New Today Show line-up | Guy Dobson exits SCA | Initiative Melb MD goes client side | Sports platform in liquidation | SBS brings back slow TV | 42 new jobs | Budget Direct debuts new 'Sarge' push

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter][Mumbrella Newsletter]( The clock is running down on your chance to save $1000 Want to snag $1000 off [Mumbrella360]( tickets this year? The first 150 tickets will save big, only until January 30, and only if they aren’t snapped up by then. (Hint: we’ve always sold out). So if you want to attend Australia’s biggest media and marketing three-day conference, you’d better get a move on and ensure maximum savings on this year’s ticket. [Book now.]( News [Deborah Knight replaces Karl Stefanovic as Today Show co-host on Nine]( Nine’s breakfast television staple Today will now be fronted by two women with Deborah Knight joining existing co-host Georgie Gardner from 14 January, filling the void left by Karl Stefanovic. Former co-host of Weekend Today and 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort will replace Sylvia Jeffries as the program’s newsreader. [READ MORE »]( News [Southern Cross Austereo's creative boss Guy Dobson exits]( Southern Cross Austereo’s chief creative officer, Guy Dobson, will leave his role, effective immediately. Dobson has worked for SCA for a decade in various roles, including as chief executive officer and head of metro at what was once known as the Austereo Group. [READ MORE »]( News [Digital sports platform 20Four goes into liquidation]( Digital sports business 20Four has gone into liquidation less than two years after launch. The business was started by Scott Briggs, Anthony McConville, Anthony Dunlop and former Carlton player Adrian Gleeson, and led by CEO Chris Haigh, and was created to show what life is like as a professional athlete in competition and everyday life. [READ MORE »]( News [Initiative Melbourne MD Shaun Briggs takes Specsavers' media planning role]( Managing director of Initiative Melbourne, Shaun Briggs, has joined Specsavers to manage the company’s media planning. Briggs’ departure is the latest move from the agency’s Melbourne office which saw strategy chief Sérgio Brodsky leave in October as part of a restructure of its national strategy lineup. [READ MORE »]( Features [Australian media and marketing companies punished in an unforgiving year for stocks]( Australian media and marketing stocks were not immune from the ASX’s travails in 2018. Mumbrella’s Paul Wallbank looks at which stocks delivered the best, and worst, results for investors over the year. Alan Jones and John Singleton are among the few fortunate investors in a disappointing year for listed Australian media and marketing companies with Macquarie Radio Network leading the sector in 2018. [READ MORE »]( News [SBS' latest foray into 'slow TV' averages 294,333 metro viewers]( SBS’ latest ‘slow television’ program, The Indian Pacific, averaged just less than 300,000 viewers across the three sessions. The program, which comes a year after SBS aired The Ghan, pulled its largest audience on the first leg – 332,000 metro viewers. The second leg and third leg averaged metro audiences of 283,000 and 268,000, bringing the metro average to 294,333. Last year, The Ghan managed an average of 400,000. [READ MORE »]( News [Budget Direct's 'Sarge' demands answers from Australians who pay too much for their insurance]( Budget Direct’s Sarge is intent on getting some answers as to why Australians are paying more for insurance than they need to, by interrogating a consumer who bought an expensive insurance policy. The latest ad from Budget Direct sees detective Sarge in a dimly-lit interrogation room with a man who has taken out an expensive insurance policy for his car. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Bandersnatch: Programmatic product placement could be just around the corner for Netflix]( Given the increased tendency for consumers to block ads and the effectiveness of quality product placement, programmatic product placement may just become a new channel of choice for advertisers and Bandersnatch may have been Netflix testing the water, suggests Justin Peyton of Digitas Singapore. Over the festive break, my Facebook feed filled up with people talking about Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Being on holiday, I didn’t pay much attention to what they were talking about. I was limiting my online time and I was in no hurry to watch anything. But now, I’m back. I’m reconnected. And I get it. [READ MORE »]( News [Nine's papers refresh Traveller section for 2019]( The travel section of Nine’s metro newspapers has been redesigned for 2019, partly inspired by the success of its occasional glossy magazine formats. Editor Anthony Dennis said the time was right for a redesign as people kick off the new year back at work dreaming about their next holiday. [READ MORE »]( SUPPORTED [‘Stop the disconnect between customers’ journeys and your marketing’]( Cooperate is a platform that allows businesses to visualise their path to purchase data, so they can see exactly where their campaigns are succeeding or failing. Here, Justin Cannon, its CEO and co-founder, talks through why integrating the two elements is so important. [READ MORE »]( News [Second day of final test sees Seven top Friday's TV ratings]( India’s tightening grip on the final test saw Seven’s cricket audiences average 487,000 metro viewers over the three sessions, a slight dip from the previous day’s figures. According to OzTAM’s preliminary overnight figures, cricket dominated most of the day’s television, however topping the ratings were news and current affairs with Seven News pulling 986,000 viewers over Nine’s 913,000. [READ MORE »]( News [Foxtel's Amanda Laing joins Sport Australia's board]( Foxtel’s chief commercial officer, Amanda Laing, has been appointed to the Sport Australia board, the federal government has announced. Liang, Nine’s former managing director, is one of four new appointments to the government sports body’s board announced by minister Bridget McKenzie. [READ MORE »]( News [ABC's New Year's Eve coverage tops first ratings week of 2019]( The first television week of 2018 is done and dusted, with the ABC’s New Year’s Eve coverage being the most-watched show over the holiday week, despite the audience being down on last year. 1.262m metro viewers tuned into the ABC’s coverage of the New Year’s fireworks on Sydney Harbour as 2018 became 2019. [READ MORE »]( Features [Mumbrellacast: What on Earth happened? 2018 in review]( It’s been such a busy year for media and adland, can you even remember what happened six months ago? So, before you fully throw yourself into 2019, it’s time to look back at the big events, moments, campaigns, shake-ups, mergers, controversies and successes that shaped 2018 with this special podcast. [READ MORE »]( International perspectives you won’t get anywhere else, at CommsCon March 28 [Mumbrella’s CommsCon]( conference on March 28 has already locked in three massive international keynotes. Hear from Philip Morris International’s Senior VP for Global Communications, FleishmanHillard cybercrime and crisis expert Brian West, and the Director for Ireland’s Academy of PR who will discuss today’s industry ethics. [Grab your earlybird ticket now to save.]( A new year is upon us and so comes fresh challenges and opportunities. So if you spent 2018 cold calling to gain industry contacts, say hello to [Mumbrella The Source.]( This subscription-only industry data bank taps into our unrivalled industry knowledge to deliver essential information. If you’re looking for a fresh approach in 2019, [Start your FREE seven-day trial now.]( Jobs [42 new jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED [Ultra Tune begins promotional push for Charlie Sheen campaign]( [Deborah Knight replaces Karl Stefanovic as Today Show co-host on Nine]( [ASIC launches proceedings against Port Phillip Publishing, proposes business be shut down]( [Marley Spoon goes to war with 'spag bol' in new year advertising push]( 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.](