What you need to know:

• Ten launching 2023 slate in December 2022 to gain early lead on rivals, bucking ratings season.
• Taps Paramount’s global free ad-funded streaming platform Pluto, plans to launch initial 20 channels locally.
• Flags launch of ‘choose your own ads’ on CTV, lifting Hulu’s playbook.
• Strikes omniscreen reach and measurement deal with Samba TV.
• Inks ecom deal with Twitter for shoppable ads. Twitter users can buy merchandise, outfits from shows by liking a tweet, receive a Twitter notification carousel of the goods, click to buy.
• Media buyers welcomed the mention of sustainability as there's been a lack of leadership in the industry so far. 

Reinforcing its younger set credentials and global backing, Ten used its upfront to try and convince advertisers that a deeper push into commerce will resonate with digital natives while more ad-funded streaming options give brands. It also underlined its commitment to diversity and inclusion on-screen and off, while announcing Ten will be the first commercial broadcaster locally to join Sustainable Screens Australia, a screen industry initiative lifting the UK’s Albert model and aiming to get off the ground next year.

Though light on detail, media buyers at the event said Ten’s plans across linear, BVOD, streaming and ecom served to whet appetites.

Curated context, more inventory

The Paramount-owned network is backing Pluto TV to take a greater share of ad-funded streaming dollars in Australia, though hasn’t ruled out launching a lower-price ad tier on Paramount+ locally to match its approach in the US.

Ten is the latest to launch ‘fast’ or free ad-supported streaming channels, bidding to keep audiences engaged and enlarge its ad inventory pool. Globally Paramount claims 50 million monthly Pluto users, with circa 200 channels in the US and triple digits in most markets. The move comes amid a global swing back to ad-funded TV, even from streaming pure-plays.

The network didn’t set an audience target for Pluto locally, nor how many channels it will launch, though Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Beverly McGarvey told Mi3 it will be “more than 20”.

Fast channels are delivered over the internet, but are curated like linear channels. With paradox of choice an ongoing challenge for streaming services, McGarvey suggested Pluto’s appeal and differentiator is curated content within niches, so audiences don’t have to think about what to watch next.

That means more inventory for advertisers across dedicated food or dating channels, for example, and also niche stuff like fishing and motoring, “which wouldn’t make prime time”, per McGarvey, but provide advertisers incremental reach to sticky audiences.

While Ten hopes to attract new audiences to Pluto, accessed via Ten Play, it’s also a bid to keep existing audiences for longer – and load up with fresh ad inventory.

All you can eat

In international markets McGarvey said Pluto is notching longer viewing times than other platforms by serving up an “entire Channel of MasterChef or Survivor,” for example, with international versions of those shows curated within a dedicated channel. 

That means audiences “are not jumping around”, per McGarvey. “They stay in the environment longer because you’re making it easy for them to find the content they want.”

With Netflix and Disney Plus poised to launch ad-funded streaming tiers, and Foxtel set to bring ads into Binge, McGarvey has previously claimed Paramount+ was first to bring streaming adloads to market locally via the football. It may be that proposition broadens next year in line with Paramount’s US approach, though McGarvey wouldn’t be drawn. “We’ve always got an eye on what the market is doing. I think it’s interesting that those streaming services see value in advertising. That’s been our business model for a very long time.”

Ecom Rod

The network is making an ecommerce play via Twitter called The Checkout. Sales boss Rod Prosser acted as a walking billboard for the capability on stage at the upfronts with a shoppable wardrobe. Post-event sales figures of Ralph Lauren pink shirts, navy blazers and off-white trousers are under wraps, but Prosser predicts “big take up” from brands as the service rolls out.

Choose your own ads

Prosser talked up “advertising on demand” via a partnership with Innovid which means users can essentially choose which ads they watch on connected TV, while opening up different formats and ad lengths. Streamer Hulu has taken that approach in the US, reporting deeper ad engagement as a result.

Last month the network also inked a deal with Samba to use its automated content recognition (ACR) technology via opted-in devices, touting cross-channel incremental reach and measurement.

Ten was light on further details of how it will take the new tech plays to market, though The Project’s Peter Helliar, channelling Margot Robbie’s Big Short turn in a bubble bath replete with champagne, provided a succinct explanation via video link at the upfront presentation.

“Basically, it's been a struggle to measure audiences across lots of screens. That's why Paramount has signed the first APAC broadcaster partnership with Samba TV. This means you can literally buy a sports fan of a major Aussie code, even when they're watching me kick goals on The Project,” per Helliar. “And for the first time, you can use the phrase omni-screen measurement and not feel like a complete wanker.”

Turning to the marketing funnel, “one of my favourite topics,” Helliar poured soapy water on those claiming “TV is just a top of the funnel medium, the same people who made millions claiming only they could deliver conversion. Arseholes.”

He suggested that has now changed. “Paramount's Innovid partnership can offer a full funnel solution with made for CTV solutions, not to be confused with CCTV solutions … Innovid's Ad Selector solution, exclusive to Paramount, means an ad can be changed in real time, from awareness to conversion. So there you have it, new data and advertising technology partnerships made simple,” said Helliar. “Now fuck off, I'm having a bath.”

Early slate

Ten is pulling away from the traditional February start to the ratings year by launching a tentpole, The Challenge Australia, in December. McGarvey said the aim is for 52-week consistency – and pointed out that the other networks have left the turf clear for an early linear primetime win.

“We’ve had strong entertainment content in January for some years with great results, so it makes sense for us to go live in that December period when there’s not much original content on linear. The streaming services, the Pay TV services play hard, there are good sports offerings, but there is no free to air entertainment. So we will start our year a month early in December.”

The 2023 new content slate includes:

• Taskmaster (comedy)
• Location, Location (property)
• Dessert Masters (MasterChef spinoff)
• Dogs Behaving Very Badly (self explanatory)
• North Shore (drama from Cold Feet creator Mike Bullen)
• Paper Dolls (drama)

Buyers react

There was a heavy emphasis on being a part of a global group in Paramount, per GroupM's Chief Investment Officer, Seb Rennie. While technical parts of the presentation were glossed over, agencies plan to follow up with questions. 

"Their intention was to land the point that they're a big entertainment business. There was a lot of network talent, a big focus on content on BVOD, SVOD and AVOD. There was lots of strong content, a diversity of distribution platforms, and new tech," said Rennie. "Plus Peter Helliar in a bath."

Publicis Media Exchange's Head of Media Intelligence, Rowena Newman, said it was a more confident presentation than last year. "Their programming has always been slightly different. They're a great offering to have in the mix... It felt like they were on a much surer footing. Very confident, but not in a brash confident way. Very self-deprecating. The irreverence they have is part of what makes Ten unique and what makes them so important."

Hatched Media's Managing Partner, Stephen Fisher, said: "Ten have got content and they’ve got an operation that is interesting enough to have a really robust conversation. Whether that’s going to lift them from a 20 per cent to a 40 per cent share, I doubt it. But they’ll be on the margins of that, and it’ll be interesting to watch."

Both Newman and Rennie noted the network's emphasis on sustainability. "If Paramount, given its global scale in production, is taking a leadership position on that, that’s a welcome addition," Rennie said. 

Newman agreed: "They called out diversity and sustainability, and doing that in the upfronts is a very bold indicator that they want to take the lead in that space. Seven and Nine haven’t stepped up yet and the market’s looking for, someone to take leadership. Even though there wasn’t any detail, that’ll be a conversation we’ll have with them."