Business of Media
Carsales.com raising $1.2b to mop up Trader Interactive
Online automotive classifieds business Carsales.com is set to acquire full control of US commercial trucks and RVs listing business Trader Interactive, and ask shareholders to help fund its purchase, report AFR’s Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson, and Kanika Sood.
Carsales shares went into a trading halt on Monday morning ahead of the transaction.
The deal is expected to see Carsales buy the 51 per cent of Trader Interactive that it does not already own.
It will to fund it with an entitlement offer worth $1.2 billion at $17.75 a share, which was a 14.5 per cent discount to the last close.
Blow for Trump’s Truth Social as merger company hit by grand jury subpoenas
A US federal grand jury has issued subpoenas to the board members of the company merging with Donald Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, reports The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe.
The disclosure, made on Monday by the blank cheque company Digital World Acquisition Corporation, is the latest blow to Trump’s plans to take Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the creator of Truth Social, public.
TMTG agreed to merge with Digital World last October and was expecting the deal to close by the second half of this year. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, are investigating the merger.
Supreme Court declines to revisit landmark press-freedom case
The Supreme Court on Monday again declined to revisit New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark 1964 case that set a high bar for suing news organizations for defamation, drawing a dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Jan Wolfe.
The court turned away an appeal by Coral Ridge Ministries Media, a Florida-based evangelical organization that unsuccessfully sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for calling it a “hate group.”
Writing on his own, Justice Thomas reiterated his view that the “actual malice” standard established by Sullivan has “allowed media organizations and interest groups to cast false aspersions on public figures with near impunity.”
Sullivan held that public figures suing for defamation must clearly and convincingly prove “actual malice”—in other words, that the person or media outlet being sued either knew they were publishing falsehoods or acted with a reckless disregard for the truth.
Agencies
Delacon launches call tracking integration for Google Ads in APAC
Delacon has become the first in the Asia Pacific to integrate its call tracking solution into Google Ads enabling marketers to more effectively attribute campaign performance.
As the only integrated Google Adwords call provider in the region, the Australian digital marketing company now surfaces in all Google Ads accounts, providing natively integrated call tracking data to its clients and others wanting to record and monitor call extensions, for a fuller understanding of the effectiveness of search campaigns.
The integration of Delacon’s call tracking technology and its Interactive Voice Response (IVR) feature – which captures the phone menu options pressed by a caller – provides a more granular layer of call attribution data.
When a customer calls directly from a Google ad, marketers can see which keyword groups, ads and campaigns drove the engagement, all reported in real-time.
Delacon’s call tracking solution also monitors time, date, length and result of calls; geographical location; number of calls per web source; online browsing activity in the lead up to the call; campaign ID and the call outcome.
Television
Australian Ninja Warrior fans divided by American host Jim Courier
Australian Ninja Warrior returned to our screens on Monday night, but there was one detail that irked some fans of the show, reports news.com.au.
Last season’s host Rebecca Maddern has been replaced by American tennis legend Jim Courier, and not everyone is happy.
Some fans were disappointed that the Channel Nine show wasn’t being led by an Aussie sporting legend.
“No offence to Jim Courier who is lovely, but what about an Aussie sporting legend? We have a few,” one viewer tweeted.
Ninja Warrior considered for inclusion in Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics
A gold medal for Ninja Warrior skills? It’s not as far-fetched as you might think, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Patrick Brzeski.
Japanese TV network TBS, creator of the original Ninja Warrior reality competition format, revealed Monday that the show’s signature obstacle course will be tested for possible inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The Ninja Warrior course is under consideration to be added as the new fifth discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, a regular medal sport at the Summer Olympics. Modern Pentathlon previously has consisted of five disciplines: fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, laser pistol shooting and running. But the organizers of the sport, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), announced in May that an obstacle course would be tested as a potential replacement for the riding discipline after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sports Media
SBS makes history with refreshed Tour de France line-up
Dr Bridie O’Donnell could “talk about cycling all day” and she’ll soon have to. The former world hour record-holder and Australian time trial champion has 35 days of non-stop work ahead of her, commentating first the 23-day Tour de France and then the eight-day Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, reports SMH’s Louise Rugendyke.
O’Donnell is part of a refreshed Tour de France line-up for SBS, which also includes former professional cyclist and Tour de France stage winner Simon Gerrans in the commentary box, and two-time national road champion Gracie Elvin reporting on location.
Long-time commentator Matt Keenan returns, calling his 16th Tour, as do David McKenzie and Christophe Mallet, who will join Elvin on location for both races. Mark Renshaw will host new digital series The Finale, while French chef Guillaume Brahimi rounds out the coverage with his butter-heavy food series Plat du Tour.