Tuesday May 29, 2018

Christian O'Connell reports for work at new home – Melbourne’s Gold 104.3

Just days after finishing his 12-year career as host of Absolute Radio breakfast in London, Christian O’Connell has been welcomed at his new home – ARN’s Gold 104.3 in Melbourne.

O’Connell’s last day on air at Absolute was Friday May 18 and he flew out to Singapore en route to Australia later that day. After a few days in Singapore, where O’Connell celebrated the 20th anniversary of his wedding to wife Sarah, he landed in Melbourne at the end of last week.

Now that’s a cake – ARN celebrates new Gold breakfast show

After just one week off between gigs, O’Connell landed back in reality big time on Monday. He reported for work at ARN’s Richmond studios and was putting out his rubbish at his new Melbourne home.

This week O’Connell is working on his new Melbourne show with local sidekick and producer Jack Post and acting EP Nick Daly, who is an Aussie who has worked with O’Connell at Absolute. Listeners might be hoping he leaves much of the getting-to-know his new colleagues for the program, which will be fun.

The ARN welcoming committee in Richmond included ARN’s national content director Duncan Campbell and newly arrived Gold 104.3 content director Sue Carter.

ARN staff lined the corridor to welcome O’Donnell and Post, who arrived at the studios for the first time together. They then ran through a banner to enter the studios.

Top photo: Cackling Jack Post with Christian O’Connell at Gold

Nine the only place for State Of Origin digital access

Nine Entertainment Co is preparing for the first 2018 State of Origin game just eight days away. It has revealed its digital platform 9Now will offer unrivalled digital access to Holden State of Origin with five live streams available to footy fans exclusively and free across the three-game series.

9Now is now offering users memorable moments, clips from the archives and highlights from last year’s series in the build-up to Origin 1, which is being held on Wednesday June 6 at the MCG.

All three games will be available anywhere, any time on 9Now with five streams: the Main program, Tryline Cam, Spider Cam, NSW Player Cam and Qld Player Cam.

Additional live streams:

Tryline Cam: A unique end of view switched between each in-goal that will give you the perfect view of every scoring play.

• Spider Cam: An elevated bird’s eye view of all the big moments.

• NSW Player Cam: An uninterrupted view of the key Blues players.

• Qld Player Cam: An uninterrupted view of the key Maroons players.

Nine’s head of rugby league, Simon Fordham, said: “Nine’s exclusively live and free rights to State of Origin are the jewel in the crown for Wide World of Sports. In addition to the main broadcast on Nine, we have exclusive live and free streaming rights on 9Now, not to mention clips and highlights on wos.com.au to give fans the best access and analysis available.

“We are all about creating the best seat in the house and this year with Origin it is going to be better than ever.

“On 9Now we are generating five live streams from the venues to create a unique viewing experience for rugby league fans that will be available anywhere, any time. It will be something they have never seen before. In addition to streaming the main broadcast, we will also stream Spider Cam and Tryline Cam, along with dedicated Player Cams for both Queensland and New South Wales.”

See also:

Mediaweek’s James Manning with Nine director of sport Tom Malone: Part 1 and Part 2.

Tom Malone’s Mediaweek podcast.

Optus chooses Universal and BRiNG again for creating music moments for telco customers

Universal Music Australia and Optus have announced the extension of their partnership to strengthen the connection between music artists and fans.

Universal Music Australia and its in-house creative agency BRiNG will continue to collaborate closely with Optus focusing on the promotion of their Australian-first music product where select Optus customers can stream music without using their data on Google Play Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify streaming apps.

The relationship has produced a series of live events and original artist content with local and global talent including Justin Bieber, Sam Smith, Shawn Mendes, The Preatures, Troye Sivan, Lorde, and many more. All events and content are delivered through BRiNG, a marketing agency established by Universal in 2016 to create bespoke music campaigns for a variety of brands.

