Monday July 2, 2018

Inside Fox Sports’ digital home with editor Luke McIlveen

On the day of Mediaweek’s visit to the Fox Sports HQ in Artarmon, we met an upset Socceroos fan, Luke McIlveen. The overcast, rainy Sydney day reflected his mood.

By Kruti Joshi

“It’s pretty bleak out there and it’s also a bleak morning in Australian sport for those of us who stayed up overnight to see the Socceroos spectacularly fail. It was not the result we were hoping for,” McIlveen told Mediaweek. He is the executive editor of Fox Sports’ digital home, foxsports.com.au. It is one of the biggest local players in the space.

While the Socceroos’ expedition in Russia was cut short, McIlveen’s NRL and AFL teams of choice, Sydney Roosters and Sydney Swans, are still in the running to win their respective premierships this year.

McIlveen joined News Corp-owned Fox Sports in the second half of last year. This marked his return to News Corp, where he has worked for most of his career. McIlveen has previously served as the editor of The Manly Daily and news.com.au, where he was credited with taking the news website from #3 to #1 in Australia – a position that it has largely maintained in the last five years.

This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article hereor subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

60th TV Week Logie Awards: The winners

The 2018 TV Week Logie Awards took place on the Gold Coast on Sunday night, with Network Ten’s Grant Denyer taking the coveted Gold Logie for most popular personality on Australian TV. 

TV Week Logies: The Winners

TV Week Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality On Australian TV
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)

Most Popular Actor
Ray Meagher (Home And Away, Channel Seven)

Most Popular Actress
Jessica Marais (Love Child, Nine Network; The Wrong Girl, Network Ten)

Most Popular Presenter
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)

Graham Kennedy Award For Most Popular New Talent
Dilruk Jayasinha (Cram!, Network Ten; Utopia, ABC)

Most Popular Drama Program
Wentworth (Foxtel – Showcase)

Most Popular Entertainment Program
Gogglebox Australia (Foxtel/Network Ten)

Most Popular Comedy Program
Have You Been Paying Attention? (Network Ten)

Most Popular Reality Program
The Block (Nine Network)

Most Popular Lifestyle Program
The Living Room (Network Ten)

Most Outstanding Drama Series
Wentworth (Foxtel – Showcase)

Most Outstanding Miniseries Or Telemovie
Romper Stomper (Stan)

Most Outstanding Actor
Hugo Weaving (Alex Klima, Seven Types Of Ambiguity, ABC)

Most Outstanding Actress
Pamela Rabe (Joan Ferguson, Wentworth, Foxtel – Showcase)

Most Outstanding Supporting Actor
Hazem Shammas (Ismail Al-Bayati, Safe Harbour, Sbs)

Most Outstanding Supporting Actress
Jacqueline Mckenzie (Gabe Jordan, Romper Stomper, Stan)

Most Outstanding Children’s Program
Little J & Big Cuz (NITV)

Most Outstanding Sports Coverage
Bathurst 1000 (Network Ten)

Most Outstanding News Coverage Or Public Affairs Report
The Siege (Four Corners, ABC)

Most Outstanding Factual Or Documentary Program
War On Waste (ABC)

TV Week Logie Awards Hall Of Fame Inductee
60 Minutes (Channel Nine)

How did Network Ten perform at the TV Week Logies?

The network managed a total of 21 nominations and ended the night with a network-best of eight wins.

After 22 nominations for no wins in previous years, Grant Denyer is now the owner of two TV Week Logies.

The Living Room won its fourth consecutive Logie, locking Better Homes & Gardens out of the category again.

2018 TV Week Logie Awards by network

Network Ten 8
Foxtel 4
ABC 4
Nine 3
SBS 2
Stan 2
Seven 1
*Includes Hall Of Fame and shared awards across two networks.

