NZ’s MediaWorks expands to live shows with Australia’s Nine Live

New Zealand’s major radio and television producer MediaWorks is going into the live entertainment business.

It has signed with Australia’s Nine Network to set up NZ operations of the tour promoter Nine Lives, Sunday Star Times reported. It will stage concerts, sporting events, exhibitions and stage shows. The first run of events include the Ice Age exhibition, an NFL ice hockey team and the Celtic Girls musical show.

Nine Live was set up in 2011 by Nine Entertainment to cover entertainment, sporting and lifestyle events through tours, sponsorship packages, corporate hospitality, event management and consultant. On a One Direction tour, for instance, it created a buzz before and during the British band’s visit by bringing in Coles as a presenting partner. The tie-up included a six-week in-store competition and a One Direction matinee concert for more than 10,000 Coles customers in Sydney.

Nine Live’s expansion into New Zealand means the country will get entertainment events that bypassed it previously.

MediaWorks CEO Mark Weldon pointed out to the Times, "We are not big enough as a country or a company to go to a major act in the UK and sign them up for New Zealand only.”

It means that MediaWorks’ TV shows as X Factor NZ and Dancing With The Stars and radio brands as George FM, Mai FM and Radio Live will get exclusives with artists and performers involved in these tours and events, and also be involved in cross-promotion via various platforms. A national tour with X Factor NZ contestants is to be expected.

MediaWorks has been on an expansion since Weldon took over last year, and investing in new media properties. In March, its TV3 channel – which includes DWTS, X Factor, The Bachelor, The Block and MasterChef – had a 25% rise in ratings, and a 35% lift in the advertising-friendly 25-54 demographic.