Sam Smith kicks off ARN’s live events for 2018
• Lorde exclusive on Sydney Harbour for Optus and Nova’s Red Room

Roddy Campbell, managing director of BRiNG, said: “With music consumption rising across the board, more and more brands are embedding the power of music in their customer engagement and branding practices. Optus committed to an always-on approach and we’re delighted to see that it’s working for consumers, for artists and labels and importantly for their business. We’ve set a high benchmark over the last two years but look forward to creating even more memorable moments together in this next phase of the partnership.”

BRiNG managing director Roddy Campbell

Bushra Abel, Optus associate director content entertainment, said: “Australians are passionate about music and we love connecting our customers with their favourite artists. Over the past few years we have been able to create amazing music moments, tailored for the fans, and our partnership with Universal Music Australia has allowed us to work alongside local and global talent such as Justin Bieber, Lorde, Sam Smith, Troye Sivan and INXS. We are excited to continue to work with Universal Music Australia to keep delivering game-changing music experiences across live events, premium video, music streaming and more.”

Optus associate director content entertainment Bushra Abel

To kick off the renewed partnership, Optus has teamed up with EMI Australia and Sydney electro duo The Presets to celebrate the release of the band’s highly anticipated fourth studio album, “Hi Viz”, out June 1.

Optus customers had the chance to win tickets to attend the exclusive album preview party in Sydney plus get the opportunity to meet the band. Optus also didn’t want all of Australia to miss out on the action so will be live streaming a selection of The Presets set on their Facebook page this Thursday May 31 from 7.30pm.

Sam Smith (credit Ian Laidlaw)

“We wanted to make something that was literally meant to get you out of your head,” said The Presets’ Julian Hamilton. “All the songs on ‘Hi Viz’ are outward looking so in that respect it’s much more like our earlier stuff. It’s about trying to capture that energy you get on a great night out with your friends when you get to leave everything else behind you for a while. We essentially tried to create the soundtrack to a party that we would want to go nuts at.”

Milky Chance

Top photo: Lorde plays Cockatoo Island for Optus and Nova’s Red Room 

Avengers: Infinity War pulls new box office record, now hotter than Star Wars

After less than seven weeks in cinemas, the Marvel film Avengers: Infinity War has become the third-biggest ever movie in Australian cinemas.

The MPDAA has just revealed its earnings so far have been $58.96m, which moves it ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which earned $58.05m in the months after it was released in December 2017.

Val Morgan reports Avengers: Infinity War now second-biggest opening day ever

Avengers: Infinity War of course has been a global box office giant and so far has taken well over $2.5b. It currently sits at #4 on the all-time global list of biggest movies and is within striking distance of both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Titanic, meaning it could only trail Avatar.

And get this – the film is still earning big bundles of cash in Australia. This past weekend it took over $1m to rank #3 at the box office, behind only Deadpool 2 and the new release Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Although Solo has had the quietest opening of a Star Wars movie in recent times, the other three Star Wars movies that opened in the past two and a half years all sit in the Australian all-time top 10.

Top photo: Avengers: Infinity War (credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel Studios)

Box Office: The force not so strong for Solo: A Star Wars story

Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the weekend box office for May 24-27, 2018.

The latest release from the biggest movie franchise ever has stumbled slightly.

Although Solo: A Star Wars Story opened at #1, it only narrowly outperformed the second movie on the chart.

The weekend box office was on $16.57m, down 9% from the previous weekend. It would seem pretty likely this is the only time ever a Star Wars release hasn’t resulted in ticket sales growing from the previous week.

#1 Solo: A Star Wars Story $6.61m

Too much Star Wars is never enough. However, despite opening at #1, audience demand for the latest adventures from a galaxy far, far away is starting to decline. Just last December Star Wars: The Last Jedi opened with $20.97m. The latest Star Wars adventure was never expected to do numbers anywhere near that, but just over $6m might have been a little below expectations. Solo opened on 780 screens with a screen average of $8,478 which was the second highest over the weekend. By comparison both The Last Jedi and Jumanji 2 did better than that for three successive weekends. (Admittedly in a holiday period though.)

#2 Deadpool 2 $5.91m

For its second weekend the Marvel release has again had the best screen average – $10,637 from 556 screens. It has made it to $25m after just two weekends.

