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Mr. McMahon (Netflix)

 

Combat Sports Week

September 11,
2024
WWE Speed
Naomi vs Blair Davenport

September 13, 2024
WWE SmackDown

Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa - Steel Cage Match - Undisputed WWE Title
Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, Washington

September 13, 2024
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
BKFC 66 - Blass vs Reber
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel. Hollywood, Florida

September 14
UFC
UFC Noche aka UFC 306
Sphere, Las Vegas
O'Malley vs Dvalishvili

September 14
Premier Boxing Champions
MGM T-Mobile Arena

 

 

Combat Sports News

X And Grok Takes Fans And Sports Media Across The Globe: Media Man

MMA Fighter's Head Kick in Boxing Match

During a recent boxing match, an MMA fighter, facing defeat in his boxing debut, controversially knocked out his opponent with an illegal head kick, leading to his disqualification. This event drew widespread attention and humorously reminded fans of the much-anticipated but differently executed fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. Many fans expressed a wishful scenario where McGregor would have used similar unorthodox tactics against Mayweather, highlighting the contrast between the restrictive rules of boxing and the more varied striking techniques allowed in MMA. The incident sparked a humorous yet reflective discussion on the constraints of boxing rules and the crossover expectations from MMA fighters entering the boxing ring. (Grok)

News

McGregor-Mayweather Fight Speculation

During a boxing match, MMA fighter Idris Abdurashitov was disqualified for knocking out his opponent, Bagher Faraji, with an illegal head kick. This incident has led to widespread discussion among fans and commentators, many of whom humorously wished for a similar scenario during the boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. The general sentiment reflects a mix of amusement and frustration over the strict rules of boxing compared to the more varied techniques allowed in MMA, highlighting the different expectations and strategies between the two sports. (Grok)

News

Trump's Wrestling Talk with The Undertaker

Based on the latest information available up to October 21, 2024, Donald Trump has engaged in several activities involving the wrestling world:

Podcast Appearance: Donald Trump appeared on The Undertaker's podcast, "Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway." During this appearance, Trump discussed various topics, including his history with wrestling, asking about the current scene in WWE, and the mechanics of wrestling like the hardness of the ring. They also delved into more political discussions, reflecting on what's at stake in the upcoming presidential election.

Endorsement Video: Trump shared a video on TikTok where he was endorsed by Mark Calaway (The Undertaker) and Glenn Jacobs (Kane). This was an unusual endorsement where they also took the opportunity to mock the Democratic ticket, showing unflattering pictures of Kamala Harris, Dave Bautista, and Tim Walz, as part of their promotional tactic for the election, likening it to a wrestling event with "ElectionMania."

Wrestling Insights: Trump has shown curiosity about the wrestling business, asking The Undertaker questions that are common among those outside the industry, like the reality of wrestling moves, the hardness of the ring, and how wrestlers handle real-life conflicts in the ring. This conversation provided insights into Trump's long-standing relationship with WWE, including his involvement in past WrestleManias.

Political and Wrestling Crossover: Trump's interaction with wrestling personalities isn't just for entertainment; it's also a part of his campaign strategy, targeting demographics that follow wrestling. This includes discussing wrestling stars like Cody Rhodes and Gunther, indicating his attempt to stay connected with pop culture and sports entertainment to appeal to voters.

From posts on X and other sources, there hasn't been a new, significant event or statement directly labeled as "Trump's Wrestling Talk with The Undertaker" beyond what's been described, but Trump's engagement with wrestling personalities and platforms continues to be part of his public persona and political strategy. (Grok)

News

The Rock's Reach Out to Trump Post-Assassination Attempt

Donald Trump appeared as a guest on The Undertaker's podcast, 'Six Feet Under,' where the discussion unexpectedly turned into Trump interviewing The Undertaker about wrestling rather than focusing on politics. During the podcast, Trump disclosed that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson had contacted him through Dana White following an assassination attempt on Trump, expressing concern for his safety. Trump expressed surprise at this gesture, having previously believed The Rock did not like him. The Undertaker commented on how Trump has made politics entertaining, comparing it to the spectacle of wrestling where fans sometimes confuse the performance with reality. Trump also boasted about the large crowds at his political events, likening them to wrestling audiences. (Grok)

News

UFC 308 Fight Week Anticipation

Here's what's buzzing around UFC 308 as of the latest posts and information available up to October 21, 2024:

Fight Card and Main Events: UFC 308 is headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship bout where the current champion Ilia Topuria will defend his title against former champion Max Holloway. Another highlight is the middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Location and Date: The event is set to occur on October 26, 2024, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Fight Week Kickoff: UFC 308 Fight Week has officially started, with various fan and media activities planned throughout the week, including fan zones, athlete meet and greets at Yas Mall and Yas Bay, and the UFC 308 Press Conference.

