Media Research, Forecasts & Analysis

Future of Australian Television Part II: Four Scenarios to 2035

: This report develops an integrated set of long-term scenarios for the Australian free-to-air television market to 2035, and sets out the strategic implications for each stakeholder group along with the policy changes required. It builds on the transmission-and-spectrum analysis of a companion repor…

Future of Australian Television Part I: The Terrestrial TV Endgame

: This report examines the transmission-and-spectrum question at the heart of Australian free-to-air television's future. For free-to-air broadcasting, what happens to the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform and the UHF frequencies it occupies is not one issue among many – it determines the…

NRL's $5.3 Billion Deal: The Decline of Network Ten and the Rise of Subscription Sport

: The recent $5.3 billion NRL media rights agreement has initiated a significant reconfiguration of the Australian media sector. This report explores three distinct medium-term impacts catalysed by this landmark deal: the linear disinvestment and decline of Network Ten, the reassertion of local sover…

Nine/Microsoft news deal points to the alternative to News Media Bargaining conflict

: This landmark deal allows Copilot to utilise full-text articles from Nine's mastheads, including paywalled content, to inform and 'ground' its AI search. The agreement facilitates the generation of summaries and headlines with direct attribution and click-through links, establishing a new commercia…

Navigating Fragmentation: The Future of Australian Public Broadcasters' News Reporting

: This report, "Navigating Fragmentation: The Future of Australian Public Service News Reporting," examines the challenges faced by Australia's public service media (PSM), the ABC and SBS, in a rapidly fragmenting audience landscape. It highlights declining trust in news, political polarisation, and…

Digital News Report Australia 2026 Report - Key findings

: Last week saw the publication of the Digital News Report: Australia 2026 by the University of Canberra. This survey report, part of an international effort to track the evolution of news consumption, reveals a news landscape defined by a recovery in audience interest set against a backdrop of deep…

Australia Advertising Expenditure Forecast 2026

: We forecast the total advertising market to grow at a 3.6% CAGR over the next five years, stabilised after a period of pandemic and post-pandemic disruption. Overall, the momentum of digital will be blunted by technological disruption. The beneficiaries are the ‘traditional’ media who will improve…

15.4% Surge in oOh Media Leads Sector as M&A Activity Offsets Governance Turmoil

: The media sector experienced significant divergence in May 2026, characterised by aggressive M&A activity and governance setbacks. oOh Media emerged as the top performer with a 15.4% increase following a bidding war, while ARN Media fell 10.7% amid a shareholder revolt and substantial revenue losse…

FTA TV Recovery Requires Ad Agency Re-set: Moving from Clicks to Value

: This report analyses the Australian free-to-air (FTA) television landscape, focusing on the shift from traditional broadcast to Broadcaster Video on Demand (BVOD). It explores the correlation between GDP growth and advertising expenditure, the impact of media agency incentive structures on TV's mar…