Friday April 17, 2020
GfK Radio Ratings 2020, Survey 2: Highlights + Full Results
Sydney
• Nine’s 2GB, ABC Sydney & Nova Ent’s smoothfm lead market
• Alan Jones, Wendy & Robbie, Kyle & Jackie most popular breakfast
• 2UE 954 returns to survey with music, ABC and 2GB drive leaders
UP: 2GB +1.6
DOWN: Nova -0.7
Read more: Sydney Radio Ratings 2020: GfK Survey 2
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Melbourne
• 3AW and Gold 104.3 on top overall and in breakfast
• 3AW’s Tom Elliott and Nova’s Kate, Tim & Marty drive leaders
UP: SEN, 3AW +0.6
DOWN: Nova 100 -1.1
Read more: Melbourne Radio Ratings 2020: GfK Survey 2
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Brisbane
• Hit105 and 97.3 tied on top; Stav, Abby & Matt win brekky
UP: 4BC +0.9
DOWN: 104.5 Triple M -1.4
Read more: Brisbane Radio Ratings 2020: GfK Survey 2
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Adelaide
• Mix hangs on as Fiveaa lifts, Penbo & Will up 3.4 in brekky
UP: Fiveaa +3.2
DOWN: Hit 107 -0.8
Read more: Adelaide Radio Ratings 2020: GfK Survey 2
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Perth
• Return to status quo as Mix wins, but Nova still breakfast champ
UP: Mix 94.5 +2.5
DOWN: 96FM -1.6
Read more: Perth Radio Ratings 2020: GfK Survey 2
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Magazine subscriptions surge: isubscribe reports record uplift in sales
Read: Retailer’s message to Bauer: ‘Australians still love magazines’
This week, magazine subscription retailer isubscribe is reporting a 29% uplift in sales for March 2020 and is on track to achieve an increase of over 50% in April. Those figures are just for print magazine subscriptions.
Digital subscriptions, typically a much smaller proportion of the overall magazine subscription market, have jumped 134% in volume for March and over 400% in volume as at 15th April. Health titles are experiencing the strongest growth, particularly Women’s Health magazine. The brand is still a Pacific Magazines publication given the impasse between Seven and Bauer over the sale of their magazine titles.
“It’s been a strong end to the first quarter and start of the second, due to the dramatic changes in community and consumer behaviour.” said Hunter Drinan (pictured), managing director, isubscribe.
“Together with additional media spend, particularly TV, there’s increased awareness of our products at a time when customers are wanting to keep their minds and bodies engaged, and they want support and inspiration for the projects they haven’t had time for until now.”
The magazine categories experiencing the strongest uplift on isubscribe are home and garden, kids, lifestyle and health and wellbeing magazines.
“We’ve seen a massive 60-150% increase in sales across those categories in April. The stand out performance has been our puzzle magazine category. While starting from a lower base than the major categories, it’s experienced an almost 300% increase in total sales for March and an over 1400% increase to date for April,” said Drinan.
“Working from home and home schooling also means more screen time in the house. People are seeking more traditional, ‘offline’ forms of entertainment such as reading books and magazines, walking or bike riding in the park.
“We’ve actually seen this trend building in recent years, particularly in relation to kids magazines. Big players are coming into the market to create educational, fun magazine products for kids. National Geographic launched National Geographic Kids in 2016 and it’s been the number one title across our business for over two years.”
Publisher Emprise Group innovates across its print and digital brands
This week the company lauched what it calls the ultimate planning tool for exploring regional Australia, CAMPERX. Hopefully something that consumers will be able to put to good use soon.
Emprise operates a number of brands including Hema Maps, Camper Australia, Caravan World, Trade-A-Boat and Outdoor which each engage within a niche industry segment to connect with and engage consumers.
The Emprise brands deliver content through magazines, books, mobile applications and websites and have over half a million active users interacting with them each month.
The new CAMPERX combines the maps from Hema Maps, a comprehensive list of campsites and caravan parks plus best of breed trip planning and navigation tools.
CAMPERX is the first stand-alone app to be launched off the HemaX platform. HemaX is a technology stack which will allow consumers to access and interact with the richest information (including maps) for regional touring in Australia, on any device.
“For the past five years working in the regional tourism space, I have had people talk to me about the ‘holy grail’ of offline, interactive trip planning supported by rich content. I am very proud to say that HemaX will deliver on that promise and CAMPERX is the first launch of many new products,” Emprise CEO Rob Gallagher said this week.
