Wednesday August 19, 2020
Crocmedia marches into Sydney: 3 stations on air before end of 2020
It seemed likely that there would have been a change of format for the AM 1170 broadcast frequency after Pacific Star bought the licence earlier this year. But that hasn’t been confirmed until this morning. “We are moving ahead with a sports led format in Sydney with 1170 SEN, Sydney’s new home of sport,” Crocmedia and Pacific Star CEO Craig Hutchison told Mediaweek.
“We will also be continuing 2CH’s journey as a DAB+ station and a streaming product. We intend to preserve and protect the wonderful engagement that station has built with music audiences in its demographic.”
Crocmedia’s growth as a radio broadcaster has been spectacular. Starting with 1116 SEN and the reverse takeover of Pacific Star in 2018 when the companies merged, the broadcaster will have some 20 stations on air by 2021 including 15 broadcast licences and a number of DAB+ stations. There will soon be SEN stations in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney and a network of nine SENTrack racing stations around Australia.
Hutchison said there is no 1170 SEN launch date yet as it will be dependent on a number of factors including the state of Covid-19. One thing seems certain, the station will be on air by the time the NRL Grand Final and State of Origin games are played. “The back end of this year in Sydney is too compelling an opportunity for us. There is rugby league and an Australia – India test series, Big Bash League, A-League, The Everest and The Golden Eagle and the Australian Open golf. An enormous calendar of sport in Sydney from mid-October through to the end of February.”
Hutchison noted that the new station will have rights to “virtually all of those sports”.
Crocmedia will continue to supply Swans and Giants AFL games to 2UE in Sydney via AFL Nation in 2021, despite the presence of the new 1170 SEN. As to how much AFL the SEN Sydney station will carry, Hutchison said: “We haven’t yet got to 2021 and what it will look like. It is an NRL-led market. We want to provide as much choice as we can, our challenge will be to find the right balance.
“We have supplied radio [content] into Sydney for many years and hope to continue to do that. But we also want to have our own identity.”
Connecting with advertisers has been key to the growth of Crocmedia and the SEN brand. It is an area where former journalist Craig Hutchinson now shines. “We are looking forward to be a complimentary part of the Sydney radio offering. We are a place where brands can connect to fans in an engaged manner and be a great solution for advertisers in the Sydney market.”
The Crocmedia Sydney sales operation will be selling the new Sydney partnership opportunities under Sydney head of sales Simon Dennis and national head of sales Patrick Moloughney.
Helping fund the company growth has been an understanding bank. Hutchison: “We have had fantastic support from the Commonwealth Bank who understood the strategic reason to continue our investment journey in Sydney. We are building the business for the long term, not trying to take shortcuts.”
Andrew Voss returns to radio
“We will have a new Sydney breakfast show hosted by Andrew Voss on 1170 SEN and it reconnects him with radio audiences. He has a lot say and he is a real identity we think audiences will connect with. His program will be sports plus, he won’t be afraid to go beyond sport if and when he needs to.”
Hutchison is not yet ready to reveal other shows, but there will be new Sydney-based programs on air from 6am until 6pm. “The only national content will be an hour of Gerard Whateley that will be for Sydney audiences which will air around lunchtime.”
Keeping 2CH
Hutchison spoke to 2CH staff as a statement went out to the ASX about the changes for the Sydney licence. It was never a plan to keep 2CH, admitted Hutchison. “2CH will live on. A lot of people feared that it might not survive. People might not believe us, but we were very open-minded about the future of 2CH when we invested. Sport felt like the biggest fairway to aim at off the tee, but it wasn’t the only one. But we have been so impressed with the engagement it has in the Sydney market. We haven’t yet finished our review of the talent that will be involved with the station.”
Hutchison seems to understand the challenge of trying to find an audience for an AM music station, particularly one that is on DAB+ only. “Creating mass awareness is part of the responsibility we’ve got and we will work hard on it.”
