Business of Media
Ex-Seven chief James Warburton, CVC Emerging Companies ink media deal
The AFR’s Street Talk reports the $120 million private equity firm CVC has taken a minority stake in Australian business Boost Media alongside former Seven West Media chief executive James Warburton.
Warburton will become a strategic partner on the Boost Media investment representing CVC, which now has a 30 per cent stake in the company.
Boost Media was founded in 2007 by former Triple M Network general manager and 2GB chief executive George Buschman. The media agency, which has offices in Sydney and Dubai, runs campaigns to sell excess advertising inventory on behalf of major media brands such as News Corp, Nine Entertainment and Nova Entertainment.
Hubbl gives customers $25 credit after massive hardware failure
It’s not been a great 24 hours for the team at Hubbl with all their customers victims of a massive software failure that rendered the Hubbl Glass TV and Hubbl boxes useless in the lead up to one of the biggest sporting weekends this year, reports Trevor Long at EFTM.
The outage appears to be based on a software update globally affecting Sky in the UK and Hubbl here in Australia.
Teams were relatively quick to establish a fix late Friday afternoon with a manual restoration working for most people.
Hubbl had hoped an overnight wave of updates would restore all other devices, unfortunately that took longer than expected but should now be working for all boxes.
As a gesture of thanks and in expressing their apologies for the outage, Hubbl has credited all users with $25 on their Hubbl account which will be used against your next Hubbl billed apps, or for a Hubbl billed subscription or pay per view event in the next 12 months.
Murdoch’s REA ups offer for Rightmove to nearly £5.9bn
REA Group has made a second takeover proposal for Britain’s largest property listings company Rightmove, valuing the business at close to £5.9bn, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the Financial Times.
REA’s bid valued the FTSE 100 group at nearly 750p per share, the people said, marking a roughly 7 per cent increase from its previous offer.
Last week Rightmove said it had rejected the initial cash-and-shares bid from REA as being “wholly opportunistic”, and that it fundamentally undervalued Rightmove and its future prospects.
REA, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, said its initial proposal valued Rightmove’s shares at 705p, a 27 per cent premium to the UK company’s share price before the Australian company’s interest was made public.
Seven West Media stokes tension behind the scenes at Seven Group
Seven Group owns a 40 per cent stake in Seven West Media, the owner of free-to-air broadcaster Seven Network and The West Australian newspaper group. Seven’s TV station may have given the company its name, but it is increasingly irrelevant to the group’s financial fortunes, reports The AFR’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
When Seven West went public in 2011, it owned publisher Pacific Magazines, had a digital joint venture with Yahoo, and was worth $3 billion. Seven Group had a 33 per cent stake. Falling revenues and audiences shifting to online streaming services and social media have eroded the once-powerful empire. It is now valued about $260 million.
Seven West accounts for just 0.6 per cent of the Seven Group assets. But, right now, it’s causing 99 per cent of its headaches.
Statement from ABC managing director David Anderson: Independent Review
The outgoing managing director of the ABC, David Anderson, release this statement at the end of last regarding recording claims edits made to audio on a news story:
A series of allegations and concerns have been raised regarding a September 2022 ABC News online article and 7.30 story regarding operations by the 2nd Commando Regiment during a 2012 deployment in Afghanistan, which included helmet cam footage captured by the commandos.
An issue with the audio on a video accompanying the online story was first brought to the attention of ABC News last week and it immediately looked into the claims. Based on preliminary inspection, an editing error in the audio was identified and we have removed the video. This error should not have occurred.
Other allegations have subsequently been made about the ABC’s reporting and use of the helmet cam footage, including how it was edited in the 7.30 broadcast.
It has now come to my attention that in November 2022, ABC Legal was sent a letter raising concerns about the audio editing. Regrettably, at no point was this letter, or the information in the letter, disseminated to ABC News.
The ABC is subject to the highest scrutiny, as it should be, given the trust the public places in it. Trust in the ABC has been built over time by providing outstanding journalism, upholding the strongest editorial standards and being transparent with the public about how we do that. The ABC is committed to maintaining that trust.
I am now commissioning an independent review of the issues that have been raised with the online and broadcast story to fully understand what has occurred and make any necessary recommendations.
The public interest issues raised by the stories remain valid. The ABC is removing the full online article and associated video content until further notice.
Further information on the review will be provided and I will give an update on the findings at an appropriate time.
I will be providing an update regarding who will heading up the independent review in the coming days.
Anna Murdoch told me succession would bring heartbreak. How right she was
Nearly 25 years ago, I travelled to a place I never thought I’d visit for a magazine I never thought I’d write for to interview a woman I never thought would talk. Not to a journalist anyway, writes Davis Leser in Nine newspapers.
The woman was Anna Murdoch, the Scottish-born second wife of Rupert and mother to Elisabeth, Lachlan and James, whose nearly 31 years of marriage to the world’s most powerful media mogul had exploded in spectacular fashion three years earlier.
Now, she wanted to correct the record because the announcement of her marriage break-up in April 1998 by gossip columnist Liz Smith in the Murdoch-owned New York Post had assured readers the separation had been “amicable” – so amicable that Anna was going to remain a non-executive director of the News Corporation board.
It was bunkum. The separation was far from good-natured. According to Anna, her former husband had not only lied about his affair, he’d dismissed her – from both board and marriage – in ruthless fashion.
News Brands
Channel 7 Queensland news director Michael Coombes confirms departure
After weeks of speculation, Channel 7 news director Michael Coombes has made a shock announcement after he resurfaced on social media enjoying some time on the Whitsundays, report News Corp’s Tayla Couacaud and Georgia Clelland.
