Business of Media
Facebook, Instagram plan to pay $1B in creator incentives
Facebook and Instagram will pay $1 billion to creators through 2022 as an incentive to use the platforms, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s J. Clara Chan.
“We want to build the best platforms for millions of creators to make a living, so we’re creating new programs to invest over $1 billion to reward creators for great content they create on Facebook and Instagram through 2022,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. “Investing in creators isn’t new for us, but I’m excited to expand this work over time.”
The program is invite-only but will allow creators to earn money by using certain features on Facebook or Instagram, such as by regularly livestreaming. There will also be bonus structures that encourage creators to sign up for IGTV ads, create Reels or use in-stream ads on Facebook.
Social networks’ anti-racism policies belied by users’ experience
The world’s biggest social networks say racism isn’t welcome on their platforms, but a combination of poor enforcement and weak rules have allowed hate to flourish, reports The Guardian’s Alex Hern.
In the hours after England’s loss to Italy in the European Football Championship, both Twitter and Facebook, which owns Instagram, issued statements condemning the swelling racist abuse.
“The abhorrent racist abuse directed at England players last night has absolutely no place on Twitter,” the social network said on Monday morning. A Facebook spokesperson said similarly: “No one should have to experience racist abuse anywhere, and we don’t want it on Instagram.”
But the statements bore little relation to the experience of the company’s users. On Instagram, where thousands left comments on the pages of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho, supportive users who tried to flag abuse to the platform were surprised by the response.
After backlash over its reform plans, Golden Globes Group considers a new option
For months, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the troubled nonprofit organization behind the big-money Golden Globe Awards, has been wrestling with how to reform itself after an outcry over financial, ethical and diversity lapses and NBC’s cancellation of next year’s Globes telecast, reports The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes.
Part of the challenge: Swaths of the entertainment industry — and a few H.F.P.A. members, two of whom quit in protest in recent weeks — have deemed the “transformational” changes proposed by the group’s board as insufficient. A particular point of contention has been inclusion; the group currently has about 80 members, none of whom are Black.
On Wednesday, an expanded reform plan was presented to the organization’s members for consideration.
Optus drops plans for 4K Olympics
Optus has dropped plans to screen the Tokyo Olympics in 4K Ultra HD, reports TV Tonight.
In December 2019 the telco announced plans for a channel featuring Seven’s coverage of Tokyo 2020 in 4K Ultra HD, available to Optus 5G Home customers via Fetch.
The announcement was made by Seven West Media chief revenue officer, Kurt Burnette, Optus VP product development, TV and content, Clive Dickens -formerly chief digital officer at Seven- and Fetch CEO, Scott Lorson.
Television
MasterChef draws lowest audience ever as Justin Narayan wins
Fewer people watched the “winner announced” segment of MasterChef on Tuesday night than ever before in the show’s 13-season history, reports SMH’s Karl Quinn.
Just 931,000 people in the five mainland capital cities tuned in to see 27-year-old former Hillsong pastor Justin Narayan come from behind to win the cooking contest by a single point from runner-up Pete Campbell, with fan favourite Kishwar Chowdhury finishing third.
The previous low was set in 2019 when 992,000 people tuned in to watch Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan reveal “the best home cook in Australia” for what would turn out to be the last time.
Neighbours trimmed to 4 episodes a week
10 is trimming Neighbours back to 4 episodes a week, reports TV Tonight.
A 10 spokesperson said, “From Monday, July 26, Neighbours will air four nights a week, from Monday to Thursday at 6:30pm on 10 Peach.
“On Fridays, viewers can laugh along with their favourite Friends at 6:30pm.”
It will mark the first time in the show’s 36 year history that it hasn’t regularly screened 5 episodes per week, but sources insist the trim isn’t tied to changes in the Australian drama quotas nor to budgets.
‘Loki’ renewed for season two at Disney+
Loki is the first of Marvel’s Disney+ scripted originals to score a formal renewal, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg.
The comic book powerhouse used the mid-credits scene from Loki’s season finale Wednesday to formally announce that the Tom Hiddleston starrer would be back for a second season. No additional details were included beyond the title card with the news.
How Brush with Fame helped Courtney Act for One Plus One
Ahead of filming One Plus One, Courtney Act was reminded about the power of a long form interview through watching Anh’s Brush with Fame, reports TV Tonight.
She admits to being drawn into personal stories she never expected to engage with.
“Brush with Fame was great! I’d heard everybody talking about it. I turned on iview and there was a Jamie Durie episode but I wanted to watch Jane Seymour. But I sat there so engrossed and crying (watching Jamie Durie) and then I was like, ‘I’ve got to watch the Kate Ritchie episode!’”