Business of Media
Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz take on Seek in regional Australia
Former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano and billionaire Alex Waislitz have tapped Lewis Romano, the founder of SpotJobs and ASX-listed Credit Clear, to build out a regional competitor to $9 billion listed jobs giant Seek, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Due to launch in early March, ViewJobs will be heavily promoted by the 75-odd publications in Catalano and Waislitz’ Australian Community Media empire. There is a clear gap in the regional market, Romano and Catalano say.
Australian streaming quotas could violate US free trade agreement, tech giants warn
A showdown is emerging between streaming giants and the Albanese government over proposed local content quotas, with warnings that such a move could breach Australia’s free trade agreement with the US, reports The Australian’s Jared Lynch.
The government intends to introduce new laws that will force streaming providers such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to spend up to 20 per cent of revenue generated in Australia on local content.
The government aims to ensure Australian stories still appear on Australian screens as more viewers shift to streaming services, which unlike traditional broadcast media do not have any local content regulations.
See Also: Where’s the Drama? Why streamers are scooping up scripted series
Australian journalists abandon X in wake of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, survey shows
Australian journalists are abandoning Twitter, now called X, with professional usage of the social media site now overshadowed by Instagram and LinkedIn, reports The Guardian’s Amanda Meade.
A survey of more than 800 Australian journalists found that 10% deleted or ignored their accounts professionally last year and a further 26% said they still had an X account but rarely used it for work.
In the same year the Elon Musk-owned platform was rebranded X and the distinctive bird logo was banished, media organisations began to distance themselves from the social media platform.
Tucker Carlson says he is interviewing Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin will sit down for his first interview with an American outlet in three years … with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. Carlson announced the interview on X on Tuesday, accusing other media outlets of being corrupt in their coverage of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin.
“Since the day the war in Ukraine began, American media outlets have spoken to scores of people from Ukraine, and they have done scores of interviews with Ukrainian President Zelensky,” Carlson said in a video posted to his X account. “We ourselves have put in a request for an interview with Zelensky. We hope he accepts, but the interviews he’s already done in the United States are not traditional interviews, they are fawning pep sessions.”
News Brands
‘The GOAT’: Ross Gittins chalks up 50 years in economics journalism
The Sydney Morning Herald’s celebrated economics editor Ross Gittins has reached 50 years in journalism, with a swag of senior policymakers and economists hailing his contribution to Australia’s public life, report Nine Publishing’s Matt Wade and Clancy Yeates.
When Gittins started work as a Herald journalist in February 1974 Gough Whitlam was prime minister, a typical worker was paid $119 a week, the value of the Australian dollar was set by a committee of bureaucrats, three-quarters of full-time jobs were held by men and Sydney’s median house price was about $30,000.
Audio
Spotify swings to loss as it adds 200,000 audiobooks to paid service
Spotify’s push beyond music has tipped the streaming service into the red again, after it acquired the rights to 200,000 audiobooks for premium subscribers, with Prince Harry’s autobiography and comedian David Mitchell’s Unruly proving to be among the most popular with listeners, reports The Guardian’s Mark Sweney.
The world’s biggest music streaming service, which has been offering 15 hours of free audiobook listening a month to premium subscribers in the UK, Australia and the US since October, said related start-up costs contributed to a €75m (£64m) operating loss in the fourth quarter.
Television
US Grammy audience jumps to 16.9 million
Award shows are in their rebound era. The Grammy Awards notched 16.9 million viewers on Sunday night, a 34 percent increase from last year’s ceremony, according to Nielsen and CBS, which aired the show. It was the most-watched Grammy Awards since the 2020 ceremony, shortly before the pandemic — and up significantly from 2021, when only 8.8 million people watched, reports The New York Times’ John Koblin.
Sunday night’s telecast, hosted by Trevor Noah, had plenty of star power, with Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and Beyoncé all making appearances. Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell dazzled critics with rare television performances.
Everything you need to know about the 2024 AACTA awards on Gold Coast
Queensland is gearing up for a showcase of star power as the Gold Coast readies the red carpet for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, affectionately dubbed the ‘Oscars of Australia’ on February 10, reports News Corp’s Georgia Clelland.
The AACTA Awards and the AACTA Industry Awards, both by the Foxtel Group, are set to light up the Home of the Arts (HOTA), turning Surfers Paradise into the epicentre of the Australian screen industry for one magical weekend.
Sports Media
$7 Million for 30 Seconds? To advertisers, the Super Bowl is worth it.
A cat meowing for Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Peyton Manning chucking Bud Light beers to patrons in a bar and Kris Jenner stacking Oreo cookies. They all have one thing in common: Those companies paid seven figures to get their products in front of viewers during this year’s Super Bowl, reports The New York Times’ Santul Nerkar.
For the second consecutive year, the average cost of a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl was $7 million. Even as many businesses are being more disciplined with the money they have for marketing, and with spending on advertising slowing in recent years, the cost of a Super Bowl ad continues to go up.