Following Foxtel’s announcement about sweeping job cuts, CEO Patrick Delany has unveiled a major leadership restructure aimed at positioning the company for its next phase, under new owner DAZN.

Delany made the announcement in an internal email to all staff on Wednesday afternoon.

In the announcement, Delany acknowledged the company’s history of reinvention and framed the changes as essential for continued relevance in a competitive media landscape.

“Change is not new at Foxtel Group. For almost a decade, we have successfully transformed our business from a single-product pay TV operator to a distinctively Australian leader in streaming,” he wrote.

With DAZN now officially at the helm after finalising its acquisition earlier this month, Delany emphasised the opportunity that comes with being part of a global powerhouse.

“We are now owned by DAZN and we are part of a global streaming company with enormous scale, world-class technology, and new ways of working,” Delany wrote.

Driving growth through integration

Delany highlighted that since Foxtel’s core subscription platforms, Foxtel, Kayo, Binge, and Hubbl, have matured, it has prompted a shift toward greater integration.

He added that the new structure is designed to sharpen the business’s focus on its two main revenue streams: subscribers and advertisers.

Key changes include a redistribution of executive responsibilities:

Hilary Perchard has been appointed CEO of Foxtel, Kayo, and Binge. He will oversee all subscription revenue and continue managing entertainment content. “The aim is to better optimise how we run these products and manage trade-offs between platforms,” Delany noted.

Mark Frain, CEO of Foxtel Media, retains his current remit but will now report directly to Delany. “Mark’s done an outstanding job growing our advertising business and our new model,” Delany said.

Julian Ogrin steps into the newly created role of Chief Business Officer. He’ll work closely with DAZN executives to align Foxtel’s platforms and identify learnings that could be scaled globally. “This is a great example of the opportunities that being part of the DAZN Group can create for our people,” Delany added.

Foxtel has confirmed to Mediaweek that Delany’s role will not change and that members of the executive team will continue reporting into him.

Sport remains central

Sport, according to Delany, continues to be Foxtel’s biggest drawcard, both for subscribers and advertisers. Despite the changes to the executive team, the leadership of the company’s sport portfolio will remain the same.

Rebecca McCloy, Executive Director, Commercial Sport and Operations

Steve Crawley, Managing Director, Fox Sports

Changing of the guard in comms

A significant departure amid the reshuffle is Adrian Christie, Executive Director of Group Communications.

With customer communications now falling under Perchard’s remit, and corporate communications reporting to HR and Transformation lead Sally Connell, Christie will exit the business.

“Adrian’s thoughtful, considered counsel has been of enormous value to me personally. On behalf of everyone at Foxtel, I want to thank him for his outstanding contribution,” Delany said.

Redundancies loom large

This leadership overhaul comes just a day after Foxtel announced there would be widespread redundancies taking place across the business.

The changes come less than a month after global sports streaming giant DAZN completed its acquisition of Foxtel. While numbers have not been confirmed, the Sydney Morning Herald reported around 100 jobs have gone mainly from marketing and engineering.

Mediaweek understands the redundancies are understood to have included staff from the streaming aggregation business Hubbl.

DAZN announced it was buying Foxtel from News Corp and Telstra in December and the sale was completed in early April with Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany saying, “DAZN’s ownership allows the Foxtel Group to remain an Australian-based business, with an Australian team and the sport, drama and entertainment that Australians love.

“As part of DAZN, we now benefit from their global scale, their leading technology platform and their track-record in innovation that will allow us to more effectively compete with the global streaming giants.”

The Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Chief Content Officer Duncan Campbell says momentum is starting to build for The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Melbourne after a tumultuous launch in 2023.

Despite the show only recording a modest increase in audience share in the second radio survey of 2025, Campbell said it marks the beginning of a long but promising turnaround.

“The show’s content is now consistently good,” Campbell told Mediaweek. “It’s back to some of their best stuff. And so if they can maintain that, then I think we can build momentum in Melbourne.”

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s Sydney breakfast show, which is networked to Melbourne on KIIS 101.1, lifted from a 5.1% to a 5.8% share in GfK Survey 2.

While a modest rise, Campbell believes it points to signs of progress for a show that has faced intense scrutiny and media backlash since its syndication from Sydney.

“We did what we said we wanted to do there, which was get some cume and then convert that cume into share,” Campbell said. “It’s not a big jump, but it’s a nice uplift.”

Campbell acknowledged the missteps taken during the Melbourne launch last year. “The decision to head down that content road was not a good one,” he admitted. “But they’ve come back from that. It’s going to take time for that to wash out.”

He continued: “Kyle acknowledges that the launch last year wasn’t as successful as we had hoped, and we’ve made a lot of changes. He’s also made changes to the show’s content.”

The show’s early challenges were compounded by a “triple whammy” of misaligned content, negative media sentiment, and the rising popularity of Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips on Nova 100.

“Melbourne’s not going to be easy for us, and it’s frustrating,” Campbell said. “But I think good content, quality content, always shines.”

Despite the teething issues in Melbourne, Campbell emphasised that the team is not concerned about alienating Sydney audiences. “They’re still commanding a 12.3% share, a long way ahead of anyone else on FM,” he said.

Campbell continued: “I’ve always said that, you know, the show is one that when you get familiar with and once you start to listen to  it becomes very hard not to turn off. So that’s what we’re trying to achieve at the moment.  It’s a long road back, a long road to success, but we’re confident we can get there. “

In fact, The Kyle and Jackie O Show celebrated a significant milestone this survey, marking their 50th consecutive survey as the #1 FM breakfast show in Sydney.

The power of the GOLD brand

While KIIS 101.1 is in recovery mode, ARN’s other Melbourne property, GOLD 104.3, is leading the charge.

Christian O’Connell has retained his #1 FM breakfast position with a 10.8% share and helped GOLD secure the #1 overall FM position in the market.

“He’s such a great broadcaster,” said Campbell. “He’s just a unique broadcaster, and I think we’re lucky to have him in this country.”