Broadcast Details: The event will be available live on PPV, with the main card starting at 2 PM ET in the U.S. For viewers in the UK, it's set to be broadcast live on TNT Sports Box Office.

Fighter Updates and Speculations: There was some buzz about Max Holloway's weight cut, with observations suggesting he has a significant cut, potentially impacting his performance, though stylistically, the fight with Topuria is expected to be close.
A false claim circulated about Lerone Murphy being out and replaced by Jean Silva against Dan Ige, but this was debunked by Dan Ige himself.
Betting odds and potential upsets are a hot topic, with some fans and analysts pointing out that there might be some underdogs worth watching, like Holloway and Whittaker, who are not favored by the odds.

Community and Expert Analysis: Discussions are rife about the potential outcomes, with some analysts and former fighters like Megan Anderson offering breakdowns of the main and co-main events. There's also a bit of skepticism and strategic analysis on how the fights might go, with emphasis on the stylistic matchups and the physical condition of fighters like Holloway.

Public Sentiment: There's considerable excitement about the card being stacked, with fans eagerly anticipating knockouts and high-action fights, especially given the heavy hitters scheduled for the event.

Remember, while X posts provide real-time reactions and some insights, they're not always accurate or comprehensive sources for event details or outcomes. However, they do capture the community's pulse leading up to UFC 308. (Grok)

News

Anticipation for Bron Breakker vs Jacob Fatu

During WWE Raw, fans witnessed several key events including Bron Breakker defeating Jey Uso to become the new Intercontinental Champion, amidst excitement over a potential future match between Bron Breakker and Jacob Fatu. This match-up has generated significant anticipation among fans, who describe it as a highly anticipated, potentially explosive encounter. Additionally, Seth Rollins was involved in a notable confrontation with Bronson Reed. The episode also featured moments involving The New Day and the LWO, contributing to the night's dynamic action and storyline developments. (Grok)

News

Wyatt Sicks vs. Final Testament

Based on recent events in WWE as of October 21, 2024:

The Wyatt Sicks made a notable return on WWE Raw, where they targeted The Final Testament. This happened during a match involving The New Day and the Authors of Pain (AOP), where R-Truth's interference led to a chaotic scene. After The New Day won, The Wyatt Sicks appeared, leading to a brawl with The Final Testament, showcasing a new feud or at least a significant confrontation.

Bo Dallas, portraying Uncle Howdy, applied the Mandible Claw on Paul Ellering, The Final Testament's manager, indicating a direct attack on the leadership or symbolic figure of the opposing faction.

The Wyatt Sicks have been described as having been off television for a few weeks prior to this event but have been keeping the storyline alive through teasers. Their return marks a continuation or possibly an escalation of their storyline involving The Final Testament.

There's also an indication of ongoing tensions and brawls involving other WWE superstars like Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed, suggesting a highly volatile environment on Raw, within which this feud is unfolding.

From posts on X, although not directly quoted or referenced in detail here:

The Wyatt Sicks have used the platform to send cryptic and menacing messages, hinting at themes of deception, pride, and upcoming confrontations, aligning with their eerie and psychological warfare style of storytelling in WWE.

This return and attack signify that The Wyatt Sicks are not only back in the physical sense on WWE programming but are also actively engaging in psychological warfare both in the ring and through social media, setting the stage for what could be an intense rivalry with The Final Testament. (Grok)

News

Rollins vs Reed Set for WWE Crown Jewel

Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed are set to compete against each other at WWE Crown Jewel, following a series of aggressive confrontations on WWE Raw. The feud intensified with Rollins attacking Reed both backstage and during live events, leading to a notable brawl. WWE official Adam Pearce officially announced their match for the upcoming Crown Jewel event, escalating the anticipation for their showdown. (Grok)

