Business of Media
Second advertising agency executive accused of misconduct denies claims
A second advertising agency figure accused of misconduct by a high-profile anti-harassment campaigner in the industry has vehemently denied the accusations, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Chris Harris, the founder of Atlas Agency, was named alongside Chris Laws by Ella Campbell, who claimed the two former colleagues harassed her when they worked together.
On Monday, Campbell wrote in a LinkedIn post that she feared for her “physical and psychological safety” and described Harris as “verbally and emotionally abusive”.
She and others had been both witnesses to and victims of his aggression, wrote Campbell, who worked with the two men at Born & Raised.
When contacted by The Australian, Harris said Campbell’s allegations were “false and unequivocally denied”.
Harris left Born & Raised – which he founded with Laws – in 2020.
Agencies
303 Mullenlowe Sydney announce new clients and staff appointments
Advertising agency 303 MullenLowe Sydney has welcomed two new clients and announced staff appointments.
Joining the 303 MullenLowe Sydney is BuyersBuyers, a national network connecting property buyers with expert property agents.
The agency’s remit spans the full breadth of 303’s communications offering, providing brand positioning, visual identity, CX planning, website optimisation, martech consultancy and media conversion modelling.
Also joining 303 MullenLowe Sydney is the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). The agency will undertake international marketing to promote Austrade.
Kitly Creator Network launches after Q83 raises $3.2 million
Kitly Creator Network has launched after Australian tech innovator Q83 raised $3.2 million.
The Kitly Creator Network is a platform that brings together Australia’s top talent agencies and independent creators into one centralised database with real-time reporting data as well as integrated business tools for talent.
It is a solution to inactive mass databases that currently exist.
Anthony Richardson, Q83 and Kitly founder and managing director, said: “Professional content creators and influencers are unquestionably powerful drivers of marketing strategy, but finding and connecting with the right talent efficiently can be a struggle for many businesses and marketing agencies.
News Brands
Seven News falters on closed captions
Seven has breached the Broadcasting Services Act for failing to provide accurate closed captions to two Seven News broadcasts in 2020, reports TV Tonight.
Sydney bulletins on November 2 and November 28 were ruled in breach by the Australian Communications and Media Authority following complaints about captions being missing, delayed or inaccurate.
ACMA, which indicated both broadcasts were live-captioned, investigated and found some segments did not meet the requirements for readability, accuracy and comprehensibility.
Seven acknowledged some segments suffered quality issues but disputed others when measured as part of the News segment as a whole.
Television
Police called over MAFS glass smash, nude photo leak
NSW Police have been called in to examine controversial reality TV show Married At First Sight over a glass smashing incident and a nude photo leak, reports News Corp’s Mibengé Nsenduluka and Josh Hanrahan.
Confidential understands that police were recently contacted over an ongoing dispute between brides Olivia Frazer and Domenica Calarco, however, no charges have been laid.
A police report has been filed into the glass incident and an investigation is ongoing.
Confidential has contacted Channel 9 and production company Endemol Australia for comment.
It’s unclear what sparked the police complaint nearly one year after filming took place in Inner West Sydney.
Insiders claim it was Frazer who recently lodged a complaint over the glass incident. Calarco contacted police about the nude photo leak and is exploring legal options.
Today show stars Allison Langdon and Brooke Boney off-air after positive Covid test
Today show co-host Allison Langdon and entertainment reporter Brooke Boney are in home isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 on Monday, reports News Corp’s Mibengé Nsenduluka.
Langdon’s co-host Karl Stefanovic made the announcement on-air on Tuesday morning after the pair were noticeably absent from the show, with 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo and entertainment editor Richard Wilkins filling in for them.
“Sarah is in for Ally this morning after testing positive for Covid. Brooke has also gone down with Covid,’ Stefanovic said.
“Both are in isolation and we will see them some time next week, as well as half the behind-the-scenes people at the Today show who have come down with Covid as well.”
Langdon and Boney were among guests at the Wharf4Ward annual charity event at Woolloomooloo Wharf on Thursday.
Networks to broadcast Shane Warne State Memorial Service
TV networks are planning to Live broadcast the Shane Warne State Memorial Service next Wednesday night, reports TV Tonight.
Nine and ABC News have confirmed they will screen the event, while Seven has a very obvious TBA in its schedule. 10 is also understood to be planning to broadcast the service.
FOX Cricket channel also has a Sports Special scheduled and the Victorian State Government will also Live stream it.
The service will commence at 7pm AEDT and expected to run for approximately two hours.
Aussie celeb busted in outrageous on-air lie
Self-described “reality TV fame wh**e” Locky Gilbert continues his fall from grace during Tuesday’s episode of SAS Australia when he admits to having zero empathy before getting busted fake crying in eerie scenes that make us do a double-take of the television screen to make sure we’re not actually watching Olivia on Married At First Sight, writes News Corp’s James Weir.
What’s with all the reality stars proudly revealing they lack basic human emotions like compassion?
We should round ‘em all up and cast them on a fun new show where they laugh at hospital patients and push over children.
Sport Media
Foxtel Media releases 2022 NRL and AFL ratings
Foxtel Media has released Foxtel and Kayo’s ratings for the opening rounds of the NRL and AFL seasons.
The latest ratings highlight strong audience growth for the start of the 2022 season with key naming rights partners returning for the new season.
These include KFC, McDonalds, Telstra, Ford, Toyota, Harvey Norman, and Sportsbet. They are joined by new partners including AAMI and CBUS for the NRL and Industry Super Australia for the AFL with McCain joining as a naming rights partner for both sports.
After Round 1 and 2, the average NRL audience for Foxtel and Kayo is 420,000, up 14% on 2021. Round 2 audiences averaged 393,000, up 9%.
Round 1’s Tigers v Storm game was the #1 NRL regular season game of all-time with an average audience of 553,000.
Sunday night’s Bulldogs v Broncos clash was the #2 highest rating NRL regular season game of all-time on subscription television with an average audience of 544,000.
Over at the AFL, Round 1 saw an average audience of 360,000 for Foxtel and Kayo, up 47% on 2021 R1 making it the highest rating AFL Round 1 of all-time and the number two rating regular season AFL round of all-time.
The Melbourne Demons v Western Bulldogs season opener saw an average audience on Foxtel and Kayo of 470,000, up 28% on the 2021 AFL season opener.
The game was the highest rating AFL regular season match of all-time on subscription television, up 6% on the previous highest rating regular AFL season match (R12 2021).