Business of Media
Tabcorp backs gambling ads crackdown as Michelle Rowland remains tight-lipped
Gaming giant Tabcorp says it backs a cut in gambling advertising amid speculation the Albanese government may be preparing to water down a proposed crackdown, reports The Australian’s Glen Norris.
In its submission, Tabcorp said gambling advertising was at a record level, and 55 per cent of Australians think there is too much gambling advertising.
Tabcorp said such advertising should only be seen in places where “people go to gamble, including pubs, clubs, or racetracks or on exclusive platforms dedicated to gambling events such as Sky Racing TV and radio.”
See also: Networks call for spectrum fee cut as gambling ad ban proposal finalised
A Special decade as independent creative agency celebrates milestone
Independent creative advertising agency Special Australia has marked 10 years since opening its doors in Sydney by collecting its 46th Agency of the Year award from trade publications, reports The Australian’s Danielle Long.
The latest award adds to the Sydney-based agency’s collection of local and global trophies for the business, which employs 126 people across Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo, and counts Uber and Uber Eats, Virgin Australia, Pepsi, Bonds, IGA, Cricket Australia, eBay and Coopers as its clients.
The 10-year mark is a significant milestone in a market besieged by shrinking marketing budgets and a devaluation of the power of creativity.
Elon Musk sues OpenAI and its CEO in new lawsuit challenging Microsoft partnership
Elon Musk is reigniting a legal battle against OpenAI over its for-profit pivot, this time looking to void the company’s partnership with Microsoft, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Winston Cho.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California on Monday, alleges fraud and breach of contract over claims that the Tesla founder was swindled when he invested roughly $45 million into the AI venture, which he says betrayed its original mission to safely develop the technology “for the benefit of humanity.” In Musk’s telling, chief executive Sam Altman illegally partnered with Microsoft to establish a web of illicit affiliates and plunder its nonprofit arm of assets and staff in violation of their deal.
Entertainment
Charli xcx and Billie Eilish make streaming history with Guess remix
Brat summer is alive and thriving with Charli xcx‘s remix of Guess featuring Billie Eilish earning the title of the biggest debut for a female remix on Global Spotify, reports the ABC’s Velvet Winter.
The track clocked in an impressive 6.857 million (!!!) streams over the weekend, easily surpassing the previous record set by Taylor Swift and Ice Spice‘s 2023 Karma collab.
The Guess remix is momentous in a couple of ways, with Charli securing her first US Spotify #1 since her breakthrough single Fancy all the way back in 2014.
Radio
‘We’re not like Kyle and Jackie O’: B105 host’s candid cash confession
B105 is dominating the Brisbane radio ratings charts at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’s hosts are raking in the big bucks. At least that’s according to breakfast co-host Matty Acton, reports News Corp’s Georgia Clelland.
While the job might seem glamorous to the public, Acton claims the off-air grind of the job is very real and that he is definitely not rolling in cash.
“I think people hear about radio hosts like Kyle and Jackie O who are getting paid $1m a year and think it’s the same for everyone – which it definitely is not,” Acton said.
Television
Star spills on Neighbours exit: ‘Wasn’t my choice’
Aussie soap opera veteran Ryan Moloney has given further details about his exit from Neighbours after almost 30 years – revealing that in fact, it wasn’t his choice to leave the show, reports News Corp’s Nick Bond.
In a recent interview with Australian soap opera website Back to the Bay, Moloney opened up about leaving Toadfish behind after all these years.
“Well, it actually wasn’t my choice. It was their choice,” he told the outlet.
Stuff the British Stole spin-off in development
With two seasons of Stuff the British Stole completed, host and producer Marc Fennell is hoping for a third, and a spin-off, reports TV Tonight.
Stuff the French Stole? Stuff the Spanish Stole perhaps?
“I’ve already done the development on what I would hope is the first spin-off. It’s none of the ones you mentioned, but it is something that everybody cares about,” Fennell told TV Tonight.
Streamers can’t get enough of true story TV. Cue the lawsuits.
Streaming audiences have devoured Netflix shows like Baby Reindeer and Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal that offer juicy tales of malfeasance based on true stories. People who lived the real-world versions of those stories are often less pleased, report The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint and Itzel Luna.
A yearslong boom in true-crime shows, documentaries and scripted retellings of real events has spurred a host of defamation lawsuits from subjects who feel they were unfairly portrayed.
Some creative executives say the rush to produce ever more during the content heyday has, at times, led to sloppiness and corner cutting in the industry.
Sports Media
How Snoop Dogg is embodying feelgood spirit of Paris Olympics
Dressed for equestrianism and carrying a carrot for any hungry horse, Snoop Dogg has further cemented his status as one of the most upbeat icons at the feelgood Summer Olympics in Paris, where he has popped up everywhere in an impressive array of sporting uniforms to root for the athletes and share his uniquely chill brand of good cheer, reports The Guardian’s Deborah Cole.
From the moment he carried the Olympic torch through its final stages in Saint-Denis to mark the beginning of the 33rd Games to his appearance this weekend at the dressage, no one has appeared to be having as much fun in the French capital as the US rapper.