Nine Digital

Nine Digital is the digital media company and operating division associated with Nine Entertainment Co., one of Australia's major television, publishing and streaming groups. Its corporate lineage began with ninemsn, a joint venture established in 1997 between Microsoft and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, the predecessor of part of Nine's media business. The original ninemsn website served both as an online extension of the Nine Network and as Microsoft's MSN portal for Australian users. The business changed direction as ownership and Australian digital-media markets evolved. In 2013, ninemsn was renamed Mi9. Microsoft subsequently sold its 50 percent interest to Nine Entertainment in October 2013, leaving the digital operation wholly owned by Nine. Mi9 was later renamed Nine Digital, aligning the unit more directly with the Nine corporate identity. Nine Digital's activities have covered a broad portfolio rather than a single consumer product. Its assets and services have included Nine's principal online destination, nine.com.au; the 9Now catch-up and streaming platform; the 9Honey women's content network; and a range of specialist publishing, lifestyle, news, commerce and community properties. The portfolio has also included or been connected with Stan, the subscription streaming service established in 2015, and the Pedestrian Group, which publishes youth-oriented news and entertainment and owns or operates several Australian digital brands. The 9Honey network illustrates Nine Digital's approach to portfolio publishing. Launched initially as a fashion-focused site in 2015, it was expanded in 2016 into a broader women's network incorporating content areas such as celebrity, health, homes, food, parenting, travel, professional life and personal development. Other digital operations have included Future Women, which focuses on professional women through journalism, events, workshops and community activity, and 9Saver, an online money-saving service operated as a joint venture with RevTech Media. The business has also reshaped its portfolio through divestments and brand rationalisation. Nine announced plans to phase out the CarAdvice brand in 2021 in favour of its Drive automotive brand, and it sold Find a Babysitter and RSVP back to their respective private operators in 2021. These changes reflected a broader concentration on Nine's core media, video, publishing and high-value digital properties. Nine Digital operates primarily in Australia and is best understood as a group digital-media platform and portfolio manager rather than a standalone mass-market brand with one dominant product. Its role is to extend Nine's television, publishing and entertainment franchises across websites, mobile experiences, on-demand video, streaming, podcasts, commerce and audience communities. The company's public-facing footprint therefore appears through individual brands such as nine.com.au, 9Now, 9Honey, Pedestrian and related services, while ownership and strategic direction sit within Nine Entertainment Co.

Nine Digital traces its origins to ninemsn, an Australian digital-media joint venture created in 1997 by Microsoft and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. The service combined Microsoft's MSN portal capabilities with an online presence for the Nine Network, providing Australian users with news, entertainment, web services and television-related content. It became one of the principal digital extensions of the Nine media business. As the Australian online market matured, the company was renamed Mi9 in 2013. The new name reflected an attempt to establish a broader digital identity beyond the original ninemsn portal arrangement. Later that year, in October 2013, Microsoft sold its half share to Nine Entertainment. The transaction gave Nine full control of the digital company and removed the need for the ninemsn joint-venture structure. Mi9 was subsequently renamed Nine Digital. The rebranding connected the division to Nine Entertainment while allowing it to operate a portfolio of individual digital brands and services. Rather than remaining only a web portal, the business expanded across online publishing, video, streaming, lifestyle content, digital audio, commerce and audience communities. One important part of this development was the creation of 9Honey. The women's network began in April 2015 as a fashion-oriented site. In 2016, Nine reorganised several women's digital properties under the broader 9Honey identity. Its editorial areas included celebrity and popular culture, health and motivation, home design, food, parenting, travel, professional life, personal development and fashion and beauty. The network also supported podcasts and other forms of digital content. Nine's video strategy developed in parallel. Stan was established in 2015 as a subscription streaming service, while 9Now launched in 2016 as a replacement for the earlier 9Jumpin catch-up service. The former ninemsn website was also renamed nine.com.au in 2016, completing a shift from the Microsoft-associated portal brand to a Nine-branded destination. These changes placed live television, catch-up programming and streaming more centrally within Nine's digital ecosystem. The portfolio later included specialist and audience-focused properties. Future Women addressed professional women through journalism, events, workshops and an online community. 9Saver, operated jointly with RevTech Media, focused on money-saving content and services. Nine also owned the Pedestrian Group, whose youth-oriented Pedestrian publication operated alongside a collection of Australian digital brands including Vice Media Australia, Business Insider Australia, Gizmodo Australia, Refinery29, Lifehacker Australia, Kotaku and Pedestrian JOBS, as well as the Openair Cinemas brand identified in the reference material. Nine Digital's history also includes portfolio reduction. CarAdvice, an independent automotive content publisher acquired within Nine's digital activities, was scheduled for phase-out in favour of Drive in 2021. Nine sold Find a Babysitter back to founders Delia Timms and Jeff Bonnes in 2021, after the property had been under Nine Entertainment's control. RSVP, an online dating service that had previously been combined with Oasis Active, was also sold in 2021 to the operators associated with that combined business. The resulting organisation is best described as a digital-media division and brand portfolio inside Nine Entertainment Co. Its consumer presence is distributed across nine.com.au, 9Now, 9Honey, Stan, Pedestrian and other specialist properties. Nine Digital's strategic importance lies in connecting Nine's broadcast, publishing and entertainment assets with on-demand video, online audiences, mobile consumption, podcasts, commerce and community products in the Australian market.

