Business of Media
Sister co-founder Elisabeth Murdoch hires former Netflix head of original programming
Cindy Holland (pictured above – photo by Heidi Gutman) has been hired as the Global CEO of Sister, the production company co-founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Jane Featherstone and Carolyn Strauss. Holland will determine strategic direction and oversee execution across Sister and its portfolio companies in the US and the UK.
“I am delighted to join Sister at this exciting stage. The future is bright for well-positioned independent companies, and I love to build and support successful teams,” said Holland. “For years I’ve admired Jane Featherstone, and I am passionate about the artist-forward ethos that Liz has fostered at the Sister entertainment group. I’m excited to get to know the whole team, along with Carolyn Strauss, with whom I’ve wanted to work for a long time. I can’t wait to get started.”
Murdoch commented: “Cindy has been a transformational leader in the industry for many years. She’s the total package: strategic, curious and focused on impact. Cindy is exactly the person to help take us to the next level, and I’m really looking forward to working together,” said Murdoch.
Holland joins Sister after an 18-year tenure at Netflix, including nine years as Vice President of Original Content. In her role, she established the network’s original programming strategy and oversaw the teams behind titles including House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, BoJack Horseman, Grace and Frankie, Narcos, Making a Murderer, Stranger Things, The Crown, Icarus, Ozark, Big Mouth, Russian Doll, When They See Us, and The Queen’s Gambit, among many others.
Holland was named to the 2018 Time 100 list of most influential people, is a graduate of Stanford University, and is a Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, a youth empowerment organisation whose mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships.
About Sister
As well as producing hit series like The Power (Prime Video), The Split (BBC One/AMC+) abd Chernobyl (Sky/HBO), Sister has invested in documentary production company Dorothy Street Pictures, British animation company Locksmith Animation, Campside Media podcast studio, AWA Studios, a comic book and digital media publisher, a partnership with London music venue KOKO and Yes Yes Media, a new non-scripted TV and tech entertainment company.
Barry Diller on strikes: Execs, top actors should take pay cut, warns of industry collapse
Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and former Hollywood studio chief, says that top executives and the highest-paid stars should take a 25 percent pay cut to narrow the gap between their salaries and those of the folks at the lower end of the pay scale, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking on CBS, Diller also argued that both the writers and actors strikes should be settled by September 1 to avoid “devastating effects.” The Writers Guild of America has been striking since May 2 and SAG-AFTRA went on strike Friday after each guild’s respective negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell apart.
Banijay restructures in Asia: Takes full control of Endemol Shine India
Banijay has taken full control of Endemol Shine India and is to combine it with Banijay Asia to create a new regional division that will be led by Deepak Dhar, reports TBI.
As part of the reorganisation, the French giant has acquired the 49% stake held in Endemol Shine India by Mumbai-based CA Media (financial details undisclosed), with execs to be appointed across the regional group to deliver “greater synergies”.
Dhar is a former CEO of Endemol Shine India, holding the role from 2005 to 2018. He subsequently launched Banijay Asia as a joint venture with the French group, while Abhishek Rege took control of Endemol Shine India.
Marco Bassetti, Banijay CEO, added that the move would create a “new phase” for the business in which the focus would be on “unlocking and aligning other strategic growth avenues to put Banijay in a dominating position, both in India, as well as Asia.”
In Australia, Banijay operates the Endemol Shine Australia and Screentime brands.
Trouble at the track as Betr bid to sell $40m stake to Entain fails
It’s one step forward, two steps back at Betr, the News Corp-backed wagering group, where a Barrenjoey-advised sales process has stalled, reports The AFR’s Street Talk.
Street Talk first reported in May that the online bookmaker had put itself on the block after receiving inbound interest. News Corp had invested around $50 million in the company, which only launched last year and is backed by high-profile businessman Matthew Tripp, but more recently began to distance itself from the business.
The Murdoch family-controlled media conglomerate point-blank told analysts in the United States that the company would not be tipping any additional funds into Betr.
Publishing
Another print title shuttered: Haymarket pulls plug on Campaign magazine as it goes digital-only
The UK ad industry trade publication Campaign is to increase its investment in its digital journalism and cease publishing its quarterly UK print edition.
Publisher Haymarket has told readers the focus on digital, which will include a major website redesign, reflects audience habits as Campaign’s online subscriber base has grown significantly since before the pandemic.
All of Campaign’s UK subscribers are now digital and fewer than 20% opt to take the print version as well.
Campaign will revamp its UK website in early 2024 as well as invest in its data-led products, which include business tracker Campaign Advertising Intelligence.
