Nine in radio takeover bid | Ant Hearne back in Aussie role | WPP profits drop again | News Corp bigwig departs | 19 new jobs | NRMA’s koala rescue

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter]( Mumbrella's Health Marketing Summit returns to Sydney next week Is your marketing strategy in poor health? Symptoms include lethargy, confusion, stagnation and inertia. If this sounds like you, be sure to snap up your tickets to [Mumbrella’s Health Marketing Summit]( to absorb insights from the industry’s leading figures. The summit returns to Sydney next week, so be sure to check out the full program and [book your ticket today.]( News [Nine launches takeover bid for 2GB and 3AW owner Macquarie Media]( Nine has launched a bid to become the full owner of radio broadcaster Macquarie Media, posting a takeover offer to the Australian Stock Exchange this morning. Macquarie Media owns Sydney and Melbourne’s most listened to radio stations 2GB and 3AW. The board of Macquarie Media has recommended acceptance of the $1.46 per share offer. Macquarie Media’s current share price is $1.74. The deal gives Macquarie Media an enterprise value of $275m. [READ MORE »]( News [NRMA rescues another koala]( A boy befriends a koala in a heartstring-tugging new advertising campaign from NRMA which launched over the weekend. In the “Every home is worth protecting” ad, created by The Monkeys and directed by Gary Freedman, the boy rescues the koala from of a power pole where it has taken refuge after being forced out of its tree by bulldozers. [READ MORE »]( Dr Mumbo [Dr Mumbo: Marmite's new ball]( Dr Mumbo hates to be cynical, but the Ashes sledging between Vegemite and Marmite is starting to look more like a brand collaboration than a beef. As readers will recall, the first advertising shot was fired during the first test by Vegemite, which challenged the move by Marmite to give out free samples to Aussie fans. [READ MORE »]( News [The Block helps Nine to narrow Sunday night ratings win]( The new season of Nine’s The Block has edged closer to the million viewer mark with an average of 996,000 metro viewers on Sunday night. The upwards tick comes a week after premiering to 991,000 viewers. The Block was most-watched entertainment program for the evening ahead of Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent and Ten’s Australian Survivor which brought in 823,000 and 693,000 metro viewers respectively. [READ MORE »]( News [The Block and The Ashes take Nine to tight weekly ratings win]( Late night ratings boosts from the final two days of the first Ashes test have helped Nine seal another weekly network ratings win across all of the key commercial demographics. Nine enjoyed a metro network share of 30.9% of total people, ahead of Seven’s 28.8% and Ten’s 17.5%. [READ MORE »]( Dr Mumbo [Dr Mumbo: End of the road for Shingy the digital prophet]( Dr Mumbo is sad to report that everyone’s favourite ‘digital prophet’ David Shing has left the building. The Aussie who made it big in NYC has exited Verizon Media, having been with the company since joining AOL in 2007 – seeing its journey through its brief Oath rebranding and beyond. [READ MORE »]( News [Ant Hearne joins Kayo Sports as chief commercial officer]( Foxtel’s sport streaming platform Kayo Sports has appointed Ant Hearne as chief commercial officer. Hearne joins after recently returning to Australia from New York after almost three years with marketing technology startup Rokt. Hearne brings over 20 years experience working with startups and tech companies to the role, and will lead commercial strategies and customer acquisition for Kayo. [READ MORE »]( News [Nine tops Kennedy Awards winners with Hendo recognised for lifetime achievement]( Nine has taken home the most trophies from Friday night’s Kennedy Awards recognising journalism in NSW. The event also saw retired Nine News presenter Brian Henderson recognised with a lifetime achievement award. Of the 35 awards, 11 went to Nine, eight went to the ABC and eight to News Corp. [READ MORE »]( SUPPORTED [Profit over volume: the new reality of a disrupted auto market]( Automotive marketing has changed forever, and the traditional measures of success no longer apply. Facebook’s product marketing manager global automotive, Brandon Herring, examines the issues facing the sector. The automotive industry has hit a global inflection point. The next two decades for the sector are going to look nothing like what we’ve seen before. [READ MORE »]( News [John Stanley to host Nights across 2GB, 3AW and 4BC]( Talk radio veteran John Stanley has returned to a permanent role as evening presenter across Macquarie Media’s 2GB in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne and 4BC in Brisbane. Stanley replaces Steve