Michael Coombes, who has run the Brisbane and Gold Coast newsrooms since June 2023, had been absent for two weeks.
In an email viewed by The Courier-Mail, Coombes addressed the speculation and said he will not be renewing his contract with the network.
He also dismissed rumours about the “abrupt” family holiday to the Whitsundays.
“I would like to share with you all some personal news and set the record straight on a couple of things,” Coombes said.
“My family trip to the Whitsundays was neither abrupt, nor unexplained. It had been planned for a long time. We’ve actually twice delayed that holiday for various reasons. It’s also my first break in nine months.”
Coombes took over as Queensland news director from Neil Warren when he assumed a similar role at 7News Sydney.
Since then, 7News Queensland has been plagued by upheaval, including the brutal axing of key staff in a cost-cutting measure.
Network 10 in ‘bullying tactics’ over $2m legal fees: Bruce Lehrmann
Bruce Lehrmann has accused Network 10 of employing “bullying tactics” to stop him from filing an appeal against the landmark civil judgment that found he raped Brittany Higgins, saying the network is unfairly forcing him to pay their multi-million dollar legal bill despite the fact he is on Centrelink, reports The Australian’s Ellie Dudley.
The former Liberal staffer, in a new submission filed on Thursday, said the Federal Court should temporarily stay judge Michael Lee’s orders that he pay Ten’s $2 million legal fees until the outcome of his appeal is finalised.
In the submission, compiled by lawyer Zali Burrows, Lehrmann argued he “cannot afford” to pay the hefty bill because he has been receiving government benefits since January 2022. He also said Ten came to the proceedings with “eyes wide open as to costs”.
Jason Steger signs off from Nine Publishing’s Sydney and Melbourne newspapers
On his final outing at Nine Publishing, Jason Steger – books editor at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, wrote the Editor’s Letter column in the Spectrum section on Saturday.
Steger is the latest senior writer to head for the exit at the business.
“Today’s book pages are the last I will produce. After many years, yesterday was my final day, Steger told readers.
“The book was supposed to die, killed off by the ebook, but that didn’t happen. But publishers did lift their game and publish more and better. And Australia is lucky to be blessed with so many great bookshops.
“All I can do now is thank writers, publishers, publicists, booksellers, reviewers and my colleagues here for making my job the best one in the world.”
Social Media
They have 31m followers – but you’ve never heard of these YouTube superstars
They are (arguably) bigger than Beyonce, The Beatles or Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and reach 60 million different people every month with children’s hit Baby Shark, nursery rhymes and their own songs. Yet somehow, Bounce Patrol flies under the radar, reports The AFR’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Working with a green screen out of an unassuming brick building in south-east Melbourne, the five members of the children’s performance group would be instantly recognisable to many Australians aged between about two and four.
Alyssa, Jackson, Will, Rachel and Jacinta – Bounce Patrol – have Australia’s biggest account on YouTube, the Google-owned video platform, with 30.7 million subscribers and a combined 23.6 billion video views. Meanwhile, Beyonce has 27.4 million subscribers, Modi has 25.5 million and The Beatles have 8.5 million. Sesame Street has 24.1 million.
“They’re bigger than The Wiggles, but you’ve never bloody heard of them,” says Ant McCormack, the co-founder of creator agency Changer. In fact, Bounce Patrol has done a collaboration with The Wiggles (who have 3.95 million subscribers), and it is unclear who benefits more – Bounce Patrol or The Wiggles.
Sports Media
Record TV audience tipped for non-Victorian grand final Swans v Lions
Channel Seven is bracing for a potential AFL grand final ratings bonanza that will engage the New South Wales and Queensland growth markets, on top of the traditional football states, reports Nine Publishing’s Marc McGowan.
The Sydney Swans-Brisbane Lions decider has the added South Melbourne-Fitzroy nostalgia, with Seven already trumpeting that all eight finals this year rated No.1 in their timeslots for all people, 25 to 54s, and 16 to 39s.
Seven West Media’s director of sport, Chris Jones, told this masthead that having Queensland and NSW clubs in the grand final was “unreal” and made the event “truly a national broadcast”.
“Imagine how good it would be if it was in prime time [at night], which clearly is the preference?” Jones said.
Two of the best-performing grand finals as far as TV ratings were the 2005 match between Sydney and West Coast, and last year’s clash between Brisbane and Collingwood, which both reached a national viewership of almost 3.4 million, excluding streaming figures.
An AFL spokesperson told this masthead the Saturday preliminary final was played at 5.15pm for the second straight year, after stating at 4.45pm in 2022, to allow interstate teams to travel home on Saturday night.
See also: Seven’s new sports boss: Chris Jones details AFL, cricket plans and a whole lot more
Jim Maxwell’s short-pitched delivery to the ABC over sports coverage
Australian radio’s human soundtrack of summer Jim Maxwell, who last year marked 50 years as a cricket commentator with the ABC, is one of the public broadcaster’s most treasured and authoritative voices, report The Australian’s Sophie ELsworth and James Madden.
So what he says is worth listening to.
In recent weeks, Maxwell has taken to social media to offer his forthright views on the ABC’s diminished sports coverage.
The regular failure of ABC Radio to report results of Australia’s mainstream sports is also a bugbear of many listeners, if social media is anything to go by.
And in the context of recent internal criticisms of the skewed priorities of the ABC News department, it raises the question as to whether the same level of scrutiny will be applied to the broadcasters’ sports division.
Has Maxwell breached the ABC’s (supposedly) strict social media policy with his criticism of the organisation’s sports coverage?
Will he be disciplined by the ABC’s social media police? And how do you discipline a journalist of Maxwell’s standing and experience if what he says is demonstrably true?