Business of Media
Facebook’s Australian tax bill just $24 million as profits double
Facebook Australia’s tax bill was $24 million last year after it doubled profits but funnelled nearly $1 billion in local advertising revenue to an international subsidiary, reports SMH’s Zoe Samios.
Accounts disclosed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show Facebook, which is owned by Meta, generated pre-tax profits of $61.1 million, up from $37.9 million a year earlier. Total advertising revenue grew to $1.1 billion from $712.7 million, but the accounts show most of this money was sent offshore.
Facebook did not break out how much it was paying under newly struck multi-year commercial deals with media companies such as Nine Entertainment Co, News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun, and Seven West Media. These deals were completed through an international subsidiary.
Snap shares tumble after disclosing expected revenue miss
Snap shares tumbled more than 30 percent in after-hours trading after the company disclosed to the SEC on Monday that it expected to miss its revenue guidance for Q2, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s J. Clara Chan.
“Since we issued guidance on April 21, 2022, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than anticipated,” the company said in its filing after market close. “As a result, we believe it is likely that we will report revenue and adjusted EBITDA below the low end of our Q2 2022 guidance range.”
In its Q1 earnings report, Snap — the parent company of Snapchat — hinted toward disappointing revenue expectations, given that the company did not disclose a specific revenue target for Q2, as it usually does. Instead, Snap said it expected its revenue growth to increase between 20 to 25 percent year over year. As for its Q2 Adjusted EBITDA, Snap forecasted it would break even or hit $50 million.
Netflix releases new game titles
Netflix Inc announced the launch of three mobile games on Tuesday, with a fourth title coming at the end of the month, as the streaming service best known for its movies and TV shows deepens its investment in interactive entertainment, reports Reuters.
Canadian developer East Side Games re-released its Facebook game Dragon Up as a Netflix mobile title, as did Spanish developer 11 Bit Studios with its role-playing adventure game, Moonlighter. German developer HandyGames re-mastered its strategy game, Townsmen – A Kingdom Rebuilt, for Netflix mobile.
All three mobile games are available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Stores.
On May 31, Exploding Kittens – The Game comes to Netflix mobile. Direwolf Digital adapted the popular card game for mobile devices.
Andrew O’Keefe to spend six months in Connect Global rehabilitation centre
Andrew O’Keefe is set to spend the next six to 12 months at a waterfront men’s rehabilitation centre in NSW, reports News Corp’s Hayley Goddard.
The fallen TV game show host was granted bail to tackle his drug and alcohol issues at the Christian-orientated Connect Global charity rehabilitation centre in Swan Bay, near Port Stephens, north of Newcastle.
Connect Global Ltd states on its website that it provides “respite, peace and rejuvenation within a supported environment, to men whose lives have been devastated by drugs and alcohol abuse”.
Agencies
Re expands presence in Australia with a new office in Melbourne
Re, part of the M&C Saatchi Group, is expanding its presence in Australia with a new office in Melbourne, in addition to its Sydney office.
Leading Melbourne’s team of five is creative director Shannon Bell. Her work has been awarded at Cannes, One Show and D&AD.
Bell said: “We’ve been working with clients here for a while now, so it feels beyond time for Re to open a dedicated Melbourne office.
“I’m very excited to continue building our team here, as well as work more closely with our M&C Saatchi Group partners,” she added.
Bell’s transition to Melbourne follows eight years at Re Sydney, where she has led the creative team working across clients including Optus, Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths, with a particular focus on verbal identity projects.
Fenton Stephens announces new key hires after business wins
Fenton Stephens has announced key hires following new business wins and an expansion of the agency’s CX offering.
Joining the Melbourne-based independent agency is Alice Martin stepping into the role of senior strategist.
Martin joins from CHEP, where she worked on Telstra, RACV, Samsung and LaTrobe University. Martin was also previously at VMLY&R.
Shefik Bey joins the agency as head of innovation and transformation, following a period of consulting.
Bey brings his vast experience in digital transformation to Fenton Stephens, having most recently worked with Service Victoria. Prior to that he ran his own consultancy, U1 Group.
Campbell Smith joins in the role of chief strategy officer and director from Big Red. Smith worked there for almost a decade and helped it grow into one of Australia’s biggest independent agencies.
Rounding out the new hires is Amy Stephens who adds the responsibilities of chief customer officer to her director of client services role. She will work in partnership with Bey and reflecting the surge in CX work.
Channel Factory announces key appointments to its Australian team
Channel Factory has announced two key appointments in Sydney and Melbourne, bolstering its Australian team.
Fransisco Frances, joins the YouTube advertising company as head of client services ANZ, with more than 10 years of experience in programmatic.
Frances, who is based in Sydney, brings more than 10 years of experience to the role. He began his career overseas with Grapeshot EMEA as client services manager before moving into a global role with the agency.
The newly-appointed head of client services ANZ also spent four years with Oracle JAPAC, beginning as a senior consultant before being promoted to agency lead, and was named Oracle Salesperson of the Year for JAPAC in 2021.
Meanwhile James Rose, who is based in Melbourne, has been appointed as sales solution director.
Rose was previously the senior sales manager with miQ Digital, growing its independent portfolio in Victoria starting with nothing to now managing more than 50 advertisers each quarter.
Television
The Bachelors reality TV series under fire for lacking diversity as ratings plummet
Australia has reacted to the rebranded The Bachelors series … and there’s not a lot of love in the air, reports News Corp’s Dana Pendrick.
Social media users have lashed out at Channel 10 attacking its ‘lack of diversity’ in the newly advertised series.
On Monday, the media outlet announced a trio of male heart-throbs would be competing for love as the next bachelors on the popular reality TV show.
The 10th season will be broadcast on the Gold Coast featuring three male contestants Felix Von Hofe, Thomas Malucelli, and Jed McIntosh.
Following the announcement, social media users were quick to point out all three contestants were white, and criticised the production for not including people of colour.
What political thriller Total Control predicted about the election, and what it missed
The people who made Total Control could have been excused for feeling a little smug on Sunday morning. After all, the second series of the ABC political thriller, in which Deborah Mailman plays a free radical wreaking havoc in Parliament House and Rachel Griffiths a conservative prime minister toppled by her own backroom, featured a wave of female independents swept to power on the promise of an end to politics as usual, reports SMH’s Karl Quinn.
Darren Dale, who created the show with Griffiths, says it was born of “a sense of frustration” with a two-party system that felt “a bit broken and increasingly divisive and nasty”.
The team at Blackfella, which produced the show, wanted to explore through drama how that system could be challenged “when people who don’t feel represented rise up and stake their claim”.
And that is precisely what happened on the weekend. “To see it play out in such a stunning way six months later is extraordinary and testament to the power of our democracy when the status quo is challenged,” says Dale.
Sports Media
‘United are rubbish’: BBC apologises for news ticker gaffe
The BBC has been forced to apologise for broadcasting the phrase ‘Manchester United are rubbish’ on its breaking news ticker, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
The words appeared between 9 and 10am Tuesday (Tuesday evening AEST) during updates of the ongoing French Open tennis tournament. The network took more than two hours to acknowledge the gaffe, blaming it on a training error.
“A little earlier, some of you may have noticed something pretty unusual on the ticker that runs along the bottom of the screen with news, making a comment about Manchester United,” the host said. “I hope that Manchester United fans weren’t offended by it,” adding by way of explanation that “behind the scenes, someone was training to learn how to use the ticker and to put text on the ticker.”