Business of Media
ARN Media was ‘not a good investment for us’, says Allan Gray
A major investor in ARN Media – the owner of FM stations including KIIS and Gold – said the company had failed to deliver decent investment returns, prompting the sale of its entire shareholdings last week, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
Allan Gray’s chief investment officer Simon Mawhinney told The Australian on Sunday that it was the right time for the firm to offload its entire stake.
“We had been on the record for a long time saying we wanted to exit ARN,” he said.
“We’ve been a shareholder in ARN Media for some time and things haven’t transpired the way we had hoped for, it hasn’t been a particularly good investment for us.
“While we see the value in the company we think the path to crystallising that value is unclear from the perspective and shareholders and we felt this was a good time to pass the baton on to other shareholders.”
Samuel Terry emerges as ARN Media kingmaker with 16pc stake
Samuel Terry Asset Management, the activist investment firm which has called for the breakup of AMP, have become the largest shareholder in ARN Media, the ASX-listed company that owns the KIIS radio networks including The Kyle and Jackie O Show, reports The AFR’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
In a series of transactions on Friday, Samuel Terry Asset Management spent $15 million increasing its stake from 7.4 per cent to some 16 per cent.
The stake, which sources with knowledge of the trade said came from Allan Gray, takes Samuel Terry above ARN’s other major shareholders News Corp, Seven West Media, Grant Broadcasters and Spheria Asset Management.
Murdoch family fights attempt to have legal battle televised
The Murdochs are fighting an attempt to televise their Succession-style legal battle in a row over the family’s right to privacy, reports the London Telegraph in an item republished in The AFR.
Rupert Murdoch and his children are preparing for a blockbuster two-week trial that is likely to determine the future direction of the family’s media empire.
the trial, which begins in Nevada on Tuesday, could itself hit the small screen after a petition was filed to allow the proceedings to be televised.
Alexander Falconi, a software engineer and legal activist, has launched an attempt to unseal the court case and allow cameras into the courtroom.
In legal documents filed with the Second Judicial District Court, which were first reported by Puck, Falconi argued that the press has a “constitutional right of access” to view the proceedings, citing the US First Amendment.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison is Network Ten’s new owner
Paramount has agreed to be acquired in a deal led by David Ellison and his independent film and TV company, Skydance Media, reports The AFR’s Sam Buckingham-Jones. The Ellisons, and their partner, RedBird Capital Partners, will buy National Amusements for $US2.4 billion and invest more than $US6 billion to acquire Paramount shares and reduce the company’s debt.
Paramount owns Ten, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, streaming service Paramount+ and Paramount Pictures, the Hollywood studio behind Titanic and Top Gun.
See also: Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison to control Paramount Global after financial deal done
Former Channel 7 reporter Robert Ovadia drops legal action against Seven Network
Sydney journalist Robert Ovadia has abruptly dropped legal action against his former employer the Seven Network, just one month after he took the company to court, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
Ovadia launched action in the Federal Court in August against Seven and its director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie, following allegations levelled against him of inappropriate conduct.
Ovadia worked at Seven for 23 years and was stood down before eventually being sacked in June over alleged inappropriate behaviour, including emails exchanged four years ago between him and a younger former Seven female employee.
Ovadia engaged high-profile lawyer John Laxon to represent him who on Friday said his client had ceased legal action for “personal reasons.”
“While he strongly rejects allegations of serious misconduct made against him, the emotional and financial toll of proceeding with legal action is something his family can no longer bear and I entirely understand his position,” Laxon said.
Ex-Ten reporter makes big legal move in battle with network
Ex-Ten reporter Tegan George has settled with the network after she sued over trauma she said she suffered covering the horrific 2019-20 bushfires, reports News Corp Sydney court reporter Steve Zemek.
George filed the lawsuit in the ACT Supreme Court, claiming negligence and a breach of duty of care.
She says she felt under threat while covering the fires in southern NSW, including Bermagui where she says she was sent even after it had been evacuated.
George said she was left unable to work due to trauma and had claimed damages.
However George and Ten this week reached an out-of-court settlement.
Ten had denied any claim of negligence. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, George is still locked in a separate lawsuit with Ten in the Federal Court.
She has sued under the Fair Work Act, and has claimed the “bullying” culture at the network’s Canberra bureau had reduced Ms George’s “standing and reputation” as a journalist.
Music journalist’s life work gets winning bid over $300,000 at auction
A property developer and drummer who bought journalist Glenn A. Baker’s collection of 80,000 records and CDs will put it on permanent display at the $235 million entertainment precinct he’s building on NSW’s Lake Macquarie, reports The AFR’s Michael Bailey.
Winarch Capital director and founder Paul Lambess was among a handful of bidders at last week’s online auction for Baker’s collection, which in addition to the 50,000 vinyl records includes 30,000 CDs and a trove of music memorabilia amassed by the music guru over 60 years.
Lambess will now truck the collection from a western Sydney storage facility to a 1000-square-metre warehouse at Cedar Mill, his development on the former Morriset Golf Course on Lake Macquarie.
Due to open in 2026, it will include a 30,000-seat amphitheatre customised for live music, as well as a food precinct, hotel and Australia’s largest aquatic play park.
After nine years on the board and $2.2m, what has Todd Sampson done for Qantas?
He’s the longest-serving board member with Qantas and perhaps the most controversial, reports Robyn Ironside in The Australian.
Former advertising agency chief executive and television presenter Todd Sampson is in his 10th year on the airline’s board – a position that has earned him more than $2.2m – after narrowly surviving a push to oust him at last year’s AGM.