Complete list of Network Ten nominees with winners in bold:

Carrie Bickmore (Most Popular Presenter: The Project, Network Ten)
Grant Denyer (Gold Logie: Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)
Grant Denyer (Most Popular Presenter: Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)
Alex Dimitriades (Most Outstanding Supporting Actor: Doc Tydon, Wake In Fright, Network Ten)
Dilruk Jayasinha (Most Popular New Talent: CRAM!, Network Ten; Utopia, ABC)
Matty Johnson (Most Popular New Talent: The Living Room, Network Ten)
Asher Keddie (Most Popular Actress: Offspring, Network Ten)
Amanda Keller (Gold Logie: The Living Room, Network Ten)
Amanda Keller (Most Popular Presenter: The Living Room, Network Ten)
Jessica Marais (Gold Logie: Love Child, Nine Network; The Wrong Girl, Network Ten)
Jessica Marais (Most Popular Actress: Love Child, Nine Network; The Wrong Girl, Network Ten)
Bathurst 1000 (Most Outstanding Sport: Network Ten)
Family Feud (Most Popular Entertainment: Network Ten)
Gogglebox Australia (Most Popular Entertainment: Foxtel/Network Ten)
Have You Been Paying Attention? (Most Popular Comedy: Network Ten)
Hughesy, We Have A Problem (Most Popular Comedy: Network Ten)
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! (Most Popular Reality: Network Ten)
The Living Room (Most Popular Lifestyle: Network Ten)
Offspring (Most Popular Drama: Network Ten)
The Project (Most Popular Entertainment: Network Ten)
Wake In Fright (Most Outstanding Miniseries: Network Ten)

Screen creatives given chance to develop high-end drama for Stan

In an Australian first, the Queensland’s Palaszczuk government is working with Australian streaming company Stan to offer the opportunity to develop up to four high-end drama series for Stan.

The partnership through Screen Queensland will be accessible to up-and-coming creative talent, as well as established players in the industry.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the new Premium Drama Development Fund on the eve of the 60th TV Week Logies Awards, to be held for the first time on the Gold Coast.

“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase our creative screen talent while the ‘who’s who’ of Australian television is right here on the Gold Coast,” the premier said.

“Our matched investment will support both established practitioners and new voices to the industry in developing drama series suitable for Stan’s Subscription Video On Demand platform.

“These projects will focus on real Queensland stories, characters and locations with a global audience in mind.”

Stan CEO Mike Sneesby speaking on the Gold Coast

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said the Premium Drama Development Fund aligned with Screen Queensland’s focus on delivering high-end content for innovative platforms.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Stan on this important development initiative as we continue to lead our industry onto other screen platforms,” said Vieira.

“The fund further strengthens our creative and commercial partnership with Stan, which has already resulted in the Queensland-created feature film The Second, developed and produced through the Queensland Originals: Fully Funded Features program.”

The Second premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival in April and hits cinemas on a limited release on Thursday before streaming on Stan on July 20.

Stan CEO Mike Sneesby said the Queensland Government and Screen Queensland had achieved outstanding success in bringing high-end productions from local producers and Hollywood studios to Queensland’s world-class facilities and locations.

“As we prepare to release our critically acclaimed Stan/Screen Queensland film The Second, we’re delighted to announce this exciting new initiative to support the development of local productions,” Sneesby said.

“And as our slate of Stan Original productions has grown, so too have our ambitions for locally produced premium drama.

“Stan’s local production model creates world-class original programming for an Australian audience while bringing international investment into the local production industry through our global distribution partnerships.”

The Premium Drama Development Fund will be offered in two rounds based on experience level:

1. Rising: round one is now open to Queensland-based individuals or creative teams without an established producer or production company and without experience in series drama. Applications close 5pm, Friday August 17, 2018.

2. Established: round two is open to experienced Queensland talent and production companies with a track record in producing drama series. Applications open Monday October 1, 2018 and close 5pm, Friday November 2, 2018.

The successful projects will be presented to Stan for their commissioning consideration in June 2019.

Further information and applications here.

Top photo: Stan CEO Mike Sneesby with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira

Adventures Group rebrands as Emprise after Hema Maps acquisition

Hema Maps and Adventures Group Holdings have announced they are merging to create Emprise Group Holdings (Emprise).