He also pointed to the broader success of the GOLD brand across the country. In Perth, 96FM (soon to be rebranded under the GOLD umbrella) also recorded a solid result with a share of 15.2%.

While, in Brisbane, where Campbell says the network has been “putting in a sustained effort”, KIIS 97.3 achieved the biggest overall growth in market, recording a share of 11.1%.

“In Brisbane it’s a tight market, very tight,” he said. “It’s been a hard slog, and we’re starting to see some results”.

Adelaide is another bright spot, with MIX 102.3 leading the market on a 14.0% share. Campbell highlighted the breakout performance of Hayley & Max in Breakfast, predicting and the show would soon hit #1.

Redundancies

While ARN recently confirmed a major business overhaul including sweeping redundancies, Campbell remains optimistic about the future of audio, particularly as the lines between radio, digital, and podcasting continue to blur.

“Radio has always been very resilient because it has continually evolved and adapted,” he said. “It has a magic to it, the connection listeners have with personalities on air, whether it be journalists, announcers, or sidekicks. That personal connection has never gone away.”

He believes the next frontier for radio is multiplatform content distribution: “It goes to air live, then it lives in podcast form, and then we repackage it to give it a third life. Whether it’s through our own Netflix-style platform or via Seven, Nine or Network 10, that’s very much part of the future.”

Campbell also stressed the importance of visual content: “Filming the podcasts, filming the content on and off air, then cutting it up and repurposing it, that will breathe more life into radio because it gives it an extra dimension.”

Two of Australia’s most prominent cookbook personalities have found themselves in a legal and public showdown, as plagiarism allegations stir up the culinary community.

The drama began when RecipeTin Eats creator Nagi Maehashi accused Brooke Bellamy, founder of Brooki’s Bakehouse, of copying her recipes without credit in the best-selling cookbook Bake with Brooki. Since then, the saga has layered itself with claims, counterclaims, and calls for civility, rivaling a mille-feuille in complexity.

The players

Nagi Maehashi

Maehashi launched her food blog RecipeTin Eats in 2014, quickly amassing a devoted following for her practical, foolproof recipes. Her approach to recipe development is famously rigorous.

“I’ll create something like a German pork knuckle and end up making it 20 times,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2022.

“After the third time, you get sick of it, but not being able to figure it out irritates me. I want to be able to explain the problem, I want to get it right.”

Brooke Bellamy

In 2021, Bellamy and her partner, landscape architect Justice Bellamy, moved to Brisbane and opened Brooki’s Bakehouse. The brand took off thanks to Bellamy’s “day-in-the-life” baking videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Her debut cookbook Bake with Brooki, released by Penguin Australia October 2024, became a runaway success, reportedly bringing in nearly $5 million in sales.

The Accusation

The controversy ignited when Maehashi posted on social media accusing Bellamy of reproducing two of her recipes, caramel slice and baklava, without attribution.

“I have made allegations against Penguin Australia that the bestseller Bake with Brooki contains plagiarised recipes,” she wrote, “including two of mine (caramel slice & baklava), as well as recipes by other authors.”

She added: “I’m no stranger to seeing my recipes being copied online, but seeing what I believe to be my recipes and my words printed in a multi-million dollar book launched with a huge publicity campaign… was shocking.”

Maehashi shared a side-by-side photo of her caramel slice recipe and Bellamy’s version (see blow), pointing out their striking similarities.

On her blog, she stated that her legal team has been in discussions with Penguin’s lawyers, and that further allegedly plagiarised recipes have since emerged.

“To see them plagiarised (in my view) and used in a book for profit, without permission, and without credit, doesn’t just feel unfair. It feels like a blatant exploitation of my work,” she wrote.

Denial

Bellamy swiftly addressed the allegations in a statement posted to her Instagram, firmly denying any plagiarism.

“I have not plagiarised any of the recipes in my book which consist of 100 recipes I have created over many years since falling in love with baking as a child,” Bellamy stated.

She emphasised her history of creating and selling her own recipes commercially since October 2016.

Bellamy offered to remove the caramel slice and baklava recipes from future reprints of her book, stating that upon being contacted by Maehashi, she “immediately offered to remove both the caramel slice and baklava recipes from future reprints of her cookbook to ‘prevent further aggravation’.”

She added that this offer “[This] was communicated to Nagi swiftly through discussions.”

A personal plea

Adding another layer to the unfolding situation, Bellamy’s legal team issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon urging the media to “refrain from further attempted door stops at her family home.”

“While Brooke was not keen to raise this matter, and it has no bearing on the story itself, we feel it prudent to provide context as it may encourage a more measured handling of your dealings with her and her family,” the statement read.

The statement revealed that “Brooke is four months pregnant and, as much as possible for a driven businesswoman, is focused on managing and reducing stress in her life.”

Bellamy herself added: “The past 24 hours have been extremely overwhelming. I have had media outside my home and business, and have been attacked online. It has been deeply distressing for my colleagues and my young family.”

More bakers, more claims

The controversy widened when American baking blogger Sally McKenney, of Sally’s Baking Addiction, accused Bellamy of copying her Best Vanilla Cake I’ve Ever Had, originally published in 2019.

“Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit,” McKenney wrote on Instagram. “Especially in a best-selling cookbook.”

McKenney revealed that Maehashi had informed her of the alleged plagiarism months prior.

Tables turned

In a surprising twist, Maehashi herself is now facing criticism, with celebrity chef Luke Mangan also accusing her of inadequately crediting one of his recipes in her own cookbook.

“I couldn’t say off the top of my head whether she did reach out and ask permission or not,” Mangan told The Courier Mail. “She has credited my recipe, but I would have preferred a bigger mention and at least linking people to our website.”

Maehashi’s cookbook includes a note stating, “the author and the publisher have made every effort to contact copyright holders.”

Fallout

In the wake of the allegations, Bellamy has been dropped from a federal initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship to young girls.

“While we make no legal assessment on the allegations aired in the media,” a spokesperson for the Academy for Enterprising Girls told the ABC Online, “we have informed Ms. Bellamy that we will not move forward with the engagement at this time.”

