Ten targets under-50 audience in bid to snag advertisers
ViacomCBS's Network Ten is looking to launch a fourth television channel, aimed at under 50-year olds.
Amid fierce competition for audiences and advertisers, ViacomCBS's Network Ten is looking to launch a fourth television channel, aimed at under 50-year olds.
ViacomCBS’s local content boss Beverley McGarvey announced on Monday that it would unveil the fourth channel, understood to feature a broad range of entertainment shows, later this year.
A spokeswoman for Australia's third-ranked free-to-air TV broadcaster said the new channel will complement its existing line-up of 10, 10 Peach and 10 Bold, and will "appeal to the under 50s audience".
The new channel is one of Ms McGarvey's first major initiatives since her promotion as chief content officer and executive vice president of ViacomCBS in Australia and New Zealand in March following the surprise resignation of Ten boss Paul Anderson.
Since then, Ms McGarvey has been busy leading Ten through the COVID_19 crisis, which has wiped out ad revenue across the broader media sector.
Some of Ten’s shows, including long-running soap Neighbours and The Bachelor have been temporarily shut-down because of the coronavirus crisis.
Ten also temporarily cut its workforce after the Easter long-weekend last month, but its news and locally-produced programs such as Studio 10 and The Project remained unaffected. Its digital news website 10 daily also continued as normal.
At the time, Ms McGarvey told her staff that "COVID-19 has caused extensive and fast-moving change in the broadcast industry", and it is working to ensure it comes through the crisis "as a stronger, more innovative and more agile organisation".
"Despite more viewers turning to television for the latest news, information and entertainment that we provide, our business has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. It has clearly affected our day-to-day operations, at least temporarily," she told staff in an email, seen by The Australian.
Ten's new-look MasterChef, featuring new judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, has proved a hit with viewers stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis.
TV and streaming companies, including Netflix, Foxtel and Stan have reported a surge in audiences since the health crisis.
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