Adventures Group is a suite of brands in the outdoor adventure market including Camper, Caravan World, Outdoor, Trade-A-Boat and TradeRVs. It also runs large-scale industry events such as Camper Trailer of the Year. Adventures Group engages half a million consumers through its publications and online channels each month.

Hema Maps is a Brisbane-based mapping and publishing company that has been exploring Australia for 30 years, producing maps, atlases, guides and digital navigation products in that time.

Emprise group CEO Rob GallagherEmprise group CEO Rob Gallagher

“It is very rare that you can bring together organisations that have a highly developed product suite to complement a rich services offering,” Emprise chairman Sam Hayward said.

“In Emprise we have achieved that, creating a diversified business that has significant growth opportunities in the fabulous markets we operate within.”

Emprise will employ over 50 staff in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

“There are significant, complementary synergies between the businesses and by bringing the two together, Emprise will be able to scale its content and marketing capability,” Emprise group CEO Rob Gallagher commented.

“As a team, we are excited about unlocking the opportunities that exist for our business built on the back of exceptional content and strong, respected brands.

“The team laughs that we will now be able to join the dots on a map, not just metaphorically or on a whiteboard as we are known to do from time to time.”

“We have built a content delivery and marketing services team that will support our own brands and the needs of partners. Add that to the mapping skills of our GIS team and our market-leading technology platform and we are well placed for future growth,” commented Emprise COO Matt O’Meara.

“Transitioning two legacy businesses in less than two years, we have been fortunate to be able to start again with a blank canvas to reset our operations and establish a new operating mindset and culture. This will deliver meaningful improvements to the combined business and improved outcomes for our customers.”

ARIA Charts: Panic! At The Disco new #1 album, Nine Inch Nails top 10

• Singles: 5 Seconds Of Summer #1 again on quiet chart week
• Albums: Panic! At The Disco enter at #1, Nine Inch Nails top 10

By James Manning

Singles

5 Seconds Of Summer have again managed to hold on at #1 as their fans continue to stream their hit Youngblood. This is the sixth week at the top for the single. The singles chart has been dominated this year by Youngblood and two other tunes – the longest run at the top was 11 weeks for Drake’s God’s Plan while the year started with Ed Sheeran’s Perfect at #1 for five weeks.

There were three changes to the top 10 with just one of them a chart debut:

#11 to #5: Billie Eilish with Lovely featuring Khalid
#12 to #7: Clean Bandit with Solo featuring Demi Lovato
NEW #8: XXXTentacion with Jocelyn Flores

There was only one other chart debut in the top 50 this week and then only just – Demi Lovato with Sober was new at #50.

While Panic! At The Disco topped the chart this week, the single High Hopes re-entered the chart at #44 for a second week on the chart.

Albums

There was much more action on the albums chart than the singles chart this week. There were six new arrivals in the top 50, with all of them finding a place in the top 20.

The strongest debut came from US rockers Panic! At The Disco as their sixth album Pray For The Wicked arrived at #1. This is the band’s second #1 album after Pretty. Odd. in 2008.

The other new arrivals this week:

#9Nine Inch Nails with Bad Witch. This is the ninth album from the US rock band led by Trent Reznor. Five of those albums have peaked in the top 10 with 1999’s Fragile performing the best, peaking at #2.

#10Luca Brasi with Stay – the Tasmanian band’s fourth album and first to go top 10.

#11Jack River with Sugar Mountain. Debut album from the Sydney singer-songwriter also known as Holly Rankin. The album name is a tribute to Neil Young after his 1964 song.

#15Dan + Shay with the self-titled Dan + Shay – the third album from American country music duo Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney.

#19Bebe Rexha with Expectations. Debut album from the US singer-songwriter just made the top 20 despite the presence of the hit single Meant To Be. That former #2 single however was previously released on the EP All Your Fault: Pt. 2.