“The restrictions on travel and the closure of campsites and national parks is something we are acutely aware of and it is having a demonstrable impact on communities, businesses and families around Australia. By launching this week we hope that the app can be used in the comfort of the lounge room to plan the next big adventure, whenever that is safe to do.”
Emprise also announced its Outdoor brand will relaunch its digital channel, www.outdooraustralia.com by leveraging the new HemaX platform. The new site will focus on regular content showcasing regions, experiences and events across regional Australia and will be supported by the best mapping of those areas, provided by Hema Maps, with a renewed focus on off-road and walking tracks.
Emprise revealed Outdoor magazine will not publish its next issue until September 2020. The decision to postpone the production of the product comes off the back of challenging market conditions in the outdoor retailer space, compounded by the impact of COVID-19 in recent times.
“We acquired the Outdoor brand to complement our range of lifestyle brands and provide an aspirational outlet for consumers and brands to connect with,” Gallagher said.
“Many of the consumers we are seeking to reach have shifted their spend to other channels, and so the focus for Outdoor will be to transform the masthead into a digital-first brand seeking to inspire and educate human-powered adventure.”
Outdoor editor Aaron Flanagan added, “Our core proposition as a business is to produce quality and credible content. The team’s ability to execute this to a high standard in the outdoor adventure space is evident in the calibre of the magazine and we see great opportunities continuing this standard into the future.”
TV Guide: Seven, Nat Geo join 10 to screen One World Together at Home
The special will be available to watch on a number of platforms. Recently added to the list in Australia is Seven, 7plus and the National Geographic channel.
One World Together at Home: Australia viewing details
• 4 – 10 am AEST (6 hours) live streaming on major platforms: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Allibaba, Twitch
• 10am – 12 pm AEST (2 hours) live broadcast on TV: Channels 10, Seven and Nat Geo plus simulcast on 10 Play, 7plus and radio on KIIS 1065, KIIS 101.1, 97.3FM Brisbane, Mix 102.3 Adelaide and iHeartRadio
• 6pm MTV Australia and New Zealand
The newly announced artists include Alicia Keys, Amy Poehler, Awkwafina, Camila Cabello, Celine Dion, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, LL COOL J, Lupita Nyong’o, Matthew McConaughey, Oprah Winfrey, Pharrell Williams, Sam Smith, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, Usher and Victoria Beckham. Curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, the artists announced today join a lineup of entertainers who were unveiled last week that includes, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan and Stevie Wonder.
One World: Together At Home will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon of ‘The Tonight Show,’ Jimmy Kimmel of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and Stephen Colbert of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ Friends from Sesame Street will also be on hand to help unify and inspire people around the world to take meaningful actions that increase support for the global COVID-19 response.
Leading up to the global broadcast special, there will be a six hour streamed event, curated from around the world, to support brave healthcare workers doing life-saving work on the front lines. The One World: Together At Home streamed event will reach millions around the world digitally, and will include performances and appearances from Adam Lambert, Andra Day, Angèle, Anitta, Annie Lennox, Becky G, Ben Platt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Black Coffee, Bridget Moynahan, Burna Boy, Cassper Nyovest, Charlie Puth, Christine and the Queens, Common, Connie Britton, Danai Gurira, Delta Goodrem, Don Cheadle, Eason Chan, Ellie Goulding, Erin Richards, FINNEAS, Heidi Klum, Hozier, Hussain Al Jassmi, Jack Black, Jacky Cheung, Jack Johnson, Jameela Jamil, James McAvoy, Jason Segel, Jennifer Hudson, Jess Glynne, Jessie J, Jessie Reyez, John Legend, Juanes, Kesha, Lady Antebellum, Lang Lang, Leslie Odom Jr., Lewis Hamilton, Liam Payne, Lili Reinhart, Lilly Singh, Lindsey Vonn, Lisa Mishra, Lola Lennox, Luis Fonsi, Maren Morris, Matt Bomer, Megan Rapinoe, Michael Bublé, Milky Chance, Naomi Osaka, Natti Natasha, Niall Horan, Nomzamo Mbatha, P.K. Subban, Picture This, Rita Ora, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sebastián Yatra, Sheryl Crow, Sho Madjozi, SOFI TUKKER, SuperM, The Killers, Tim Gunn, Vishal Mishra and Zucchero.
