Happy place with Ash London

The busy Ash London was radiating sunshine as she shone down the phone line to talk about her first Podcast One original series Sunny Side Up. “I had always wanted to do something that offered people a positive way to start the day. When COVID-19 hit it was like the universe giving me a kick up the arse to actually do it,” she told Mediaweek.

Doing a short podcast is a nod to how busy people are, said London. “As a commercial radio girl I know that short and sharp is good. My radio breaks go for no more than three minutes.” London’s podcasts are longer, but not by much. “Not a lot of people can afford 40 minutes to themselves in the morning, but I think many can listen for seven minutes.” As a bit of a luxury, she allows some interviews to run for eight minutes.

People approached to talk to London have been prepared to have a chat. “There is such a hunger for good news that people are very willing to share positive experiences they have had in their lives. I find them often through the power of social media where people will tag me to something and say ‘You might like this’.”

London records five episodes of Sunny Side Up a week. Although she noted: “I moved house last week and gave myself two days off.” She has already notched up 25 episodes in five weeks. “It is a lot of work on top of my radio work, but it is rewarding.”

Her radio work includes Ash London Live nightly for SCA’s Hit Network. The program has been coming from London’s home(s) for the past seven weeks. “I’ll give you the hot tip…it’s going to be very hard to get me back in the studio. I miss my team obviously, but I am amazed at how much we have been able to put together remotely.”

Ash London Live runs five nights a week on Hit Network, there is Best Of show on Saturday and a special Australian artists show on Sunday.

The schedule is so full now with radio plus podcasts, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Tik Tok and Zoom that London has drawn the line at accepting any other projects. “It’s a lot of creating and a lot of talking, but I get it, it’s wonderful for our industry that people are rediscovering the power of audio and especially audio on demand.”

London has also been in demand for TV work with roles at MTV and Network 10 with Grant Denyer. She is also thrilled about the chance to guest on (“my favourite show”) Have You Been Paying Attention? last year too.

Listen to Ash London Live here.

Meshel Laurie & Emily Webb host Australian True Crime: Live

TEG Dainty is promoting an online event featuring comedian, TV host and crime reader Meshel Laurie and crime writer Emily Webb hosting a live Australian True Crime event onstage later this month. Joining them will be fan-favourites Ron Iddles and Narelle Fraser. The two detectives will – for the first time – come together to discuss some of the most notorious and interesting cases that they investigated in their decades on the job.

Long-time Australian True Crime podcast listeners will see Ron and Narelle unite for what the hosts are promising will be a gripping and thought-provoking evening. The duo will revisit and discuss stories and experiences from their involvement in some of the biggest cases in recent history, giving fans an insight into some of Australia’s most notorious crimes. At the end of the show, viewers will get the opportunity to ask questions.

In Conversation with Narelle Fraser and Ron Iddles will stream live online at 8 pm AEST on Saturday 16 May.

Early bird tickets (strictly limited) start at $14.90 and went on sale to the general public on Wednesday 6 May at 12 noon AEST from www.tegdainty.com.

Listen to Meshel and Emily on Australian True Crime here.

Matt & Alex: PodcastOne’s on demand breakfast show

SCA’s PodcastOne continues to expand its content offering, this time with what it is calling Australia’s first on-demand breakfast show. The platform is not taking any chances with this investment, assigning award-winning executive producer Sam Cavanagh to steer the new project.

After three years hosting triple j’s highest rating breakfast show, Matt Okine and Alex Dyson took a hiatus from radio at the end of 2016 to focus on their own projects. Now they are back with an on-demand breakfast show for listeners to enjoy at any time of the day.

Award-winning comedian Okine said: “I’m so excited about reconnecting with everyone who used to listen to us in the morning and even more excited about connecting with new fans who can’t stand waking up before 9am! In a time when the nation is spending all day in their pyjamas, it’s only fitting that we offer them an all-day breakfast show to match.

“After such a successful tenure at triple j, we were careful not to jump back in the booth together unless the conditions were right, and everything about SCA and our new show, All Day Breakfast, feels right!”

Creative writer Dyson added: “Since leaving triple j, we’ve definitely grown as people. Matt had his first child and I won a championship as the Chicago Bulls on NBA 2k19. I can’t wait to get back together with my radio Scottie Pippen and write a new chapter together.

“As someone who ate a cold hash brown at 3:15pm yesterday, All Day Breakfast is the show I was born to do. Instead of spreading out a breakfast show thinly over a number of hours, this will be a daily shot of the best content, ready when you want it. Like eating a glob of Vegemite directly from the knife, instead of having it wiped sparsely over toast.”

Episodes of the Matt & Alex – All Day Breakfast show run for about 40 minutes and will be released at 6am every weekday morning. Listeners will have the opportunity to contribute to show via regular segments and topics.