Top photo: Panic! At The Disco (credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock)

TV Ratings Analysis: Sunday July 1

• Nine ranks #4 on list of Logie winners, but #1 for Logie ratings
• TV Week Logies: Fewer awards, longer show, smaller crowd
• House Rules gets biggest Sunday entertainment show audience
• Mystery Road wraps with one of TV’s best dramatic moments

By James Manning

Seven

It was up against the TV Week Logies, but House Rules still managed to reach a metro audience of 915,000 – the biggest audience after 7pm last night. It also performed well in the key demos. With the threat of a triple elimination looming, the judges revealed their scores for the first Backyard Battle. Kim & Michelle were celebrated for their creativity at Mel & Dave’s with judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (LLB) calling their shipwreck island “genius”. Meanwhile, Jess & Jared’s last-minute design change in Josh & Brandon’s backyard failed to pay off as the SA team was slammed by the judges, while LLB’s brutal takedown of Chiara & David’s zone left them near tears.

Sunday Night then did 567,000 followed by Carl Williams’ Women on 289,000.

House Rules

Nine

Real red carpet addicts might have already overdosed on the two hours’ live coverage from the TV Week Logies at the Gold Coast on 9Now with Shelly Horton hosting solo. But the shorter FTA version went to air at 7pm and featured a three-way hosting with Sonia Kruger, Leila McKinnon and Sylvia Jeffreys. While the focus was on arrivals, viewers and people interviewed on the red carpet were all talking about McKinnon’s shimmering Beyoncé-inspired outfit, or, as David Gyngell put it, “glammed up meter maid”!

The red carpet arrivals show had an audience of 840,000 which was down just a little from 867,000 in 2017.

The long, long TV Week Logies award show did 851,000, down from 940,000 last year. Expect this year’s number to shrink even further after the revised time-corrected number is released. The announcement of the Gold Logie winner didn’t happen until 11.30pm and the show finally wrapped about 11.40pm. The program highlights included Hughesy’s opening monologue, which was as witty and laugh-out-loud as usual. Ignore any click-bait today suggesting he was brutal though. The great Tony Martin should have secured a regular job as the “voiceover guy”, as BuzzFeed referred to him in a social media post. The 60 Minutes induction into the TV Week Hall Of Fame was a real highlight with Gerald Stone, Jana Wendt and all the reporting team over the years assembled. Stone was left speechless as tears rolled down his cheeks and there was a nice tribute to Richard Carleton. It was great to see Bert back on the Logies stage although he should have cut the gags, which were from another era. The music only seemed to prolong the evening without any real highlights.

Grant Denyer’s acceptance speech was wonderful as he admitted he thought Amanda Keller was going to win. With tears streaming down his face he revealed he was in a bad place before he secured the gig hosting Family Feud.

As to winning after the show had been axed, Denyer was not alone. The nominee and winner lists were both full of winners from programs that had either finished or were yet to confirm their futures.

TEN

TEN was the big winner at the TV Week Logies with eight awards. The channel’s smart PR campaigns for various nominees, which also got some significant assistance from the ABC, helped secure those victories.

Going up against the Logies Red Carpet plus House Rules saw The Project on 392,000 after 7pm.

The start of Royal Week on MasterChef managed 718,000 with the show giving up demo leadership to House Rules.

Two episodes of NCIS then did 290,000 and 188,000.

ABC

Grand Designs New Zealand was on 534,000 following the ABC News.

It was then time for the final episode of Mystery Road, which came to a stunning conclusion with a very memorable showdown between Judy Davis and Ernie Dingo. No more detail in case you have yet to watch on iview. The final episode then did 572,000 after the penultimate episode did 525,000 a week ago.

After a doco on film music did 120,000, the channel showed the second of two Mystery Road movies – Goldstone – with just 57,000 staying until the end close to 1am.

SBS

A repeat episode of The Mystery Of Stonehenge did 232,000 at 7.30pm.

The midnight round of 16 FIFA World Cup match between Spain and Russia was on 220,000.

Sunday morning’s 4am Uruguay v Portugal game did 163,000.