1539 SENTrack
Hutchison: “From this Saturday we will launch the new 1539 SENTrack Sydney. It is our racing/sport hybrid – the new sound of chasing, pacing and racing.
“Also from Saturday listeners will be able to get via DAB+ the 1116 SEN in a slightly repackaged form for those who wish to hear the Melbourne station.”
Crocmedia’s Sydney HQ
2CH currently broadcasts from studios in the same building that houses 2GB as well as the Nova Entertainment brands Nova 969 and smoothfm. Hutchison: “We have our own office where we have been building studios. There are still a few elements to work through, but North Sydney will be our home.”
App-tastic
“There has been significant growth for audiences using the SEN app which is now a national aggregator of content. There is a different user experience in every state. The time spent listening is very significant with the average user listening for 308 minutes a week. Our podcast growth is in part fuelled by the strength of the SEN app.”
Taste.com.au ramps up Dinner Revolution campaign: Taste vs Takeaway
taste.com.au’s campaign to revolutionise dinner launched in July 2020, transforming the brand’s dinner offering across all platforms with simple ideas and solutions at scale.
Consumer demand for the Dinner Revolution has exceeded all targets. Within a week of launching the vertical became the most popular section on taste.com.au, as well as the top-performing social content across taste.com.au Facebook and Instagram. It has now had more than 13 million page views^, the highest of any taste.com.au campaign to date.
The next phase of the campaign is the launch of Taste vs Takeaway, a weekly video series of quick midweek dinner ideas designed to get dinner on the table faster than having food delivered. It provides the perfect complement to the Dinner Revolution section tools and cooking aids, such as the Cook by Ingredient tool that helps consumers find their perfect dinner using the ingredients they have at hand.
Taste vs Takeaway is presented by food director Kim Coverdale and starts today on the taste.com.au Facebook page at 4.30pm AEST with new episodes each Wednesday. All episodes will then be available on taste.com.au/tastevstakeaway.
taste.com.au editor-in-chief Brodee Myers said: “It’s been great to see so many Australians jump on board the Dinner Revolution. We knew from our data that consumers were wanting weeknight dinners to be faster and easier than ever before, but the big change we’ve seen over the last few months is just how easy they needed dinner to be.
“We’re really excited by our next phase of the campaign. For Taste vs Takeaway the team set out to test what happens when you take a great recipe and a few clever hacks and put them head-to-head with takeaway to make dinner fun, easy, flavoursome, cheaper and, yes, even faster than takeaway.
“This is not about telling people they shouldn’t have that takeaway. Who doesn’t love that? What we really want to do is give people options for midweek, saving them time and money.
“With each episode of Taste vs Takeaway the clocks are on and the dishes are like-for-like from pizza, to noodles and chicken curry with a meal selection based on Australia’s most-loved takeaway dishes.
“By overlaying the nation’s top midweek takeaway dishes and comparing it to our recipe database, we uncovered the top taste.com.au dishes that are prime candidates for superfast, easy, tasty takeaway-at-home dishes. This is a lens we hadn’t really applied to our collection of 50,000 recipes previously, but we’ve seen a massive surge in interest in this content.
“What’s been really fascinating is the side-by-side panels we run at the end of each episode, comparing the two dishes, not just on the ‘time to table’, but also on cost, calories and flavour.”
Next up for the Dinner Revolution is the taste.com.au Festival of Dinners which will roll out in September and champion Australia’s rich cultural diversity through food.
Myers said: “We all have champions in our lives who share their culture and traditions through food. We want to celebrate them by sharing their techniques and their recipes. Recipes can be heirlooms in their own right and we need to keep them alive.”
Source: *emmaTM conducted by Ipsos, 12 months ending March 2020, Fused Nielsen Digital Panel calibrated to Digital Content Ratings, March 2020. All people 14+ 7 caps.
^Adobe Analytics
Broadsheet Media announces Promotions with a new national editor
Sarah Norris, Broadsheet Sydney’s editor since 2017, has been appointed in the newly created role of national editor.