News

Rhea Ripley's Dominance at WWE Raw

During a recent WWE Raw event, Rhea Ripley was a central figure, engaging in a match where she single-handedly faced three opponents, showcasing her dominance. This event highlighted her ongoing feud with Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan, with many fans expressing fatigue over the storyline's continuation. While Rhea Ripley's performances were widely praised for their intensity and skill, there was a mixed reception towards Raquel Rodriguez's involvement. Some fans felt her portrayal lacked impact and questioned her effectiveness in the storyline. The episode also featured moments like Rhea Ripley costing Liv Morgan a match, further escalating their rivalry. Overall, the event demonstrated strong performances from Rhea Ripley but also sparked discussions about the direction and development of her feud with Raquel Rodriguez. (Grok)

News/Profile

WWE NXT

As of my last update, WWE NXT has continued to evolve, serving as WWE's developmental territory while also establishing itself as a unique brand with its own fanbase. Here's a brief overview and some recent developments based on general knowledge up to October 2024:

Rebranding and Focus: After transitioning from the "NXT 2.0" era, which saw a vibrant rebranding in color schemes and a focus on developing new talents, NXT has somewhat returned to its roots while keeping the developmental aspect strong. The brand balances between showcasing up-and-coming wrestlers and occasionally featuring established stars.

Broadcast: NXT airs live on The CW as of 2024, having moved from USA Network. This move was part of WWE's strategy to potentially reach a broader audience on network television.

Talent Development: NXT remains crucial for WWE's strategy of grooming future main roster superstars. It's where talents refine their characters, in-ring skills, and promos before potentially moving to Raw or SmackDown.

Events: NXT continues to produce special events like NXT TakeOver, although the frequency and branding might have adjusted. These events are significant for storylines culminating in high-stakes matches.

Championships: The NXT Championship, NXT Women's Championship, and NXT North American Championship are still pivotal, with the latter often being seen as a workhorse title. There might also be developments in tag team and possibly cruiserweight divisions if they continue or have been revived.

Cross-promotion: There's often interaction with main roster talents, either through crossovers, talent exchanges, or NXT stars being called up during events like the Royal Rumble or after WrestleMania.

Storylines and Characters: NXT is known for its longer-term storytelling compared to the main roster, with more focus on in-ring action. Characters evolve significantly here, and there's usually a mix of indie darlings, homegrown talents, and international stars.

Recent Movements: Without specific X posts or updates, one can assume NXT might be focusing on building new stars after inevitable call-ups post major WWE events. There could also be an emphasis on competing directly with other wrestling promotions by offering unique match types or international collaborations.

Venue: While initially heavily associated with Full Sail University, NXT has been known to tour or set up in different venues, enhancing its live event feel. However, with recent changes, they might be utilizing different arenas or even revisiting past iconic locations like the 2300 Arena for special episodes.

For the most current events or specific matches, one would typically look at recent shows or announcements. However, NXT's core purpose as a blend of entertainment and talent development for WWE remains its defining feature. (Grok)

News

Chris Jericho's AEW Contract Expiry

Chris Jericho's contract with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is due to expire in 2025, prompting speculation and discussion among fans and commentators about his future in professional wrestling. Some fans hope for Jericho to continue with AEW, emphasizing his importance to the promotion, while others discuss the possibility of him returning to WWE, considering the financial and creative implications. There is a mix of emotional reactions from fans, with some expressing devastation at the thought of Jericho leaving AEW, while others speculate on the impact his departure could have on both AEW and WWE fanbases. Discussions also touch on potential financial offers from AEW to retain Jericho, suggesting that AEW might be more inclined to offer a substantial deal to keep him. (Grok)

News

Tim Tszyu vs Bakhram Murtazaliev

The boxing match between Tim Tszyu and Bakhram Murtazaliev on October 20, 2024, resulted in a significant victory for Murtazaliev, who defended his IBF super welterweight title against the Australian boxer.

Here's a detailed overview:

Outcome: Bakhram Murtazaliev won the bout via a third-round stoppage, retaining his IBF title. Tim Tszyu was knocked down four times during the fight, three times in the second round and once in the third, before his corner threw in the towel, signaling Tszyu's defeat.

Fight Highlights: Knockdowns: Murtazaliev's strategy and power were evident as he dropped Tszyu multiple times, showcasing his dominance in the ring with precise counter-attacks, particularly with his left hook.
Corner's Decision: After the fourth knockdown, and with Tszyu appearing unable to defend himself effectively, his team decided to stop the fight to prevent further punishment.