Bellamy has also faced a barrage of negative comments on her social media accounts in the wake of Maehashi’s accusations.

The online backlash became so intense that Maehashi herself uploaded a video to her Instagram, urging her followers to “stop the hateful comments.”

As for the next chapter? Well, that’s yet to be written, however, this complex culinary clash raises significant questions about recipe ownership, inspiration versus imitation, and the responsibilities of creators in the digital age.

Adoptables was the Grand Prix-winning campaign in 2024 for Mars Pet Nutrition brand Pedigree, garnering industry attention while also captivating dog lovers’ hearts and minds.

Anthony Dean, Marketing Director of Mars Pet Nutrition ANZ, took to the stage at AANA RESET to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the campaign came together, how it found purpose, and the power of AI.

Pedigree set itself the mission of putting an end to dog homelessness and how to get them in front of more potential pet parents at scale.

“Today, globally, 25% of the dogs in the world do not have a home to call their own. This isn’t a new cause for Pedigree. This is the continuation of a decade-long commitment.”

“While our mission drives us, we’re also reassured, because doing good, we have proven, is good for business. That’s because we have adoption programs and shelter support systems backed by creative campaigns running across the globe.

“Not only do these campaigns connect potential pet parents with their forever dog, but they also help pet parents connect with the Pedigree brand. That’s why we lead the industry in emotive and powerful adoption-driving campaigns, often with significant investment.”

Anthony Dean: ‘Not only do these campaigns connect potential pet parents with their forever dog, but they also help pet parents connect with the Pedigree brand.’

Dean said that pet shelters are not-for-profit organisations staffed by volunteers who are passionate about rehoming dogs but do not have funds or are tech-savvy to highlight adoptable dogs.

He said that the Adoptables campaign aimed to demystify dog adoption and present the pooches in the best possible light with the help of AI.

“We spent months in research and development. We did AI models and coding options, and we had the most progressive tech studios in the world helping us augment dogs for advertising. But when you do breakthrough and pioneer, the road is never smooth.”

After building the data set of dog photos featuring different breeds with different expressions and poses, the AI model became smarter, and the hero images became more and more realistic.

Dean noted that the brand’s agency partners, BBDO Colensoin New Zealand and Essence Mediacom, stood by Pedigree during its R&D phase, noting that they highlighted the continual progress and improvement of the technology.

With the help of Nexus Studio in London, Pedigree created the perfect renderings needed for the campaign.

“After some initial success, we got excited, we were ready to start to recruit the stars of our campaign. We went back to our shelter partners, and we said don’t send us the cutest dogs, send us the dogs that have been in your homes the longest and some of these dogs have been with them for months and months and haven’t been rehomed.”

From there the brand went back to its agency partners to discuss the potential of an ad that was purpose-driven.

With the technology, Pedigree and Nexus Studio used photos of the long-serving shelter dogs to create AI-developed images of them and develop ads with its agency partners that directed potential parents to adoptable dogs near them with geographic data.

“After all that effort in R&D, it came down to a simple process. We could now take images from any shelter, put them into our AI model, lay them on pre-approved templates, dispatch and monitor.

“If you got close enough to one of these ads and took out your phone and scanned the QR code, you were guaranteed that dog was in your vicinity and available for adoption. If you went and re-homed that pet it would be immediately taken out of rotation and a new dog in that area would be replaced. It was so simple it’s now so scalable.”

Anthony Dean: ‘We believe the Adoptables formula is when you get purpose plus technology plus real-time context you can drive emotional action and change.’

Key learnings and innovation

Dean added: “In fact, 50% of the dogs we created for this campaign initially were adopted in the first two weeks. These were long-serving adoption dogs. It made us very proud, 100% of our media was purpose-led, and that’s what this campaign was about testing and learning.”

For Dean, the key learning from this campaign was “purpose powers innovation. This program for us was never about tech for tech’s sake. Pedigree’s purpose guides every decision, and when purpose leads innovation follows. For us, innovation amplified our efforts on this. It wasn’t the other way around.

“But what about Adoptables? What was the code that we cracked? We believe the Adoptables formula is when you get purpose plus technology plus real-time context you can drive emotional action and change.

“Adoptables is a system for us now that scales well and we’re proud of it.”

The express turn around for the Adoptables campaign

Dean revealed that while the first discussions of the Adoptables to the final product took six months, the development was 16 weeks.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and got a lot of support.”

While there were many technical challenges, Dean said that they had “broken so many firsts with this campaign for a decade.”

“When you’ve got great partners, no, I didn’t want to give up because I knew somehow, we’d find a way.”

What’s next for Pedigree and the Adoptables campaign

Looking ahead, Pedigree is expanding the Adoptables campaign to North America which Dean noted is “the biggest pet care market in the world.”

“They have over 90 million dogs and many of them are looking for their forever home and that can’t make us any prouder.”

He also noted that Mars is investing heavily in the tech for the North American expansion. “The amount the tech’s building up now, they will do a considerable amount of A&P behind that campaign so then everything has to hold up together,” he added.

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Last year, there were 4,100 complaints to industry watchdog Ad Standards – a 60% rise from 2022 – but the reason why may be more complex than ever.

Speaking at  AANA RESET, Gillian Franklin, Chair of Ad Standards offered a data-driven, candid look at how Australian audiences respond to advertising content, what they’re complaining about, and why it matters more than ever for brands to understand where the ‘line’ is drawn.

The big headline? Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots campaigns for the Federal Election have attracted more than 1,000 complaints in just a few weeks.

 Complainants have mostly cited concerns about gender, racial discrimination as well as truth and accuracy.

Currently, political advertising isn’t currently covered under the Ad Standards remit, but according to Franklin, the volume of complaints reveals deeper truths about public sentiment.

“We’re not able to take action in this case, but we do use these insights from complaints, regardless of the category, because they help inform and strengthen our self-regulatory system and are important indicators of broader consumer sentiment,” she said.

What is the line?

