Streaming
Netflix joins OzTAM
In a landmark move that signals a shift in how streaming platforms are measured and monetised in Australia, Netflix has officially joined OzTAM’s audience measurement ecosystem.
The announcement positions Netflix as the first global subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform to have its local viewership independently measured and reported by the country’s official television ratings provider.
The development marks a critical convergence of traditional broadcast and digital video measurement, offering advertisers, media buyers and networks a clearer view of how Australians are consuming content across platforms.
Television
TV rich list faces reckoning as networks rethink star salaries
Australia’s top TV stars are still pocketing seven-figure salaries to anchor major network shows, even as commercial broadcasters try to rein in their newsroom budgets.
As Steve Jackson reports on The Australian, the eye-watering deals have long been the price of keeping marquee talent from jumping ship in a market where on-air faces can mean ratings gold.
Take Today host Karl Stefanovic, reportedly earning more than triple the salary of his co-host Sarah Abo. His multimillion-dollar contract dates back to a strategic play by Nine’s former CEO David Gyngell, who locked him in with a sweetener panel show that was canned after eight episodes.
AFL’s $4.5 billion broadcast deal delivers cash, but costs fans
Gillon McLachlan’s farewell gift to the AFL was a blockbuster: a $4.5 billion, seven-year broadcast rights deal stitched up with long-time partners Seven, Foxtel and Telstra.
In the Op-Ed published in The Age, Caroline Wilson writes the deal was a legacy move that added $70 million a year to the game’s coffers, beating out a richer but riskier $6 billion pitch from Paramount Plus.
The deal, finalised just before the 2022 finals, promised stronger clubs, better-paid players and growth across AFLW and grassroots.
Network 10 quietly builds ’60 Minutes’ rival
Network 10 is assembling a new investigative team, fuelling talk it’s plotting a long-form current affairs program to go head-to-head with Nine’s 60 Minutes and Seven’s Spotlight.
According to The Daily Telegraph’s Jonathan Moran, the project is still hush-hush, but job ads and NDAs are already circulating, and respected journo Daniel Sutton is said to be playing a key role behind the scenes.
The network has confirmed the creation of a 10 News investigative unit, designed to produce long-form stories across all platforms.
Journalism
Media power players farewell Nick Tabakoff at packed Sydney send-off
More than 100 of the industry’s biggest names turned out on Thursday night to toast the retirement of veteran journalist Nick Tabakoff, whose decades-long career was celebrated at a packed Sydney pub gathering.
As James Madden writes in The Australian, the 56-year-old is stepping away from media to focus on his health after being diagnosed with cancer late last year.
TV royalty Ray Martin joined radio titans Ray Hadley, Ben Fordham and John Stanley, along with Walkley winner Adele Ferguson and a who’s who of network bosses and editors.
ABC issues apology after Nationals slam “people are dying” comment
The ABC has walked back a claim made on Insiders after two Nationals MPs pushed back hard against a segment that suggested they had effectively gone missing during recent natural disasters in their electorates.
The comment in question came from political reporter Claudia Long, who referenced flood-related deaths while questioning the MPs’ local presence.
As Matthew Benns reports in The Daily Telegraph, The Nationals hit back, slamming the comments as inflammatory and misleading
AI
Musk’s Grok AI reportedly in use inside US government without approval
Elon Musk’s DOGE team is quietly deploying his AI chatbot Grok across parts of the US federal government, raising eyebrows over potential data breaches and conflict-of-interest breaches, according to The Australian Financial Review’s Marisa Taylor and Alexandra Ulmer.
The tool is reportedly being used to sift through sensitive data and prepare internal reports, despite lacking formal approval.
Sources claim the AI is already active within departments like Homeland Security, where officials were allegedly told to use Grok even though it had not cleared the usual vetting process.
Business
Perth power player slams Perth Bears boss Anthony De Ceglie
Just weeks into his new gig as Perth Bears CEO, Anthony De Ceglie is already copping it from some of the city’s elite, including influential businessman and former RBA board member John Poynton.
According to Paul Garvey in The Australian, Poynton told the publication that he and others would be “cheering for him to fail,” accusing the former West Australian editor of alienating major players across the city during his media tenure.
The appointment, Poynton says, shows “arrogance and hubris” from both De Ceglie and the NRL.
Wesfarmers CEO defends Bunnings after Four Corners grilling
Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott has pushed back on claims aired in an ABC Four Corners doco that Bunnings plays dirty in the retail game, using its scale to squeeze suppliers and lock out rivals.
As James Harrison writes for Sky News Australia, the investigation also questioned the brand’s pricing practices, painting an unflattering picture of the much-loved Aussie hardware giant.
Scott has since defend the company, saying Bunnings pays above-award wages and maintains strong ties with its supplier network.