Post-Fight Sentiment: There's been a mix of shock and analysis following the fight. Social media and boxing forums on X have highlighted Murtazaliev's impressive performance, noting his dangerous left hand and questioning the matchmaking that led to this bout.
Discussions on X also reflect concerns over Tszyu's condition post-fight, with some posts indicating that Tszyu has been cleared of serious head injuries but suggesting that his career might be at a crossroads due to this devastating loss.

Implications for Tszyu: This defeat marks a significant setback in Tim Tszyu's career, especially after coming off a previous loss. There's talk about his future in boxing, with some suggesting this might affect his standing and potential future title opportunities in the super welterweight division.

Murtazaliev's Position: With this victory, Murtazaliev not only retains his title but also significantly raises his profile in the boxing world, potentially setting up future high-profile fights with other champions in the division.

Fight Availability: Clips and full fight videos have been shared across platforms, including X, indicating high fan interest in rewatching or analyzing the bout.

This match has evidently had a profound impact on both fighters' careers, with Murtazaliev emerging as a dominant force in the super welterweight category, while Tszyu faces a challenging path forward after consecutive high-profile losses.

News

Tim Tszyu News/Profile via Grok

Tim Tszyu, born on November 2, 1994, in Sydney, Australia, is a professional boxer who has quickly risen through the ranks to become one of the notable names in the super welterweight division. Here are some key points about Tim Tszyu:

Family Legacy: Tim is the son of the legendary boxer Kostya Tszyu, a former undisputed light-welterweight champion who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This heritage has naturally placed a spotlight on Tim, with many expecting him to follow in his father's footsteps.

Professional Career: Tim Tszyu made his professional debut in December 2016. Since then, he has shown considerable skill and determination, climbing the ranks in the boxing world. His style combines technical proficiency with aggressive fighting, reminiscent of his father but with his unique flair.

Titles and Achievements: By 2024, Tim has captured several regional titles. He won the WBC-ABCO Continental light-middleweight title early in his career and has since aimed for world titles. His pursuit of world championship belts has been a significant focus, with matches that have drawn considerable attention in the boxing community.

Notable Fights: Tszyu has faced several high-profile opponents. His fights have included bouts against domestic and international fighters, enhancing his reputation both in Australia and abroad. One of his significant fights was for the WBO interim junior middleweight title against Tony Harrison, showcasing his readiness for world-level competition.

Recent Developments: As of 2024, Tim Tszyu was involved in a high-stakes match for the IBF super welterweight title eliminator, indicating his push towards securing a world title. However, his journey has not been without setbacks. For instance, a fight against Sebastian Fundora for Tszyu's WBO super welterweight title resulted in a loss, and subsequent injuries have impacted his fight schedule.

Public Image and Style: Tim carries the Tszyu name with a mix of pride and pressure. His fighting style is often described as calculated aggression, and he's known for his resilience and comeback spirit in the ring. Outside of boxing, he maintains a relatively low profile but is increasingly recognized for his contributions to Australian boxing.

Future Prospects: Despite facing some tough losses, Tszyu's career is still seen with optimism by many in the boxing world. His dedication to the sport, combined with his lineage, suggests that he will continue to be a significant figure in boxing, aiming for world titles and possibly unification bouts in the super welterweight division.

Given the dynamic nature of sports, Tim Tszyu's journey in boxing continues to evolve with each fight, capturing the attention of fans and analysts alike, eager to see if he can capture the world titles that have so far eluded him but were once held by his father. (Grok)

News/Profile

Combat Sports

Combat sports encompass a wide variety of fighting disciplines where participants engage in direct physical combat, often one-on-one, following a set of rules designed to ensure safety while determining a winner through points, submission, or knockout. Here are some insights and recent trends in combat sports based on the information available up to October 21, 2024:

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA): MMA continues to grow in popularity, integrating techniques from various combat sports and martial arts. Events like the UFC have become mainstream, with fighters from diverse backgrounds like kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and boxing competing together. Recent posts on X highlight upcoming fights, like the mention of Kai Asakura sparring with Merab Dvalishvili, indicating the cross-weight class interest and training that fighters undertake.

Boxing: While boxing remains a staple in combat sports, there's an ongoing trend of boxers and MMA fighters crossing over between sports. For instance, Jake Paul's venture into new combat sports after his fight with Mike Tyson shows the blending boundaries of combat disciplines. Moreover, boxers like Artem Vakhitov trying to secure a UFC contract exemplify this trend.