Week 26-27 TV: Friday-Sunday
FRIDAY METRO
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC13.0%723.1%914.7%TEN9.9%SBS One5.3%
ABC 22.8%7TWO4.6%GO!5.9%ONE2.8%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME0.5%7mate5.5%GEM1.7%ELEVEN1.9%Food Net0.8%
ABC NEWS1.5%7flix2.5%9Life2.3%NITV0.2%
TOTAL17.9%35.6%24.6%14.6%7.3%

 

SATURDAY METRO
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC12.9%719.1%916.6%TEN8.0%SBS One6.2%
ABC 23.0%7TWO5.1%GO!4.5%ONE2.9%VICELAND1.3%
ABC ME0.8%7mate4.3%GEM4.4%ELEVEN2.8%Food Net1.2%
ABC NEWS1.4%7flix1.9%9Life3.5%NITV0.1%
TOTAL18.1%30.5%29.0%13.7%8.8%

 

SUNDAY METRO
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC9.7%719.7%926.6%TEN11.6%SBS One5.0%
ABC 22.0%7TWO3.3%GO!3.3%ONE2.3%VICELAND0.8%
ABC ME0.8%7mate5.0%GEM2.8%ELEVEN1.9%Food Net0.7%
ABC NEWS0.9%7flix1.7%9Life1.6%NITV0.2%
TOTAL13.4%29.8%34.3%15.8%6.7%
SUNDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine AffiliatesTen AffiliatesSBS
ABC10.9%722.6%922.5%WIN8.7%SBS One3.9%
ABC 22.1%7TWO4.0%GO!3.8%ONE2.8%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME0.9%7mate5.2%GEM4.6%ELEVEN1.7%Food Net0.7%
ABC NEWS0.9%7flix1.8%9Life1.6%NITV0.2%
TOTAL14.8%33.6%32.5%13.5%5.8%
SUNDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
86.3%13.7%
All people rankings

Friday Top 10

  1. Seven News Seven 900,000
  2. Nine News Nine 849,000
  3. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 828,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 790,000
  5. Better Homes And Gardens Seven 694,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 606,000
  7. Endeavour ABC 581,000
  8. ABC News ABC 580,000
  9. The Chase Australia Seven 557,000
  10. Seven’s AFL: Friday Night Football Seven 540,000

 