#3 Avengers: Infinity War $1.20m

Still writing strong business after five weekends, now certified as the third highest-grossing movie ever in Australia, the movie remains on 481 screens after shedding 196 this week. Total earn will climb above $60m this week.

Bill Nighy in The Bookshop

#4 Life Of The Party $592,000

Total gross is now over $4m after three weekends with 252 screens giving it a screen average of $2,352.

#5 The Bookshop $506,000

Some poor reviews didn’t stop this European co-pro from grossing half a million on debut with $4,117 average from its 252 screens. The wonderful cast includes Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Bill Nighy.

TV Ratings Analysis: Monday May 28

• Here comes House Rules – audience climbs to 800,00, Seven wins
• TEN’s MasterChef and Have You Been Paying Attention remain demo faves
• Nine’s Talkin’ ’Bout Your Generation down, fails to win over any age group

By James Manning

Seven was a clear leader last night with the biggest primary and combined channel shares. It was a very close contest for the next most popular primary channel though with Nine on 16.2% and then TEN on 16.1%.

While TEN recorded its equal-best Monday share again, Nine had its lowest Monday share this survey year, as its new property Your Generation dropped week-on-week, trailing the competition all people and in the demos.

Seven

The new week for Home And Away launched with 710,000 after a week 21 average of 617,000.

Josh and Brandon returned to their Maryborough property to give their verdict on the House Rules transformation. The Monday episode did a new high for this season with 801,000 after Monday last week recorded 740,000. The series is traditionally a late starter, but to get to 800,000 after 14 episodes is certainly taking your time.

A hairdressing salon got a cut and blow wave on The Mentor with 419,000 watching.

The Gordon Ramsay action moved to Seven later in the evening with the first episode of Gordon Behind Bars. In the series Ramsay enters Brixton prison with the aim of setting up a catering company. The episode did 213,000.

Nine

After a week 21 average of 756,000, A Current Affair started its new week on 859,000. Gold Logie nominee and host Tracy Grimshaw was a popular nominee among the crowd on the Goldie for the announcement on Sunday. Meanwhile Monday stories included a Sydney couple bashed in Melbourne and an examination of the abduction of Jacqueline Gillespie’s children.

Week two of Talkin’ ’Bout Your Generation did 595,000 after the series launch did 677,000 a week ago. Not even repeat screenings last week and Dave Hughes could lure viewers back.

Two episodes of The Big Bang Theory were on 448,000 and 391,000.

NRL markets then saw 100% Footy record an audience of 81,000 with 60,000 in Sydney and 21,000 in Brisbane.

AFL markets got Footy Classified with 136,000 across three markets, 92,000 of them in Melbourne.

TEN

The Project ended with TV Week Logie nominee Luke McGregor talking about Rosehaven and what might happen if he or his co-star Celia Pacquola wins. After a week 21 Monday to Friday average of 519,000, the Monday episode did 610,000.

Gordon Ramsay in MasterChef

A MasterChef pressure test featured three contestants cooking to stay in the competition. With Gordon Ramsay leading the way it seemed more like a Masterclass at times. After failing to keep up, and not cooking her dish all the way through, model-turned-writer Michelle Walsh was sent home. “You just can’t rush a ravioli,” said Gordon. The Monday episode did 895,000 after pulling 805,000 on Monday last week. The episode was again a big winner for the night in key demos.

Peter Helliar, Urzila Carlson and Julia Morris were the guests on Have You Been Paying Attention?, which delivered again. The show ranked #1 25-54 last week for the channel and it was #2 in that demo last night behind MasterChef.

A Roseanne encore followed on 341,000.

ABC

Big numbers for the Monday night lineup with the channel’s best Monday survey share this year.

Australian Story was on 697,000 with part one of Blood On The Tracks about the re-opening of a case into the murder of a man near Tamworth in 1988.

Dr Norman Swan reported on Four Corners about the big money people pay for health insurance. The episode did 769,000 after 530,000 were watching a week ago.

Media Watch was on 605,000 with reports of magazine photoshopping on its radar.

Q&A then did 405,000 after 379,000 last week.

