Business of Media roundup
As Hubbl boss departs, Foxtel Group restructures again
The head of Foxtel’s new streaming aggregator Hubbl has quit six months after the launch of the service, posing new challenges for the media business as it overhauls its reporting structure, and the owners search for a buyer, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Hubbl managing director Les Wigan (pictured above) left last month, the second senior executive departure at Foxtel in as many months. Amanda Laing, chief content officer and head of streaming service Binge, left the business last week. Wigan has taken up an advisory role at Venu, Fox Corp’s new sports streaming joint venture with Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros Discovery in the US.
But Hubbl sales have fallen short of weekly targets, according to three people with knowledge of initial figures, but who are not authorised to speak publicly.
Foxtel reorganised its corporate structure in mid-2023 before the launch of Hubbl, splitting the company into four divisions.
A subscription-TV division housing the legacy Foxtel business was to be led by former Fox and Sky executive Hilary Perchard. A streaming sports and advertising division with Kayo was to be led by Julian Ogrin, while the entertainment division housing Binge was assigned to Amanda Laing. Wigan was appointed to lead the aggregation (Hubbl) division. The four executives were to report into chief executive Patrick Delany.
Now, after the exit of Wigan in August and Laing last week, significant power has been handed to two executives, with two divisions reporting directly to Delany. Perchard has absorbed responsibility for Hubbl, and Laing’s duties have been split between the two remaining executives.
See also: Hubbl in market: Is the ‘quantum leap in entertainment tech’ living up to the hype?
Revealed: The TV presenter looking to take on Zali Steggall in Warringah
A popular television presenter and endurance swimmer has set her sights on being the Liberal Party’s candidate to take on Zali Steggall in Warringah at the next federal election, reports 2GB’s Chris O’Keefe in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Jaimee Rogers has officially lodged her nomination forms with the Liberal Party, intending to win the once blue-ribbon electorate back for the first time since 2019.
The mother of two is best known for more than a decade with Tabcorp, where she was a member of the Big Sports Breakfast team on Sky Sports Radio, hosted television programs, and appeared frequently on horse racing broadcasts during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Rogers competed in breaststroke at the Sydney 2000 Olympic trials and successfully swam 35 kilometres across the English Channel in 2022, raising $75,000 for the mental health charity Gotcha4Life.
A member of the Cammeray branch, Rogers joined the Liberal Party three years ago.
News Brands
The future of News Breakfast? Not as simple as ABC
Only a few months ago, incoming ABC chair Kim Williams joined RN Breakfast to discuss the company’s future, pointing out that the ABC must maintain “contemporary relevance”. It was the latest in a long line of headline-snatching statements from Williams, but one that seems especially weighty following Tony Armstrong’s departure from News Breakfast on Tuesday morning, reports Nine Publishing’s Thomas Mitchell.
Armstrong has been with the ABC since 2020, when he started as a fill-in sports presenter.
Armstrong’s departure from News Breakfast comes almost a month after former host Lisa Millar left the show. Journalist Bridget Brennan replaced Millar alongside Michael Rowland, who has hosted the show since 2010. He has also hinted that his exit may be on the horizon.
Earlier this month, Rowland spoke with fellow ABC alumni and former News Breakfast co-host Virginia Trioli on her podcast, You Don’t Know Me, admitting he was looking for a “less intense” role.
In a statement to this masthead, ABC confirmed News Breakfast would return in 2025 but would not comment on the line-up. Armstrong is one person who wouldn’t be shocked at a shake-up.
‘Honestly over nothing’: What really happened in Georgie Gardner altercation
It is the TV moment that has the industry talking with newsreader Georgie Gardner at the centre of chatter, report News Corp’s Jonathon Moran and Briana Domjen.
Contrary to reports an altercation with a junior producer was sparked by an autocue issue, Confidential understands it was in fact a news story that was “dropped” last minute, midway through the bulletin that caught Gardner off guard.
Once cameras stopped rolling, it is understood tense words were spoken on the studio floor between the veteran broadcaster and a junior producer, with Nine now investigating the incident.
One staffer, who did not want to be named, said no swearing or yelling was heard in the studio. A second ‘discussion’ about the mishap is believed to have taken place in the newsroom after the bulletin.
“It was honestly over nothing,” said one observer.
Television
Classic Aussie TV show has been brought back from the dead
It is the TV gig people dream of having – Aussie travel show The Great Outdoors is back after a 12 year break, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
A group of new familiar faces are on board for the revamped, reimagined version of the much loved Aussie travel and lifestyle series that last aired in 2012.
Teigan Nash, Phil Burton and Kimberley Busteed are some of the presenters on board.
Seven’s The Great Outdoors, a rival to Nine’s Getaway, was a fixture on Australian television from 1993 when it first launched until it was axed in 2009.
Now, the new season returns to Seven from Saturday October 5 at 7pm.
Weekend Sunrise weather presenter James Tobin is also part of the crew, alongside Lee Carseldine and Chris Parsons.