Ad Standards positions itself not as a roadblock to creativity but as a guidepost to keep brands in step with evolving community expectations, but when Franklin talks about ‘crossing the line’ what does she mean?

“What is the line?” said Franklin. “We have our finger on the pulse. We understand community sentiment, and we monitor this line. We work side-by-side with AANA to promote a responsible self-regulatory system, and it’s a world-leading self-regulatory system.”

The insights aren’t just theoretical, they’re backed by a rigorous collection of community data and real-time public feedback.

“Consider that last year, we received over 4100 complaints in the year, up 10% from the prior year, and up 60% from 2022. Now we don’t think of these complaints as noise. We think these are signals.”

Toyota’s ‘bugger’ ad

With about 80 complaints a week, what crossed the line in 2024? According to the complaints, the top concern is sex, nudity and sexual imagery, followed by increased discomfort around gambling, deceptive advertising, and the protection of children from inappropriate content.

Notably absent from the list? Food and beverage advertising, despite intense political and media scrutiny. “Only 17% of the population started concerns about food and bev, so it came in at 13.”

Franklin noted that that it’s clear standards change, as do sensitivities. In the late 1990s, Toyota’s “bugger” ad was one of the most complained-about commercials. Today, re-released, it barely raises an eyebrow.

“75% of adults believe it’s an acceptable term,” said Franklin.

Boundary-pushing content

The ‘line’ is also affected by context.

Franklin said, “Our research also tells us that where the line sits depends on the environment in which it exists. To be clear, messages of deliberate offensiveness are flat out beyond the pale regardless of circumstance.

“But deeper factors, like a message tone and the intention behind it can render the same term either acceptable or unacceptable.

“It also comes down to the channel in which the message exists. So, while standards for broad reach channels like free-to-air television and OOH have remained consistent, there is a much greater acceptance of boundary-pushing content when it appears in more targeted channels.”

Audience and platform also play a major role in public reaction. “There is a much greater acceptance of boundary pushing content when it appears in more targeted channels,” Franklin said. “So for Australians a definition of where the line is depends on how much control they have over whether they see that advertising or not.”

“It’s vital, then that advertisers consider not just the message, but also the medium in which it is delivered.”

The line isn’t static

And as Franklin says ultimately, advertising doesn’t just reflect how brands see themselves, it reflects how Australians see their own society.

“What people do or say in their actual life isn’t always what they want to see reflected back at them,” she said. “The line isn’t static. It’s dynamic. It shoots, it moves, it’s variable. As we’ve seen so far, where the line sits and where the brand crosses it or not, comes down to the where, the who and the how. It’s about placement, where the message is encountered and how much control the viewer has.

“It’s about where the children are exposed to the message and whether the content is deemed appropriate or not. And it’s about the tone. If something is clever and self aware, Australians are more generous about where the line is.”

MILKLAB has teamed up with 72andSunny for a live gig called MILKLAB Coffee Shop Sets – held not in a nightclub, but in Melbourne’s Project 281 Coffee Roasters.

Headlining the performance for the alternative milk brand and global creative advertising agency is Tones And I. The event drew in early risers, coffee lovers, music fans, and creators for a high-energy performance fuelled not by beers, but by brews – specifically, lattes crafted with MILKLAB’s smooth and delicious Oat Milk.

“Our mornings are sacred – it’s when we feel most alive, most creative, and most connected,” said Natalie Latimore, Marketing Manager at MILKLAB.

“We wanted to create a cultural moment that celebrated this shift. Young people aren’t looking for hangovers anymore – they’re looking for experiences that make them feel good, and coffee – with MILKLAB – is at the heart of that.”

MILKLAB and Tones And I are kicking off Coffee Shop Sets – a brand-new live gig series blending café culture with music where Tones And I takes the spotlight as the first artist to perform in this one-of-a-kind experience.

The event featured a 30-minute performance from Tones And I, free coffees and limited-edition MILKLAB x Tones And I merch, turning a simple morning into a festival of caffeine, creativity, and community.

72andSunny’s CCO Wez Hawes said: “Everything we do at 72andSunny has cultural understanding and impact at its core. The MILKLAB Coffee Shop Sets is no exception.

“The rise of coffee shop raves and pop-up events happening in the early hours was the inspiration to appeal to the ‘sober curious’ and creating this on-going event-based platform.”

Credits:
Client: MILKLAB
General Marketing Manager: Serge Costi
Marketing Manager: Natalie Latimore
Agency: 72andSunny
CCO: Wez Hawes
Creative: Jessica Beal
Creative: Hannah Lawson
Design Director: Shelley Mitchell
Brand Director: Chloe Geggus
Producer: Ruby McDonough
Talent: Tones And I
Management: Lemon Tree Music
Production House: Poppet
Executive Producer: Nat Taylor
Producer: Darren McFarlane
Production Assistant: Anna King
Director: Byron Martin
Photographer: Giulia Giannini McGauran
Casting: Toni Higginbotham
Editor: Pat Frischknect
Grade: Julien Chichignoud
Audio: Otis Studios
Sound Engineer: William Thackray
Executive Producer: Camille Yaptinchay
Retouching: Electric Art
Location: Project 281 Coffee Roasters
Media: SPEED
PR: Blue Planet PR

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Both major parties are making final strategic decisions their YouTube spend in the final week of campaigning for the 2025 Federal Election, according to data from Adgile.

The Coalition has pulled back its YouTube spend significantly – to focus on just a handful of seats. While Labor, which is up in most publicly available polls, has significantly increased its spend on YouTube, launching ads in some 40 different seats which they were not previously spending in.

The video measurement service noted that the main seats which both the Coalition and Labor are focusing their YouTube spend on in the final days are the marginal seats of Brisbane, Bullwinkel, Chisholm, McEwen and Pearce.

“While the spend on traditional TV has been locked for weeks, what is fascinating about YouTube is that we can see in real time changes to strategy by the major parties,” said Shaun Lohman, Managing Director of Adgile. “The final week of the campaign has seen the Liberal Party significantly reduce its overall spend on YouTube, and narrow focus on a number of marginal electorates that will be crucial in Saturday’s election result.