Reporting to Norris are city editors Che-Marie Trigg (Sydney), Tomas Telegramma (Melbourne) and Daniela Frangos (Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth).
Editorial director Katya Wachtel believes the new structure will allow the team to break new ground while maintaining its deep connection and commitment to covering city news and culture.
“For more than 10 years Broadsheet has been an essential guide to news and culture in Australian cities and beyond, enriching the lives of our readers by connecting them with the best cultural and community experiences where they live, work and travel.
“This new structure equips us to connect more deeply with a national audience we’ve seen growing for some time and pioneer new storytelling formats and initiatives, while allowing us to continue with the kind of engaging, insightful and high-utility content that draws millions to Broadsheet each month.”
In addition, two new cross-departmental roles have been created to further integrate the editorial and Broadsheet Studio teams (the award-winning branded content arm of the business), and drive growth in new channels.
Former Melbourne editor Ellen Fraser has been appointed executive producer, video and audio, to drive production across editorial and branded content.
As part of her role, Fraser will be spearheading Broadsheet’s new audio productions, details of which will be announced shortly.
Finally, Kyra Agathos has been appointed Broadsheet’s first-ever photo editor, managing photography commissions across the title.
Broadsheet’s iconic photography inspired Broadsheet Editions in 2019, a first-of-its-kind platform for featured photographers to sell a curated edit of their work to readers (printed, framed and delivered).
Publisher and founder Nick Shelton believes these internal promotions are reflective of the continued ambition of the brand, despite a deeply challenging time for media.
“2020 has represented an enormous challenge for all publishers. At Broadsheet, we aren’t interested in hibernating, but instead we’re doubling down on our ambitions and putting our world-class team into positions where they can achieve world-class outcomes.”
—
Top Photo: Broadsheet Team (L-R, top to bottom): Nick Shelton, Founder & Publisher; Sarah Norris, National Editor; Tomas Telegramma, Melbourne Editor; Che-Marie Trigg, Sydney Editor; Kyra Agathos, Photo Editor and Ellen Fraser, Executive Producer, Video & Audio
ARN partners with Coles Express for personalised radio messaging
The Dynamic Audio campaign – broadcast across ARN’s KIIS and Pure Gold networks in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – used ARN and technology partner A Million Ads’ proprietary software to create 3875 different versions of the Coles Express commercial. Then, the same technology used the time of day, day of week, location and the rotation of products to determine the most contextually relevant version to broadcast at any given moment.
To establish effectiveness of Dynamic Audio, ARN and Coles Express used a research panel of 1020 respondents aged 25-54 to test a standard 15 second commercial against a 30 second Dynamic Audio commercial. Both had similar content, promoting the Coles Express Instant Win promotion.
See also: ARN introduces world-first technology with ARN Dynamic Audio
The result was – despite being twice as long – three times as many people preferred the Dynamic Audio commercial.
The Dynamic Audio commercial also delivered the message 70% more clearly, was 88% more trusted, 75% more customer-focused, and it delivered a 91% increase in brand likeability for Coles Express.
Another benefit of ARN’s Dynamic Audio is that a huge volume of commercials can be written, recorded and produced at a fraction of the time and cost of creating them manually.
ARN’s chief commercial officer Pete Whitehead (pictured) said, “With every brand looking for ways to make every spend work harder than ever to deliver results, Dynamic Audio provides targeted and personalised messaging which gives advertisers more certainty that their brand is getting cut though.
“Using the Dynamic Audio tech, our creative team had just one script, and in less than two hours of recording time and less than one day to produce, we were able to create literally thousands of customised commercials providing our client the ability to deliver dynamically targeted advertising across both broadcast and digital.
“The rollout of ARN Dynamic Audio, across FM, AM, DAB+ and iHeartRadio, is part of ARN’s long-term strategy to expand and diversify our comprehensive commercial offering.”