Saturday Top 10

  1. Seven News Seven 855,000
  2. Nine News Nine 709,000
  3. ABC News ABC 675,000
  4. Shakespeare And Hathaway ABC 526,000
  5. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Fra v Arg Live SBS 411,000
  6. Border Security – Australia’s Front Line (R) Seven 402,000
  7. Seven’s AFL: Saturday Night Football Seven 399,000
  8. Poldark ABC 365,000
  9. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Fra v Arg Post-Match SBS 330,000
  10. Man Of Steel Nine 328,000
Sunday fta
  1. Seven News Seven 1,199,000
  2. Nine News Nine 1,054,000
  3. House Rules Seven 915,000
  4. 60th Annual TV Week Logie Awards Nine 851,000
  5. TV Week Logie Awards Arrivals Nine 840,000
  6. Masterchef Australia Ten 718,000
  7. ABC News ABC 656,000
  8. Mystery Road ABC 572,000
  9. Sunday Night Seven 567,000
  10. Grand Designs New Zealand ABC 534,000
  11. The Sunday Project 7pm Ten 392,000
  12. Major Crimes Nine 392,000
  13. Seven’s AFL: Sunday Afternoon Football Seven 378,000
  14. Sunday Afternoon NRL Live Nine 319,000
  15. NCIS (R) Ten 290,000
  16. Carl Williams’ Women Seven 289,000
  17. Ten Eyewitness News Ten 269,000
  18. Weekend Sunrise Seven 262,000
  19. The Sunday Project 6.30pm Ten 255,000
  20. Landline-PM ABC 238,000
Sunday Multichannel
  1. M- Captain America: Civil War-PM 7mate 197,000
  2. Border Security – Australia’s Front Line -7ETPW.2OPM 159,000
  3. The Big Bang Theory TX4 9GO! 154,000
  4. The Big Bang Theory TX3 9GO! 153,000
  5. Love Island Australia 9GO! 151,000
  6. Bananas In Pyjamas-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
  7. Border Security – Australia’s Front Line -7ETPW.3OPM 145,000
  8. Dog Patrol-PM 7TWO 145,000
  9. Motorway Patrol-PM 7TWO 140,000
  10. Olobob Top-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000
  11. Highway Cops-PM 7TWO 138,000
  12. Peppa Pig-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
  13. Motorsport: 2018 Motogp Live ONE 137,000
  14. Midsomer Murders 9Gem 136,000
  15. Border Security – Australia’s Front Line -7PTMWO 136,000
  16. Hey Duggee-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 136,000
  17. Kazoops!-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 132,000
  18. The Big Bang Theory TX2 9GO! 131,000
  19. Dot.-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000
  20. Thomas And Friends-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000
Sunday Subscription TV
  1. Live: NRL Rabbitohs v Cowboys FOX LEAGUE 242,000
  2. Live: NRL Wests Tigers v Titans FOX LEAGUE 197,000
  3. Live: AFL Essendon v North Melbourne FOX SPORTS 503 173,000
  4. Live: AFL Melbourne v St Kilda FOX FOOTY 160,000
  5. Live: AFL Fremantle v Brisbane FOX FOOTY 136,000
  6. Live: Bounce FOX FOOTY 125,000
  7. Live: Sunday Night With Matty Johns FOX LEAGUE 120,000
  8. Live: Motorsport: F1: Austria Race FOX SPORTS 506 116,000
  9. Live: Controversy Corner FOX LEAGUE 71,000
  10. Live: NRL Sunday Ticket FOX LEAGUE 60,000
  11. NCIS TVH!TS 59,000
  12. Live: Sunday Footy On Fox FOX FOOTY 58,000
  13. NCIS TVH!TS 56,000
  14. Live: F1: Austria Pit Lane Race Day FOX SPORTS 506 55,000
  15. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 50,000
  16. NCIS: Los Angeles TVH!TS 48,000
  17. Kingsman: The Golden Circle Foxtel Movies Premiere 47,000
  18. Bob FOX FOOTY 46,000
  19. The Professor’s Farewell Tour FOX LEAGUE 46,000
  20. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 43,000

Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM

Media News Roundup

Business Of Media

Network Ten invests in summer TV post-BBL, denies split with MCN

At the halfway mark of 2018, Ten chief executive Paul Anderson tells The AFR the network would have entertainment programming across the summer and it would make announcements soon. The network is facing a summer without major sport after losing the rights to the Big Bash League.

“We know the way the cards have been dealt. We know what we are programming against in January in particular,” he tells The AFR’s Max Mason.

Anderson said the broadcaster had never had the level of domestic investment in its schedule it has now.

“Having the financial backing of CBS is important. But this has been in train and been our strategy anyway. The reshaping of the business and having less US content now allows us to do this.”

Anderson also dispelled rumours that Ten was looking to exit its ad sales arrangement with News Corp’s Multi-Channel Network, which it partnered with when Foxtel took a stake in the business when it was listed in 2015 before it was sold out of receivership with CBS.

“It’s business as usual for us with MCN,” he said.

[Read the original]

21st Century Fox shareholders to vote July 27 on Walt Disney bid

Shareholders of 21st Century Fox are set to meet July 27 to vote on Walt Disney’s $US71.3 billion offer for its entertainment assets, reports Bloomberg.

The special meeting is scheduled for 10am at the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan, Disney said in a regulatory filing. Disney shareholders will also consider the transaction.

Disney won antitrust approval for its deal from the US Department of Justice this week giving it another edge over Comcast, which is also vying for the assets. The Fox board last week accepted Disney’s sweetened bid for a trove of media properties ranging from The Simpsons to X-Men, favouring its offer over Comcast’s interest for a second time.

