Business of Media
Netflix keeps streaming crown with continued subscriber, revenue growth
Netflix continued to add new customers in the second quarter and raised the low end of its forecast for full-year revenue growth, a sign of its continued strength as legacy entertainment companies grapple with cable’s demise, reports The Wall Street Journal‘s Jessica Toonkel.
The streaming giant added 8.05 million subscribers in the second quarter, compared with 5.89 million net new subscribers during the same period a year earlier. It expects new customer additions to be lower in the current quarter than the same period last year, when it began limiting password sharing in earnest.
Revenue rose nearly 17% year-over-year to $9.56 billion in the second quarter, beating the company’s projections. Netflix raised its revenue growth forecast for 2024 to 14% to 15%, up from 13% to 15%.
See also: Netflix reveals Territory is now the name of its next big Australian original plus cast reveal
Falsely accused US reporter Evan Gershkovich in court for hearing in secret Russian trial
Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter falsely accused of spying, has attended a Russian court for a closed-door hearing in an espionage trial that the US government has described as a sham, reports News Corp’s Georgi Kantchev.
A court spokeswoman said on Thursday the court had completed its judicial investigation and would hear “oral arguments” from both sides on Friday.
After that, Gershkovich will be asked for his “final statement” and the court will consider its verdict, she added, declining to give a time frame for those next steps.
Apple Is in talks to license more films from Hollywood
Apple Inc. is having discussions about licensing more films from major Hollywood studios as it looks to bolster its Apple TV+ streaming service, people familiar with the matter said, reports Bloomberg News‘ Lucas Shaw and Thomas Buckley.
The iPhone maker has spoken to several of the largest studios about acquiring more programming from their libraries to offer customers both in the US and abroad, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations. A representative for Apple didn’t respond to a request comment.
ACMA’s online casino claims not a sure thing
The hall monitors at ACMA keep chest-beating over their apparent success in blocking illegal online casinos in this country, reports News Corp’s Yoni Bashan.
Chaired by Nerida O’Loughlin, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has been flicking out press statements that spruik its accomplishments as a regulator in this realm. Sadly, it’s all a phoney, with few, if any, accomplishments of this kind to actually report.
It hasn’t stopped them, however.
Entertainment
Bob Newhart, dean of the deadpan delivery, dies at 94
Bob Newhart, the beloved stand-up performer whose droll, deadpan humour showcased on two critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms vaulted him into the ranks of history’s greatest comedians, died Thursday morning. He was 94, reports The Hollywood Reporter‘s Mike Barnes.
The Chicago legend, who won Grammy Awards for album of the year and best new artist for his 1960 breakthrough record, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, died at his Los Angeles home after a series of short illnesses, his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney, announced.
The former accountant famously went without an Emmy Award until 2013, when he finally was given one for guest-starring as Arthur Jeffries (alias Professor Proton, former host of a children’s science show) on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory.
Rebel Wilson’s new film The Deb given premiere date amid defamation suit
Australian star Rebel Wilson will make her directorial debut at the Toronto International Film Festival with her film The Deb, after alleging the film’s producers tried to block its premiere, reports Seven West Media’s Sowaibah Hanifie.
The Deb will be shown on the closing night of the festival in September, Wilson said on Instagram.
“Beyond grateful The Deb will be shared with audiences in Toronto this September,” Wilson posted.
Television
Emmys snubs and surprises: Emma Stone and Kate Winslet shut put as Idris Elba and ‘Reservation Dogs’ land big nods
With fewer eligible series – a consequence of both last year’s strikes and of a general post-Peak TV contraction – it seemed unlikely that the Emmys (the second such ceremony this year!) would provide much in the way of surprises, reports The Brag’s Kate Aurthur and Daniel D’Addario.
Perhaps, though, awards-watchers shouldn’t have counted them out.
Wednesday morning’s nominations announcement featured at least one major contender (Emma Stone in The Curse) shut out, and included heartening and unexpected recognition for other stars whose names hadn’t been part of the conversation to this point. (Congratulations to Idris Elba and Matt Berry!)
Kate Ritchie’s surprise TV announcement
Kate Ritchie has announced she will take part in a brand new television series, reports News Corp.
The former Home and Away star, who now co-hosts Nova 96.9FM breakfast show, Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie, will star in ABC reality series, The Role Of A Lifetime.
The five-part program, hosted by Amanda Keller, will see the mother-of-one joined by comedian Nazeem Hussein as they navigate the challenges of parenting.
Sports Media
Ally Langdon set for the buzz of Paris
Next week, A Current Affair is Live from Paris as Olympics fever ramps up, reports TV Tonight‘s David Knox.
Anchor Ally Langdon will be hosting from locations around the city with special one hour editions on Monday and Tuesday, and while there are best laid plans, she admits there is a need to be nimble and ready for anything.
“I’m just going to be on the street somewhere,” she tells TV Tonight.
“We’ll find a different location each day, just to be in the mix. I think it’s until we get over there and and get a real sense of that excitement, we won’t know exactly what the show will look like. We’ve got a plan. We’ve got a rundown, but my plan is we get over there and we throw it all out, and we start again.”
Opinion: I’ll let the NRL in on a little secret … fans love the Origin melee
Thoughts and prayers for Channel Nine host James Bracey and his luxurious hair today as they recover from being smack-dab in the middle of a good old-fashioned State of Origin melee, reports Nine Publishing’s Andrew Webster.
Bracey’s coffee, two plastic chairs and a TV screen were innocent victims when NSW and Queensland players started wrestling with each other in the 30th minute at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
The brawl shifted from the field of play and over the sideline into part of the Maroons’ bench but, mostly, the area on halfway where Nine’s on-air talent and production staff were placed.
See also: TV Ratings 17 July 2024: State of Origin Game III reaches 5.4 million viewers
Social Media
A one-man Telemundo on TikTok
On a recent scorcher of a Houston afternoon, Carlos Eduardo Espina was driving to a restaurant that specialises in Nicaraguan and Puerto Rican food when he received a news alert on his iPhone: The former president of Honduras had been sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison for drug trafficking, reports The New Yew York Times‘ Sapna Maheshwari and .
“Oh, I need to make a video, actually, in the car,” Espina, 25, said apologetically as he pulled his Honda crossover S.U.V. into the restaurant’s parking lot. He skimmed a Honduran newspaper’s Instagram post about the news and then opened TikTok, where he has 9.4 million followers. He turned the camera on himself while his girlfriend, who was sitting behind him, crouched out of the frame, clearly used to this sort of drill.
His hazel eyes widened, and he boomed, “Importante noticia de última hora” – Spanish for “important breaking news” – then shared a one-minute recap.