News Corp (and SMI) by the numbers
Welcome to a data-led edition of Unmade, for our paying members.
In today’s edition we look into this morning’s new numbers from News Corp, and yesterday’s financial year data from Standard Media Index.
We’ve announced the schedule for this year’s Compass series. Our panel-in-the-pub, end-of-year tour kicks off in Sydney on November 3 and concludes in Hobart a fortnight later. Reflecting on 2025 and projecting into 2026, please hold the date for your city:
November 3 – Compass Sydney
November 5 – Compass Brisbane
November 10 – Compass Adelaide
November 11 – Compass Perth
November 17 – Compass Melbourne
November 18 – Compass Hobart
Unmade’s paying members get a free ticket to Compass. Your annual membership also gets you tickets to September’s REmade conference on retail media; and to October’s Unlock conference on marketing in the nighttime economy.
The coupon code for our annual paying members to access tickets to all those events is available below the paywall.
Upgrade today.
Unlock returns
Unlock curator Cat McGinn writes:
We can today announce the return of Unlock, our one‑day conference for media and marketing professionals exploring the impact of the 24‑hour economy for brands.
Taking place on Thursday, October 30, Unlock brings together marketers and media leaders interested in not only adapting to shifting audience behaviours in live experiences around the clock, but in setting the pace and leading the sector forward.
The program examines how the rise of the 24‑hour economy is reshaping consumer attitudes and habits, and creating new opportunities for brands, spanning nightlife, live music, cultural partnerships, brand experiences, and storytelling.
Attendees will gain practical insights and strategies for connecting with audiences beyond the 9-5 and reimagining the city after dark.
Building on last year’s momentum, which featured Four Pillars co‑founder Matt Jones delivering a keynote on storytelling and experiential design, Unlock 2024 also included panels and sessions with leaders from Amex, Universal Music, Time Out Australia, SXSW Sydney, and Revlon ANZ.
Topics included authentic brand storytelling and high‑impact cultural partnerships to the shift from ROI to ROX (return on experience), connecting with youth culture, and brand‑artist collaborations featuring figures like Young Franco and Ben Liebmann (Understory, ex‑Noma).
The mix of keynotes, panels and workshops provided insights and bold ideas, setting the stage for an even more ambitious 2025 program. Unlock 2025 will continue this trajectory, delivering fresh perspectives and actionable solutions for brands seeking to thrive in this evolving landscape.
The conference once again draws on the expertise of its advisory panel of industry leaders, who return to help shape a program rich in insight, relevance and real‑world application.
Those interested in speaking at the event should contact conference curator Cat McGinn.
Early bird tickets are on sale now. Unmade’s paying members are entitled to a free ticket. The coupon code is at the bottom of this post.
News Corp’s Australian advertising problem
Tim Burrowes writes:
Fair to say the market liked News Corp’s full financial year results announcement today. At time of writing, the company’s share price is up by 6% for the day and is close to its highest point since News Corp and Fox Corp split into two businesses in 2019. Fox Corp is also trading close to an all time high.
Also fair to say is that the result is no thanks to the performance of the business in Australia, which has had a rough couple of years in the advertising market. That’s also underlined by the SMI numbers which we’ll get into later.