SBS

Reinventing The Royals was the episode of Elizabeth with 246,000 watching.

Michael Mosley: Secret Science then did 169,000 followed by 24 Hours In Emergency on 208,000.

Week 22 TV: Monday
MONDAY METRO
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC14.7%718.9%916.2%TEN16.1%SBS One5.0%
ABC 22.5%7TWO4.0%GO!3.4%ONE3.2%VICELAND0.6%
ABC ME0.5%7mate4.2%GEM2.3%ELEVEN2.1%Food Net0.8%
ABC NEWS0.9%7flix2.3%9Life2.1%NITV0.1%
TOTAL18.6%29.4%24.0%21.4%6.5%
MONDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine AffiliatesTen AffiliatesSBS
ABC14.4%720.6%913.6%WIN13.3%SBS One3.7%
ABC 22.6%7TWO6.0%GO!3.4%ONE3.2%VICELAND0.9%
ABC ME0.7%7mate4.5%GEM4.6%ELEVEN2.7%Food Net0.9%
ABC NEWS1.2%7flix1.7%9Life1.8%NITV0.2%
TOTAL18.9%32.8%23.4%19.2%5.7%
MONDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
86.4%13.6%
Monday FTA
  1. Seven News Seven 1,124,000
  2. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 1,090,000
  3. Nine News Nine 1,043,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 1,014,000
  5. MasterChef Australia Ten 895,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 859,000
  7. Have You Been Paying Attention? Ten 816,000
  8. House Rules Seven 801,000
  9. Four Corners ABC 769,000
  10. ABC News ABC 754,000
  11. Home And Away Seven 710,000
  12. Australian Story ABC 697,000
  13. The Chase Australia Seven 689,000
  14. 7.30 ABC 683,000
  15. The Project 7pm Ten 610,000
  16. Media Watch ABC 605,000
  17. Hot Seat Nine 596,000
  18. Talkin Bout Your Generation Nine 595,000
  19. Ten Eyewitness News First At Five Ten 482,000
  20. The Big Bang Theory Nine 448,000
Demo Top Fives

16-39 Top 5

  1. MasterChef Australia Ten 298,000
  2. Have You Been Paying Attention? Ten 285,000
  3. The Project 7pm Ten 170,000
  4. House Rules Seven 162,000
  5. Talkin Bout Your Generation Nine 162,000

 

18-49 Top 5

  1. MasterChef Australia Ten 459,000
  2. Have You Been Paying Attention? Ten 457,000
  3. House Rules Seven 303,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 299,000
  5. The Project 7pm Ten 290,000

 

25-54 Top 5

  1. MasterChef Australia Ten 505,000
  2. Have You Been Paying Attention? Ten 503,000
  3. Nine News Nine 370,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 369,000
  5. House Rules Seven 354,000
Monday Multichannel
  1. Teacup Travels-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 194,000
  2. Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 194,000
  3. Lewis-PM 7TWO 186,000
  4. Love Island Australia 9GO! 184,000
  5. PJ Masks-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 184,000
  6. Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 183,000
  7. Peppa Pig-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 180,000
  8. Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 177,000
  9. Andy’s Baby Animals ABCKIDS/COMEDY 174,000
  10. Floogals ABCKIDS/COMEDY 172,000
  11. Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 171,000
  12. Kazoops!-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 170,000
  13. Neighbours ELEVEN 170,000
  14. The Justine Clarke Show! ABCKIDS/COMEDY 165,000
  15. NCIS (R) ONE 164,000
  16. Thomas And Friends-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 162,000
  17. Dot.-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 158,000
  18. Hey Duggee-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 156,000
  19. Go Jetters-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 155,000
  20. Pawn Stars-PM 7mate 152,000
Monday Subscription TV
  1. Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 81,000
  2. Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 75,000
  3. Westworld showcase 74,000
  4. Live: Big League Wrap FOX LEAGUE 55,000
  5. Family Guy FOX8 52,000
  6. American Dad! FOX8 50,000
  7. Live: On The Couch FOX FOOTY 49,000
  8. Paul Murray Live SKY NEWS LIVE 47,000
  9. The Bolt Report SKY NEWS LIVE 47,000
  10. Family Guy FOX8 47,000
  11. American Dad! FOX8 46,000
  12. The Simpsons FOX8 46,000
  13. 24 Hours In Emergency LifeStyle Channel 43,000
  14. NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 43,000
  15. The Simpsons FOX8 42,000
  16. Live: NBA Playoffs ESPN 39,000
  17. The Simpsons FOX8 39,000
  18. Grand Designs LifeStyle Channel 39,000
  19. Credlin SKY NEWS LIVE 39,000
  20. Outsiders SKY NEWS LIVE 36,000