A Coles Express spokesperson said, “We are delighted to be ARN’s launch partner for Dynamic Audio in Australia. At Coles Express we know how important it is to reach consumers at the right time and through the right media channels. This is a great opportunity to reach consumers contextually through audio that relates to a particular moment in time and will provide us with greater cut through and brand relevance.”
TV Demand: Lucifer moves up the chart ahead of season 5 launch
Speaking of Netflix, Lucifer has begun to move up the TV Demand charts with the release of part one of the show’s fifth season due out on August 21. The show was originally on Fox before being cancelled after season three and was then subsequently picked up by Netflix for a fourth season.
The series is based on the DC Comics Vertigo character Lucifer Morningstar also known as the Devil who first appeared in the comic book The Sandman before also appearing in its own spinoff comic book series. In the TV adaption, Lucifer leaves Hell for the bright lights of Los Angeles where he runs his own nightclub and becomes a consultant to the LAPD.
The upcoming fifth season was expected to be the last but a sixth and final season has been confirmed.
TV ratings: Tuesday Week 34 2020
Seven News 1,113,000/1,084,000
Nine News 1,018,000/1,009,000
A Current Affair 780,000
ABC News 765,000
7.30 619,000
The Project 332,000/558,000
10 News 415,000/286,000
Sunrise 252,000
Today 230,000
News Breakfast 221,000
SBS World News 217,000
The Drum 195,000
Nine News Late Edition 114,000
The Latest 90,000
Tuesday TV
Seven: Home and Away had a second night above 600,000.
America’s Got Talent delivered a highlights episode to celebrate 15 years of the franchise. The show ran fourth for part of its timeslot with 417,000 which was up significantly up on 296,000 a week ago.
Two episodes of Criminal Minds followed including the season final did 248,000 and 153,000.
Nine: A Current Affair was steady with Tuesday on 780,000 after 777,000 on Monday.
The Ninja Warrior franchise continued to deliver for Nine, albeit with one if the smallest audiences ever for the brand. An audience of 626,000 saw Australia defeat the World team as the network hands the 7.30 timeslot keys to The Block.
Nine’s primary channel won the evening for a third successive night while Nine was #1 combined share for a second successive night.
10: The Project 7pm had a second successive night over 550,000 with Christine Anu talking about her experience on The Masked Singer.
Another quality performer was then revealed on The Masked Singer as Sloth turned into Katie Noonan. The episode started on 806,000 and then peaked on 916,000 for the reveal. The program won its timeslot all people and in key demos. The numbers were close to a week ago where the Tuesday episode did 820,000 and 950,000.
The 2013 Baz Luhrmann movie The Great Gatsby followed with 178,000.
ABC: Anna Meares was the subject for Anh’s Brush with Fame with 613,000 watching after 710,000 a week ago.
Episode two of Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge was on 477,000 after launching with 579,000. Host Craig Reucassel revealed himself as a drag racing star in the making as his Tesla Model S easily smashed a high performance Holden down the straight.
SBS: A fascinating trip through Indonesia was the attraction for 331,000 watching Great Asian Railway Journeys.
Insight was hosted again by Marc Fennell with 153,000 watching.