The digital stream will be available on Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo and YouTube.
As part of the One World: Together At Home campaign brands including, Analog Devices, Cisco, Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, State Farm, Target, Teneo, Verizon, Vodafone and WW International, Inc. have supported the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO and regional charities that are working to meet immediate COVID-19-related needs locally.
Mercado on TV: Why Mystery Road will be the best drama of 2020
Mystery Road was the best Aussie drama of 2018. Now it will be the best of 2020. Let’s hope it comes back for 2022. Aaron Pedersen (Det Jay Swan) has another outstanding cast to work with, including Tasma Walton, Gary Sweet and Jada Alberts. Rob Collins is unrecognisable and a blistering performance from Neighbours’ Eve Morey reminds you why she was nominated last year for a Gold Logie.
And let’s not forget the wonderful Swedish actor Sofia Helin (The Bridge) digging up all sorts of dirt. “I love the fact I got a script that said, ‘Woman, aged 30 to 60 years …” she told Nine Entertainment, “Normally it says, ‘Woman, 30 years old, beautiful’. It makes me want to puke.” Producers, take note – look who you can get when you have an open mind.
Filmed in Broome and the Dampier Peninsula. directors Wayne Blair and Warwick Thornton (also cinematographer) make the most of the stunning red desert meeting mangroves at the ocean’s edge. Mystery Road could not be more Aussie and is one of our most iconic exports. Another instant classic.
Thalu (Monday on NITV), about a group of kids outrunning a mystical dust cloud, is yet another indigenous series filmed in WA. It is NITV’s second children’s drama (after Robbie Hood), and a co-production with the ABC, who recently made First Day for ABCME, a beautifully made kids show about a transgender schoolgirl. Thumbs up to both.
Informer 3838 (Monday on Nine) is not from the Underbelly canon, officially, but unofficially, Gyton Grantley and Robert Mammone have made a career out of playing career criminals Carl Williams and Tony Mokbel. There are no media previews for their third pairing and that may be due to legal issues, or maybe because it’s terrible. Sorry, but quality has varied wildly between six series, four telemovies and Fat Tony and Co, the other non-official one. The only certainty is there will be action set in strip clubs with naked girls.
If Underbelly is looking to do another instalment, how about Andrew Bolt and George Pell on Sky News this week wondering if The Vatican, out to punish Pell for uncovering corruption there, could be behind the conspiracy to get him. So that’s Victorian police, the ABC, multiple victims and the Vatican … Underbelly: Cardinal, anyone? However will they be able to weave bare breasts into that?
TV Ratings Thursday March 16 Week 16 2020 (Easter survey break)
Thursday news highlights
Seven News 1,282,000/1,251,000
Nine News 1,098,000/1,091,000
ABC News 923,000
A Current Affair 764,000
7.30 694,000
The Project 419,000/645,000
10 News 480,000/333,000
Sunrise 320,000
Nine News COVID-19 268,000
The Drum 265,000
ABC News Breakfast 256,000
The Latest 236,000
Today 221,000
SBS World News 190,000
The Morning Show 184,000
10: After five nights of week 16 and four nights of MasterChef, 10’s progressive primary share sits on 17.0%, same as Nine’s and just ahead of Seven. Network and Channel 10 are having their best week for some time with MasterChef leading the way with a fourth successive audience over 1m – 1,070,000 last night. The Thursday episode this week was a compelling food challenge where three contestants hoping for immunity this week – Sarah, Callum and Lynton – had to try and keep up with Gordon Ramsay. There was no recipe, you watch had to watch and listen to the master, replicating what he was doing, making sure you finished no later than 10 seconds after he finished plating up. All three made it with Callum winning immunity for one night. It was the end of Gordon Ramsay week, and an episode that will be remembered by many as one of the best MasterChef Australia episodes ever. It helped 10 win the night, it’s third win this week. 10’s combined Thursday channel share was its best since February 2018 and MasterChef had what is its best opening week since 2011.
It was an Endemol Shine Australia double last night as the channel had some great help from Gogglebox with 874,000 the show’s second-best audience ever and the biggest since October 2017.
Nine: Just a 30-minute episode of A Current Affair. Accidental Heroes followed at 7.30pm with 432,000. The Nine COVID-19 late news was then followed by Australian Crime Stories on 192,000.