Fox’s controlling shareholders, Rupert Murdoch and his family, can only vote their 17% economic interest in a takeover vote because Class A and B shareholders each have the same voting power.

[Read the original]

JCDecaux says APN Outdoor acquisition will speed up digitisation

JCDecaux chairman and co-chief executive Jean-François Decaux says the potential $1.2 billion acquisition of APN Outdoor will allow the French advertising giant to ramp up its investment in Australia, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.

Jean-Francois Decaux (credit ID1974/ Shutterstock)

“We believe the combination of APN, which is primarily in the billboard and transport segment, with Decaux, which is only in street furniture in Australia, will enable us to accelerate the investment in the digitisation of our portfolio.

“Australia was always on our radar, given the fact that it is the seventh-largest advertising market worldwide, bigger than France, and while the acceleration of further consolidation, basically, paved the way for us to make that decision although we had the consolidation of Australian out-of-home media market always our mind – this was the topic that I discussed with my colleagues at the board.”

[Read the original]

Australians using Spotify for free will be able to skip ads from today

The millions of Australians who stream music for free on Spotify will on Monday become the first in the world to be able to skip the ads, but the company is betting on personalisation to stop them skipping too much, reports The AFR’s Michael Bailey.

Advertisers will only pay for completed listens or views of ads under the new arrangement, which will use machine learning to make the ads more contextual and tailored, and has also seen Spotify sponsor a program to help creative agencies make more compelling audio ads.

Australian users of Spotify’s free tier were the first to get the more interactive ad experience because the sales team here was considered internally one of the strongest in the company, according to Australia/New Zealand head of sales Andrea Ingham.

Spotify Australia nearly broke even in calendar 2017.

[Read the original]

News Brands

Sky News suspends producer after Sunday morning caption broadcast

Sky News has suspended a producer for allowing a derogatory comment made towards Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young by Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm to be highlighted during a morning political commentary program, reports The Australian’s Scott Murdoch.

A strap at the bottom of the screen during The Outsiders show said “Leyonhjelm: Sarah Hanson-Young is known for liking men. The rumours about her in parliament are well known.”

The broadcaster tweeted that it would investigate how the strap was allowed to be published during the Sunday morning show hosted by former Coalition politician Ross Cameron and commentator Rowan Dean.

“Sky News wishes to apologise to Senator @sarahinthesen8 for broadcasting appalling comments by Senator @DavidLeyonhjelm earlier today, and for highlighting them in an on-screen strap. A producer has been suspended pending an internal investigation,” Sky News wrote on Twitter.

A Sky News spokesperson said, “There are a number of aspects regarding the program which Sky News is investigating. An apology was made live on the show by Rowan Dean and immediate steps were taken to ensure the program was pulled off all platforms.”

[Read the original]

Entries for 2018 Walkley Awards are now open to all Australian media

Entries for the Walkley Awards are now open to all Australian media for work published on any platform between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018.

Entries close at midnight on Friday August 31, 2018.

The Walkleys recognise excellence in Australian journalism across 30 categories, on all platforms including photojournalism, documentary, non-fiction books and cartoons. As always, digital journalism can be entered into any category.

The Walkley awards are judged in a two-tiered process. In each category a panel of three senior journalists chooses three finalists, and the Walkley Judging Board picks the winner. The Gold Walkley – Australian journalists’ most coveted prize – will be awarded to one of the category winners.

The Walkley Foundation also invites the public to submit nominations for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, an award chosen by the Walkley Directors.

Important dates:

August 31: Walkley Award entries close

October 11: Nikon-Walkley and Documentary Award finalists announced (Sydney)

October 18: General finalists announced (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane)

November 8: Walkley Book Award Shortlist announced

November 22: Winners announced at the 63rd annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism gala dinner (Brisbane)

Publishing

Niche publishers fear they will miss out on government’s $48 million fund

Niche publishers fear they will be locked out of the federal government’s $48 million fund established to help small and regional Australian media businesses stay afloat, reports The Australian’s Dana McCauley.