Listen to Matt & Alex – All Day Breakfast here.

Schwartz Media’s 7am podcast at home on Acast

Acast has partnered with Schwartz Media to host and distribute its daily news podcast, 7am, helping to expand the reach of the podcast dedicated to in-depth news analysis.

7am is the daily news podcast from the publisher of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. Hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Ruby Jones, the podcast tells the news through in-depth, interviews and analysis, delivered to podcast feeds every weekday morning to help listeners start their day engaged and informed.

Another new entrant in what is becoming a competitive timeslot is PodcastOne’s The Briefing.

Rebecca Costello, chief executive of Schwartz Media, said: “7am has been a huge success since launch. We have found an enormous new audience for our journalism, and we are happy to be working with Acast to expand opportunities for the podcast. Every morning 7am produces some of the best reporting in the country, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow.”

Listen to 7am here.

Speculation has been running rampant about the future of News Corp-controlled Foxtel in Australia for some time, but it reached fever pitch when COVID-19 impacted its sports content.

While the ability to broadcast sport at present is something Foxtel can’t control, it has boosted its non-sport offering by securing a new and expanded deal with Warner Bros, HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia networks.

The commitment from Foxtel to the new deal should, at least temporarily, suspend speculation about News Corp’s commit to supporting the Australian pay-TV and streaming service with over 2.5m customers.

Foxtel faced spirited bidding from another party, speculated to be Stan, with Foxtel securing the deal as recently as Sunday after a negotiation period that commenced mid-2019.

The WarnerMedia deal is the latest in a series of contracts that have seen CEO Patrick Delany redraw the output deals with the world’s biggest producers and distributors. Delany told Mediaweek those deals are “part of the whole transformation of the company”. He added that what people watched 25 years ago when Foxtel launched is not necessarily what they want to watch today.

“This WarnerMedia deal will also help us fuel and realise our streaming aspirations. The strategy of the company has been consistent from day one – to strengthen and maintain Foxtel. We have a big advantage in the market in that we have a premium service for a premium price. With Kayo we are getting part of the market that couldn’t afford Foxtel. Now we have the ability, if we want to, to launch a movies and drama service that would do the same thing across a whole range of content.”

Delany would not comment on the new streaming product believed to be called Binge. “Project Aries is something we are still considering. In the last 18 months with the transformation of all the content deals, and the creation of the Kayo platform, creates the right environment for us to have the ability and freedom to launch a world class service.”

Presumably with the WarnerMedia deal locked away consideration on Aries/Binge needs to be stepped up if Foxtel is to make its first half launch target.

Foxtel would not comment either on how much it is paying WarnerMedia under the new deal or for how many years the new contract runs. However the old HBO deal was expected to run until 2022, so Foxtel possibly now has the rights for five years beyond that.

Delany said the WarnerMedia deal was different to recent BBC, ViacomCBS, NBCU and Discovery deals. “Those deals were initially framed as channel deals and were recrafted as output arrangements that included channels. The WarnerMedia deal is a very, very high quality output arrangement across multiple brands. Even content in the library is quality – the most popular shows in the world are still Friends and The Big Bang Theory. We have picked them up for all of our platforms. The content can be used to fuel not only our channels, but also our iQ3 and iQ4 platforms for video-on-demand. It also allows us to fire up platforms outside the Foxtel brand.”

Delany would not speculate about who the other bidder for HBO was, but he did say: “They could have used the content well, but they probably couldn’t have monetised it as well as we can. The majority of the material is produced for subscription video services and is very, very premium. This is the highest quality and most popular material in the world. Having a premium product like Foxtel means that we are in a much better position to monetise the cost of an output arrangement like this.”

And therefore presumably able to outbid any competitor as Foxtel goes into more homes with customers paying more money than the underbidder.

The terms of the deal mean Foxtel has access to scripted originals from HBO Max, presumably indicating the new US streaming service launching late in May has no plans for an Australian service.

Delany did comment that including Warner Bros. International Television Production in Australia means producing scripted and non-scripted material for Foxtel. “Give their production expertise here and internationally that it is something that will be innovative for the Australian market. Either standing alone or in combination with other Australian producers they will do Australian drama really well.”

Foxtel commissions Beyond to make the Warner Bros distributed format Selling Houses.

When it comes to catalogue material, Foxtel is believed to have extensive picks over what’s available and it seems that The Big Bang Theory and Friends will live at Foxtel, possibly not at Stan (Friends) or Netflix (BBT).

The US producer and distributor of news, sport and entertainment content reported total quarterly revenues of US$3.44 billion, a 25% increase from the $2.75 billion of revenues reported in the prior year quarter, reflecting revenue growth across all operating segments.