Seven: Home and Away finished what must be one of its biggest weeks for some time with 685,000 for the Thursday episode. Then it was time for the season final of Pooch Perfect with 316,000 watching. This series has perhaps been the final nail in the coffin for dog lover shows in primetime?
ABC: The Heights did 278,000 and was followed by Grand Designs Australia on 374,000. The first of many screenings of Barrie Cassidy’s One Plus One then did 253,000 for the episode featuring guest Justin Langer.
SBS: Secrets of the Tower of London has proven to be a ratings magnet for the channel. After 334,000 a week ago, episode three of four last night was on 299,000.
Week 16 TV: Thursday
| THURSDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 11.3% | 7 | 15.2% | 9 | 15.3% | 10 | 20.5% | SBS One | 4.4% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.4% | 7TWO | 3.9% | GO! | 3.0% | 10 Bold | 4.3% | VICELAND | 1.5% |
| ABC ME | 0.6% | 7mate | 2.7% | GEM | 2.9% | 10 Peach | 2.5% | Food Net | 1.1% |
| ABC NEWS | 2.0% | 7flix | 1.6% | 9Life | 2.2% | NITV | 0.1% | ||
| 9Rush | 1.0% | SBS World Movies | 1.6% | ||||||
| TOTAL | 16.3% | 23.4% | 24.3% | 27.3% | 8.7% | ||||
| THURSDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 11.0% | 7 | 15.2% | 9 | 14.5% | WIN | 16.3% | SBS One | 4.0% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.9% | 7TWO | 5.4% | GO! | 3.0% | WIN Bold | 5.2% | VICELAND | 1.4% |
| ABC ME | 1.1% | 7mate | 4.0% | GEM | 4.0% | WIN Peach | 2.1% | Food Net | 0.7% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.7% | 7flix (Excl. Tas/WA) | 1.5% | 9Life | 3.0% | Sky News on WIN | 2.6% | NITV | 0.2% |
| SBS Movies | 1.9% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 16.8% | 26.1% | 24.6% | 26.3% | 8.2% | ||||
| THURSDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 86.2% | 13.8% | ||||||||
THURSDAY FTA
- Seven News Seven 1,282,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 1,235,000
- Nine News Nine 1,098,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 1,091,000
- MasterChef Australia 10 1,065,000
- ABC News ABC 923,000
- Gogglebox 10 874,000
- A Current Affair Nine 764,000
- 7.30 ABC 694,000
- Home And Away Seven 685,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 673,000
- The Project 7pm 10 645,000
- Hot Seat Nine 582,000
- 10 News First 10 480,000
- Accidental Heroes Nine 432,000
- The Project 6.30pm 10 419,000
- The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 411,000
- Grand Designs Australia ABC 374,000
- Hot Seat -5pm Nine 339,000
- 10 News First 6pm 10 333,000
Demo Top 5
16-39 Top Five
- MasterChef Australia 10 327,000
- Gogglebox 10 238,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 161,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 154,000
- Seven News Seven 153,000
18-49 Top Five
- MasterChef Australia 10 528,000
- Gogglebox 10 423,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 297,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 283,000
- Seven News Seven 283,000
25-54 Top Five
- MasterChef Australia 10 534,000
- Gogglebox 10 450,000
- Seven News Seven 365,000
- Seven News At 6.30 Seven 365,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 362,000
THURSDAY Multichannel
- NCIS (R) 10 Bold 217,000
- Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 187,000
- Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 180,000
- Death In Paradise 9Gem 170,000
- Hawaii Five-O 10 Bold 170,000
- Father Brown PM 7TWO 157,000
- Bluey ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
- Shaun The Sheep AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 149,000
- Hawaii Five-O (R) 10 Bold 145,000
- Neighbours 10 Peach 140,000
- Go Jetters AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 140,000
- Play School AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 132,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000
- Judge John Deed PM 7TWO 129,000
- Spicks And Specks ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
- Bargain Hunt PM 7TWO 129,000
- PJ Masks PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
- 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown (R) SBS VICELAND 123,000
- Thomas And Friends PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
- Peppa Pig PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
Thursday STV
- The Bolt Report Sky News Live 104,000
- Outback Opal Hunters Discovery Channel 99,000
- Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 87,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 71,000
- Selling Houses Australia Lifestyle Channel 62,000
- Gold Rush: White Water Discovery Channel 59,000
- The Big Bang Theory FOX Funny 56,000
- PML Later Sky News Live 55,000
- Chris Smith Tonight Sky News Live 49,000
- Afternoon Agenda Sky News Live 47,000
- The Big Bang Theory FOX Funny 44,000
- Aussie Mega Mechanics Discovery Channel 43,000
- Escape To The Country Lifestyle Channel 40,000
- The Big Bang Theory FOX Funny 39,000
- Peppa Pig Nick Jr. 39,000
- Beverly Hills: Real Housewives Of… ARENA 39,000
- The Kenny Report Sky News Live 37,000
- Love It Or List It Australia Lifestyle Channel 37,000
- Afternoon Agenda Sky News Live 35,000
- Live: The Late Show With Matty Johns FOX LEAGUE 35,000
Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM
Media News Roundup
Business of Media
Coronavirus: Can New Zealand media survive the pandemic?