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

As APN Outdoor hovers over Adshel, CEO James Warburton updates earnings

Just one week after revealing it had made an offer to acquire 100% of Adshel, APN Outdoor has updated the market with early guidance about its full year earnings for the 12 months ending December 2018. The company is expecting EBITDA of $92m to $96m.

Adshel owner HT&E has commented on “offers” it has received for its street furniture business, but has not referred to the APN Outdoor approach. HT&E however did refer to the bid it received from oOh!media, saying “it was not the most attractive offer… and does not offer compelling value for shareholders”.

An APN Outdoor statement to the ASX said: Revenue momentum continues to build following the company’s trading update at its AGM in April.

APO is now tracking headline 1H18 revenue growth of mid-single digits against the prior corresponding period, and high-single digits excluding the impact of the Yarra Trams contract loss in 2H17.

FY18 capex expenditure is expected to be in the range of $25 million to $30 million, in line with guidance provided by APO in its FY17 results presentation.

James Warburton, APN Outdoor chief executive officer and managing director, commented:

“The out-of-home markets in both Australia and New Zealand have remained robust in recent months and pleasingly our reinvigorated approach to sales continues to gain momentum.

“We are actively investing in data and technology to add value to our product proposition and drive the company’s next wave of growth.”

Zenith Australia names Warwick Taylor as Brisbane General Manager

Zenith Australia CEO Nickie Scriven has announced the appointment of Warwick Taylor as General Manager of the agency’s Brisbane office.

Warwick Taylor

Taylor will join the executive board and report to Scriven, commencing June 5. He replaces Gabby Stewart, who left Zenith in March.

Taylor brings more than 17 years’ experience working in senior media roles, including at Bauer Media, News Corp Australia and Carat.

Zenith Australia CEO Nickie Scriven said: “I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Warwick Taylor to the position of General Manager of Zenith’s Brisbane office. Warwick comes to us with a wealth of experience in media on both publisher and agency side, and will add enormous value to the Zenith Executive team, Brisbane clients and staff.”

Commenting on his new role, Taylor said: “I am very excited to be joining the team at Zenith. I look forward to working with the team and clients on navigating the ever changing landscape to deliver better business outcomes.”

European data privacy laws causing havoc for digital media and ad industries

The arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation’s enforcement May 25 has hurled the digital media and advertising industries into a tailspin, reports Digiday.

Since the early hours of May 25, ad exchanges have seen European ad demand volumes plummet between 25% and 40% in some cases, according to sources. Ad tech vendors scrambled to inform clients that they predict steep drops in demand coming through their platforms from Google. Some US publishers have halted all programmatic ads on their European sites.

“Revenues and [ad demand] volumes [are] expected to fall dramatically across the board,” said one publishing executive, under condition of anonymity.

[Read the original]

Publicis Media opens applications for its second 2018 Internship Program

Publicis Media has announced its second 2018 winter Internship Program to seek out talent from universities in Sydney and Melbourne, following the success of its inaugural program earlier this year.

Last year’s Melbourne interns

Intern candidates will again be selected based on a diverse skill set including science, technology, business, psychology and mathematical backgrounds. The program is open to students from all universities.

Publicis Media and its agencies, including Starcom, Blue 449, Zenith, Spark Foundry and Performics, will share 25 interns in total. Ten will be based in Melbourne and 15 in Sydney.