Lachlan Murdoch told how about 70% of all staff have been working remotely. He also detailed how FOX News has never had batter ratings and that its audience of younger viewers has been growing. He said the business was looking forward to the NFL releasing its 2020/21 schedule later this week.

The CEO revealed recently that he will not be taking any salary during the COVID-19 pandemic and that 700 senior members of the company would forego, or take reduced, salaries amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic so that other employees can continue to receive salaries and “FOX comes out of this crisis as an even stronger company” when things get back to normal.

FOX advertising revenues increased 44%, led by the broadcast of Super Bowl LIV at the television segment. Affiliate revenues increased 10%, led by increases at the Television segment due to higher fees from third-party FOX affiliates and higher average rates per subscriber, partially offset by net subscriber declines, at the Company’s owned and operated television stations. The Company also reported a 27% increase in other revenues, led by the operation of the FOX Studios Lot for third parties and the impact of the consolidation of Credible Labs Inc at the Other, Corporate and Eliminations segment.

Quarterly net income decreased to $90 million from the $539 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to a loss recognized in other, net related to the change in fair value of the company’s former investment in Roku, Inc., as well as higher operating and selling, general and administrative expenses. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily reflects higher costs related to FOX operating as a standalone public company following the distribution in the prior year quarter.

Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA of $920 million was 20% higher than the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher contributions at the Television and Cable Network Programming segments. Adjusted net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders3 was $568 million ($0.93 per share), which was higher than the $471 million ($0.76 per share) adjusted result in the prior year quarter.

Commenting on the results Lachlan Murdoch said:

“We delivered exceptional operational and financial results in the quarter, highlighted by our successful broadcast of Super Bowl LIV on FOX. While we remain focused on continuing to execute against the strategy that drove this strong performance, we are acutely mindful of the global health crisis and its countless impacts. Our highest priority remains the safety and well-being of our employees and their families. Due to the selfless dedication of many of our colleagues, the strength of FOX has been on display throughout the crisis as we continue to provide news, information, entertainment and assistance to communities around the country. As we eventually emerge, we are confident that FOX’s focused collection of assets – centred on live and event programming – will be even more in-demand by advertisers and audiences alike, positioning us well for the future and enabling us to maximize long-term shareholder value.”

FOX Cable Network Programming

Cable Network Programming reported quarterly segment revenues of $1.47 billion, an increase of $84 million or 6% from the amount reported in the prior year quarter, reflecting increases in affiliate, advertising and other revenues. Affiliate revenues increased $38 million or 4% as contractual price increases, including the impact of distribution agreement renewals, were partially offset by net subscriber declines. Advertising revenues increased $28 million or 10% as stronger ratings and higher digital advertising revenues at FOX News Media were partially offset by the impact of higher preemptions associated with breaking news coverage at FOX News Media and fewer live events at FS1 due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”). Other revenues increased $18 million or 13%, primarily due to higher sports sublicensing revenues.

FOX Television

Television reported quarterly segment revenues of $1.93 billion, an increase of $556 million or 41% from the amount reported in the prior year quarter, reflecting increases in advertising, affiliate and other revenues. Advertising revenues increased $454 million or 56%, primarily due to the broadcast of Super Bowl LIV, partially offset by the impact of one less NFL Divisional playoff game compared to the prior year quarter. Also contributing to the increase in advertising revenues were higher cyclical political revenues at FOX Television Stations, partially offset by a decline in the local advertising market as a result of COVID-19. Affiliate revenues increased $101 million or 22% due to increases in fees from third-party FOX affiliates and higher average rates per subscriber, partially offset by net subscriber declines, at the Company’s owned and operated television stations.

Impact of COVID-19 on FOX

The impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting the macroeconomic environment, as well as the business of the company, in a number of ways. For example, while the company’s national news ratings remain strong, sporting events for which the company has broadcast rights have been cancelled or postponed, the production of certain entertainment content the company acquires has been suspended and demand in local advertising markets has declined. The magnitude of the impacts will depend on the duration and extent of COVID-19 and the effect of governmental actions, consumer behavior and actions taken by the company’s business partners in response to the pandemic and such governmental actions. The evolving and uncertain nature of this situation makes it challenging for the company to estimate the future performance of its businesses, particularly over the near to medium term, including the supply and demand for its services, its cash flows and its current and future advertising revenue. However, the impact of COVID-19 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s business, financial condition or results of operations over the near to medium term. A significant decline in estimated advertising revenue or the expected popularity of the company’s programming could lead to a downward revision in the fair value of, among other things, the company’s reporting units, indefinite-lived intangible assets and long-lived assets and result in an impairment and a non-cash charge that is material to the company’s reported net earnings.

