullish about the future of the BVOD market, which includes the free-to-air commercial broad­casters and Foxtel. They deliv­ered a 40.5 per cent jump in revenue to $50m for the six months to June 30.

9Now allows the media company, which is looking to bolster its operations with its $2.1 billion proposed takeover of Fairfax Media, to offer targeted marketing to advertisers.

Foxtel is owned by News Corp, publisher of The Australian.

Nine Network’s Pippa Leary and Hamish Turner. Picture: Hollie Adams.