Business of Media
WPP is considering sale of stake in Bain’s Kantar-source
WPP is considering the sale of its 40% stake in Kantar, a person with knowledge of the situation said, which could be valued at up to $8 billion including debt, reports Reuters’ Amy-Jo Crowley.
The London-headquartered advertising company is working with an adviser and is considering selling the stake in the market research firm outright or selling it to co-shareholder Bain, the private equity fund, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Shares in WPP turned higher after the report, rising 1.2%.
A sale could help bolster confidence in WPP shares after the ad group in October cut its outlook for the second time in as many quarters. Shares fell to a three year low on the news.
See also: WPP announces merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create VML
Date yet to be confirmed for Kyle and Jackie O’s expansion to the Melbourne airwaves
The hotly anticipated Melbourne radio debut of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O has been delayed, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
The powerhouse breakfast duo, who signed a staggering $200m 10-year contract extension with ARN in November, are due back on air on Monday in Sydney.
But a date has yet to be confirmed for their expansion to the Melbourne airwaves, with KIIS FM saying that The Kyle and Jackie O Show “is coming very soon”.
See also: Mediaweek’s A to Z of 2023: K is for Kyle and Jackie O – will they create a Melbourne storm?
Legal experts say OpenAI has ‘case to answer’ in showdown with New York Times
The New York Times claim against OpenAI appears to give the tech company “a case to answer” and puts it on the “horns of a dilemma” in its negotiations with other publishers, IP experts have told Press Gazette, reports Charlotte Tabitt.
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and its partner Microsoft for copyright, arguing they “disproportionately” used its content archive to train ChatGPT and asking for all large language models that have been trained on its copyrighted work to be destroyed.
Television
Gladiators is back! More shiny, loud, camp and silly than ever
We knew they’d be back . They were canned in 1996, they were canned in 2008, but there is no way to keep the Gladiators off screens permanently. The show is just too perfect: too big, too shiny, too over the top, too ridiculous, too exquisitely aligned with everything the television industry wants to think of itself as, to ever be entirely extinguished. So it’s back, and Australian TV just might have its first big comedy hit of the year, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Ben Pobjie.
See also: Are you ready? Meet the Gladiators Australia 2024 cast
Project star Steve Price explodes at ‘woke’ supermarkets after Australia Day ban
Steve Price has lashed out at “woke” corporate Australia for their “dumb” decision to ban Australia Day merchandise, reports News Corp.
The Project host slammed Aldi and Woolworths, who have both announced that they will not be stocking products related to the national holiday, currently celebrated on January 26.
The date is considered by many First Nations people and other Australians not to be a day of celebration but rather one of mourning, marking the day the British permanently colonised Australia and thus “invaded” Indigenous land.
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2024: nominees
Nominees have been announced in the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, reports TV Tonight’s David Knox.
TV nominees include The Crown, The Last of Us, Succession, Ted Lasso, The Bear, Only Murders in the Building and more.
New Marvel series Echo celebrates Choctaw heritage, powwows and sign language
When production started on the new Marvel TV series Echo, it began with a traditional native blessing ceremony for the cast and crew, followed by a traditional Choctaw hymn, reports ABC’s Thuy Ong.
“It set a tone,” actor Chaske Spencer, who plays Uncle Henry on the series, told ABC News. “We all knew what we’re going to do here and we were in a special project and when you have a ceremony like that, it just puts good vibes in the air.”