Publicis media people and programs director Alex Delehunt said: “Following the success of the first Publicis Media Internship Program, we are very excited to open applications for our winter intake. We were really impressed with the calibre of our interns and we’ve already hired four in permanent roles. The growth of the internship program is future proofing Publicis Media, growing our capabilities, especially with talent from a variety of backgrounds and degrees.”

Internship entries are now open via LinkedIn (Sydney and Melbourne).  Applications will close on May 31 and the program will begin on July 2.

Applicants will need to submit a YouTube video and CV answering one of two questions: “Are you a strategic thinker or a number cruncher? Or maybe both?” or “What has been your favourite ad and why?”

Only current university students can apply and those shortlisted will receive an invitation to Publicis Media’s Insights Day, where they will hear from each agency about media life, and past interns will talk about their tips and tricks. Participants will also respond to a real media brief and present their responses back at the end of the day.

Successful interns will be placed in a team for four weeks full-time or six weeks part-time, attending weekly Grow sessions with agency leaders and craft specialists. They will also have access to Publicis Media’s full training program, including the Programmatic Certification.

TVNZ partners with Brightcove for new kids platform HEIHEI

New Zealand FTA broadcaster TVNZ has announced a partnership with video cloud services provider Brightcove for its new children’s platform HEIHEI.

The new children’s platform is a collaboration between TVNZ and NZ On Air to provide a digital home for NZ children to stream local content in an immersive advertising free environment.

Implementing Brightcove’s Context Aware Encoding technology will enable TVNZ to deliver a high-quality end-user video experience while saving substantially on storage and delivery costs.

Context Aware Coding is a patent-pending technology that uses machine learning and deep video analysis to optimise encoding settings on a per-video basis. This results in an enhanced end user video experience, regardless of device type, network quality or geographic location, while simultaneously lowering overall bandwidth and storage costs for the content owner.

TVNZ reaches more than two million Kiwis every day through its linear TV channels and digital platforms. Brightcove has supported TVNZ since the launch of its OnDemand content platform in 2011.

Andrew Blakey, TVNZ’s Development Manager, said, “TVNZ is all about sharing the moments that matter to New Zealanders, including with our youngest viewers. By partnering with NZ On Air, we’ve been able to create an innovative new digital platform that celebrates Kiwi kids and their own unique stories in a safe ad-free space. Our ambition is to continue to grow HEIHEI in the years to come so being able to reduce storage and bandwidth requirements while improving the quality of the viewing experience is a win-win for us. Brightcove enables us to deliver a high-quality user experience with our TVNZ OnDemand platform and we are looking forward to this extending to HEIHEI.”

Mark Stanton, Brightcove Australia and New Zealand vice president, said, “As consumer demand and expectations for online video continues to grow, so do data and bandwidth volumes. That’s why Context Aware Encoding is such a game changer for content owners and publishers. We’ve already seen customers around the world benefit from the technology, significantly reducing the operational costs of running a video-based service while improving playback quality. We are excited to help TVNZ reap the same rewards.”

News Brands

Barnaby’s baby broadcast: Seven signs the cheques, but the parents cash them

Barnaby Joyce is a paid member of parliament, who is about to sell the story of the affair he had with a former staffer.

How comfortable with this are we? asks The Australian’s Caroline Overington.

A politician will be taking money to talk to journalists. They’re saying that the money’s for Sebastian, but that’s a gross fiction. He can’t do the deal. He’s a baby.

Like it or not, this child’s story is now public property. It’s been put up for sale, for the public’s consumption.

You can complain about checkbook journalism if you like, because the Seven Network has signed the cheques. But only one party can cash them. And that’s the parents.

[Read the original]

Judge rules that Craig McLachlan accusers cannot remain anonymous

A judge has denied an application to suppress the identities of three women who are potential witnesses in actor Craig McLachlan’s defamation case, reports The Australian’s Remy Varga.

The 52-year-old actor launched defamation proceedings in February against the ABC and Fairfax media following the publication of several stories detailing alleged incidents of indecent assault and bullying during the production of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.

He is also suing one of the women, actor Christie Whelan Browne, who played the role of Janet in the production and who spoke about the allegations to media.