“The change in Coalition spend on YouTube is significant. After consistently spending more than Labor, the final week sees them trailing Labor by 30%, with most of their spend coming from state branch accounts, including Liberal Party Victoria, Nationals WA, and Country Liberal Party NT.

“Labor in contrast appears to be doubling down on YouTube and has suddenly started spending in more than 40 seats that had limited prior investment, including current Labor seats such as Jagajaga and Barton, but also in the Liberal held seats of Deakin, Menzies and Banks.

“To the outside observer it might appear that Labor, given the polling, is feeling confident and might be seeking to run up the score.”

Elsewhere, the Greens are still focusing on supporting their currently held seats that are under attack from the main parties, especially Brisbane, Griffith and Ryan. But Adgile is also seeing a lot of Greens advertising in the Labor held seats of Maribyrnong, Cooper, Fraser, Wills and McNamara as well as the Liberal held seat of Bonner.

“With the Greens, we’re seeing both a defensive and offensive strategy. They are seeking to hold the three seats they have in Brisbane but also reach into Labor heartland especially in inner Melbourne.”

Lana Greenhalgh, Head of Scripted Originals at Foxtel Group, has been awarded Commissioner of the Year at the 23rd Annual Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards.

The award, which honours a commissioner demonstrating excellence in creativity, leadership, and collaboration with the screen production sector, will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, 8 May 2025, at The Star Gold Coast, the closing night of SCREEN FOREVER 39.

Greenhalgh joined Foxtel in 2015, transitioning from talent management to scripted television. She began as Scripted Production Coordinator, contributing to a slate of standout titles including Wentworth, A Place To Call Home, Picnic At Hanging Rock, Lambs of God, and Upright.

Since her appointment as Head of Scripted Originals in 2023, Greenhalgh has led the development and production of major scripted commissions across the Foxtel Group.

Her recent credits as Executive Producer include Love Me Seasons 1 and 2, Upright Season 2, and critically acclaimed titles such as Strife, The Twelve, Colin From Accounts, The Last Anniversary, Mix Tape and High Country.

“I am honoured and humbled to receive the Commissioner of the Year Award,” said Greenhalgh. “I take pride in championing premium Australian storytelling, and I am excited to continue to push creative boundaries to put Australian stories on the global stage.

“Being recognised for my contribution and impact by an industry and peer group I admire so much is truly special.”

The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has announced its Leadership Growth series of webinars to support the indie media agency sector continue to grow and thrive.

The webinars will feature some of the industry’s most experienced leaders in pitching, marketing, public relations and LinkedIn.

Among the leaders speaking include Darren Woolley, Founder and Global CEO at Trinity P3; Kathleen Gunther, Marketing Strategist from Gunther Consulting; Jennie Wagner, Agency Development Lead ANZ and Helen Girdlestone, Head of Agency Development ANZ, at LinkedIn; and Rochelle Burbury, Principal and Julie Wright, Managing Director at Third Avenue Consulting.

“With a Federal election looming and as Australia faces ongoing uncertainty from international political events and, closer to home, a challenged economy and cost of living pressures, it’s more important than ever for our members’ leaders to have access to support and ongoing education,” IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said.

“We are delighted to offer our members some of the best in the business through out Leadership Growth webinar series to share their knowledge and equip agencies with the tools and skills to continue to grow and succeed.”

The first Leadership Growth series webinar will be held on 9 May, presented by Woolley and entitled What is the state of the pitch in Australia, and what can you do about it? This webinar will review the findings of the latest State of the Pitch Report and discuss strategies for winning in the face of economic instability, high cost of living, and the often-fraught pitch process in Australia.

“Monitoring the breadth and depth of the growing number of challenges facing the media market, particularly the agencies operating in this market, we realise it is essential to provide industry-leading skills training and access to subject matter experts to keep ahead of the changes and maximise performance,” Woolley said.

“This is even more important for the dynamic and growing independent agencies. Marketers and advertisers are looking to this group to innovate and disrupt the market, which you can only do when you are across emerging opportunities.”

The Sustainable Growth for Independent Agencies: A Pragmatic Approach webinar, will be presented by Gunther on 21 May and will look at how agencies can create sustainable growth through strategic, consistent marketing without overextending resources.

Gunther said: “Independent agencies don’t need to choose between growth and sustainability; they need pragmatic strategies that deliver both. The indie sector thrives on agility and creativity, but often struggles with consistent marketing that doesn’t drain resources. My framework gives agencies practical tools to market themselves authentically over time.”

On 28 May, Burbury and Wright will present The power of PR: The importance of having a profileand how a planned and consistent PR program can build awareness, credibility, reputation and new business leads.

Burbury said: “Having worked with the IMAA since its inception in 2020, the indie industry body has become a case study for how to do PR well. The indie agency sector is now a sought after thought leader in the industry and large clients have turned to indie agencies for their demonstrated agility and experience. PR is an important component of this but it’s equally important to get it right.”

The final session, The Building Blocks for a strong voice on LinkedIn, will be held on 4 June by Jennie Wagner and Helen Girdlestone who will present an interactive workshop to help agency leaders craft authentic LinkedIn profiles, build thought leadership, and engage with purpose.

Girdlestone said: “Supporting indie agencies is a priority for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Through the IMAA Growth Series and our broader support programs, we’re giving leaders the tools to grow their teams, pitch with confidence and sharpen their B2B strategies to unlock real business impact.”

HOKA Australia has extended its principal partnership of the HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon, to take over the streets of Sydney on 4 May.

The shoe brand will host a HOKA Hub at The Domain, which serves as the race’s new start and finish line, as part of its continued commitment to the running community,

The HOKA Hub will feature a welcoming space for runners to rest, recover, and connect pre and post race. Other highlights include product personalisation, sign-making stations, and complimentary food and beverages from much-loved local vendors including ButterBoy, Allpress Espresso, FUNDAY Natural Sweets, and Natural Chip Co.