Kickboxing and Muay Thai: Although not as highlighted in recent X posts, these sports contribute significantly to the combat sports scene, often feeding talent into MMA. Their techniques are fundamental in the striking aspect of mixed martial arts.

Wrestling and Grappling: Catch Wrestling, Combat Sambo, and Greco-Roman Wrestling are less covered in mainstream media but remain crucial for their contributions to the grappling techniques in MMA. There's a continuous interest in these forms, especially in how they integrate into MMA strategies.

Emerging and Niche Combat Sports: Combat sports like Canne de Combat or variations like Combat Hapkido might not make daily news but are part of the broader combat sports ecosystem, often featured in specialized tournaments or as part of self-defense training.

Events and Scheduling: Platforms like X provide real-time updates on combat sports schedules, showing a packed calendar across various promotions like UFC, PFL, KSW, and more, indicating a vibrant scene with events almost every week.

Crossovers and Novelty Fights: There's a growing trend of crossover events or novelty fights where personalities from different combat disciplines or even different sports altogether engage in combat sports matches, which draws wide attention.

Safety and Equipment: Discussions around the safety gear in combat sports continue, with MMA and boxing being noted for their minimal gear compared to others like Taekwondo, influencing injury rates as per earlier studies.

Market Growth: The mention of the combat sports market heating up indicates not just an increase in viewer interest but also in commercial investments, sponsorships, and media coverage.

The landscape of combat sports is ever-evolving, with athletes constantly adapting new techniques, and promotions innovating in how fights are presented and consumed. The integration of social media like X for real-time updates has also brought fans closer to the action, making combat sports a dynamic field with global participation and viewership. (Grok)

News

The term "Dream Match" in the context of sports and entertainment often refers to a highly anticipated or hypothetical contest between top competitors or teams that fans and analysts would love to see. Here are some insights based on recent discussions:

Wrestling: There's considerable buzz around several potential dream matches in the wrestling world: The Rock vs. Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes has been floated as a possible match for WrestleMania 41, indicating a high-profile encounter that would draw significant interest due to the star power and storylines involved.
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre received enthusiastic fan reaction, showcasing how matches that have already taken place can still be celebrated as dream encounters due to their execution and reception.
Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed at Crown Jewel has been highlighted as a match to look forward to, suggesting an ongoing interest in current roster matchups that promise high-quality wrestling.
Damian Priest naming Oba Femi as his dream opponent from NXT points to cross-generational or brand dream matches that fans and wrestlers themselves are intrigued by.

Baseball: The New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series has been described as a dream matchup due to the historical rivalry and the significant market presence of both teams. This reflects not just on the athletes but the legacy and fanbase of the teams involved.

Boxing: Although not recently discussed in X posts, historically, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao was billed as "The Dream Match," showing how individual sports like boxing can create dream scenarios based on the fame and contrasting styles of the fighters.

General Sentiment on X: Fans often discuss dream matches across various platforms, expressing desires to see matches like Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Street Profits in wrestling, showcasing a blend of tag team excellence from different promotions or eras. (Grok)

 

 

 

News

 

Streaming Entertainment via Grok; X TV Tipped To Eventually Go Head To Head With YouTube, Netflix, But Will Take Many Years To Get To That Point; Customers Waiting To Churn/Switch. Changes Ahead For WBD, HBO, Binge, Paramount And Many Others - Too Many To List! Media Man Founder and Subscriber TV Veteran

Streaming entertainment has transformed how we consume media, offering a vast array of movies, TV shows, music, and more directly to our devices. Here's a breakdown of what's happening in this space as of my last update:

Major Players:

Netflix: Known for its original content like "Stranger Things," "The Crown," and "Squid Game." They've been pushing into gaming and have been experimenting with ad-supported models.

Amazon Prime Video: Comes with Amazon Prime membership. Notable for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "The Boys," and its integration with shopping and other Amazon services.

Disney+: A powerhouse for family entertainment, featuring Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and classic Disney content. It's also expanding its library with more adult-oriented content under the Star banner in some regions.

HBO Max: Offers premium content like "Game of Thrones," "Chernobyl," and a vast library of movies. It's also known for its DC Universe shows.

Apple TV+: While newer, it's making waves with high-quality originals like "Ted Lasso," "The Morning Show," and "See."

Peacock (NBCUniversal): Provides a mix of free and premium content, including "The Office," WWE, and original series like "Punky Brewster."

Paramount+: Combines CBS All Access with content from Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, and more, featuring shows like "Star Trek: Discovery" and "The Stand."