Week 34 TV: Tuesday
| TUESDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 12.8% | 7 | 16.7% | 9 | 20.1% | 10 | 13.2% | SBS One | 5.4% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.6% | 7TWO | 3.7% | GO! | 2.2% | 10 Bold | 3.6% | VICELAND | 1.6% |
| ABC ME | 0.4% | 7mate | 2.9% | GEM | 2.6% | 10 Peach | 2.6% | Food Net | 1.0% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.7% | 7flix | 2.5% | 9Life | 2.6% | NITV | 0.1% | ||
| 9Rush | 1.1% | SBS World Movies | 0.7% | ||||||
| TOTAL | 17.4% | 25.8% | 28.7% | 19.4% | 8.7% | ||||
| TUESDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 11.5% | 7 | 17.3% | 9 | 15.6% | WIN | 11.5% | SBS One | 4.0% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.1% | 7TWO | 5.1% | GO! | 3.0% | WIN Bold | 4.7% | VICELAND | 1.8% |
| ABC ME | 0.9% | 7mate | 6.5% | GEM | 4.1% | WIN Peach | 2.2% | Food Net | 0.7% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.3% | 7flix (Excl. Tas/WA) | 2.3% | 9Life | 2.7% | Sky News on WIN | 2.3% | NITV | 0.1% |
| SBS Movies | 1.1% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 15.8% | 31.3% | 25.5% | 20.8% | 7.8% | ||||
| TUESDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 88.3% | 11.7% | ||||||||
TUESDAY FTA
- Seven News Seven 1,113,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 1,084,000
- Nine News Nine 1,018,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 1,009,000
- The Masked Singer Australia – Reveal 10 916,000
- The Masked Singer Australia 10 806,000
- A Current Affair Nine 780,000
- ABC News ABC 765,000
- Ninja Warrior Australia Vs The World Nine 626,000
- 7.30 ABC 619,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 617,000
- Anh’s Brush With Fame ABC 613,000
- Home And Away Seven 608,000
- The Project 7pm 10 558,000
- Hot Seat Nine 552,000
- Fight For Planet A: Our Climate Challenge ABC 477,000
- America’s Got Talent Seven 417,000
- 10 News First 10 415,000
- The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 363,000
- Hot Seat -5pm Nine 344,000
Demo Top 5
16-39 Top Five
- The Masked Singer Australia – Reveal 10 265,000
- The Masked Singer Australia 10 236,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 147,000
- Ninja Warrior Australia Vs The World Nine 137,000
- The Project 7pm 10 129,000
18-49 Top Five
- The Masked Singer Australia – Reveal 10 424,000
- The Masked Singer Australia 10 376,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 263,000
- The Project 7pm 10 247,000
- Nine News Nine 244,000
25-54 Top Five
- The Masked Singer Australia – Reveal 10 466,000
- The Masked Singer Australia 10 410,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 306,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 292,000
- Nine News Nine 292,000
TUESDAY Multichannel
- Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 214,000
- NCIS (R) 10 Bold 194,000
- Bluey ABCKIDS/COMEDY 192,000
- Little J And Big Cuz ABCKIDS/COMEDY 164,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 160,000
- Rusty Rivets ABCKIDS/COMEDY 156,000
- Noddy Toyland Detective PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 154,000
- Andy’s Safari Adventures ABCKIDS/COMEDY 152,000
- Kiri And Lou ABCKIDS/COMEDY 152,000
- Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
- Peppa Pig PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
- Little J And Big Cuz AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 147,000
- Highway Patrol-Ep.2 Pm 7mate 140,000
- Fireman Sam PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 140,000
- Thomas And Friends PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000
- Peter Rabbit PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000
- Aussie Salvage Squad PM 7mate 133,000
- Play School Story Time PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 131,000
- Play School AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
- Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 127,000
TUESDAY STV
- Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 79,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 70,000
- The Bolt Report Sky News Live 70,000
- Alan Jones Sky News Live 67,000
- PML Later Sky News Live 60,000
- Wentworth FOX SHOWCASE 59,000
- Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 45,000
- Great Canadian Bake Off Lifestyle FOOD 42,000
- Live: The Back Page FOX SPORTS 503 40,000
- Jeopardy! FOX Classics 40,000
- Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 39,000
- The Kenny Report Sky News Live 36,000
- Selling Houses Australia Lifestyle Channel 35,000
- Highway Patrol FOX8 35,000
- Escape To The Country Lifestyle Channel 35,000
- NCIS: New Orleans FOX Crime 33,000
- Highway Patrol FOX8 33,000
- AM Agenda Sky News Live 32,000
- Open Mike: Luke Ball FOX FOOTY 31,000
- Rusty Rivets Nick Jr. 30,000
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
oOh!media cuts 22 staff in response to COVID-19 economic conditions
“Since March we have taken measures to preserve as many jobs as possible, but the ongoing nature of the pandemic and the uncertain timeframes around any widespread and sustained economic recovery meant we had to make this difficult decision,” said oOh!media CEO Brendon Cook.
