Business of Media
Netflix tells employees ads may come by end of 2022
Netflix could introduce its lower-priced ad-supported tier by the end of the year, a more accelerated timeline than originally indicated, the company told employees in a recent note, reports the New York Times’ John Koblin and Nicole Sperling.
In the note, Netflix executives said that they were aiming to introduce the ad tier in the final three months of the year, according to two people who shared details of the communication, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal company discussions. The note also said that they were planning to begin cracking down on password sharing among its subscriber base around the same time, the people said.
Netflix currently offers a variety of payment tiers to access its streaming service, charging up to $22.99 a month for a subscription in Australia. The new ad-supported tier will cost less. Other streaming services have similar plans.
Elon Musk Says He’d Allow Trump Back On Twitter, Get Rid of Permanent Bans
Elon Musk said he would allow Donald Trump back on Twitter if his acquisition of the company goes through, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston.
At a Financial Times conference Tuesday, Musk said Twitter’s ban of the former president was a “morally bad decision” and “foolish in the extreme.” He added that he believes the platform should not enact permanent bans, and should instead look at temporary suspensions or timeouts.
“Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right. And this is why it was morally wrong and flat out stupid,” Musk said.
SBS releases final selection criteria of 2021-22 language services review
SBS has announced the final selection criteria it will use as part of the 2021-22 language services review, as part of its commitment to continue evolving to meet the needs of contemporary Australia.
SBS received more than 2000 submissions, representing 80 languages, during the public consultation period – running from 5 October to 26 November 2021.
The broadcast service offered people and organisations the opportunity to provide feedback on the criteria that was proposed.
The language services review encompasses SBS’s audio and language offering including radio, podcasting, and other digital platforms.
The feedback from the public consultation helped shape the final selection criteria which will now be used in conjunction with the 2021 Census data on the languages to be serviced and help inform the way those services are delivered, for the next five years.
SBS has committed to reviewing its language services every five years in line with the Australian census. The last Language Services Review was conducted during 2016-2017.
The revised SBS language services will be announced before the end of 2022.
2021-22 Language Services Review Final Selection Criteria
High Needs Languages Criteria: (a minimum of 15 languages subject to SBS funding)
• Threshold requirement –population must be greater than 1,000*
• English language proficiency (weight = 45%)
• Recentness of arrival (weight = 30%)
• Ageing (weight = 15%)
• Household resources (weight = 10%)
SBS may also include a sizeable ethnic community if its needs are significant but not adequately captured in the Large Language or High Needs Selection Criteria. Factors which SBS may take into account include:
• Discrimination/Vilification: where a group is subject to frequent discrimination or vilification in Australia based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
• Immediate need: a significant increase in the population of a language group through Australia’s Humanitarian Program.
• Access to quality in-language media sources.
SBS will take into account the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian community and language services provided by all parts of the organisation.
IAS expands partnership with TikTok to measure viewability and brand safety
Integral Ad Science (IAS) has announced additional services to its partnership with TikTok.
IAS will now be able to measure viewability, invalid traffic (IVT) and app-level brand safety, allowing brands and agencies globally to effectively monitor the quality of their media buys on TikTok’s platform, in addition to the IAS Brand Safety Solution launched last September.
Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS, said: “We are excited to offer marketers an increasingly comprehensive set of IAS Media Quality Solutions to manage their advertising campaigns on TikTok.
“It is more important than ever for marketers to engage with users on social platforms and ensure that their ads appear next to brand safe & suitable content on a global scale. We are thrilled to deliver a holistic solution on TikTok and provide new levels of transparency and precision for these campaigns,” she added.
The digital media company will now provide advertisers with trusted, third-party measurement powered by the Open Measurement Software Development Kit (OM SDK), giving marketers ultimate transparency and confidence around campaign performance.
Governed by the IAB with IAS being a founding member, the OM SDK is designed to facilitate transparent third-party viewability and verification measurement for ads served to mobile apps and open web environments.
The digital media company is thrilled to partner with TikTok, one of the largest content platforms, to bring the OM SDK integration on their platform, leading transparency in the walled garden space.
In addition, the offering will provide granular reporting with 24/7 access to the IAS Signal UI, allowing advertisers to take action and stay informed on campaigns. By partnering with IAS, marketers now have access to an increasingly comprehensive set of solutions to manage their advertising campaigns on TikTok.