The additional investment in Campaign’s digital journalism comes at a time of growth for the brand, which launched as a weekly print magazine in the UK in September 1968
The last quarterly UK print edition will be published in the autumn.
News Brands
Masters & McKenzie: Investigative reporters go from collaborators to competitors
For five years they reported and defended one of the great stories of modern Australian journalism. Their celebrated collaboration didn’t survive victory, reports The AFR’s Aaron Patrick.
In the past fortnight, Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie published, within 10 days of each other, rival books about their investigation into former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, whose unsuccessful lawsuit against both journalists was dubbed the “defamation trial of the century”.
The two writers have known each other since 2002, when Masters was a long-time ABC reporter and McKenzie a trainee journalist.
The pair soon fell out over what McKenzie regarded as a breach of trust. McKenzie implies in [his book] Crossing the Line that Masters shared information on a story they were covering, but later suggests the incident was more a personality clash than a betrayal.
The AFR: The West Australian newspaper has Twiggy on the brain
The news that Andrew and Nicola Forrest had split was first reported last week in The AFR by the publication’s Peter Ker and Brad Thompson, report Mark Di Stefano and Sam Buckingham-Jones in the business daily.
But the West Australian media has been abuzz about how the exclusive was so quick to appear in the pages of The West Australian.
The Australian Financial Review is printed in that state on the presses of The West’s Seven West Media. The Financial Review sent the electronic layout of last Wednesday’s paper – including news of the separation, confirmed with a joint statement – to the presses at 7:30pm Sydney time. By 8:03pm, the story was published on the website. Just one minute later, The West published an “exclusive” about the separation, with the publication’s editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie tweeting: “Big story from The West Australian”.
Did the printing press staff see the front page come in and alert The West newsroom?
The AFR’s editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury, was asked about it by another business publication in WA last week. “Big scoop by The West Australian! Not,” he said. “The West ran a rushed, bare-bones, first-take, ‘exclusive’, sourced from ‘I wonder where’,” he added. De Ceglie said it sounded like the Financial Review was “having a whinge”.
Sports Media
AFL confirms 2023 AFLW season: NAB to sponsor, Seven & Foxtel TV partners
The AFL has revealed the full fixture for the 2023 NAB AFLW Season. Following a commitment from the AFL and the AFLPA on growth for future seasons, the 2023 NAB AFLW Season will include 10 home and away rounds and four weeks of finals.
“While the 18 clubs have been working towards key dates, it was important to reach an agreement with the Players’ Association and not delay the fixture any further to provide certainty to players, clubs and fans.” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.
General manager women’s football Nicole Livingstone said: “We are grateful for the support of our players and clubs who have continued prepare for this season, undertaking strong pre-seasons while discussions with the AFLPA were continuing.
“The size and scale of the AFLW competition has grown significantly since its inception – we have all 18 clubs represented, 540 players and have increased the number of matches played by 241% over the history of the competition.”
The 2023 NAB AFLW Grand Final will be held on Sunday December 3 with the highest-placed club earning the home-ground hosting rights.
As the AFL continues to work to expand its reach across the country, fans from across many corners of Australia will have the opportunity to experience an AFLW match with games to be played outside of their traditional hometowns.
The list of potential Grand Final host venues is as follows: Alberton Oval for Port Adelaide; Brighton Homes Arena for Brisbane and Gold Coast SUNS; Fremantle Oval for Fremantle; Henson Park for the Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS; IKON Park for Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, and Richmond; GMHBA Stadium for Geelong Cats; Leederville Oval for West Coast Eagles; and Norwood Oval for the Adelaide Crows.
All 2023 NAB AFLW matches will be broadcast live across the Seven Network, FOX FOOTY, Kayo, and streamed live via the Official AFL app and womens.afl and the Official AFLW App.
NAB has supported the footy community since 2002 and 2023 marks its sixth year as principal partner of the AFLW.
Betting firm logos shown on TV up to 3,500 times in Premier League matches
Betting company logos appear as often as 3,500 times during the course of a televised football match, the majority on pitchside hoardings, prompting renewed scepticism about top-flight clubs’ plan to give up front-of-shirt betting ads only, reports The Guardian.
A study led by psychology experts from four UK universities measured the volume of gambling adverts during 10 matches that took place last season, featuring every Premier League club.
West Ham v Chelsea featured by far the most betting logos, a total of 3,522, or 37 for every minute of the game. The figure was particularly high because of West Ham’s deal with the online bookmaker and casino firm Betway, whose logo is plastered around the club’s home, the London Stadium.