This year’s event has officially sold out, with over 25,000 participants registered—breaking last year’s record of 19,500. More than 75% of entrants are first-time participants, underscoring the event’s growing reach and appeal to new runners across Australia.

“The HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon is a community celebration of the joy of running,” said Molly Rugg, Marketing Manager, HOKA ANZ, Accent Group.

“We’re proud to support and connect thousands of runners of all ages and abilities as they take on this iconic course.”

On the HOKA Track

The course offers a rare street-level view of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Sydney Tower Eye, winding through the central business district for a city running experience like no other.

The HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon is part of the Runaway Marathon Series, which also includes destination races in Queenstown and Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand) and Noosa (Queensland), combining world-class running with stunning landscapes, local culture, and community connection.

Earlier this year, HOKA transformed the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club into The Cushion House, where runners of all levels can explore the latest innovation in ultra-cushioned running.

ABC

TV

ABC TV and ABC iview will kick things off at 7am, led by Fauziah Ibrahim and Dan Bourchier on Weekend Breakfast. From 11am to 4pm, Kathryn Robinson delivers extended news bulletins.

At 5pm, Gemma Veness presents a national bulletin, with live crosses to reporters stationed at major polling locations and party HQs.

The network’s Election Night Special will begin at 5:30pm.

David Speers and Sarah Ferguson will anchor the main TV broadcast live from the ABC Election Centre. They’ll be joined by Annabel Crabb, Laura Tingle, and Bridget Brennan, who’ll speak with candidates around the country.

Special guests Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Coalition Senator James McGrath will add perspective throughout the evening.

Making his final election appearance, Antony Green returns to crunch the numbers one last time.

Jeremy Fernandez will guide viewers through the national vote with the help of the ABC’s famous ‘Big Board’, alongside data analyst Casey Briggs.

On a separate panel, Patricia Karvelas will lead discussion with campaign veterans Kosmos Samaras and Tony Barry of RedBridge Group.

ABC reporters will be stationed in critical battlegrounds, with Jane Norman and Olivia Caisley tracking party reactions and broadcasting victory or concession speeches live.

The morning after, Weekend Breakfast begins at 6am, broadcasting from key electorates to capture voter sentiment and community hopes for the next government.

At 9am, tune in for a 90-minute post-election Insiders special hosted by David Speers, with analysis from Samantha Maiden, Jacob Greber, and David Crowe.

Radio

ABC NewsRadio and Local Radio kick off live national coverage at 6pm, hosted by Thomas Oriti, Sabra Lane, Melissa Clarke and Dr Jill Sheppard, offering a seat-by-seat breakdown as results roll in.

Later, Patricia Karvelas and Jacob Greber will unpack the outcomes on a special election edition of the Politics Now podcast.

The morning after, Rachel Mealey hosts a special edition of AM on your local ABC radio station, followed by Steve Austin’s extended live program from 10am. In WA, coverage begins at 9am local time with Gary Adshead and Nadia Mitsopoulos.

Finally, ABC News Daily will spotlight the biggest story of the election and what it means for Australians moving forward.

Nine

As Australians head to the polling booths, Nine will go live with Election 2025: Australia Decides from 5.00pm, broadcasting across Channel 9, 9Now, and Stan.

The coverage will be hosted by Ally Langdon and Peter Overton, providing viewers with a front-row seat to the election’s key developments, as they unfold.

From campaign promises to polling booth reactions, the show aims to deliver fast, smart reporting and expert insight on the issues most affecting voters, including the cost of living, housing pressures, climate policy, healthcare access, and the ripple effects of the US Government’s new tariff regime.

Sarah Abo will report from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s camp, while Karl Stefanovic will follow the evening’s action from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s headquarters.

Inside Nine’s election HQ, Charles Croucher, Andrew Probyn, and Liz Daniels will lead political analysis throughout the night. Croucher, Nine’s Political Editor, will be joined by Probyn, the network’s National Affairs Editor, and Daniels, a senior politics reporter, as they break down the numbers and the narratives shaping the vote.

Adding perspective from inside the political arena, the panel will feature Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Energy Minister Chris Bowen, National’s Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie, and former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne.

Online, users can follow the results live at 9news.com.au and all social platforms will be updating as news comes in.

Seven

Michael Usher and Natalie Barr will anchor 7NEWS: Australia Decides – The Results Live, with the support of  political editor Mark Riley.

Joining the broadcast live from 7NEWS Election Central are political figures from across the spectrum,  Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek, Jane Hume, Michaelia Cash, Clare O’Neil, Warren Mundine, and Clive Palmer, offering contrasting views and sharp analysis as the results roll in.

Coverage begins ahead of the pack at 4:00pm with a national 7NEWS bulletin on Seven and 7plus.

From 5:00pm, Monique Wright and David Woiwod step in with 7NEWS: Australia Decides – Election 2025, taking a more relaxed view of the day’s events and cutting live to battleground electorates.

The main event starts at 7:00pm, with Usher and Barr returning to guide Australians through the night’s big calls, deep dives and live crosses to key seats across the country.

In a first for Australian election broadcasting, Seven will use the 7NEWS Power Board, powered by CNN’s US election tech partner InterKnowlogy, to deliver live booth-level vote breakdowns.

Hugh Whitfeld, together with political scientists Simon Jackman and Luke Mansillo, will crunch the numbers in real time. Meanwhile, the 7NEWS Election Needle will adjust throughout the night, indicating the likelihood of either major party forming government.

Inside Seven’s new election situation room, Tim McMillan leads a team of analysts, researchers, and political insiders, decoding how each campaign is feeling as the race unfolds.

Seven will have journalists stationed in every state, delivering live reports from inside party HQs and across the most competitive electorates.

Online, users can follow the results at 7NEWS.com.au, The West, and The Nightly, with live electorate maps, seat counts, and expert commentary.

Social platforms,  including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube,  will provide breaking clips, reactions, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content from inside the election command centre.