Producer and former ABC Head of Children’s TV has died
Tim Brooke-Hunt, a producer and former ABC Head of Children’s TV, has died after a long illness, reports TV Tonight.
One of Australia’s leading producers of children’s television content, he joined the ABC in 2007 as the Executive Head of Children’s Content for ABC TV and became Controller of Children’s in 2010.
In these roles, Brooke-Hunt led the launch of the ABC3 for school-age kids and the re-launch of pre-school channel ABC4Kids. He was also responsible for the ABC’s Educational programs and online content for children, including two dedicated portals. He left the ABC in 2013.
He also worked for Beyond International and the Yoram Gross Studios before starting his own company, Sticky Pictures and played a leading role in establishing the Asian Animation Summit.
Two items about the new Netflix series Nobody Wants This at Nine Publishing:
Bracing authenticity makes this a show romcom fans will want
From the moment they meet, it’s clear that Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Seth Brody) are made for each other. Despite their differences, reports Debi Enker.
She’s an agnostic podcaster who hosts a series about sex and the trials of modern relationships with her sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe). Breezily describing themselves as “slutty singles”, each has a history of disappointing hook-ups.
He’s a rabbi at a liberal Los Angeles synagogue who’s just ended a long-standing relationship with a nice Jewish girl regarded by his family and friends as a perfect match. By his own admission, he can “play up the Torah bad-boy vibe” when required: he’ll smoke dope and swear, he flirts and he’s quick with a snappy comeback line. Known among the teens at his temple as the “hot rabbi”, he’s a man of God, but not quite the forbidden fruit of Fleabag’s “hot priest”.
Nobody Wants This propels viewers into classic romcom territory, a rarefied and often-elusive space, especially on TV.
Nobody Wants This is a rare gem: a funny romcom with serious stakes
Karl Quinn’s four-star review for Nine Publishing:
When Noah (Adam Brody) meets Joanne (Kristen Bell) at a dinner party, he asks the host, “Is she Jewish at all?” There’s not a Jewish bone in her body, replies Ashley (Sherry Cola). “Unless you put one in her.”
It’s that kind of lightly smutty sass that makes this romcom about the star-cross’d lovers – one a hot rabbi, the other a shiksa goddess – such a delight. That and the undeniable chemistry between the leads, who have been real-life pals for years.
Created by Erin Foster, this 10-episode series draws heavily from her own experience. Like Joanne, she hosted a dating podcast with her sister, fell for a Jewish guy, faced enormous resistance to their pairing, but found a way through it. The course of true love never did run smooth, but she stayed with it, eventually converting to Judaism and marrying music industry executive Simon Tikhman.
Ryan Murphy defends ‘Monsters’ after Erik Menendez criticism
Ryan Murphy is defending his Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story after one of its main subjects, Erik Menendez, criticized the project, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
“I think it’s interesting that he’s issued a statement without having seen the show,” the co-creator of the Monsters anthology told Entertainment Tonight on Monday. Murphy was speaking while on a New York red carpet for the premiere of another show he’s launching this month, Grotesquerie on FX. “It’s really, really hard, if it’s your life, to see your life up onscreen.”
Since its release last week, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has been capturing the news cycle. The true-crime drama from Murphy and Ian Brennan chronicles the case of real-life brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez. It’s currently the No. 1 show on Netflix in the U.S.
Erik, in his statement, had expressed his disappointment with both Murphy and Netflix for how Murphy “shaped his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.”
Sports Media
Channel 7 and Triple M commentator Luke Darcy quits the media
Channel 7 and Triple M commentator Luke Darcy is walking away from the media, report News Corp’s Scott Gullan and Alice Coster.
The former Western Bulldogs captain is set to pull up stumps following the Grand Final to focus on his family’s flourishing business empire.
Darcy has been one of the most versatile and respected media figures over the past 15 years, holding a number of different gigs including hosting the Hot Breakfast on Triple M with Eddie McGuire for 11 years.
The 49-year-old has been one of Seven’s stars since 2011 whether in the commentary box or hosting roles on Talking Footy and the 2020 Olympics. He has also worked on some of the network’s lifestyle offerings, co-hosting on the House of Wellness.
Darcy’s shock exit comes as a huge shake-up of the football media landscape with a number of big names switching networks.
Seven needs to clear some space in the coffers after new sport boss Chris Jones’ audacious poaching raid on rival Channel 9, signing Footy Classified panellists Kane Cornes and Caroline Wilson.
Eddie McGuire’s threat on Channel 7’s poaching raid
Eddie McGuire says that “legal action may be around the place” in the wake of the mass exodus of identities from Channel 9 to Channel 7, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
Kane Cornes has already confirmed his defection and it emerged commentator Caroline Wilson is jumping ship from Nine too.
It’s been reported Wilson remains under contract with Nine until December 2024 which includes a restraint clause so she couldn’t begin with Seven until midway through 2025.
McGuire, speaking at the Carbine Club Lunch at Crown, said: “That was yesterday (Cornes and Wilson), today Luke Darcy is gone and they want Rebecca Maddern’s head for a quip (she made) last night at the (Brownlow) so it all changes quickly.”