1. 2021Selected digital assets are divested

   Nine sells Find a Babysitter and RSVP and announces the retirement of the CarAdvice brand in favour of Drive.

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2. 20169Honey network is consolidated

   Multiple women's digital properties are brought together under the 9Honey network.

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3. 20169Now launches

   9Now replaces 9Jumpin as Nine's catch-up television and online video service.

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4. 2016ninemsn becomes nine.com.au

   Nine renames its main online destination nine.com.au following the end of the Microsoft joint venture.

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5. 20159Honey begins as a fashion website

   Nine launches the fashion-focused predecessor of the later 9Honey women's network.

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6. 2015Stan is established

   The subscription streaming service Stan is established within Nine's broader digital and entertainment portfolio.

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7. 2013The company becomes Mi9

   The original ninemsn company is renamed Mi9 as it develops a broader digital-media identity.

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8. 2013Nine Entertainment acquires Microsoft's stake

   Microsoft sells its 50 percent interest to Nine Entertainment in October, making Nine the sole owner.

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9. 1997ninemsn is formed

   Microsoft and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited establish ninemsn as an Australian digital-media joint venture serving the Nine Network and MSN audiences.

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An Australian multi-brand digital media portfolio supporting Nine Entertainment Co.'s television, streaming, publishing and entertainment businesses.

• 9NowCatch-up television and streaming2016

  Nine's online video platform, launched in 2016 as the replacement for 9Jumpin. It provides a digital destination for Nine Network programming and related catch-up viewing, forming a central part of the group's transition from scheduled broadcast consumption to on-demand video.

• nine.com.auDigital publishing portal2016

  Nine's principal online destination and the successor to ninemsn. The site extends the group's news, entertainment and television activity into web and mobile publishing under the Nine brand.

• 9HoneyWomen's digital media2015

  A women's content network that developed from a fashion site launched in 2015 and was broadened in 2016. Its editorial areas include celebrity, style, health, homes, food, parenting, travel, professional life and personal development, with associated podcasts and lifestyle programming.

• StanSubscription streaming2015

  A subscription streaming service established in 2015 and associated with Nine's digital entertainment portfolio. It represents the group's participation in paid, on-demand video alongside the advertising-supported and broadcaster-linked 9Now service.

• Pedestrian GroupYouth digital publishing

  Nine-owned digital publishing group centred on Pedestrian, an Australian youth news and entertainment publication based in Sydney. The group has also encompassed a range of Australian licensed or owned digital brands spanning business, technology, gaming, lifestyle, culture and employment content.

• Future WomenProfessional women's media and community

  A digital brand aimed at professional women, combining journalism with events, workshops and an on-platform community. Its proposition centres on career development, leadership, ideas and personal empowerment.

