Seven West Media is banking on "piracy-proof" sport and Australian programming as key planks of its bid to stay the top-ranking free-to-air network for the rest of the decade.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette said Seven expected to make profits from broadcasting the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Seven will broadcast all 28 Olympic sports in Rio across its TV and online channels, and will allow people to watch in their language of choice.
"We didn't buy [the Olympic broadcasting rights] to lose money," Mr Burnette said after an event in Sydney showcasing the network's key programs for 2015.
"We believe we can get the numbers there and the thing is there's only one place to come to see the Olympics and that's on Seven, or the Seven group of offerings."
The company told advertisers, analysts and journalists that "live sport is not just your insurance policy, it's ours also."
Seven is competing to retain its AFL rights, fresh from the 2014 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Sydney posting the fifth-highest ratings on record.
The AFL's five-year, $1.25 billion agreement with Channel Seven, Foxtel and Telstra ends at the end of the 2016 season.
Seven also plans to boost its content marketing arm and bolster its viewership among the fickle young male audience through an agreement with international sports broadcaster ESPN.
"We've got the capability now where we can basically take the content from what we have and integrate that inside to our partner's website; we're doing that now with Bunnings," Mr Burnette said.
Programming highlights next year include an Australian drama based on the police search for serial killer Ivan Milat, new programs starring former Packed to the Rafters leads Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thomson, and US hits such as legal drama How to get away with murder and crime series Aquarius starring The X-Files and Californication star David Duchovny..