But if the Government doesn’t help soon, Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings says New Zealand risks losing its journalists and seeing democracy “go to hell in a handbasket”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has obliterated advertising revenue, which most media here rely on to pay the bills, and occasionally turn a profit.
“Advertising has dropped by at least 50 percent, which probably means $1 billion to $1.5 billion has gone out of the media right now,” Jennings, who led MediaWorks’ 3 News operation for several years, told The AM Show on Thursday.
“Some of the big companies like NZME… Stuff, MediaWorks, they are really in deep cashflow trouble at the moment.”
See also: Journalism in crisis: NZ media bosses at the COVID-19 committee
News Brands
Malcolm Turnbull: News Corporation is like a political party
News Corp operates like a political party, working closely with rightwing politicians to influence policy and elections and to destroy politicians who won’t agree to a partnership with the Murdochs, the former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
“I wasn’t going to run my government in partnership with Rupert or Lachlan Murdoch or their editors, and I knew [News Corp would] resent that,” Turnbull writes in his memoir, which was leaked by The Australian on Thursday.
“It attacks its enemies and protects its friends, as it did [former prime minister Tony] Abbott and as it is today protecting [Scott] Morrison to the point of ignoring big issues of accountability.”
Turnbull says his fatal flaw, according to media barons, was not that he was “too liberal” but his lack of deference and his personal wealth, because all the billionaires liked a politician who depended on them.
Turnbull says he discussed the “vicious personal partisanship” of the Australian and Sky News with Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch many times but they minimised it by claiming the outlets were not influential because they had small audiences.
He said the 2GB broadcasters Alan Jones and Ray Hadley – full of “vanity and megalomania” – loved to berate and bully politicians like him who weren’t “in their pocket”.
Guardian Australia owes Malcolm Turnbull thanks – but not favours
As Turnbull writes, in the seven years we have been operating, Guardian Australia has only rarely endorsed his or his government’s policies.
Since we are a progressive publication and he is a politician of the centre right, that should hardly come as a shock. But his part in our establishment might surprise some who approach relationships between the media and politicians on terms of mutually beneficial transactions. We don’t work that way.
Hugh Riminton: The best newsman you've never heard of quits
In the week Federal Parliament passed $130 billion in emergency jobs funding, a much-loved legend of Channel 10 and the Press Gallery got up, and on busted knees, made his way to the exits.
Tim Sweeney is not a household name but he has seen close up every Prime Minister since Malcolm Fraser.
Every Australian, at some point, will have seen his pictures. Many of the biggest names in political journalism, Laurie Oakes, Kerry O’Brien, Paul Bongiorno, Peter van Onselen and more, have been beneficiaries of his wisdom and his work.
Tim’s departure, at 67, will leave a massive hole. At 10 News he was our last direct link with a time when TV came in two colours – black and white – and news bulletins involved no pictures, just a presenter reciting headlines directly to the camera.
Broadcaster Paul Henry returning to New Zealand TV screens
MediaWorks will screen Rebuilding Paradise with Paul Henry from April 20.
The show is described as “positive yet hard-hitting show, aimed at finding the truth about where we are as a nation as we come out of lockdown and what possibilities lie ahead for us in the future”.
It will be a four-week series screening for 30 minutes, four nights a week at 9.30pm on Three.
