Business of Media
Telstra CEO Andy Penn ‘would support’ a Foxtel IPO
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has welcomed the prospect of a Foxtel IPO if it was to boost the business, describing himself as a big believer in the entertainment company’s strategy and overall vision, reports News Corp’s David Swan.
Speaking to The Australian on Thursday, Penn said that both he and Telstra customers had reaped the benefits of the telco’s 35 per cent stake in Foxtel, which is 65 per cent owned by News Corp, as speculation about a potential IPO ramps up.
“I came under a lot of pressure and a lot of people were critical of me and had points of view about, ‘you should sell Foxtel, et cetera et cetera’, and I’ve always been of the point of view that actually the content that Foxtel has and the offering is incredibly important and unique and very hard to replicate in Australia, and highly valued by our customers,” Penn said.
“We would be supportive of enabling an IPO, if that could then further enhance the opportunities for Foxtel in the future. And I remain committed to that. We’re not proposing to exit Foxtel, we would have to dilute a bit to enable and support an IPO which I’d be supportive of doing, but I see us as a long-term investor and that has never changed from my point of view.”
Domain acquires data business for $60m cash
Domain has finalised a $60 million cash deal to acquire property data business Insight Data Solutions to help the property portal push into the financial institutions and government markets, reports AFR‘s Miranda Ward.
Domain Group, which is 60 per cent owned by Nine Entertainment (the owner of this masthead) will acquire 100 per cent of the securities in Insight Data Solutions in an acquisition that is expected to be completed in mid-October.
It is part of Domain’s strategy to expand its addressable market beyond agents and consumers to financial institutions and government. The acquisition of Insight Data Solutions will significantly expand the size of the property data solutions pillar of Domain’s marketplace strategy.
Global agency VCCP Business acquires Sling & Stone
Public relations agency Sling & Stone has been acquired by global communications agency VCCP Business, with the combined agencies expected to bring in upwards of $50 million a year in billings, reports AFR’s Anthony Macdonald and Yolanda Redrup.
Founded in 2010 by Vuki Vujasinovic, Sling & Stone has grown from its base in Sydney to also include offices in Los Angeles and Auckland and employs 70 people.
The PR firm works with clients such as Twitter, Google, Stripe, Xero, and Zip, having launched with a focus on start-ups and high-growth tech companies.
Under the VCCP business, Sling & Stone will work with tech-focused communications agencies such as Method in North America and Harvard in the UK, as well as advocacy specialist agency inEvidence.
News Brands
ABC reporter Tony Armstrong clears up reports he’s joined OnlyFans
False alarm, Tony Armstrong fans – the man himself has confirmed the newly-launched OnlyFans account set up in his name “for charity” is definitely not connected him, reports News Corp’s Nick Bond.
Just days after the beloved ABC sports reporter went viral for making an X-rated slip-up during a broadcast, it briefly appeared today that he’d launched an OnlyFans account.
The account’s first post reads: “Welcome to my OnlyFans. Good vibes only. I‘ll be posting a couple of times a week. All profits til the end of the month will go to RCD Foundation which raises funds for brain cancer research.”
For $US4.99 per month, so far the account offered fans a couple of candid at-home selfies of Armstrong. The bio teased that it’ll be “delivering you what you didn’t know you needed ;-)”
But suspicions were raised when Tony himself hadn’t acknowledged the OnlyFans account on either his public Twitter or Instagram pages, with the announcement instead coming from fellow journo Osman Faruqi on Twitter today. However, the OnlyFans account did come complete with a verified ‘tick’.
Television
Court will see ‘extensive footage’ in Andrew O’Keefe domestic violence case
“Extensive footage” of former TV presenter Andrew O’Keefe on the night he allegedly assaulted a woman will be played to a courtroom, reports News Corp’s Carla Hildebrandt.
The Aussie household personality who hosted Deal or No Deal pleaded not guilty on Thursday through his lawyer in the Waverley Local Court to assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, contravening an apprehended violence order and resisting police.
But O’Keefe will have to wait a year to fight the domestic violence charges, with court hearing dates backed up until August 2022.
Police allege O’Keefe – who is currently living at a Sydney hotel – visited a woman’s home in Point Piper on Wednesday, September 8, before becoming aggressive and assaulting her about 7pm.
He spent a night in hospital before being transferred to the police station.
Sunrise apologises after Thomas Markle Sr. comments
Sunrise has been forced to issue an apology following comments made yesterday by Thomas Markle Sr. in a live interview, reports TV Tonight.
This morning David Koch told viewers, “On yesterday’s program in a live interview, Thomas Markle Sr., not uncharacteristically went a bit rogue, making some pretty wild and unfounded allegations, including against Dylan Howard, an Australian journalist now living and working in the US, and Jeff Rayner, a Los Angeles-based photographer.
“Seven did not intend for such allegations to be broadcast and has subsequently removed them from all versions of the program,” said Natalie Barr.
“We would like to apologise to those gentlemen named by Mr Markle that the allegations went to air.”
“We did promise an unfiltered interview with Thomas Markle….” said Koch. “In retrospect maybe we should have put a filter on him.”
Michael Clarke pulls out of SAS Australia season 3
Former Aussie cricket captain Michael Clarke has pulled out of the next season of SAS Australia after signing a contract to compete on the gruelling reality show, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
The cricket great is understood to have notified Channel 7 he would not be competing, the day after Monday’s season two premiere.
Clarke, 40, has been photographed over recent weeks out and about in exercise clothing with rumoured on-again, off-again girlfriend Pip Edwards and was snapped diving off his boat on Sydney Harbour two days prior to pulling out of SAS Australia.
He is believed to have cited a flared-up back injury that occurred during recent training for the show as his reason for backing out of the show and is understood to have made the decision under the advice of his doctor and physiotherapist.