Business of Media
Jeff Browne, media executives look at Nine Entertainment board vacancy
MA Financial chairman Jeff Browne and former APN News & Media boss Brett Chenoweth are among a small group of executives who have spoken to people tasked with filling a vacant seat on the Nine Entertainment board, reports Nine Publishing’s Mark Di Stefano.
The company has also been working with an executive recruitment firm to fill the position, which became available after the exit of former Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon, at the time Nine’s deputy chairman, from the board.
Several executives have spoken to the firm or to others close to the process to gauge their interest, including Browne, Chenoweth, former Network 10 chief executive Paul Anderson and Tony Faure, who chairs outdoor advertising firm oOh!media.
Recruiters had been instructed to search for candidates with media and content backgrounds. Ultimately, Nine chairman Peter Costello is leading the search for a new director. The former federal treasurer and current Future Fund chairman is expected to re-nominate for his position at Nine at the company’s annual meeting this year. He has been on the board since 2013 and has served as chairman since 2016.
$880m erased: Tucker Carlson’s exit shakes up Wall Street
Tucker Carlson, one of the most popular Fox News prime-time hosts, was worth more than $US590 million ($881 million) to the parent company. At least that is what trading in the stock indicates, report Nine Publishing’s Bailey Lipschultz and Gerry Smith.
Class A shares of Fox Corp. sank as much as 5.4 per cent on Monday, the most since October, after the company said Carlson had left with immediate effect. They closed 2.4 per cent lower. The departure comes just days after the network agreed to pay $US787 million to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
“Fox Cable News is now in rebuilding mode, and it will likely take time for the stock to recover,” said KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel. “With the advertising upfronts right around the corner in May, we wonder what Fox is going to tell advertisers and how it will fill the gap in terms of programming and viewership.”
Excluding sports, Tucker Carlson Tonight is the top rated prime-time show on cable TV, according to the most recent Nielsen ratings, with a nightly audience that at times exceeded 3.7 million viewers. That said, the channel is likely to regain the majority of its overall viewership once a replacement host is announced, Nispel said.
See Also: Superstar TV news hosts out: Tucker Carlson gone at Fox, Don Lemon fired by CNN
Murdoch firm ‘paid secret phone-hacking settlement to Prince William’
Rupert Murdoch’s media business secretly paid Prince William a “very large sum of money” to quietly settle a phone-hacking claim, according to new court filings, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
The Prince of Wales received the previously undisclosed payment in 2020 after bringing a legal claim against the owner of the Sun and the News of the World.
Details of the settlement were given in legal documents submitted by his brother, Prince Harry, as part of his own legal battle with the publisher, which returns to the high court on Tuesday.
Harry told the court his attempts to seek an apology from Murdoch’s company over phone hacking were carried out with the approval of his grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The royal claims there was a secret agreement struck between royal family and “senior executives” at Murdoch’s company at some point before 2012. As part of this supposed deal the princes would delay legal proceedings against the newspaper group in return for receiving an apology at a later date.
Television
Tony Armstrong on why he’d never do reality TV
In a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About, Tony Armstrong – TV presenter and former footy star – opens up about finding the balance between popularity and personality, playing cat and mouse for the sake of his privacy, and the complicated politics of the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum, reports News Corp’s Sarrah Le Marquand.
As for that alleged career move into acting? He sets the record straight.
“I reckon pretty much all of them have come knocking at some point. So I think like, pretty much anything in reality is … not something I’m interested in. But I think most of them have come knocking at one point or another. And I just … can’t see myself like doing that. I mean, full respect to people who can do it, but it’s just not me. I think with cameras on the whole time, I’d go crazy.”
‘One of the last TV shows I do’: Barry Humphries’ surprising royal connection
At the start of this episode, which opens the 14th season of Who Do You Think You Are?, Barry Humphries explains that his participation in it was motivated by curiosity and vanity, as well as the knowledge that “it might be one of the last TV shows I do because, in spite of my appearance, I’m quite old.” Sadly the remark proved prescient and, following his recent death, it functions as something of a tribute to the man and an illustration of some of his talents, reports Nine Publishing’s Debi Enker.
Soon after that, with a characteristically mischievous glint in his eye, the 89-year-old, one-of-a-kind entertainer declares, “I’m still fairly convinced that if there is an interesting person in my family tree, it’s me. I doubt if there’s anyone as interesting as I am. I’ll be fascinated to know how wrong I am.”
The prediction is possibly an accurate reflection of what he believed, or maybe just a bit of cheeky fun. Either way, it makes for a good set-up. It’s also a typically provocative pronouncement from a performer who made an art and a seven-decade international career from piercing observations, rapier wit, sly social commentary and bursts of outrageousness. Most came via his characters: self-anointed housewife superstar Dame Edna Everage, grotty politician Sir Les Patterson and suburban stalwart Sandy Stone.
Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with The Stars judge Len Goodman dies aged 78
Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, has died aged 78, reports the ABC.
His agent, Jackie Gill, said he “passed away peacefully” on Saturday night.
He had been earlier diagnosed with bone cancer.
A former professional ballroom dancer and British champion, Goodman was head judge on Strictly Come Dancing for 12 years from its launch on the BBC in 2004.
The dance competition, which pairs celebrities with professional dance partners, was a surprise hit and has become one of the network’s most popular shows.
Goodman’s pithy observations, delivered in a Cockney accent, endeared him to viewers.
Huge hit Netflix show to return after four years
Black Mirror looks like it could be making a return to Netflix after four years and fans are losing their minds, reports News Corp’s Hana Carter.
The show’s Twitter account sprung back to life after years of silence, which TV buffs are taking as a major hint that the mind-bending series is coming back.
“What have we missed?” read the tweet, and at the time of writing it has already racked up 21,000 likes.
To add fuel to the speculation, the show’s creator Charlie Brooker responded with a quizzical face emoji.
Netflix also responded with a jokey reply: “Scientists are still creating robots that slowly harness more and more advanced AI like they haven’t watched a single episode of your show.”
King Charles and Camilla to unveil Eurovision 2023 stage in Liverpool
King Charles and Queen Camilla are big Eurovision fans. The royal couple will head to Liverpool this week to reveal the stage for the 2023 contest which kicks off a week of rehearsals amid the build-up to the Coronation festivities, reports News Corp’s Kathy McCabe.
Charles III will flick the switch to light the stage at the M & S Bank Arena for the first time on Thursday (AEST) and meet with hosts including award-winning Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and UK contestant Mae Muller.
The King’s love of the show was revealed in 2021, when he chose The Voice by Irish singer Eimear Quinn, which won Eurovision in 1996, as one of his favourite songs for a hospital radio show.
ABC issues corrective note after Q+A question
ABC has issued a statement following a person identifying themselves as a Vietnam veteran when asking a question on Q+A, reports TV Tonight.
In a statement ABC said, “During the 24 April episode of Q+A, a questioner incorrectly referred to himself as a Vietnam veteran. His description of an incident that was detailed during the program was inaccurate.”
While it isn’t clear how the error occured in 2022 Executive Producer Erin Vincent told TV Tonight, the Q+A team takes steps to verify information, especially where individuals are selected to ask a question.