Price in the timeslot, who was last month given the lunchtime show on 2GB and 4BC. Stanley’s show will air from 8pm until midnight in Sydney and Brisbane and from 8pm until 10pm in Melbourne. [READ MORE »]( News [WPP profits fall again, but fall appears to be slowing]( The world’s biggest communications holding company WPP has revealed that its revenues and profits have continued to fall, but the rate of decline has slowed down. The company, which has been attempting to simplify its structure in the months since the departure of founder Sir Martin Sorrell, said that its like-for-like revenues were down by 1.4% in the last quarter, while headline profits were down by nearly 8% for the half. It said the company had made a profit of £875m ($1.5bn) on revenues of £7.6bn ($13.5bn). [READ MORE »]( SUPPORTED [Clicketyboom! How TV is driving short- and long-term results for hipages]( To overcome an awareness issue, online tradie marketplace hipages turned to TV. In addition to driving a significant uplift in brand metrics, TV also delivered the short-term business results that hipages had previously relied on search for. Online tradesperson marketplace hipages had an awareness problem. Despite having been in business for 15 years and experiencing consistent growth, only 27% of Australians were familiar with the brand. [READ MORE »]( News [Government tells police to lay off journalists in investigating leaks]( The government has given a new direction to the Australian Federal Police to prevent repeats of the recent raids on the media when leaks are being investigated. The number of investigations will also be cut back, because departments referring leaks of official material to the police will have to outline the harm the disclosure poses to national security. [READ MORE »]( News [7-Eleven offers free coffee for reusable cup customers]( 7-Eleven is offering free coffee to customers who arrive at its stores with their own reusable cup or mug. The initiative will run until September 2, with the intention of helping customers change their routines and reduce single cup wastage. [READ MORE »]( News [Liz Deegan departs News Corp after 31 years for top comms job at NRL]( The National Rugby League (NRL) has appointed Liz Deegan to the newly-created role of chief corporate affairs officer, after 31 years at News Corp. She has been at News Corp since 1988 as a journalist, editor, editorial business manager, editorial commercial director, and, most recently, general manager corporate affairs and relationships. [READ MORE »]( News [QMS Sport to acquire TLA Australia for $32.7m]( After acknowledging preliminary discussions were underway at the end of 2018, QMS has announced its subsidiary, QMS Sport, has entered into an agreement to acquire the TLA Australia and UK businesses, including Stride Sports Management. QMS Sport will pay $32.7m to acquire 100% of both the TLA and Stride businesses, with the plan to build the business into a global integrated sports platform. [READ MORE »]( News [Job losses at SCA as it outsources television and radio broadcast transmissions]( Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has announced up to 30 roles will be cut as a result of the agreement to outsource its television and radio broadcast transmission services to Broadcast Australia (BA). An SCA spokesperson confirmed the roles under the axe are those from the transmission services and engineering sectors of the business. [READ MORE »]( The neXt Generation: Laying a path to success [Mumbrella neXt]( will be making its way to Sydney on December 10 for a jam-packed conference entirely dedicated to the development, growth and investment in the next stars of the media and marketing industry. First names on the bill include CHE Proximity’s CEO, Chris Howatson; Scarlett Strategic Solutions’ Development Specialist, Janey Francis and TBWA’s Group Creative Director, Russ Tucker. [Be sure to lock in your tickets early.]( Jobs [19 new jobs]( F.Y.I • [Travel media company Ink names We Think Media as ANZ sales rep]( • [Screen Australia announces funding for 17 projects]( • [Macquarie Sports Radio signs exclusive three year deal for Premier League broadcast]( MOST DISCUSSED [Woman elbowing snoring husband was domestic violence, says Ad Standards Board]( [Facebook re-releases My Screen report to 'challenge your understanding of Australia’s video consumption habits']( [Bohemia promotes Mark Echo to national planning director]( [Uni Super features throwback photos of its customers, celebrating the growth of their super funds]( mumbrella.com.au Sent By Focal Attractions Pty Ltd 46-48 Balfour Street, Chippendale, NSW, 2008, Australia If you would rather not receive this newsletter, you can [unsubscribe]( or [manage subscriptions here.](