Business of Media
Police reviewing how image of Brittany Higgins’ texts was obtained by the Seven Network ahead of Bruce Lehrmann interview
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are reviewing how an image of Brittany Higgins‘ text messages came to be in the possession of the Seven Network, as part of its televised interview with Bruce Lehrmann, reports The ABC’s Lottie Twyford.
As part of his judgment, Justice Michael Lee found Lehrmann made false representations about how Seven obtained sensitive material from the criminal trial as part of its preparation for the Spotlight interview.
Lisa Wilkinson hits back at Ten over ‘impermissible’ costs bid
Lisa Wilkinson has fired back at the Ten Network over its continuing refusal to pay all her legal bills in Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation action, accusing her employer of “impermissibly seeking to reagitate” the claim she won against the network earlier this year, reports The Australian’s Stephen Rice.
On Wednesday Wilkinson filed a fresh submission to the Federal Court after Ten told Justice Michael Lee earlier that The Project host should be liable for any “duplicative or wasteful” work by her legal team.
Google hides its total revenue from Australia in new accounts
Google has not revealed the gross amount it makes from Australia for the first time in seven years. Instead, it has reported only a slice of its revenue and how much it is paid by its parent companies to sell advertising and cloud services, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Results lodged with Australia’s corporate regulator reveal Google’s Australian entity banked $2.01 billion in revenue in 2023, up from $1.95 billion in 2022. Its profit jumped 16.6 per cent to $319.2 million. Google paid $97.9 million in income tax in 2023, up from $92.6 million the year before.
Scott Farquhar steps down as Atlassian co-CEO as group swings to profit
Scott Farquhar will step down as Atlassian co-chief executive, leaving his fellow co-founder Mike Cannon Brookes to run the company to “capitalise on its strengths in the AI era”, reports The Australian’s Jared Lynch.
Farquhar’s departure comes as the Atlassian’s net income swung to $US12.8m ($19.63m) in the three months to March 31, compared with a net loss of $209m in the same quarter last year.
Farquhar will remain on Atlassian’s board and assume a “special adviser” role at the company.
Foxtel faces its streaming apocalypse
It’s hard to believe now, but Foxtel was once Australia’s most profitable media company. A decade ago, the cable television broadcaster reached nearly one in every three households in the country. Its annual earnings were close to $1 billion, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
But over the past decade, Foxtel has been forced to massively reinvent itself for the Netflix era – walking a tightrope of building a new, low-margin streaming business like Kayo and Binge while keeping as many people as possible paying for its high-margin set-top boxes. It is a balance becoming more and more difficult.
How TikTok rivals stand to benefit from US ban
A forced sale or ban of TikTok makes the future uncertain for one of America’s favorite apps and opens the door for competitors eager to compete for attention and ad dollars, report The Wall Street Journal’s Nate Rattner and Peter Santilli.
President Biden on Wednesday signed a bill that gives TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, up to a year to sell the app before it would be banned in the U.S. The measure is part of a sweeping aid package for Israel and Ukraine.
Radio
Kyle Sandilands slams radio rumour: ‘It’s bulls**t’
Kyle Sandilands has shot down a claim made by one of his former radio bosses, describing it as “bulls**t!”, reports News Corp’s Andrew Bucklow.
Craig Bruce, who worked with Kyle and Jackie O when they broadcast on 2Day FM, claimed in a news.com.au article published on Tuesday that “ARN, the parent company of Kyle and Jackie O, have set up a complaints department in preparation for the show starting in Melbourne on April 29.”
Kyle responded to the allegation on KIIS FM on Wednesday morning, telling listeners: “That’s bulls**t. That’s not true!”
Television
Sophie, Troy win Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars has awarded NSW’s Sophie Hood and Victorian Troy Benjamin (Team Gordon) with $250,000 each and a year’s worth of business mentorship, reports TV Tonight.
Troy Benjamin won chef Gordon Ramsay over with his Indigenous tea product Blak Brews, defeating finalist Aaron from South Australia who created cocktails in a bag, MXTology.
Sophie Hood convinced Janine Allis with her hangover relief Seoul Tonic, edging out WA stepfather Mason and his event-friendly health drinks Kommunity Brew.
Truth about big Robert Irwin career rumour
A tabloid report this week had claimed Robert Irwin’s hosting gig on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! would be “short-lived”, with the wildlife warrior rumoured to be inking a new deal with the rival network. However, the report – which originated in tabloid mag Woman’s Day – is false, reports News Corp’s Lexie Cartwright.
“What a load of croc!” a Network Ten spokesperson said. “We’ve heard a lot of furphies over the past 10 seasons, but media reports about Robert Irwin no longer hosting I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! take the cake and are completely fake.
“We’ve just wrapped an excellent season and can’t wait to do it all again next year.”
MAFS star Mel Schilling shares sad update amid cancer battle: ‘Flat’
Married At First Sight star Mel Schilling has opened up about her cancer battle with a heartbreaking new update for fans, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
The show’s longtime relationship expert, 52, revealed her diagnosis last year, along with the news that she had undergone surgery and also begun chemotherapy in the UK.
Speaking to UK radio station MagicFM this week, Schilling admitted she was feeling “flat”.
Sports Media
Inside Tabcorp’s CEO search
Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany is among a number of people who have spoken to recruiters tasked with finding the next chief executive for ASX-listed wagering giant Tabcorp, report Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones and Zoe Samios.
Delany, who rose to chief executive of the News Corp-controlled pay TV and streaming company in 2018, discussed the role with Maritana Partners, which is leading the search to replace Adam Rytenskild. The process is understood to be being led by Maritana Partners’ Grant Dow.
Amazon, YouTube vie for NBA streaming rights as League’s media talks heat up
The National Basketball Association is advancing toward a series of major media deals, with Amazon and Google’s YouTube vying for a new streaming package and NBCUniversal trying to grab one of the main TV deals held by Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti.
Interest is high in the league’s next round of packages, which kick in after the 2024-2025 season. Disney, which pays around $1.6 billion a year for TV rights, and Warner, which pays about $1.2 billion a year, are in discussions to pay substantial increases under a new pact while airing fewer games than they do now, say people familiar with the conversations.