Brian Walsh takes aim at Nine over launch of 9Life as Foxtel unveils its 2016 lineup
Walsh
Foxtel’s content chief has taken the opportunity of their 2016 media call to take a shot at rival Nine Entertainment over its decision to launch a new lifestyle focused channel, 9Life.
Speaking to Mumbrella executive director of television at Foxtel Brian Walsh took aim at the company behind much of the 9Life channel content saying: “Over a number of years we have assessed the Scripps product and walked away. I’m not being critical of Scripps, they are very successful at what they do in the United States but it is our view that that lifestyle content for an American audience won’t resonate with an Australian audience.
“It’s the way as a nation we are. We have a great affection for British lifestyle content and I can talk to you about many examples of that – Grand Design, the Great Bake Off etc. But we have adapted those shows for Australia.
Brian is talking about SBS’s food channel when he refers to Scripps with whom they have a JV.
Nine’s Lifestyle channel from the look of it is taking all the best LifeStyle You (Real Housewives from NBC Uni etc) content and mixing it with old favs that Lifestyle (Grand Designs from BBC etc) would have acquired. Bit of a strange demo mix.
They’ll chase all the same British content, but doubt Nine will do many local commissions in first few years of the new channel.
SBS Food, Nine Life, ABC, GEM and 7TWO, really diminish the reason for the +50’s to stick with their paytv subscriptions.