Trends and Developments:

Original Content: There's a massive push towards creating exclusive content to attract subscribers. This includes movies, series, documentaries, and even live sports.

Global Expansion: Services are increasingly focusing on international markets, either by offering local content or by making their service available in more countries.

Bundling: Companies are bundling their streaming services with other products. For example, Disney has bundles with Hulu and ESPN+.

Ad-Supported Models: To combat rising costs, some platforms like Netflix have introduced or are considering ad-supported tiers.

Direct-to-Streaming Releases: Movies are increasingly bypassing traditional theatrical releases, going straight to streaming platforms, especially noted during global health crises.

Quality Over Quantity: While there's a lot of content, platforms are also focusing on high-quality, award-winning productions to stand out.

Interactive Content: Some platforms are experimenting with interactive movies or shows where viewers can choose the plot direction.

Technological Integration: Enhanced with technologies like 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos for audio, providing a cinematic experience at home.

Challenges:

Content Saturation: With so many platforms, there's a risk of content fatigue among viewers.

Churn: Subscribers frequently switch between services based on what's currently available, leading to high turnover.

Regulatory Scrutiny: Issues like market dominance, content licensing, and privacy are increasingly under regulatory lenses.

Piracy: Despite advanced measures, piracy remains a challenge, especially for content not easily accessible in certain regions.

If you're interested in a specific aspect of streaming entertainment or want to know about recent developments since my last update, feel free to ask! If there's a particular service or type of content you're curious about, I can dive deeper into those areas. (Grok)

News

Streaming TV

Streaming TV has revolutionized how we consume television content, offering a vast array of shows, movies, and original programming through internet-based platforms rather than traditional cable or satellite TV. Here's a breakdown of what you might be interested in regarding streaming TV as of my last update:

Key Players:

Netflix: Known for its extensive library, original content like "Stranger Things," "The Crown," and "Squid Game," and a global reach.

Amazon Prime Video: Comes with an Amazon Prime subscription, offering shows like "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "The Boys," and movies, plus the integration with shopping services.

Hulu: Offers a mix of current TV episodes, a robust library of older content, and originals like "The Handmaid's Tale." It's also notable for its live TV option.

Disney+: Focuses on family-friendly content, including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic. Hits include "The Mandalorian" and "WandaVision."

HBO Max: Home to HBO's acclaimed series like "Game of Thrones," "Chernobyl," plus a wide range of Warner Bros. movies and new originals.

Apple TV+: While newer, it's gaining traction with high-quality originals like "Ted Lasso," "The Morning Show," and "Foundation."

Peacock: NBCUniversal's service, offering a mix of free and premium content, including "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," and new originals.

Trends and Features:

Ad-Supported vs. Ad-Free: Many services now offer tiers where you can choose between watching with ads for a lower price or paying more for an ad-free experience.

Live TV Streaming: Services like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV allow streaming of live broadcast channels, appealing to sports fans and those who still want traditional TV experiences.

Bundling: Some platforms offer bundles with internet service providers or other streaming services to reduce costs.

Original Content: There's a significant push towards exclusive, original content to differentiate services, leading to a golden age of TV with high-quality, diverse programming.

Global Expansion: Services are increasingly focusing on global markets, offering localized content or subtitles/dubbing in multiple languages.

Technological Considerations:

4K and HDR: Many services now offer content in 4K resolution and HDR, enhancing viewing quality.

Offline Viewing: Most services allow downloading content for offline viewing, which is great for travel or areas with poor internet.

Smart TVs and Devices: Streaming is not just for computers or smartphones anymore; smart TVs, streaming sticks (like Roku, Amazon Fire Stick), and gaming consoles have made streaming accessible on almost any screen.

Challenges:

Content Fragmentation: With content spread across multiple services, there's a growing issue of "streaming fatigue" where consumers feel overwhelmed by the number of subscriptions needed.

Price Increases: As content quality and exclusivity rise, so do subscription costs, leading to discussions about the cost-effectiveness of streaming vs. traditional cable.

Piracy: The fragmentation and cost have somewhat revived piracy concerns as viewers look for ways to access content without multiple subscriptions.