Network 10

Coverage kicks off at 5pm in all markets, led by Sandra Sully, Hugh Riminton, and Ashleigh Raper, who will steer the network’s national broadcast across 10, 10 Play and the 10 News First YouTube Channel.

Viewers in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane can tune in live at 6pm AEST, while Adelaide goes to air at 6pm ACST, and Perth begins at 4pm AWST.

Throughout the night, the panel will feature live contributions from political players across the spectrum: Senator Jenny McAllister, Kylea Tink MP, Senator Dave Sharma, with Senator Jacqui Lambie and David Littleproud MP dialling in remotely.

Meanwhile, on-the-ground reports will stream in from battleground electorates across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.

Injecting a dose of humour into the night, Errol Parker and Clancy Overell from The Betoota Advocate will join the broadcast live from “Betoota HQ.” Known for their satirical lens on politics and media, the pair will offer offbeat commentary as only they can, skewering spin and dissecting the drama in real time.

Sky News Australia

The broadcast marathon begins early with First Edition: Australia Decides at 6:00am, hosted by Peter Stefanovic in Brisbane, offering live updates from key electorates.

From 9:00am, Laura Jayes takes over with AM Agenda: Australia Decides in Sydney, capturing early turnout and momentum shifts.

At 11:00am, Ashleigh Gillon hosts NewsDay: Australia Decides from Perth, continuing the rolling national coverage, followed by Holly Stearnes at 2:00pm in Melbourne with Afternoon Agenda: Australia Decides as polls edge toward closing.

At 5:00pm AEST, Kieran Gilbert leads Australia Decides: Election Night with live results, projections, and expert commentary. He’s joined by a panel including Andrew Clennell, Peta Credlin, Chris Uhlmann, Murray Watt, Sarah Henderson, Barnaby Joyce, and Joel Fitzgibbon for insight into vote swings, party strategy, and potential outcomes.

Tom Connell, as Chief Election Analyst, will crunch the numbers and explain real-time results from all 151 seats.

Expect regular crosses to Sharri Markson and Paul Murray at Liberal HQ, and to Chris Kenny and Laura Jayes at Labor HQ, providing on-the-ground reaction as results come in.

Additional coverage will come from a national team of commentators and reporters, including Andrew Bolt, Matt Cunningham, Ross Greenwood, and Graham Richardson.

Coverage continues Sunday 4 May, with analysis and fallout beginning at 6:00am on Weekend Edition: Australia’’ Verdict, hosted by Tim Gilbert.

Andrew Clennell leads Sunday Agenda from 7:00am, followed by Outsiders at 9:00am with Rowan Dean, Rita Panahi, and James Morrow. At 11:00am, Ross Greenwood returns for Business Weekend, unpacking the economic implications of the vote.

From midday, Kieran Gilbert, Ashleigh Gillon, and Holly Stearnes resume their coverage through the afternoon and evening. Tom Connell will continue breaking down final results and battleground outcomes across the day.

Viewers can catch the full coverage on Sky News, the dedicated Sky News Election Channel, free-to-air Sky News Regional, and FAST channel Sky News Now. Digital streaming is available on SkyNews.com.au, the Sky News Australia app (for mobile, tablet, and smart TVs), and on DAB+ digital radio in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

SBS

Television coverage kicks off during a special one-hour edition of SBS World News, airing from 6:30pm to 7:30pm local time. The bulletin will be presented by Janice Petersen and feature in-depth reporting and analysis from Anna Henderson, SBS’s Chief Political Correspondent. They’ll be joined by special guests and correspondents stationed across Australia and abroad.

SBS will run a comprehensive live blog throughout election night, providing up-to-the-minute results and reactions from across the country. Expect analysis from political experts, reports from field journalists, and updates accessible across all SBS digital platforms.

NITV will offer dedicated coverage from the Northern Territory, home to Australia’s largest Indigenous voting population, while also capturing First Nations voices and experiences at polling booths nationwide.

The channel’s reporting will prioritise Indigenous perspectives as the results unfold.

All times unless stated are in AEST

Naked Wines is cutting through the federal election noise with the launch of The Naked Wines After Party — a bold new campaign by independent creative studio Supermassive.

The campaign is designed to strengthen brand affinity, drive acquisition, and spotlight its position as a challenger in the wine category, and unique business model that puts people before politics.

The “party without the politics” campaign taps into increasing voter fatigue and consumer desire for authenticity, aligning with Naked Wines long-standing mission to disrupt the traditional wine industry by backing independent winemakers and offering customers better wine at fairer prices.

A hero 60 second film will run across cinemas in Sydney and Melbourne from next week, supported by a 30 second radio spot and print advertising.

Guerrilla-style roaming human billboards will also hit high-traffic political polling areas such as Martin Place, Manly Wharf, and Bondi Junction in the lead-up to, and again on, election day, capitalising on the chaos of campaign flyers and long voting lines by encouraging Aussies to join The Naked Wines After Party.

In a market saturated with promotions and short-term acquisition tactics, Naked Wines is shifting focus from vouchers to values. The business is investing in brand storytelling and community-building efforts that create emotional resonance and long-term advocacy, rather than relying solely on discounts to drive growth.

“Our strategy is evolving,” said CEO Paul Connell. “This campaign reflects a broader move toward building a brand that stands for something — supporting makers, connecting communities, and giving customers something to believe in (and something great to drink).”

To drive awareness and trial, the brand is sponsoring hundreds of post-election celebrations across Australia, opening the bar to help Aussies toast the end of the campaign season. As part of the activation, the first 100 people to join The Naked Wines After Party from April 16 will receive a curated six-pack of wines from local, independent producers, for free.*

The campaign is fronted by comedian, wine lover and entrepreneur Matt Okine, whose experience working in bottle shops and recently launching his own wine bar makes him a credible and charismatic voice for the brand. Through a series of cheeky video and social content, Matt is rallying Aussies behind the call for “less whining, more wining.”

“I’ve seen how hard independent winemakers work just to get their bottles on shelves,” said Okine. “This campaign is about backing the people who make great wine — and stripping away the fluff that distracts from it.”