Appointed in early 2015, the Canadian-born Australian had just finished up as CEO of Leo Burnett where he was credited with establishing a “people first culture”.
He’s the longest-serving board member with Qantas and perhaps the most controversial.
He was re-elected in 2017, 2019 and 2021 with more than 98 per cent of shareholders’ votes each time. But in 2023, with the Qantas brand very much on the nose and several proxy advisory firms recommending against his reappointment, Sampson garnered only 66 per cent of votes.
Friend and Gruen contributor Dee Madigan said the “incredibly bright” Sampson had been “unfairly maligned”.
“I think people love to hate on someone and I think he’s copped it completely unfairly compared to other people who should’ve had much more of a say in it, including the people employed within Qantas to look after the brand. That was literally their job, not a board member’s job,” she said.
Television
‘It was difficult and at times tense’: My interview with Elle Macpherson
Elle didn’t want to focus too much on her breast cancer in our interview. That was the message we got beforehand, writes Tracy Grimshaw at nine.com.au about her 60 Minutes interview with Elle Macpherson.
She’d written her book to help other women navigate life’s challenges by sharing how she’d navigated hers.
It was her journey from her head to her heart, she said, and how ultimately love is everything.
Breast cancer was just two chapters out of 18 and there was lots else to talk about, we were told.
Right, good luck with that Elle.
For one thing, she’d kept it a secret for seven years, so it was a big disclosure from a woman not in the habit of making big disclosures.
And the second thing was that after her lumpectomies, she spurned all other conventional cancer protocols and took herself to Arizona for eight months of holistic treatment, which she believes has healed her.
You can’t just gloss over all that and get back to the part where love is everything.
TV station once owned by Rupert Murdoch – NWS9 Adelaide – turns 65!
65 years ago, on September 5, 1959, Adelaide’s first television station, NWS9, went to air, live from the Tynte Street, North Adelaide studios, reports TV Tonight.
OG kid’s character Humphrey B. Bear paid a visit to the station now in Pirie Street to cut the cake with station staff.
Originally owned by News Limited’s Rupert Murdoch (hence the “NWS”), Nine were pioneers of television broadcasting in South Australia.
Nine was very lucky to make it to air on September 5 due to a fire on June 30 that destroyed the studios and props bay. The heat from the fire warped many of the remaining roof beams, and the builders and engineers worked around the clock to get everything ready.
Northern Pictures wins two Creative Emmy Awards for Love on the Spectrum U.S.
Australian production company, Northern Pictures has won two Creative Emmy Awards for Love On The Spectrum U.S., reports TV Tonight.
Co-created by Karina Holden and Cian O’Clery, Northern Pictures took home the Outstanding Casting For A Reality Program and Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program categories, beating off serious competition from the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Squid Game: The Challenge, The Amazing Race, The Golden Bachelor, The Traitors and Welcome to Wrexham.
It was also nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing For An Unstructured Reality Program and Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.
This marks five Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the series following 2022 wins.
Karina Holden, Head of Factual for Northern Pictures, Co-creator and Executive Producer said: “It’s an incredible feeling for our cast and crew to be acknowledged by the Academy here in Hollywood. We had a big contingent of Australians on the red carpet, with our producing and post team able to travel from Sydney to be here for the Awards. Love on the Spectrum U.S. cast members Abbey, David and Dani were also given the honour to present an award on-stage tonight, which was wonderful to experience their excitement and joy. This week comes just as we are wrapping up the filming on Season 3, so it’s quite a way to celebrate!”
Sports Media
Could another Seven News veteran be ready to depart the main stage?
One of sport’s most sought-after TV gigs could soon be up for grabs in Melbourne. The Australian reports that former Essendon champion turned Channel 7 sports presenter Tim Watson’s contract is up at the end of the year and word is he’s already started telling people he’s ready to hang up his boots.
The 63-year-old has been reading Seven’s 6pm sports news on weeknights since 2013 but insiders say he is well and truly ready to pass the baton on to someone else.
And there’s no shortage of ex-footy folks who will be vying for the plum job.
It’s expected that once Watson does depart, another former AFL champion will take over. Names being bandied about at Seven include Geelong legend Joel Selwood and former Richmond star Trent Cotchin.
Rival sports presenter, Nine’s Tony Jones, laid into Watson on the AFL Sunday Footy Show at the weekend, attacking him for spruiking Seven News’s “exclusive, unrestricted access” to the AFL. He highlighted that claim by airing grabs featuring Seven chief football writer Mitch Cleary and journalist Blake Johnson both reporting from outside the MCG, showing that the station had no “exclusive” access at all.
UFC host Melissa Leong shares shocking jujitsu injuries
Melissa Leong took to Instagram on the weekend to display the consequences of getting into the ring to participate in a fight, reports News Corp’s Merryn Johns.
The former MasterChef Australia judge, 42, posted pics to her Instagram stories showing the gruesome purple bruising she sustained on her right arm after taking part in a round of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).
The food influencer and critic has 374k followers on the social media platform. Leong lifted up her arm in the selfie to reveal deep bruising and captioned the pic, “Gotta start somewhere! Thank you to everyone who rolled with me at BJJ this week. Learning comes with takeaways,” she wrote, followed by a cry-laughing emoji.
In a second image, Leong smiled and winked as she posed with friends after the mixed martial arts (MMA) adventure. Leong is a fan of MMA fighting and recently became host of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) Week.
Despite her shock axing from MasterChef Australia, Leong still keeps a foot in food journalist, hosting new show Dessert Masters.