Business of Media
Google misled publishers and advertisers, US lawsuit alleges
Google misled publishers and advertisers for years about the pricing and processes of its advertising auctions, creating secret programs that deflated sales for some companies while increasing prices for buyers, according to newly unredacted allegations and details in a lawsuit by US state attorneys-general, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Google pocketed the difference between what it told publishers and advertisers that an ad cost and used the pool of money to manipulate future auctions to expand its digital monopoly, the newly unredacted complaint alleges.
The documents cite internal correspondence in which Google employees said some of these practices amounted to growing its business through “insider information”.
Martin Sorrell teams up with friends to launch £110 million venture capital fund
Advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell and investment guru Daniel Pinto are launching a venture capital fund with a former executive at WPP, the media group Sorrell built, reports the London Sunday Times.
Sorrell, Pinto and Sanja Partalo are seeking US$150 million (£110 million) to invest in early-stage companies. S4S Ventures will target the fields of ad tech, data analysis, content development, monetisation of the virtual reality “metaverse” and new digital media. Sorrell, 76, and Pinto, 55, are expected to put in up to $15 million combined of their own money and sit on the investment committee. It will be run by Partalo, former head of strategic development at WPP.
Shares in S4 Capital, the digital ad services group Sorrell set up after being ousted from WPP after allegations of impropriety, have more than doubled in the past two years as big companies’ ad spending has continued to migrate online.
Netflix increases subscription price in US and Canada
Netflix has increased the price of its monthly subscription plans in the US and Canada, effective immediately for new subscribers beginning on Friday, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
In the US, subscribers to Netflix’s basic plan, which allows for one stream on one screen at a time and does not have HD streaming, will now be charged US$9.99 a month, up from $8.99. Standard plans — which allow for users to stream on two screens at the same time — now cost $15.49 per month, an increase from $13.99, while premium plans have inched up to $19.99 a month.
BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027: ‘It’s over for the BBC as they know it’
The BBC licence fee will be abolished in the UK in 2027 and the broadcaster’s funding will be frozen for the next two years, the UK government has said, in an announcement that will force the corporation to close services and make further redundancies, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
The UK culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is expected to confirm that the cost of an annual licence, required to watch live television and access iPlayer services, will remain at £159 until 2024 before rising slightly for the following three years.
The decision, confirmed by government sources, was briefed to the media as part of a range of measures designed to shore up public support for Boris Johnson after he has faced calls to resign as prime minister.
The Mail on Sunday quoted an ally of Dorries as saying: “There will be a lot of anguished noises about how it will hit popular programmes, but they can learn to cut waste like any other business. This will be the last BBC licence fee negotiation ever. Work will start next week on a mid-term review to replace the charter with a new funding formula.
“It’s over for the BBC as they know it.”
News Brands
News Corp Australia raises cover price of newspapers across Australia
Monday January 17 is the day that a range of News Corp newspapers will be selling at increased prices.
Newsagent Mark Fletcher last week shared details of the changes at newsagencyblog.com.au. Effective Monday 17 January 2022, the Monday to Friday cover price of the following publications will increase by 30 cents to $2.50:
Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail, The Advertiser, The Mercury, NT News, Geelong Advertiser, Gold Coast Bulletin, Townsville Bulletin, Cairns Post and The Chronicle.
To coincide with the price rises, News Corp is offering reduced subscription packages. A note to readers in The Sunday Telegraph said:
Special reader subscription offer – for just $1 a day you’ll get both full digital access to The Daily Telegraph and have your favourite newspaper home delivered the first six months.
Our special subscription offer is available to readers until February 7 and comes as the weekday print cover price of The Daily Telegraph rises to $2.50 from Monday.
Weekend print edition prices will remain the same.
Ai-Media to make changes after leaker behind newsreader’s rant is identified
Listed company Ai-Media is promising to “enhance controls” after it identified the employee responsible for leaking studio footage of 7 News Melbourne newsreaders Mike Amor and Rebecca Maddern slamming tennis star Novak Djokovic, reports The Australian’s Mat Bell.
Video of the hosts slagging Djokovic before the 6pm evening bulletin went viral on Tuesday night, in what Seven says was a “private conversation”.
Ai-Media released a statement on Friday saying that it had identified an employee working remotely due to the Covid-19 outbreak as responsible for the “unauthorised distribution of the content”.
“Appropriate action has been taken with regard to the employee responsible,” the company said.
Alan Jones’ protege Jake Thrupp on plans for online centre-right news channel
You may know Jake Thrupp as the bronzed, blonde assistant and producer and protege to broadcaster Alan Jones, a role which, in Sydney at least, thrust him directly into the media spotlight (and in front of the paparazzi’s lenses), reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Koziol.
Thrupp’s newest project is Jones’ latest venture Alan Jones Direct to the People, a nightly internet TV program featuring Jones’ customary blend of interviews and commentary that debuted in December and is slated to return at the end of February.
Jones is the outfit’s “inaugural broadcaster”, Thrupp says, but they plan to field a full night-time lineup within a year. “We’ve got our eyes on a few broadcasters, and we hope to recruit more who have a very trusted following. What we’ll do is we will empower them to say what they want, without being fringe or anything. We just want sensible, centre-right opinion.”
Radio
Radio ratings start: Kyle Sandilands has big news on first show back in 2022
Radio king Kyle Sandilands has popped the question to his partner of two years, Tegan Kynaston, reports News Corp’s Briana Domjen.
The Sunday Telegraph reported Sandilands got down on one knee earlier this month, while at his holiday house in Port Douglas, where they have been holidaying for the past four weeks.
His manager Bruno Bouchet all but confirmed the news yesterday, saying Sandilands had special news to announce during his KIIS FM show on Monday.
“It’s their news to announce, not mine,” Bouchet said.
“But if you do want to know, make sure you tune into Kyle and Jackie O on Monday.”
Sports Media
AFL clinches $75m crypto.com sponsorship deal, first for women’s sport
The AFL has clinched the first major cryptocurrency sports sponsorship in Australia as part of a ground-breaking deal with Crypto.com that will see the global company emerge as a major backer of the AFLW contest, reports The Australian’s John Stensholt.
Attracted by what it says is higher than average usage of cryptocurrency by Australian women by global standards, Crypto.com’s AFLW deal is the first it has struck for a women’s sporting competition around the world.
The Crypto.com agreement with the AFL is estimated to be worth close to $75m over five years. This compares to the $18.5m value of the AFL’s existing major sponsorship with Toyota and the Australian Open’s major partner Kia, which is worth $85m over five years.