It was revealed on Friday a second person had made a complaint to police about an alleged indecent assault at the hands of the Gold Logie-winning actor.

The defence was ordered to pay the costs of the application.

[Read the original]

Prince Charles writes in support for local newspapers in Britain: “Vital service”

Prince Charles has shown his support for local newspapers, saying they “provide a vital service which is as important now as it has ever been”, reports UK Press Gazette.

He made the comments in a letter to marketing service Local Media Works, an arm of the News Media Association, following its Local Newspaper Week campaign this month.

The Prince of Wales singled out the Aberdeen Press and Journal, the John O’Groats Journal, and the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard as newspapers he has “enjoyed keeping in touch with”.

“These papers, and hundreds like them around the country, highlight so many of the important aspects of local community life in a way that no other media could hope to do,” he said.

[Read the original]

Radio

Jackie O to be the MC for the Red Cross’s Farewell Fashion show this week

Jackie O is to be the MC for the Red Cross’s Farewell Fashion show taking place this week.

On June 3, 2018 Uber is picking up Australia’s pre-loved goods and delivering them to the Red Cross – for free.

Uber and Australian Red Cross have partnered for three years, and together, the charity initiative helps and assists people in need.

As part of the clothing drive, Uber is encouraging Aussies to clean out their closets and donate pre-loved clothes to Red Cross.

To kick off the drive, Uber and the Australian Red Cross are running a Farewell Fashion Show, taking place on Thursday May 31 at Paddington Town Hall. Models walking the catwalk in the fashion show include Kris Smith, Tegan Martin, Lisa Clark, Simon Hancock, Jessie Khoo, Lisa Hyde and Erin Holland.

Aussies can open the Uber app between 12pm and 4pm on Sunday, select the Red Cross Clothing Drive card, tap request and confirm their pick-up location.

Uber will do the rest of the work, pick up clothing free of charge and deliver to the nearest Red Cross store.

House Rules stars join Jodie & Soda's Rescue campaign for Childhood Cancer Association

Mix 102.3 breakfast presenters Jodie Oddy and Mark “Soda” Soderstrom teamed up with Seven’s House Rules stars Jessica Dover and Jared Petrenko last week for a special Jodie & Soda’s Rescue campaign to renovate four apartments for the Childhood Cancer Association in just over 48 hours.

Jess and Jared with Jodie and Soda

This follows on from the radio station’s last Jodie & Soda’s Rescue campaign success in February 2018, where the presenters rallied the Adelaide community to Make Alex’s Day. In the recent campaign, the breakfast show got behind the 400 families supported by the Childhood Cancer Association by renewing their run-down housing accommodation.

The task involved 110 volunteers and more than $271,000 worth of donations.

Jodie and Soda make Alex’s day (credit: Meaghan Coles)

There were plenty of stars pitching in too including the Adelaide Crows’ Tom Lynch and Premier of South Australia Steven Marshall.

On the morning of Friday May 25 Marshall came into the Mix 102.3 studio with Oddy and Soderstrom to announce a $5,000 donation for the cause and a five-year lease extension so the Childhood Cancer Association could continue its work helping families who are undergoing treatment.

Emulating the format of a House Rules renovation, the Adelaide breakfast presenters threw the challenge to Dover, Petrenko and the Adelaide community to create four homes with the following guidelines: vibrant and bright, family-friendly, kid-resistant with a touch of fun, inclusive and stylish, and a retreat away from home.

The challenge began on Wednesday May 23 and was completed on Friday May 25.

Television

Gold Logie outsiders: Sports Bet lists Andrew Winter at $10, Grant Denyer $8

He might be one of the outsiders for the TV Week Gold Logie, but 2Day FM reported this morning that Grant Denyer is firming in the betting. Sports Bet is currently quoting Denyer at $8. The rank outsider is Andrew Winter at $10, while Tracy Grimshaw is the red hot favourite at $2.50.

The Logie nominations that surprised even TV Week

2Day’s Em, Grant and Ed breakfast show is one of the reasons why Denyer could be an outsider to watch. Not only will the radio show be pushing hard for a Denyer victory, the radio and TV host also has the support of Network Ten behind him.

