Business of Media
Nine boss says no need to acquire WIN Television
Nine Entertainment does not need to acquire regional broadcaster WIN Television as its affiliate arrangement is already delivering the benefits of combining the two companies, chief executive Mike Sneesby said, reports AFR’s Miranda Ward.
But Sneesby, who was speaking at the UBS Australasia conference on Tuesday, said the company is open to growth opportunities in digital, as he faced questions about Nine’s balance sheet capacity to mimic Seven’s move to buy regional broadcaster Prime Media.
“We’ve obviously switched over to an affiliate deal with WIN and there’s a crossholding there, it means we are very close partner with WIN,” Sneesby said.
“We were able to effectively gain the benefits of being a single company without owning WIN TV. We’ve already integrated opportunities across our sales teams, and a range of other operational things which give us advantage both for WIN and for Nine. Suffice to say, we’re extracting value from a very close commercial partnership without the need to buy WIN Television.”
Man sues Seven for broadcasting his photo as Cleo Smith‘s alleged abductor
A WA man has launched a defamation lawsuit against the Seven Network after it incorrectly identified him as “the man accused of abducting Cleo Smith”, reports News Corp’s Perry Duffin.
Little Cleo‘s disappearance from her parents’ campsite had shocked Australia — and the nation was united in joy when the four-year-old was miraculously saved by WA Police in the nearby town of Carnarvon.
Terence Darrell Kelly was arrested by police after they found Cleo in his home and he remains before the courts.
But 7 News, on November 3, published a broadcast, article and multiple social media posts with headlines such as “PICTURED: The man accused of abducting Cleo Smith named as Terrance Kelly, 36”.
Nyamal man Terrance Flowers — who also goes by his mother‘s surname Kelly — had nothing to do with the alleged abduction of Cleo but it was his Facebook photograph that ran in the stories.
Podcasting
Former William Tyrrell lead detective Gary Jubelin has defended his investigation
The former lead detective in the William Tyrrell case has hit back at criticism from the current NSW Police commissioner that the previous investigation was “wasted time” and left in a “mess”, reports News Corp’s Josh Hanrahan.
Gary Jubelin was the face of the search for William for more than four years from early 2015 through until 2019 when he was stood down as the head of Strike Force Rosann, just months before leaving the force, and turning to podcasting.
Since then the investigation has been headed by Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw who is overseeing the current search for William’s remains at Kendall, on the NSW north coast, off the back of “new evidence” about his 2014 disappearance.
But it was the old investigation that came under criticism by Commissioner Mick Fuller on 2GB on Tuesday morning when he said the previous investigation – led by Jubelin – “looked at some persons of interest that were clearly not” and that the current homicide team “inherited what was a bit of a mess”.
When asked about his reaction to the comments, Jubelin said he stood by all the decisions he made when in charge of the search for William – and added they were documented and signed off on by senior officers.
Publishing
9Honey celebrates its fifth birthday with new columnists and content series
Women’s lifestyle network 9Honey today marks its 5th birthday with an expansion of its editorial offering, by announcing new columnists and content series.
As 9Honey marks its milestone birthday, it will launch various content series covering topics as varied as consumer issues, product reviews to pets. New columnists have also been appointed including Miss Universe Australia 2020 Maria Thattil (pictured).
With more than 200,000 Instagram followers, Thattil is an influential voice in calling for social change in inclusion and equality.
“To write for a platform like 9Honey means my words are going to have reach and impact,” says Thattil. “I can’t wait to tell different Australian stories that maybe haven’t been told in the mainstream before, or experiences that people thought they couldn’t talk about.
“The biggest message I want to drive home is that we should celebrate – and have an appreciation – for differences, no matter what that looks like, because there is so much beauty, authenticity and power in acknowledging the things that make you different.”
Dietician Susie Burrell will also join the team with a focus on wellness, nutrition and putting your health first, and 9Honey will also introduce hip-pocket hero ‘Judge Jo’ who will be road testing consumer goods to show what to buy and what to avoid, plus there will be a renewed focus on travel as Australia and the world opens up.
Nine digital editorial director and 9Honey’s founding editor Kerri Elstub says 9Honey has changed a lot during those five years.
“Our lifestyle brand has grown beyond our wildest expectations. We’ve become a true multi-platform voice for Australian women. Whether it’s online, through our TV and video content or our social reach, 9Honey is everywhere you are.”
Streaming
Netflix changes how it measures its daily top 10
In its third quarter earnings, Netflix announced it would change how it reports viewing metrics. The public facing aspect of that switch goes into effect Tuesday, reports The Hollywood Reporter‘s Rick Potter.
The streamer says it’s changing the way it reports its in-app top 10 lists, and it will supplement those local lists with a website showing top titles in more than 90 countries. The rankings will now be based on the total number of hours viewed for a given title, rather than Netflix’s previous standard of a two-minute sample.
The change is a move toward some data transparency at Netflix, although it — along with every other streaming provider — also collects a lot of information that remains at the level of state secret. That includes how many users complete a show or film, whether a title drives subscriptions or retention of existing users and what Netflix terms “efficiency,” a measure of cost vs. the number of people who watched a given title. Total viewing time is, however, a more digestible metric than its former two-minute “view” standard and could give producers and talent a bit of insight into how the projects they make for Netflix perform — at least relative to other titles on the platform.
Television
La Brea set to return to Victoria
In good news for the local production sector, TV Tonight hears whispers that US fantasy series La Brea will return to Australia for its second season.
Filming is expected to resume in Victoria in late March.
The series around a sinkhole opening up in Los Angeles staged its disaster scenes in Port Melbourne with further locations in Mt Macedon, Coburg, Essendon, Melbourne University, Rye, Pascoe Vale, Kew and at Docklands Studios. This time around there should be less COVID restrictions in travel and production given the country is reopening internationally.
Producers to mentor emerging talent
Screen Producers Australia has paired seasoned producers to mentor their annual Ones to Watch for 2021, reports TV Tonight.
They will assist emerging producers as they build their projects ahead of pitching at Screen Forever’s SPA Connect Market in March 2022.
Brooke Collard – Ian Darling, Shark Island
David Holroyd – Nathan Mayfield & Tracey Robertson, Hoodlum Entertainment
Georgia Humphreys – Carly Heaton, Fremantle Australia
Hannah Ngo – Chris Oliver-Taylor, Fremantle Australia (pictured top right)
Jessica Magro – Helen Bowden & Tess Novak, Lingo Pictures
Jo Austin – Angie Fielder & Polly Staniford, Aquarius Films (pictured left)
Julia Corcoran – Liz Watts, Spirit Pictures
Kate Separovich – Mike Cowap, Princess Pictures
Liam Heyen – Tony Ayres, Tony Ayres Productions (pictured bottom right)
Molly O’Connor – Rebecca Summerton, Closer Productions
Sara Taghaode – Nick Murray, CJZ
William Duan – Michael McMahon, Big and Little Films