Connell says the campaign reflects how Naked Wines is positioning for future growth: through transparency, storytelling, and shared values.

“The wine industry and politics? They’ve got more in common than you’d think — a lot of hot air, backroom deals, and not enough transparency. In both worlds, it’s often the little guys who get squeezed — whether it’s independent winemakers trying to make a living, or Aussies trying to get a fair deal at the bottle shop,” said Connell.

The Naked Wines After Party is our way of challenging that status quo. It’s about cutting through the noise and getting back to what really matters — quality, fairness, and people.

“We’re building a community of wine lovers who care about where their wine comes from and who made it — and want to connect over shared values or a glass of something honest.”

Adam Smith, Supermassive Creative Partner, said: “If there’s one thing Aussies love, it’s honesty and fairness, something that political parties are not well known for – but Naked Wines is.

“So in the Supermassive spirit of making stuff that people actually want, we swapped politics for pinot and created a party that won’t take 4 years to recover from.”

This approach is grounded in insights from the brand’s 2024 Ideal Conditions Report, which found that 63% of Australians would buy more wine if they knew winemakers were getting a fair deal — a stat that underscores consumer appetite for transparency and ethical sourcing.

With rising consumer acquisition cost (CAC), shifting drinking habits, and growing consumer scrutiny, Naked Wines is leaning into its identity as a challenger brand. Through its proposition and promise to disrupt and attract the right customers and doubling down on the experience it provides for its loyal community of Angels and makers, it creates advocacy, retention and champions a better model for business to challenge the duopolies for consumers and makers.

This campaign signals the start of a new chapter for Naked Wines — one that’s less about loud discounts, and more about bold stories, deep community, and giving both makers and drinkers a better deal.

CREDITS:
Client: Naked Wines
Agency: Supermassive
Production: Mint Films
Director: Andrew Seaton
Design: Common Design
Audio: Sonar Music
PR: Supermassive
Influencer: Ernie
Media: Jac Media and Naked Wines in-house

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Anthony Albanese has shown significantly higher engagement across TikTok through the Federal Election campaign in contrast to his counterparts Peter Dutton or Adam Bandt by a ratio of 2:1 on engagement and 5:1 on views, according to a new analysis of the use of TikTok by influencer influencer marketing platform Fabulate.

“This is an election campaign where the votes of young Australians have mattered like never before,” said Nathan Powell, Chief Strategy and Product Officer, Fabulate. “TikTok is a central platform for reaching many of these voters and the numbers clearly show Labor and Albanese were far more effective in utilising the TikTok platform to do it.”

Fabulate analysed the respective views and social engagement of the three leaders’ TikTok accounts – @albomp, @peter.duttonmp and @adambandt – and found that Labor and Albanese have posted far more through the campaign, but also his TikToks were going much further on average, achieving cumulative TikTok views of some 4.97 million compared with 1.23 million for Dutton and 957,000 for Bandt, who is right behind the Liberal leader in cumulative views.

It found the Labor’s success on the TikTok platform has been consistency of their posting, which has also helped Albanese increase his follower count by more than 25%, well above the growth seen by Dutton on his TikTok account.

“TikTok is a platform that is not solely dependent on your follower account to determine how far your videos go,” said Powell. “What Labor has been excellent at is consistently posting. In fact it posted twice as much content as Dutton and Bandt combined. This has made sure that TikTok content from Albanese’s account was seen by a wide audience.

“This is best practice and shows a clear understanding of the platform, with a focus on both quality and quantity and how it surfaces content.”

Among Albanese’s most popular videos have been TikToks on construction apprenticeships, on Medicare, and tariffs.

“The TikTok strategy used by Labor has seen them experiment, using a ‘test and learn’ strategy throughout the campaign.

“Taking more shots and having a ‘test and learn’ strategy has helped Labor with more engaging content, built for the TikTok platform. This content has then gone further and reached far more voters, particularly those in the younger demographic.”

Top image: Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Adam Bandt

JustWatch has made its first Australian hire with Frank Masterson as Head of Native Advertising Sales for Australia and New Zealand.

Masterson brings over a decade of experience across digital media and publishing to the streaming guide. He has held senior roles at BuzzFeed, Pinterest, and Pedestrian Group.

He played a key role in launching Pinterest ANZ, where he led the entertainment vertical, and later oversaw the partnerships team at Pedestrian Group, driving the successful launch of its FAST channel, Pedestrian Television.

In his new role, Masterson will lead native advertising partnerships for JustWatch’s growing presence in Australia – a market where JustWatch has over 1.5 million monthly active users who rank among the most engaged entertainment fans globally.

As the entertainment landscape becomes increasingly fragmented, platforms like JustWatch are essential for helping viewers cut through the noise and make informed decisions about what to watch and where to watch it. JustWatch continues to scale globally with new teams not only in Australia but also in key markets, including the US (Los Angeles), Spain, Germany, and France.

The company has already built partnerships with leading global and local streaming services and studios such as Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony, Universal Pictures, Paramount, and Crunchyroll, solidifying its position as the go-to destination for both audiences and advertisers in the age of streaming overload.

JustWatch is introducing Sponsored Recommendations, a suite of native ad formats, allowing studios and streaming to put new movie and TV show releases front and center for engaged audiences, from theatrical release all the way through to library promotions.

“We are excited to welcome Frank Masterson to our growing global team,” David Croyé, Founder and CEO of JustWatch, on the hire.

“Australia and New Zealand have always been some of the biggest and most engaged markets for JustWatch. Especially compared to the overall population, we’ve seen massive usage growth over the last years.

“There is no way around JustWatch if you want to reach engaged fans to raise the awareness of new movie and TV show releases. Frank Masterson will be instrumental for JustWatch to grow our client base in Australia and New Zealand.”

Masterson said of us new role: “I’m ecstatic to join JustWatch at such a pivotal time in its global expansion. As an avid streamer and cinema goer, it’s a dream to launch this offering in the market and I’m excited for the data-backed, advertising solutions it will provide entertainment brands across Australia and New Zealand.”

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