Business of Media
BBC Studios posts record annual financials as production sales jump 56 percent
BBC Studios, the U.K. public broadcaster’s commercial arm, reported record full-year financials, including its highest-ever revenue and earnings, on Tuesday, saying this “positions the business well for future growth,” reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai.
The company unveiled key strategic and financial performance data for the fiscal year 2021/2022, with overall revenue, or sales, reaching £1.630 billion ($1.93 billion), up 30 percent compared with the £1.255 billion recorded in the previous financial year “thanks to a very healthy year for production and (TV channels group) UKTV.”
The growth was driven by a 56 percent increase in production sales. “Content sales were strong at over £400 million ($473 million), thanks to key brands like Doctor Who and Top Gear, unscripted landmarks The Universe and Green Planet, alongside hits from our indie partners, including The North Water, This Is Going To Hurt and The Outlaws,” BBC Studios said.
Twitter sues Musk after he tries backing out of $44 billion deal
Twitter sued Elon Musk on Tuesday to force the billionaire to complete his $44 billion acquisition of the company, setting the stage for a prolonged legal battle over the fate of the social media service, report The New York Times‘ Kate Conger and Lauren Hirsch.
Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter but declared last week that he intended to walk away from the deal. To push Musk to abide by the acquisition agreement, Twitter sued him in Chancery Court in Delaware. The court will determine whether he remains on the hook for the purchase or whether Twitter violated its obligation to provide Musk with data he requested, entitling him to walk away.
“Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests,” the company said in the suit. “Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.”
Agencies
The Australian Marketing Institute announces the appointment of Bronwyn Powell as CEO
The Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) has announced the appointment of Bronwyn Powell as chief executive officer.
Powell steps into the role bringing with her more than 30 years of marketing, leadership experience, as well as transforming and positioning brands for growth. Her most recent role was as marketing director for Mars Foods Australia.
Andrew Thornton, AMI Chair, said of Powell’s appointment: “The Board of the AMI is delighted that Bronwyn has chosen to join the AMI as our new CEO.
“Bronwyn brings to this role extensive experience in marketing leadership, in particular, more than 30 years’ experience in transforming and positioning brands for growth.
“At the heart of her success has been her ability to develop innovative new concepts and strategies that connect with consumers and change businesses”.
Entertainment
YouTube removes internet’s favourite background music over bogus copyright claim
The internet’s favourite music livestream, which provided more than two years of “lo-fi” background music for hundreds of millions of people studying or working late into the night, was removed by YouTube on Sunday night after a Malaysian music label lodged a fake copyright dispute, reports Nine Publishing’s Anthony Segaert.
Two live videos, “beats to relax/study to” and “beats to sleep/chill to”, featured 24/7 streams of low-fidelity, instrumental hip-hop music, and gained close to 800 million listeners since the channel Lofi Girl began streaming the videos February 2020, although earlier iterations had been posted since 2015.
Lofi Girl, founded by a French creator known only as Dimitri, owns the rights to all the music it plays via its music label, Lofi Records. But YouTube removed both streams from its platform after it received a takedown notice from FMC Music, which claimed the livestream featured one of its tracks. YouTube removed the video and threatened to disable the Lofi Girl channel if it was found to breach copyright again.
Television
Shaun Micallef on his quiz show, Mad As Hell and why Aussies are suspicious of smart people
As much as Shaun Micallef may lament that Australians can be suspicious of smart people, with the brain power of the students on his new quiz show, he’s confident our future is in good hands, reports News Corp’s James Wigney.
“There’s a bit of a sniffy attitude that Australia has about people who know stuff,” he says. “You know, that they’re putting on airs or a bit too big for their britches, or whatever.”
“I think it’s reassuring to see those students are quite young and absolutely, positively know more than I do. If I ever knew half of stuff that we’re talking about, I have forgotten it, but I suspect that I didn’t know it in the first place.”
The Logie-winning comedian and TV host says that idea behind Shaun Micallef’s Brain Eisteddfod – in which three year 11 students from two opposing schools go head-to-head in a format inspired by revered UK quiz show University Challenge – was to create a show that was brimming with positivity and joy and would appeal to the whole family.
MasterChef grand finale: Heston Blumenthal’s appearance sparks concern
Channel 10 has spoken out about Heston Blumenthal’s health after his appearance in the MasterChef Fans & Favourites finale sparked concerns, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
Viewers took to social media to point out he wasn’t himself and appeared “really off” during Tuesday night’s episode, which saw Billie McKay crowned the winner of season 14 against runner-up Sarah Todd.
Earlier, Blumenthal could be seen with a visible limp as he entered the room.
10 has confirmed to news.com.au that the British celebrity chef was simply “recovering from a foot injury”.
MasterChef winner Billie McKay hopes to open restaurant or cafe with prize money
Billie McKay felt double the shock and joy after making history by winning MasterChef for a second time, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
The returning favourite who triumphed in season seven, was handed a near perfect score from the judges to beat another former star Sarah Todd on Tuesday night.
Still passionate about food after growing up on a dairy farm in New South Wales, McKay said she hopes to use the $250,000 prizemoney to open a cafe or restaurant.