Business of Media
News Corp’s hunt for wagering partner enters final phase
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp Australia is in the final stages of securing a wagering partner for the launch of its bookmaking business, with two local outfits and an international company competing to take part in the joint venture, report SMH‘s Zoe Samios and Chris Roots.
Multiple wagering sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks are confidential, said News Corp was close to a deal on working with a bookmaker that would provide the technology infrastructure needed to launch its operation locally in exchange for a stake in the business. The newly formed company is not expected to take a bet for the first half of 2022. News Corp declined to comment.
News Corp Australia has planned to form a wagering company for more than one year. The media company, which publishes The Australian and The Herald Sun, asked for expressions of interest among Australia’s established bookmakers last year. It was then in advanced talks earlier this year with a consortium backed by high-profile bookmaker Matthew Tripp to launch the new wagering outfit. Wagering sources have said there are currently three contenders in the final stage including Betmakers (which is closely linked to Mr Tripp) and an international outfit.
But despite previous discussions between News Corp and Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox Corp about a licensing deal for its FOX Bet brand (which has driven growth at the company), the sources say the new company is not expected to adopt the brand name.
NITV launches new brand by asking people to ‘Reimagine Australia’
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has revealed a new brand position encouraging all Australians to ‘Reimagine Australia,’ alongside a new logo and television schedule, as it marks nine years of being available free-to-air as part of the SBS network.
The campaign asks audiences to rethink our identity as a nation. Together, NITV invites Australians to have an honest conversation about this country’s past, and work towards a future fuelled by the vibrancy of cultures in Australia today, and underpinned by 60,000 years of tradition, resilience and strength of First Nations peoples and cultures.
Featuring familiar Australian faces including Ernie Dingo, Uncle Jack Charles, Aaron Fa’Aoso, Adam Goodes, Osher Günsberg, Ziggy Ramo, Archie Roach, Kerry O’Brien, Samantha Harris, Sasha Sarago, Mi-Kaisha Masella, Tim Minchin, Adam Hill, Ella Havelka, Janice Petersen, and Jeff McMullen.
With 60, 30 and 15 second promotional spots running across SBS channels and platforms including television, online, radio and social media, the new campaign highlights NITV’s special place in the media landscape and the channel’s distinctive offering across news, sport, drama, documentaries, food and children’s content.
The campaign went live at 5am on Sunday 12 December alongside new branding including a redesigned NITV logo which incorporates the Bilma – the North-East Arnhem land term for clapstick, and a universal symbol for rhythm – and the SBS mercator symbol which features across all SBS brands. When clapsticks are struck, the rhythm, represented by songlines, is carried across the country, connecting and celebrating Indigenous cultures.
NITV’s creative team joined forces with First Nations full-service creative agency Gilimbaa, led by executive director and proud Wakka Wakka man David Williams, to create and implement the new brand. Since 2008, Gilimbaa, which means ‘today’ in Wakka Wakka language, has focussed on the power of storytelling and the role this plays in the celebration of culture and community, working for and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to achieve lasting creative outcomes.
Fox acquires TV moviepProducer MarVista Entertainment
Fox Entertainment has acquired MarVista Entertainment, a leading independent producer of TV movies, in part to bolster original programming for its Tubi streaming service, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Potter.
Founded in 2003, MarVista has produced and distributed hundreds of TV movies, including a host of holiday films. Under the deal, the company led by CEO and founding partner Fernando Szew will focus on developing and producing titles for Fox’s digital platforms, including Tubi (for which it produced the movie A Chance for Christmas earlier this year).
Vox Media is planning to merge with Group Nine, publisher of PopSugar and Thrillist.
Vox Media is in talks to buy Group Nine Media in a deal that would merge two big digital media companies as the industry continues to consolidate, reports The New York Times‘ Katie Robertson.
In an email to Vox Media staff on Monday, which was viewed by The New York Times, Jim Bankoff, the chief executive of Vox, said that the company was in “advanced discussions” to acquire Group Nine.
Vox Media, which was co-founded by Bankoff in 2011, is the publisher of Vox.com, The Verge and SB Nation. It bought New York magazine and its related websites in 2019. Group Nine operates the lifestyle websites PopSugar, the Dodo, Thrillist and Seeker.
News Brands
Alan Jones’ live stream crashes minutes into premiere of new online show
Alan Jones’s return to screens got off to a shaky start on Monday evening, with the feed crashing on all platforms just minutes into the 8pm premiere of his new online show, reports News Corp’s Duncan Murray.
Jones’ website was down before his Direct to the People show even began, with producers blaming the issue on excessive traffic, rescheduling for 8:30pm at which point the stream resumed.
At the time the stream ceased there were 1322 viewers on YouTube and the video had garnered over 1600 likes on Facebook.
Producers claim there were hundreds of thousands of people tuning in on the website which caused the mishap.
Some internet users were convinced that he was being silenced.
However, 29 minutes after the program was meant to start, Direct to the People finally came online.
The inaugural guest on the program was NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who Jones congratulated for his commitment to “freedom of speech”.
Entertainment
Nicole Kidman, Sarah Snook and Kodi Smit-McPhee nominated for Golden Globes
Nicole Kidman, Sarah Snook and Kodi Smit-McPhee lead Australia’s hopes at the revived Golden Globe awards, reports News Corp’s Tiffany Bakker.
Kidman was recognised for her performance as American TV icon Lucille Ball in the Aaron Sorkin-directed Being the Ricardos while Adelaide-born Smit-McPhee was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as a frail young man in Jane Campion’s acclaimed The Power of the Dog.
Another South Australian, Snook, was recognised for her consistently stellar performance as Shiv Roy in Succession, the HBO hit (available to watch on Binge) which also scored the most nominations in the TV category.
Sport Media
‘We have a huge opportunity’: A-Leagues finalises $140m equity sale
Marquee players, an expanded A-League Women’s season, the return of youth football and a greater investment in digital, marketing and community programs are all on the agenda for the A-Leagues after a deal to sell one third of the competition to an American private equity firm for nearly $140 million was finalised, reports SMH‘s Dominic Bossi.
As first revealed by The Herald in October, the A-Leagues struck an agreement to sell a 33 percent stake in the competition to Silver Lake, sealing the largest single injection of capital into Australian football in the game’s history. The sum values the entire A-Leagues organisation at $425 million.
The deal was formally ratified over the weekend after gaining approval from the federal government’s Foreign Investment Review Board and has been hailed as a potential game-changer for a sport that has historically struggled to attract funding and investment.
Now, the A-Leagues will bank an amount which represents one of the biggest cash reserves of any competition in Australian sport, and which it is hoped will underpin the future growth of the game.