Business of Media
Nick Bolton attempts to thwart Southern Cross takeover
Activist investor Nick Bolton will attempt to thwart a tie-up between radio giants Southern Cross Austereo and ARN over claims the latter inadvertently breached the Corporations Act when it bought a stake in its rival, report Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios and Sam Buckingham-Jones.
The deal would involve carving up the two media companies’ assets, creating two new media entities.
But the proposed takeover has already hit a major roadblock. On Wednesday, Southern Cross released correspondence from Takeovers Panel chief executive, Allan Bulman, outlining that Keybridge Capital – which is run by Bolton – believes ARN’s initial purchase of Southern Cross shares was done in breach of the Corporations Act.
What the US has argued in the Google antitrust trial
Since Sept. 12, the Department of Justice and a group of state attorneys general have questioned more than 30 witnesses as they try to prove that Google broke antitrust laws, in a landmark monopoly trial that may affect the power of the technology industry, report The New York Times’ David McCabe, Cecilia Kang and Steve Lohr.
The government is now wrapping up its side in the case — US et al. v. Google — setting the stage for the internet giant to mount its defense starting this week.
Two prime threads have emerged from the government’s case: what it said Google did to illegally maintain its search and search ads monopolies and how those practices harmed consumers and advertisers. We lay out the main arguments.
News Brands
Kerry Stokes’ Seven to make switch to new Docklands digs
Billionaire Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network is poised to shift its Melbourne offices out of a building on the Harbour Esplanade in the Docklands to a new skyscraper being developed by Lendlease, reports The Australian’s Ben Wilmot.
The mooted shift is a win for the under-pressure developer, which is due to open the tower in the Melbourne Quarter precinct next year.
The overall precinct consists of three next-generation office towers, two apartment towers and retail facilities, with the television station to move into the flagship tower.
Television
Eureka appoints Exec VP Programming & Development
Sydney & LA-based Eureka Productions has announced the appointment of David Tibballs as Executive Vice President, Programming and Development, reports TV Tonight.
Tibballs takes up the new position with immediate effect, reporting to Eureka Co-CEOs, Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin.
He will primarily focus on current Unscripted US programming, working closely with SVP, Production and PostProduction Jeanne Petrone-Arzubiaga, while also leading the expansion of the company’s development slate for US networks and platforms.
Hughesy and Kate back together again for reality TV gig on Celebrity Gogglebox
Dave “Hughesy” Hughes has reunited with his former long-term work wife Kate Langbroek for a special TV gig, reports News Corp’s Lisa Woolford.
The pair – who co-hosted Melbourne brekkie radio together for 18 years – are hopping on the couch with a host of other stars for a one-off special edition of Gogglebox Australia to help raise awareness for online youth mental health service ReachOut Australia.
Langbroek was a late call-up to replace Hughes’ real-life wife Holly Ife, who was content to be cooking cupcakes in the background.
Loki director wants audience to use their imagination in season two bike ride
In the third episode of the latest season of Loki, Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson ride a tandem bike, but the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of them in the background was a last-minute idea, reports the ABC’s Thuy Ong.
While the internet had a lot of regrets that there isn’t a longer sequence of the two riding tandem, Kasra Farahani, who directed the episode, said he wanted to keep it purposely low-key.
“We always knew we wanted Owen to find the bike and suggest it and for Loki to say ‘absolutely not,'” Farahani told ABC News.
Sports Media
Rugby World Cup in Australia shifted to avoid clashes with NRL, AFL finals
The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia will start in October for the first time since the tournament was last held in the country in 2003, after World Rugby agreed to move the event to avoid clashes with the NRL and AFL finals, reports Nine Publishing’s Iain Payten.
World Rugby announced the date change, and a historic expansion to 24 teams, as the governing body also voted through a host of new global competitions to begin in 2026, which will include the Wallabies taking on all the Six Nations sides inside a year.