Agencies
Reload Media announces expansion of senior leadership team
Reload Media has announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with the promotions of Jess Brooks to general manager and Dan Howe to general manager of marketing.
The promotions follow additional team expansions announced this year at the digital marketing agency and the recent announcement of joining Hardie Grant Media
Brooks has been at the agency for nearly five years and held a number of rules including her most recent as agency operations manager.
In the new role, she will focus on supporting Reload Media’s market-leading client services.
The agency operations manager said: “People and clients are the core of Reload Media. I look forward to continuing to develop our operations to provide great opportunities for our people and ensure exceptional client service now and in the future.”
Howe, who has been with the agency for close to nine years, has also held a number of roles, most recently as global creative director.
Stepping into the new role of general manager of marketing, Howe will lead Reload Media’s approach to holistic marketing strategy.
JOY announces partnership with Adventure Kings and 4WD Supacentre
JOY, 4WD Supacentre and Outdoor Kings, have joined forces in a partnership with a sponsorship campaign that celebrates the great outdoors.
The independent integrated agency was appointed as the agency of choice for both the Adventure Kings and 4WD Supacentre late last year ahead of the summer months, with the brands utilising JOY for their strategy, creative, media and performance services.
Andrew Wynne, principal at JOY, said: “As iconic Australian brands, we’ve used iconic Australian events and personalities to drive them forward.
“We have Cameron Smith talking to the durability, toughness and quality of the Adventure Kings brand, and undertook a fully integrated sponsorship of the Ashes with Foxtel Media and Kayo to drive summer sales for 4WD Supacentre – including bespoke content with legends Brendan Julian and Brett Lee at ‘The Ultimate Campsite.’”
“It was a complex challenge to seamlessly integrate the Adventure Kings product brand with 4WD Supacentre’s retail brand while balancing brand building and managing online and store traffic at the same time – especially with weather disruptions – but the results have been amazing. In a very short period of time, the campaign achieved double digit growth in awareness, intention and sales volumes,” he added.
News Brands
SAS soldier says he and Ben Roberts-Smith killed Taliban ‘spotter’
An SAS soldier has described how he and Ben Roberts-Smith engaged and killed a Taliban “spotter” carrying a radio and hiding in a cornfield, directly contradicting claims by Nine newspapers that the pair murdered a detainee who had been kicked off a cliff, reports News Corp’s Stephen Rice.
The newspapers allege Roberts-Smith kicked a handcuffed Afghan farmer named Ali Jan off a cliff in the village of Darwan in September 2012, and then, with another soldier codenamed Person 11, dragged him aside in a dry creek bed and shot him.
However, Person 11 gave a very different account of the incident in the Federal Court on Tuesday, insisting the Afghan man he encountered was lawfully engaged under the rules of war. The soldiers were hunting for a rogue Afghan army sergeant who two weeks earlier had killed three Australian soldiers.
Publishing
Ex-Cleo editor Lisa Wilkinson unloads on ‘trashy’ magazine industry
Television host and former magazine editor Lisa Wilkinson has attacked the industry she spent decades working in, slamming the “trashy gossip” published by certain magazines and websites as “part of a system to weaken and suppress women”, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Speaking at a networking breakfast in Melbourne on Tuesday to promote her 2021 autobiography, Wilkinson recounted to the 500-strong crowd how she was made editor of Dolly magazine at just 21.
But she told the crowd that she now views the women’s magazine industry as a shameful sector which “brings out the worst in human nature”.
Sport Media
Tom Brady lands 10-year $540 million broadcast deal from Fox Sports
Fox Sports’ deal to make Tom Brady its lead NFL game analyst after he retires is for 10 years and $540 million (AUD), The New York Post has learned, reports the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand.
It is the largest contract in sportscasting history, as it more than doubles both CBS’ Tony Romo and ESPN’s Troy Aikman in average annual salary of $26 million per season.
Fox Sports declined comment when asked about what Brady will be paid for the games.
After losing Joe Buck and Aikman to ESPN, Fox wanted to make a splash. Buck ($22m) and Aikman ($26m) will make a combined $48 million. Brady will make $54 million per year to team with Kevin Burkhardt.