Publishers are waiting anxiously to find out how the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which has been tasked with administering grants of up to $1m, will apply strict eligibility criteria – including a requirement for “public interest journalism” that informs a wide audience.

Former Bauer magazine publisher Robyn Foyster, who founded online women’s lifestyle publication The Carousel in 2014, said a narrow interpretation risked locking out small publishers. She said the competition “couldn’t be tougher” in the digital publishing landscape, with independents fighting to carve out a niche hard hit by the tech giants’ dominance.

“If the big guns are struggling with Facebook and Google, then let me tell you, further down the food chain smaller publishers have done it tough,” she said.

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Television

Network Ten’s first Pilot Week show: Taboo with comedian Harley Breen

Network Ten is remaining tight-lipped about its upcoming Pilot Week, when it will air seven to eight new shows with the aim of picking out the best-performing to commission for full seasons next year, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.

However, Ten chief content officer Beverley McGarvey has revealed one format to The Australian Financial Review: Taboo with comedian Harley Breen. Pilot week allows networks to test a show before committing to a full season of production.

“It’s such a brilliant idea – it’s a format out of northern Europe but it’s not the sort of thing anybody in this market would have done any other way,” McGarvey said.

“The idea is that there are certain people on the fringes of society that are so on the fringes of society that people don’t even make jokes about them.”

[Read the original]

Sam Armytage tells Stellar readers: “Don’t attack me for being beautiful”

TV presenter Sam Armytage has published an article about natural beauty, immediately sparking backlash from readers, reports News.com.au’s Alexis Carey.

In a column penned for Stellar magazine published on Sunday, the 41-year-old Sunrise co-host opened with a metaphor, comparing “less-than-perfect” supermarket fruit to “our societal obsession with appearance and perfection”.

But Armytage also went on to plead with the public not to judge her over her looks.

“And don’t attack me for being beautiful. I have a team of hair and makeup PROFESSIONALS getting up at the crack of sparrows each day to make me look good,” she wrote.

“And if you don’t think I’m beautiful, then you’re entitled to your opinion (but you’d be wrong).”

[Read the original]

Read Sam Armytage’s column here.

Radio

Triple M sacks Barry Hall for “unacceptable and inappropriate comments”

Barry Hall’s former Triple M colleagues have labelled his vulgar comments about a co-panellist’s wife “disgusting, offensive and unacceptable”, report Fairfax Media’s Anthony Colangelo, Jon Pierik and Goya Dmytryshchak.

Hall, a Sydney Swans premiership captain, was sacked by radio station Triple M on Friday night for crude comments he made in the lead-up to an AFL match between the Western Bulldogs and Geelong at Etihad Stadium.

Amid the fallout, Hall issued an apology on Saturday to the Montagnas, declaring he was “a proud father and dedicated partner and have nothing but respect for women”.

The comment was made before the Friday-night clash, as part of a discussion between the Triple M panel of commentator Mark Howard, former player Nathan Brown, journalist Damian Barrett, Hall and Montagna.

On Saturday, at the start of The Saturday Rub program, Barrett read out a statement released by Triple M’s head of content Mike Fitzpatrick on Friday night, about three hours after the comment went to air.

“Tonight on Triple M Football there were unacceptable and inappropriate comments made by a member of the commentary team,” Barrett said.

“The commentator was removed immediately from the broadcast and an apology was issued on air afterwards. Immediate action was taken with the termination of employment for one team member.”

[Read the original]

Sports Media

Network Ten reviving old format Sports Tonight with Matt White hosting

Channel 10 is reviving its old format Sports Tonight, with former host Matt White expected to return to front the weekly show, reports News Corp’s Alice Coster.

The rebooted Sports Tonight will run on Sunday nights with White and a panel of experts, such as ex-Hawk Josh Gibson.

The Logie-winning show ran from 1993 to 2011 before being boned.

Modelled on the American version of the same name, the weeknight half-hour sports news and information program was hosted by Tim Webster after Ten Late News.

The shows merged in 2006, accompanied by much criticism, before being axed in 2011.

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