Business of Media
Walkley Awards commissions wide-ranging review of its complaints mechanisms
The Walkley Foundation has commissioned a wide-ranging review of its “complaints mechanisms”, amid the fallout from the organisation’s decision to grant one of its prestigious journalism awards to a story that was subsequently discredited, reports News Corp’s James Madden.
Last month, the foundation’s directors announced a review into the Walkley Award won earlier this year by Nine journalists Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell for their series of reports in March 2021 about Queensland MP Andrew Laming, one of which falsely claimed the then-politician had committed the criminal act of “upskirting” – taking a sexually intrusive photograph of someone without their permission.
The launch of that review, in September, came just two days after Dr Laming won a defamation case against Nine, during which the network accepted that a key claim made about the one-time MP in one of the reports was untrue.
A panel of “senior independent experts” will conduct the audit.
Warren Tredrea argues Channel Nine had no grounds to terminate his contract as mandatory vaccination direction was ’not reasonable’
Former AFL great Warren Tredrea is suing Channel Nine after his refusal to get the Covid vaccine saw him axed by the broadcaster, reports News Corp’s Fiona Byrne.
Tredrea, 43, has launched legal action in the Federal Court for breach of contract against Nine South Australia after his exit from the station in January 2022.
Tredrea, a former Port Adelaide Football Club captain and AFL Hall of Fame inductee, is named as the second applicant and described in court documents as being famous for playing AFL football.
Tredrea was halfway through a two year, $192,500 per year, deal with Nine when he publicly stepped away from his sports presenting role in Adelaide in December 2021 over the vaccine standoff.
Streaming apps come to the rescue for local TV networks
The rapid growth and high profitability of the commercial networks’ free-to-air streaming apps have come to the rescue of the local television stations, offsetting the overall decline in their traditional broadcasting operations, reports Nine Publishing’s Edmund Tadros.
This is evident in the results of Nine Entertainment, which reported that its 9Now business generated an annual increase in operating income of 37 per cent, to $101 million in 2021-22.
These results compare with the more modest 14 per cent annual increase in operating income of the free-to-air Channel Nine, to $285 million. The streaming business has the advantage of being able to use content produced by the free-to-air business.
The importance of the streaming apps to the bottom line of the commercial broadcasters is only set to continue, according to modelling by consulting firm PwC.
The consultancy’s mid-point forecast is that the value of the free-to-air television segment, including advertising and other income, will grow by more than 3 per cent a year between 2022 and 2026 to $4.4 billion.
New Weinstein trial to begin in Los Angeles, five years after bombshell reports
Five years after the bombshell reports that ended his career, the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein will go on trial in Los Angeles on Monday over a series of alleged sexual assaults involving five different women, reports The Guardian’s Dani Anguiano.
It’s the second trial of the former Hollywood titan, who has been incarcerated since February 2020 when he was convicted of sexual assault and rape in proceedings in New York.
Authorities extradited Weinstein to California last year to face 11 additional sexual assault charges for alleged attacks that took place between 2004 to 2013, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint and sexual penetration by use of force.
CNN reporter criticised for entering the crime scene of a Thailand massacre
A CNN news crew, including Australian journalist Anna Coren, has been accused of a “serious ethical breach” – and potentially contaminating a crime scene – after entering the Thailand daycare centre where dozens of people, mostly toddlers, were murdered last week, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
The serious security violation is being investigated by Thai authorities, with one local news publication reporting the news crew “would be charged with entering state offices without authorisation and possibly trying to tamper with the evidence” – a crime that carries a jail term of up to five years.
Using footage taken inside the blood-spattered childcare facility, CNN aired a three-minute report that included graphic images of where the stabbings and shootings took place, including a piece-to-camera by Coren during which she points out the bloodstains on the floor and on children’s backpacks, which have yet to be cleaned.
News Brands
LadBible to sack 10% of staff as it warns of tough trading conditions
LadBible, one of the UK’s biggest online media success stories, is sacking 10% of its staff following a slump in its share price and a warning about tough trading conditions, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
The Manchester-based company blamed the state of the economy, which it variously attributed to the war in Ukraine, the hangover from Covid lockdowns and growing price inflation caused by “political instability”.
Staff were told the redundancies, which follow a recent hiring spree, were necessary to “put ourselves in a better position when markets have settled and economic growth returns”.
LadBible was founded by 31-year-old Alexander “Solly” Solomou, who retains a substantial stake but cashed in shares worth about £50m when it floated last December. Since then the share price has fallen by 65% as the market soured on media and tech stocks, leaving some investors facing hefty losses.
Nine, Seven, clash over star drama
Two of Australia’s largest media companies, Nine Entertainment and Seven West, have clashed over allegations that one of Seven’s most high-profile stars misused their generous expense account, reports News Corp’s James Madden.
Nine Newspapers has been pursuing the allegations for months, but the matter escalated last week in a fiery email exchange between Seven’s commercial director Bruce McWilliam and a journalist from The Sydney Morning Herald.
The emails, obtained by The Australian, reveal the media lawyer labels the reporter from the Nine-owned masthead a “complete disgrace” for their line of questioning over the matter, and accuses the newspaper of engaging in a “witch hunt”.
The allegations put by Nine to Seven relate to the staffer’s potential breach of the company’s guidelines on the use of expense accounts.
News Corp shareholder pushes for transparency on lobbying efforts
One of News Corporation’s minority shareholders is requesting the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company disclose more information on government lobbying efforts in the US and other key markets, claiming it is critical to the long-term value of the business, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
Kenneth Steiner, who owns about 500 shares of Class B common stock, has issued a proposal ahead the global media company’s annual general meeting, asking it to create an annual report which would detail policy procedures and payments related to lobbying, as well as membership of tax-exempt organisations.