“Our thoughts go to those who will lose their jobs, and we thank them for their service to the company over the years. This outcome does not reflect on their performance as individuals, which has made this even more difficult.
“We are exploring any possibilities for redeployment, and will be encouraging the employees to use our Employee Assistance Program and the outplacement support on offer.”
The redundancies are part of a wider organisational restructure across the full business, which still employs more than 800 people across Australia and New Zealand.
Other measures taken include reducing costs across the business, significantly reducing capex spending, and not backfilling vacancies for non-critical roles since March.
Nine appoints high-flying Maria Phillips as new chief financial officer
Announcing the appointment of Phillips, Marks said “I am delighted to appoint Maria to the role of CFO. Maria has extensive experience across a broad range of consumer-related industries, including media. Her track record of driving strategy and transformation, particularly in the digital and technology space, will prove invaluable during this period of change in the media sector. And her passion and energy will mean she is a great fit with our leadership team at Nine.”
Phillips said: “I am excited about joining Nine at this time. I have been so impressed by what the company has achieved, as it transforms to the digital age, and look forward to contributing to that continuing evolution. I feel a real affinity to the media sector, and in Australia, Nine is the stand-out – well positioned to continue to grow and re-define its business and I am looking forward to being part of that.
Educated in the UK, and with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and Business degree, Ms Phillips is a Certified Practising Accountant, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Until recently, Phillips was the chief financial officer at Velocity Frequent Flyer, where she played a key role through the sale process of private equity’s stake to Virgin. Prior to this, Phillips held senior executive roles at Telstra, Foxtel and SingTel Optus.
Len Amato Exits as HBO Films, Cinemax and Miniseries President
Sources say that while Amato is the latest executive to be consolidated out of the company, his departure comes as the business continues to change. HBO Films has scaled down its originals output in favor of more acquired content and after Cinemax exited the scripted business. Meanwhile, all drama programming — including scripted miniseries — will now be rolled under drama head Francesca Orsi. Tara Grace, senior vp at HBO Films, will continue to oversee the division and its acquisitions and now report to Orsi.
“I’ll always cherish my experience at HBO, not only because there was no higher standard to aspire to artistically in television, but because the artists and colleagues I worked with were incredibly talented, dedicated and inspirational,” Amato said. “I learned a lot and am forever grateful for such a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
News Brands
Google urges YouTubers around the world to swamp Australian regulator with complaints
The messaging seeks to pit YouTubers and their fans against “big news businesses” that Google suggests could misuse personal data and make unjustified demands for money to the detriment of YouTube users. It includes an email address for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The YouTube campaign follows Google’s targeting of Australian users with pop-up warning ads that link to an open letter about the mandatory news code that the ACCC says contains “misinformation”.
The campaign claims “vloggers”, “educational creators” and “music artists” are among those who will suffer if the mandatory news code, which will force Google to share advertising revenue with publishers, comes into effect.
When negotiations regarding remuneration for news content stalled between Google, Facebook and publishers, including Nine Entertainment and News Corp Australia, the ACCC announced a mandatory code would be imposed.
The search giant is now appealing to the public to demand the ACCC drop its plan, arguing the code would have a “significant, negative” effect on content creators.
Shield laws: QLD State Government to consider reforms to protect journalists
It comes as the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance launched a petition calling for the reforms, which would protect journalists from having to reveal their sources and allow them to claim privilege.
Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath on Tuesday confirmed she would be considering shield laws “in the context of” recent Queensland case law and how they are applied in other jurisdictions.
She revealed that it would include stakeholder consultation about the protections that existed elsewhere and how they could potentially align with Queensland’s legal framework.
It is understood consultation will kick off soon and that Labor will not refer the issue to the QLRC, as promised under the LNP’s plan, in a bid to avoid delays in its consideration.
