Exclusive Interview: Seven’s Tim Worner

March 1, 2012 World Screen Top Stories
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PREMIUM: Tim Worner, the CEO of Seven Network, the most-watched broadcast network in Australia, talks to World Screen Newsflash about the power of good programming and savvy promotion.

Seven Network recently accomplished what most other networks around the world never have: it had the top ratings in every demographic in every week of the 2011 season. Tim Worner, who was director of programming and production before being appointed CEO of Seven Network Television last year, is responsible for Seven as well as the digital channels 7TWO, home to the best of British shows, and the male-skewing 7mate.

 

WS: Seven recently has a clean sweep of the 2011 season. How did you accomplish that?
WORNER: I always like to say that it comes down to three reasons: planning, planning and planning. We set out some time ago to build a schedule show by show that is consistent across the year. Our aim is always to have the most bankable offering—a schedule that our customers and our viewers can trust. That requires a small group from the production and the programming parts of the business working really closely together. That group has been together for quite a few years now and the results speak for themselves.
 
WS: What have been Seven’s programming and scheduling strengths?
WORNER: The big event franchises have served us very well, especially shows like Australia’s Got Talent, The X Factor and My Kitchen Rules. They have allowed us to build a really strong platform in the early part of prime time on weeknights and it’s tough for the opposition to pull back that advantage. When you have Home and Away there five nights a week and My Kitchen Rules booming straight out of it four nights a week, you have the very best launch pad for the rest of prime time. My Kitchen Rules has now dominated for three series and has actually grown from each series to the next. It amazes me that broadcasters around the world have basically ignored it.
 
WS: More importantly, 2011 was Seven’s fifth consecutive year as Australia’s number one television network. What have viewers come to expect from Seven?
WORNER: I think our group has a really strong understanding of what our brand is, a really clear idea of what belongs on Seven. In development meetings, it’s really common to hear an idea described as “not a Seven show” or “a really Seven show”. After a while the audience knows what to expect from Seven, you make it make sense to watch it the way you market it and the way you schedule it. We don’t take ourselves too seriously as a brand, we’re a bit irreverent and we like to have fun and we think viewers have responded to that. But the main thing is we are different from the opposition.
 
WS: How important are original productions in Seven’s schedule?
WORNER: They are absolutely critical. If you look at the top performing programs in Australia they are almost all, with the notable exception of Downton Abbey, Australian productions. This is not to say that U.S. or U.K. product has become useless. That is far from the case. But it is to say that you cannot make strides—with either audiences or advertisers—without really strong local productions. Because you control them, you do control the way they shape your brand. And because you control them, you do control the way you integrate your customers into them. The days of selling 30-second spots are over. Customers want more and unless you can deliver you will get left behind.
 
WS: Tell us about the TV drama industry in Australia. Is it healthy? What opportunities and challenges does it face?
WORNER: There is probably more drama being made in Australia than ever before. It’s grown fast and not just because of the government quota system. Some of the most successful and reliable shows on television in Australia, especially in terms of demographics, are Australian dramas. At Seven we have never really worried too much about fulfilling our quota. We have a very long history of making Australian drama. Our audience expects that from us and it is woven into the DNA of our brand.
 
WS: What have been some of the most successful Australian dramas series on Seven?
WORNER: The most successful long running drama on Australian television is Packed To The Rafters. It goes from strength to strength. We also make Winners and Losers, which was picked up by someone smart at ITV2, and of course Home and Away has been going for over 25 years.
 
WS: What have been some of the highest-rated imported shows on Seven?
WORNER: Bones, Criminal Minds, Castle. And a great little show called Mighty Ships has done good business for us.
 
WS: A number of international program buyers no longer want volume or output deals with the Hollywood studios.
WORNER: I can see situations where output or volume deals make great sense. I think if you have good partners who are able to deliver consistently and take the time and trouble to really understand your business, they can work well enough. Where they become problematic is basically where we all have challenges and that is simply in not being able to come up with the right ideas or execute ideas the way they need to be. If you’re not getting a steady stream of bankable shows, it is going to become obvious pretty quickly that the sums do not add up. And they can be considerable sums.
 
WS: What have you learned about how viewers are watching Seven’s programming from your catch-up TV service?
WORNER: We’ve learned there is a lot of love for our serialized shows. Shows like Home and Away over-perform in this area. The other phenomenon we’ve seen is the water-cooler effect becoming far more pronounced far more quickly. If there is a major controversial incident on one of these reality franchises and it attracts a lot of morning radio or social-media comment, the catch-up TV numbers for that episode will spike instantly and steeply.
 
WS: When you are launching a new show, how do you give it maximum exposure? What are the best ways to reach viewers in today’s digital world?
WORNER: We have changed the way we operate in a big way. We used to use our own airtime and some radio and that was about it. Those days are long gone. Now we look under every rock and stone for potential viewers and that means taking advantage of Yahoo!7, our online joint venture with Yahoo! The sneak peek has become a very powerful weapon. Having said that, nothing is anywhere near as powerful as a superbly executed promo on your own channel, nothing even comes close to it.
 
WS: What kind of increases are you seeing in streaming shows online and is this viewing incremental to the viewing on Seven’s linear channels?
WORNER: I wouldn’t say that there has been a steep or a sharp increase in the streaming of shows online. Our catch-up service numbers are growing but I wouldn’t say the growth is getting away from us. Or that the acceleration of the trend is alarming. All too often this growth seems to be reported with almost breathless hysteria along with the inference that conventional television is dead. I don’t think so. In fact, working together both platforms have the potential to become more powerful.
 
WS: How does 7mate complement Seven’s offering?
WORNER: It’s the youngest of Seven’s channels and whilst not exclusively male it is the most male and that’s important because our main channel is easily the most female of the [free-to-air] channels in Australia. The 7mate brand has become highly defined in double quick time. Viewers know what to expect and our customers know what they’re getting when they go there as well.