The platform’s audience grew to a record 11.6 million readers in March, making it the fourth most popular news site in the country.

Despite this growth, Guardian Australia’s advertising revenue has declined as the domestic economy starts to feel the financial impacts of the pandemic.

In response, the Guardian Australia has launched the Coronavirus Crisis Project, a request for philanthropists to help protect its investment in journalism through this time. All funding will go to The Guardian Civic Journalism Trust, which is run in partnership with the University of Melbourne and gives students at the Centre for Advancing Journalism an opportunity to work with industry and receive invaluable professional development. The Guardian Civic Trust already runs successful philanthropic projects with The Balnaves Foundation, The Susan Mckinnon Foundation, The Limb Family Foundation and others. These projects have had a substantial impact on Australia, sparking senate inquiries and changes in government policy.

The first donation to the project has come from VivCourt, who had previously supported Guardian Australia’s series, Fair Go?. Rob Keldoulis, CEO of VivCourt, says that he sees Guardian Australia as a vital service.

“We should all be passionate supporters of the Guardian in a time when information has never been more vital,” says Keldoulis.

“We are relying on our governments to tell us the truth. I believe that we’re all capable of dealing with even very dire situations if we fully understand what’s happening.

“What shakes us is being misled and not knowing the full story. Honest and open reporting has never been more critical and I would urge supporters to stand alongside us to support the Guardian and their brand of independent journalism.”

Guardian Australia managing director Dan Stinton (pictured) said: “We are tremendously thankful to the Vivcourt team for their support of our journalism. Almost half of Australia is reading our coverage of this crisis – this funding is a substantial help in maintaining the essential reporting that our growing audience relies on.”

It is believed that Seven West Media would sell the growing international production business if a buyer comes forward.

Hegarty joined the organisation in 2012 and under her leadership Seven Studios has achieved major milestones in the domestic and international market. These include production commissions and co-productions with global platforms Netflix, Amazon and Facebook among others, as well as significant commissions on tier one platforms including BBC1, resulting in Seven Studios content being seen around the globe.

Current Sydney-based programs include Home and Away, Plate of Origin, Back To The Rafters and Better Homes and Gardens.

Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer James Warburton said: “Therese has been a true asset to the business, delivering a wealth of knowledge and experience during her time at Seven. I’ve enjoyed working with her over the past eight months and wish her all the best for the future.”

Hegarty said: “I have been privileged to work with such an incredible team of talented, generous people, many of whom I am proud to call friends, across the eight years and various roles I have held at Seven.

“I’d like to express my sincere thanks to all of them. I’m very sad to be leaving Seven but look forward to new challenges in the future.”

Hegarty will remain with the business for an interim period to ensure a smooth transition of Seven Studios as its operations commence reporting to Seven director of production Andrew Backwell.

Wednesday news highlights

Seven News 1,193,000/1,134,000
Nine News 1,106,000/1,037,000
ABC News 876,000
Current Affair 754,000
7.30 699,000
The Project 409,000/646,000
10 News 450,000/339,000
Sunrise 303,000
The Drum 248,000
News Breakfast 240,000
The Latest 235,000
SBS World News 207,000
Today 197,000

Nine: After ranking #3 all people on Tuesday, Nine ranked #2 Wednesday with Doctor Doctor on 488,000 and then Paramedics on 455,000.

Seven: The channel’s most-watched after 7pm was again Home and Away with 655,000.
Britain’s Got Talent isn’t winning it slot, but its audience of 530,000 was part of a ratings-winning line-up. Seven offered two episodes last night with the second with a timeslot-winning 444,000.

10: MasterChef kept the lead in the timeslot and was again #1 entertainment and #1 in key demos as it stayed in the burbs. The themed week has been another clever move by producers this season with 984,000 watching the fight for immunity this week. Th second part of that challenge will play out tonight as Amina, Emelia and Tracy prepare plates for a sushi train.
The third episode of Lingo Pictures’ brilliant drama The Secrets She Keeps followed with 388,000. Last week’s overnight audience of 399,000 added 65,000 in Consolidated7 and grew to 809,000 with BVOD and TV encores.

 ABC: Specialist subjects on Hard Quiz included Gossip Girl, Jack the Ripper, Tiger Woods, and the ultimate winner, Branwell, who knew a lot about Julia Gillard! The episode did 708,000 after 710,000 a week ago.
Hard Quiz host Tom Gleeson was back then at 8.30pm with his first appearance on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering with a new look Yard Chat segment. The episode did 591,000 after 606,000 last week.

SBS: Durham Cathedral was the destination for Tony Robinson on Britain’s Cathedrals with 286,000 watching.