The board News Corp, which locally runs The Australian and internationally owns The Wall Street Journal and The Times, is urging proxy voters and other shareholders to reject the proposal, which would be presented to the audit committee and posted on News Corp’s website.
Television
The Project issues rules for Lisa Wilkinson ahead of rape trial court appearance
10’s flagship panel show, The Project, has privately issued a series of key “rules” for Lisa Wilkinson to observe as she prepares to give evidence in the trial of the man accused of raping former political staffer Brittany Higgins, reports News Corp’s Nick Tabakoff.
Sources close to The Project have told The Australian that the rules are designed to protect Wilkinson, and help her to avoid any possible legal dramas.
It is understood that the new rules for The Project’s star host have been put in place to avoid any risk of compromising the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who is accused of the alleged rape of Higgins.
The Australian has learnt that The Project’s first rule — which Wilkinson apparently already started to observe last week — is that as long as the trial is making news, the star host won’t be reading the headlines on 10’s flagship panel show.
As a second rule, Wilkinson will not appear on The Project in any way on the days that she is scheduled to give evidence.
However, apart from that exclusion, Wilkinson will — as much as possible — keep to her regular timetable of hosting The Project on Sunday, Thursday and Friday nights.
Keith Urban wants The Voice to keep door open for him amid Aussie leg of world tour
Keith Urban will sit out the next season of reality TV juggernaut The Voice but hopes the door remains open to come back as a coach, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
The multiple Grammy Award winner has appeared in the red chairs alongside Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, and Rita Ora for the past two seasons.
He was a big part of the rejuvenation of the format and booming ratings when the show switched stations to the Seven Network.
“I actually don’t think of it as the end of a chapter at all because I love doing the show,” Urban told The Sunday Telegraph.
“I love the fact that those last two seasons happened and were able to happen for me because I had a blast doing it. I feel very close to everybody on the set and hopefully the door can stay open because I would jump back in a heartbeat.”
Asbestos exposure prompts reset at Million Dollar Island
Production of one of Seven’s most expensive new television formats is temporarily on hold over concerns about the spread of asbestos on the show’s set in Malaysia, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
Million Dollar Island, which was expected to launch on the Seven Network and its digital streaming service 7Plus next year, has temporarily stopped pre-production and is searching for a new location to film, according to sources familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“The production is definitely proceeding,” a spokesperson said. “There is simply a delay in pre-production due to the issue you mentioned. This does not change our transmission date plans.”
Seven announced plans for the program in February this year and confirmed again in June it would proceed with production after NBC cancelled its version of the reality show. It is expected to be hosted by SAS Australia host, Ant Middleton, and was taking place in Malaysia. Delays in production are not uncommon but moving to an alternative set will have an impact on cost. It is not common for asbestos to be a pre-production issue.
Is there a future for late-night talk shows?
Trevor Noah is leaving The Daily Show next year. James Corden, the host of CBS’s The Late Late Show, will depart his show then as well. TBS canceled Full Frontal With Samantha Bee this year, report The New York Times’ John Koblin and Benjamin Mullin.
And at NBC, executives are mulling giving up the 10 p.m. hour to local stations. If they make that move, The Tonight Show, for the first time in its seven-decade run, could begin as early as 10:30 p.m.
All of this has unleashed a big question inside the television industry: What is the future of the late-night talk show?
For decades, late-night shows have been an enormously successful franchise for network television. The costs of the shows were relatively low, and the number of programming hours they offered, as well as the profits they kicked off, were enormous.
But, as streaming has ascended, and network TV audiences and advertising revenue have dwindled, worries that late-night shows could be the latest genre affected by sweeping change are hitting virtually every corner of the entertainment world.
Sports Media
Dropping the ball? What to make of the TV ratings for footy grand finals
The AFL grand final on Seven was one of the year’s most-watched television events, but its average audience of 2,179,000 viewers in the five mainland capital cities is the lowest since OzTam began collecting ratings in 2001, reports Nine Publishing’s Karl Quinn.
A week later, the NRL grand final on Nine set its own unwanted record, with the average metro audience of 1,671,000 its worst result of the OzTam era too.
Even when regional and BVOD viewers (through 9Now and 7Plus) are added, both codes have only once before fared worse since 2003 (as far back as the regional data goes). Only in 2019 did finals for each code draw fewer than the 3,068,000 who watched Sydney get trounced by Geelong in the AFL or the 2,755,000 who watched the Penrith Panthers rip the Paramatta Eels to shreds in the NRL.
So, should the codes, and the broadcasters who pay massive sums to carry them, be worried? Or is this no more than a (double) blip on the broadcasting radar, due in part to a pair of massively underwhelming games?
Paramount could bat for cricket, remains bullish on sports rights
Paramount’s executive vice-president and chief content officer Beverley McGarvey has signalled the streaming and television network will continue its bullish attempts to secure major broadcast rights despite missing out on an AFL deal to boost its local sports offering, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
The US entertainment company, which owns Network 10, is preparing to take back the Big Bash League and may make a play for Test cricket to secure sport for its summer schedule.
In perhaps the clearest sign of its ambitions, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager of broadcast and commercial, Stephanie Beltrame, was seen at the television and streaming company’s annual television upfront last week.
“We are full service, we are multi-genre,” McGarvey said when asked whether Paramount’s sports strategy has changed after AFL talks. “All the AFL did was indicate to the market that we do have the investment capability. We are serious about making tactical decisions across a range of content and that really hasn’t changed.”
McGarvey did not specify Paramount’s interest in cricket or the BBL, but Paramount sources have confirmed they are interested.
See Also: Inside 10’s Upfront: Tom Gleeson signs on, Rodger Corser and Charlie Pickering return