Henry said: “This show is about something very important, rebuilding paradise. The pandemic has been bloody awful, but it’s handed us an extraordinary opportunity and it’s an opportunity we’ve proved we’re up for.
“In a few years, I want us to be a country that looks back and says that was a shitty time, but look how well things turned out.
“The glass is half full. We have a fantastic foundation in New Zealand on which we can work together and build a brilliant future. What do we want New Zealand to look like in six months? In 12 months? We get to decide. What a privilege!”
The former Network 10 breakfast host will conduct interviews and cover topics such as business, global impacts on our country, moral conundrums, health, changes to human behaviour and what the future might look like.
Henry’s return is a boost for MediaWorks, which is currently for sale.
Television
Hannah Gadsby’s new special is coming to Netflix in May
Gadsby’s Douglas will drop on May 26. Start marking your calendars, if that’s something you still do.
Gadsby became a global sensation when her stand-up special Nanette was released on Netflix in 2018. All of a sudden, as a country, we quickly and proudly claimed this person so many didn’t even know existed – it is, after all, a great Aussie tradition.
Nanette was hilarious, poignant and profound, a hybrid of stand-up and confessional, an emotional and bruising personal story about her experiences as a gay woman.
Douglas is the show she toured with around the world in 2019, named after her oldest doggo. Netflix quickly snapped up the rights to film and stream it, which will finally come May 26.
MasterChef’s new heart-throb judge Jock Zonfrillo celebrated success alone
The Scottish judge, who has become the Channel 10 show’s breakout star, told The Daily Telegraph lockdown restrictions have kept him from properly celebrating with his family.
Zonfrillo is still filming the reality series in Melbourne while his wife and two children are in their home in the Adelaide Hills.
Social distancing means he can’t hi-five or have a drink with his fellow judges, because after filming for the day, everyone must go straight back to their apartments.
“As a human, social distancing is tough,” he said. “I’m not the only one separated from my family and friends. It’s very, very tough.”
So instead of celebratory drinks, there have been celebratory texts with judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.
Sports Media
State of Origin set to be played over four weeks from July
Whilst there has been a lot of attention on where Origin will be played after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk‘s reluctance for it to be played north of the border this year, one of the more pressing concerns among NRL clubs is when the actual series will be held, especially during a likely shortened season.
The preference is to start the season on May 28 and for three Origin games to be still played on a Wednesday, Sunday and Wednesday night, but over four weeks rather than the usual six weeks.
If Nine want Origin to be played after the season proper, and when there is a better chance of crowds being allowed back into stadiums, the best-of-three series would be played over consecutive weekends.
D-Day for NRL to strike revised TV deal with Nine and Fox Sports
Rugby league’s D-Day arrives on Friday morning when ARLC chairman Peter V’landys finally sits down for his highly-anticipated meeting with Nine CEO Hugh Marks and Fox Sports boss Patrick Delany.
While Nine is said to be hesitant about showing NRL games this season – having already stated publicly it will save $310 million with a cancelled competition – neither Channel 7 or Network Ten appear interested in bailing out their free-to-air rival.
Fox Sports, FFA on path to divorce after A-League instalment not paid
It puts the final three years of the A-League’s broadcast deal in doubt after Football Federation Australia did not receive the near $12 million quarterly sum from Foxtel, the parent company of Fox Sports. Foxtel’s decision to withhold the final payment has surprised football’s stakeholders as they believed the pay TV provider was legally required to honour the final instalment of this financial year.
To many in the game, that is of little surprise. The financially embattled Foxtel has sought to offload “non-core” sports to save money since posting major losses for the 2018-19 financial year and, just last week, slashed more than 200 jobs. Fox Sports has significantly scaled back its football department and FFA and A-League clubs didn’t wait for the pin to be pulled on the TV deal, worth $57 million a year, before preparing their search for a new broadcast partner for next season.
AFL CEO indicates games could be back as soon as July
Games will be scheduled to return most likely in July. It is unlikely, though not impossible, that games could be back as early as late June.
The AFL season is suspended until May 31 at the earliest and the league has agreed with clubs that players could be ready to play after a three-week mini pre-season.
In a media briefing to offer an update on football, the biggest news was the pending definitive date for a return to playing this year after pessimism when the game was thrust into limbo that it might not return at all this year.
The playing hubs where games are held in several different locations, and to which clubs relocate for extended periods, appears a likely avenue to returning to play.