Radio
Sydney’s newest breakfast host is Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss
Network CEO Craig Hutchison said veteran sports broadcaster Voss was a coup-signing for the station and the first of several respected sports broadcasters to join the team.
“If it’s happening in sport here or around the world, 1170 SEN Sydney will take you there – with live coverage of NRL, State of Origin, Test cricket, Big Bash, A-League, AFL and racing – alongside, news, opinion and debate from the country’s biggest names in sport.
“We are honoured and thrilled that Vossy will lead the charge when we launch. He has built a truly special connection with Sydney audiences not only as the man voted the most popular rugby league caller in the country, but as one of sport’s great all-rounders including his coverage of both Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cups and championships as well as an array of sports from surfboat racing, to touch football, to triathlons and even bull riding,” Hutchison said.
“He’ll have an opinion and drive a contemporary sports-led breakfast show.”
Fox League’s Voss said he was excited to be joining 1170 SEN Sydney.
“I’ve always loved radio from the moment I started my career in the media way back in 1987, so the opportunity to get back into it and create something unique was really appealing. The show is going to be a bit like reading the paper from back to front – there will be plenty of sport, but we’ll also cover what’s making news. I can’t wait to chat to listeners and take Sydney’s sporting-pulse each weekday morning,” Voss said.
“As someone who likes his poker, I’ll put it this way, we’ll be pushing our chips all-in to make a great breakfast show like no other in the market.”
Voss was last heard regularly on Sydney radio as the sports reporter on 2UE Sydney breakfast hosted by John Stanley and Garry Linnell.
Voss will also be heard for breakfast on SEN’s new racing station SENTrack in Sydney on 1539AM and DAB+ which launches this Saturday 22 August and also be heard on SENTrack Wollongong 1575 AM and Gosford 801 AM.
Popular rugby league personalities Joel Caine and Jimmy Smith will continue to host the breakfast show on SENTrack until Voss joins, with the boys to then take on other roles with the station.
See also: Crocmedia marches into Sydney: 3 stations on air before end of 2020
1170 SEN launching with Andrew Voss breakfast, 2CH staying on DAB+
Television
The Bachelorette 2020: Sharna Burgess confirms she was asked before Elly and Becky Miles
Speaking to Us Weekly, Sharna revealed producers approached her with the offer prior to the pandemic.
She said she was “on the fence” about accepting, but ultimately turned them down given she lives in the US and it “didn’t feel right” doing the show in Australia.
“I was initially like, ‘Sure.’ I mean, that could be fun. And then as I got into it, there was something that didn’t feel right, which is odd because I love the show worldwide,” she said.
“For some reason, my instincts were saying, ‘Don’t do it,’ which was very bizarre. I’ve had to trust my instincts my whole life, they’ve led me to where I am now.”
She went on to say that she’d be more likely to accept the lead on the US instalment of the reality show.
Celebrity chef Pete Evans lists Malabar home with $3.2m guide
The pair built the five-bedroom Malabar property just 18 months ago with a number of opulent features, including a skateboard half-pipe, a lap pool, four-person spa and even a gym.
As expected, the kitchen is at the heart of the home while there is also an edible garden with herbs.
Peter Goulding and Theo Karangis of NG Farah real estate have a $3.2 million price guide ahead of a September 12 auction.
The controversial Evans is selling up ahead of a move to the NSW north coast, where he has a multimillion-dollar health retreat. He will soon be opening a healing clinic in Byron’s new commercial precinct, The Habitat.
Sam Newman is considering running again for Melbourne’s Lord Mayor
The former Footy Show co-host said he had been sounded out about a Town Hall run ahead of elections taking place in October.
“I’m considering, considering it,’’ Newman told the Herald Sun.
“I had someone ask me from an official position, who is part of the Liberal government. Never rule out anything.”
Newman had previously put his hand up in 2018 but withdrew because he was overseas at the US Masters at the time nominations for the job open and close.
It was nominations for the by-election to replace former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who had resigned over sexual harassment allegations.