• 9SaverSavings and commerce content

  An online money-saving service operated as a joint venture between Nine Digital and RevTech Media. It extends Nine's digital portfolio into consumer savings information and related online services.

• CarAdviceAutomotive publishing

  An Australian automotive content publisher that formed part of Nine's digital portfolio. Nine announced that the CarAdvice brand would be phased out in 2021 as the company concentrated its automotive publishing around Drive.

• Find a BabysitterOnline childcare marketplace2005

  An online babysitting service founded by Delia Timms and Jeff Bonnes in 2005. After being controlled by Nine Entertainment, the site was sold back to its original operators in 2021.

• RSVPOnline dating

  An Australian online dating service acquired by John Fairfax Media in 2005 and merged with Oasis Active in 2014. Nine later sold the combined business to its operating managers in 2021.

• 2021Divest Find a Babysitter and RSVPM&A

  Nine continued to streamline its digital portfolio by returning specialist services to operators with a more direct focus on their respective categories.

  What changed. Find a Babysitter was sold back to Delia Timms and Jeff Bonnes, while RSVP was sold to David Heysen and Daniel Haigh, who had managed the combined RSVP and Oasis Active business.

  Aftermath. The divestments narrowed Nine's digital holdings around media, video, publishing and selected strategic brands.

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• 2020Concentrate automotive publishing on DriveStrategy

  Nine reviewed its automotive content portfolio and determined that maintaining separate CarAdvice and Drive identities was inconsistent with its intended focus.

  What changed. Nine announced plans to phase out CarAdvice in 2021 and focus the automotive activity on Drive.

  Aftermath. The decision reduced brand duplication within Nine's automotive publishing portfolio.

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• 2016Launch 9NowProduct launch

  Nine needed a contemporary digital destination for catch-up television and online video as Australian audiences increasingly consumed broadcast programming on demand.

  What changed. Nine launched 9Now to replace the earlier 9Jumpin catch-up service.

  Aftermath. 9Now became a core part of Nine's digital video offering and connected the broadcaster's programming with online and mobile viewing.

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• 2016Rebrand ninemsn as nine.com.auStrategy

  Microsoft's departure from the joint venture reduced the strategic value of the ninemsn name and created an opportunity to establish a fully Nine-branded portal.

  What changed. Nine renamed its main website nine.com.au.

  Aftermath. The rebrand consolidated the online destination with Nine's broadcast and publishing identity.

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• 2013Acquire Microsoft's 50 percent stakeM&A

  The original ninemsn joint venture had been built around Microsoft and Nine-related media interests. Microsoft chose to exit the Australian digital-media partnership as the business moved toward a Nine-controlled structure.

  What changed. Nine Entertainment acquired Microsoft's half share in October 2013, giving it full ownership of the company, which was then known as Mi9.

  Aftermath. The transaction enabled the subsequent transition from Mi9 to Nine Digital and made it possible to align the portfolio more closely with Nine's television, publishing and entertainment operations.

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• 2021Nine sells Find a Babysitter and RSVP

  Nine sold Find a Babysitter back to its original operators and sold RSVP to the operators of the combined RSVP and Oasis Active business.

  M&A
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• 2020Nine announces the retirement of the CarAdvice brand

  Nine announced plans to phase out CarAdvice in 2021 and focus its automotive publishing activity on the Drive brand.

  Other
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• 20169Now launches as Nine's catch-up television platform

  Nine launched 9Now as the successor to its earlier 9Jumpin catch-up service, extending Nine Network programming into a newer on-demand video platform.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2016Nine.com.au replaces the ninemsn brand

  The former ninemsn website was renamed nine.com.au as Nine consolidated its digital identity after Microsoft left the joint venture.

  Other
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• 2013Microsoft exits the ninemsn joint venture

  Microsoft sold its 50 percent interest in the Australian ninemsn business to Nine Entertainment, making the digital operation wholly owned by Nine.

  M&A
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• Mi9 is renamed Nine Digital

  Following Nine Entertainment's acquisition of Microsoft's stake, Mi9 was rebranded as Nine Digital to align the operation with Nine's corporate identity.

  Other
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1. Nine Digital