Denyer’s radio co-host Em Rusciano this morning said she is Denyer’s Logie campaign manager. What could possibly go wrong?

Denyer this morning wondered on air if a sex tape might help his campaign. “Is that what helped Waleed win?” he asked his colleagues.

Southern Cross Austereo announcers are good at cross-promoting other shows. This time last week Wil Anderson was a guest on Em, Grant and Ed, while today it was Dave Hughes.

Hughes confirmed he would be opening the TV Week Logie Awards telecast this year. Ed Kavalee asked if Hughes was prepared to apologise for jokes he made about Denyer at a previous Logies. Hughes revealed that he had pre-warned Denyer that he would be sending him up.

Columnists Susie O’Brien and Karl Quinn not impressed by Gold Logie nominees

Columnists have their say on the TV Week Logie nominations.

TV Week 2018 Gold Logie nominees Amanda Keller, Andrew Winter, Grant Denyer, Jessica Marais, Rodger Corser, Tracy Grimshaw

News Corp’s Susie O’Brien:

The golden age of television is dead.

This year’s Gold Logie nominations include a mob of has-beens and nobodies fronting shows people don’t even watch. Such is the failing currency of the little gold man that one nominee comes from a show that isn’t even on TV any more.

The most highly paid, well-known TV stars such as Lisa Wilkinson, Carrie Bickmore, Samantha Armytage and Karl Stefanovic have missed out.

And there were no nominations for the hosts or judges on top five shows such as MasterChef, The Voice or House Rules.

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Fairfax Media’s Karl Quinn:

The era of the TV star is over.

This year’s list is almost as noteworthy for who is not on it as for who is. No Karl Stefanovic? No Lisa Wilkinson? No Manu or Matt Preston or Waleed Aly or Carrie Bickmore?

Some of this can be explained, presumably, by the multi-staged voting process, which begins when the networks prepare their list of potential nominees for submission.

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Sports Media

Hisense launches outdoor campaign to highlight its sponsorship of FIFA World Cup

Hisense, the official television brand of the FIFA World Cup, has unveiled a premium, nationwide, out-of-home campaign, all in the lead-up to the tournament, which starts in Russia next month.

Hisense in Geelong

The outdoor campaign includes a combination of all digital LED billboards and flagship premium billboards.

The outdoor billboards feature Hisense’s 2018 premium ULED 4K TV. The creative features Australian team captain and local Hisense brand ambassador Mile Jedinak.

Andre Iannuzzi, head of marketing at Hisense Australia, said: “Building on our 2018 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, the outdoor campaign is the most expansive out-of-home activity we’ve done in the country.”

Hisense in King George

The out-of-home campaign complements the appointment of Australian football superstars Mile Jedinak and Ellyse Perry as local brand ambassadors, a nationwide consumer competition to take two Hisense customers to the FIFA World Cup in Russia, and a heavy social and digital presence with the support of an online Hisense World Cup Hub at www.worldcup.hisense.com.au for Australian football fans.

The creative agency behind the campaign is Mustard Creative while the media agency is Multi Media Buying & Planning.

Hisense in Surfers

Hisense in Flinders Street

Roy Masters on how NRL is set to eclipse AFL as most-watched football code on TV

At the halfway mark of the season, the NRL is set to eclipse the AFL as the most-watched football code on TV in 2018, reports Fairfax Media’s Roy Masters.

If current trends continue, the NRL will have a higher premiership season audience than the AFL for the first time since 2011.

The OzTAM ratings relate only to club games in both codes and, with State of Origin matches always represented in the top five most-watched programs on TV, rugby league is headed for a historic season.

Rugby league’s dominance occurs at a time cumulative TV ratings in the Australian market have experienced a disturbing 8.9% decline for the first half of 2018.

The cumulative live audience for NRL games in Australia has been 43.0 million for the first 11 Rounds, compared to 43.3m last year. The AFL’s cumulative live audience is 36.9m for its first 9 rounds, compared to 42.9m last year.

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