Business of Media
Network 10’s last-minute application to introduce new evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case could delay judgement
The Federal Court will today be asked to re-open the defamation case brought by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann, over an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in which she first alleged she had been raped, reports the ABC’s Elizabeth Byrne.
Network 10 says there is new evidence it wants the court to take into account in the case and the court has agreed to a hearing about the matter at 5pm this evening.
The new evidence is most likely to be relevant to Network 10’s defence seeking to prove that the allegations were true — but it will have to be compelling to warrant re-opening the case.
If that is allowed, the parties will then have to argue over whether it should be included. That could delay the judgement beyond this week.
Force Meta to host news to combat spread of disinformation, Rod Sims says
The Albanese government should consider forcing Meta and other social media giants to host news content on their platforms to help combat the scourge of misinformation that threatens to undermine Western democracies, former competition watchdog chair Rod Sims says, reports The Australian’s Jared Lynch and Noah Yim.
Meta will switch off its news tab this week after it abandoned content deals with Australian media companies – a move that will rip about $70m a year from Australian newsrooms and breach a three-year-old code
Meta shuts monitoring tool CrowdTangle
A digital tool considered vital in tracking viral falsehoods will be decommissioned by Facebook owner Meta in a major election year, a move researchers fear will disrupt efforts to detect an expected firehose of political misinformation, report AFP’s Anuj Chopra and Athur MacMillan.
The tech giant says CrowdTangle will be unavailable after August 14, less than three months before the US election. The Californian company plans to replace it with a new tool that researchers say lacks the same functionality, and which news organisations will largely not have access to.
Discord to start showing ads for gamers to boost revenue
Social-media startup Discord plans to start showing advertisements on its free platform in the coming week after long dismissing them, becoming the latest tech company to turn to ads to try to boost revenue, report The Wall Street Journal’s
Salvador Rodriguez and Sarah E. Needleman.
The paid promotions are from videogame makers and will offer users gifts for completing in-game tasks while their friends watch on Discord.
Discord is looking to hire more than a dozen people for ad-sales positions, according to people familiar with its plans.
News Brands
Not so Good Friday for Channel Nine as staff told they must wait until after the Easter long weekend to be paid
Staff at Nine Entertainment can’t have been too pleased upon receiving a notification on Good Friday that they would have to wait until after the four-day break to receive their fortnightly pay, report The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth and James Madden.
Nine’s group director of finance operations, Danielle Abandowitz, was the bearer of the bad news, emailing holidaying staff to tell them that they wouldn’t be receiving their pay cheques until Tuesday. But hey, happy Easter!
“We are writing to you tonight because we have been advised that the pay transfer due to happen on Saturday 30th March has been delayed,” she wrote in the emergency internal memo.
Entertainment
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter boosts streams for black country acts on Spotify
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is galloping on Spotify and bringing other Black country-based artists for the ride, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Mesfin Fekadu.
Since the album’s release on Friday, the number of first-time listeners for acts like Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Shaboozey — who all appear on Cowboy Carter — has increased in the past week.
Spencer saw an uptick of 170 percent in first-time listeners, Roberts and Tanner Adell both went up 125 percent, and Tiera Kennedy’s first-time listens were increased by 110 percent. Spencer, Reynolds, Adell and Kennedy collaborated with the Grammy-winning superstar on a cover of The Beatles’ Blackbird, the second track on Cowboy Carter.
Television
It’s slim pickings for viewers as local kids’ content plummets
If you’ve struggled to find something to watch on family movie night recently, you’re not alone. Australia is experiencing a dearth of family-friendly content that has industry experts worried. Streaming services and commercial networks alike have shown a reduced appetite for locally made G and PG content, reports Nine Publishing’s Kate Jones.
It’s slim pickings for new and homegrown viewing, says Bernadette O’Mahony, acting chief executive and head of content at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.
“For kids and families, the market is nearly non-existent,” she says. “If you take out what we would call general viewing, game shows and reality television, there’s not much in the drama space for families to watch together. There’s back-catalogue shows on platforms, but there’s not a lot of new commissions coming from any of the broadcasters.”
I’m A Celebrity star who broke contract as show’s strict measures are revealed
A few years ago, just before a dozen celebs were gearing up to enter the South African jungle for I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, crew members were alerted to the fact that one of the high-profile contestants was drinking in a local pub, reports News Corp’s Lexie Cartwright.
Sounds innocent enough.
But the well-known Australian athlete had gone rogue from his strict contract, escaping his hotel room and breaking cover to hit up the public watering hole.
Sports Media
‘Embarrassing disaster’: A-Leagues narrowly avoid Easter TV blackout
Organisers of the A-Leagues have signed a new broadcast deal just two hours before the first match in the competition’s weekend fixtures kicks off, after its existing television production partner went bust in another blow for the body behind Australia’s top football competition, report Nine Publishing’s Vince Rugari and Calum Jaspan.
Late on Thursday afternoon, the APL released a statement confirming it had reached agreement with NEP Australia to produce all matches for the remainder of the regular season and the 2024 Finals Series. Arrangements beyond the current season have not been finalised.
NEP previously oversaw production of the A-Leagues when they were on Fox Sports and produces the telecasts for most other codes in Australia.
See Also: Paramount offers full support to APL as Global Advance goes into administration