If you're looking for recommendations or have specific questions about streaming services or shows, feel free to ask! If there's been a significant update or new service since my last update, you might want to check the latest reviews or news for the most current information. (Grok)

 

Streaming Media Industry Disruptions Continue

Additional Mergers And Acquisitions Forecast

Live Sport Major Draw As Per Netflix

Compelling Storylines And Series Keeps Audience Coming Back For More As Per WWE

Combat Sports Storytelling And Talent Elevation As Per Dana Whites Contenders Series

Free Services With Ads Supported Has Taken Some Audience As Per Tubi

YouTube Cemented As Major Challenge To Netflix

Paramount's Quality And Iconic Movies Keep Them Valuable Commodity, Despite Bottom Line Loss

X Corp's X Platform One To Watch For Major Industry Disruption; WWE Speed Deal With WWE Just A Minor Preview Of What's On The Cards

 

Combat Sports Week At Media Man; Elon Musk's X And Grok Take Publishers, Reporters, Fans Et Al Around The World Of Sports In A TKO Second!: Media Man

 

October 1, 2024

News

Alex Pereira's Arrival for UFC 307

Alex Pereira, known as 'Poatan', is gearing up for a highly anticipated UFC fight at UFC 307 against Khalil Rountree Jr., scheduled for October 2024. The fight week has begun with both fighters, including notable figures like Jose Aldo, checking in for the event. There's considerable excitement around this match, primarily due to the knockout capabilities of both fighters. Pereira has publicly stated his intention to 'break' Rountree, intensifying the event's buildup. Discussions and analyses have focused on Pereira's recent UFC activities, potential retirement, and the high stakes of the main event, suggesting it could be one of the most thrilling UFC main events recently. Additionally, Khalil Rountree hinted at employing a never-before-seen move during the fight, adding an element of mystery and anticipation. (Grok)

News

UFC 307 and DWCS Week 8

UFC 307 is generating significant buzz, particularly for the main event where Alex Pereira has promised an intense confrontation against Khalil Rountree, vowing to 'break' him. This fight is not only a highlight of the event but also showcases both fighters' formidable striking power, with predictions leaning towards a knockout rather than a decision. Alongside this main event, the UFC community is abuzz with excitement for other matchups, discussing fighters' skills and predicting outcomes. Concurrently, the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) Week 8 is taking place, spotlighting emerging talents like Christien Savoie, who are competing for the chance to earn UFC contracts. The DWCS not only serves as a platform for new fighters but also engages fans with live events and betting odds, adding another layer of anticipation and discussion around the UFC's upcoming events. (Grok)

News

UFC 307 Fight Week

UFC 307, scheduled for Saturday, features a highly anticipated main event between Alex Pereira, known for his striking prowess, and Khalil Rountree Jr., who has hinted at a unique move he might employ during the fight. The event has sparked considerable interest among fans and analysts, with discussions focusing on the fighters' capabilities and potential outcomes. Alongside the main event, the Dana White Contender Series (DWCS) Week 8 is also taking place, offering emerging fighters a chance to secure UFC contracts. Notable fighters like Jose Aldo, Kevin Holland, and Stephen Thompson are also highlighted, adding to the excitement with their upcoming matches. The event is set to be broadcast live, with various analyses and predictions circulating among enthusiasts. (Grok)

News

Torrez Finney's Third DWCS Victory

Torrez Finney achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first fighter to win three times on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS). In his third appearance on DWCS, which took place on October 1, 2024, Finney secured a first-round TKO victory over Abdellah Er-Ramy. This performance not only marked his third win on the series but also showcased his dominant skills, leading to widespread acclaim across social media platforms, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter). Following this victory, there was a consensus among observers and fans that not offering Finney a UFC contract would be an oversight, given his undefeated record and his consistent performance under the DWCS spotlight. This achievement cements his status as a top prospect in the middleweight division, with many expecting him to finally receive a UFC contract. (Grok)

News

Khalil Rountree's Mystery Move at UFC 307

Ahead of UFC 307, Khalil Rountree Jr. has hinted at employing a unique, never-before-seen technique in his upcoming fight against Alex Pereira, the current light heavyweight champion. Rountree, known for his striking prowess, aims to dethrone Pereira with a knockout, seeking to establish himself as a formidable force in the UFC. The event has drawn significant attention, with fans and analysts speculating on Rountree's strategy and the potential outcome of this high-stakes match. Meanwhile, new sparring footage of Pereira with Sean Strickland has been released, showcasing Pereira's skills and improvement in English. Other notable fighters like Kevin Holland and Jose Aldo are also featured in the event, but the main event between Pereira and Rountree remains the focal point, with expectations set high for an explosive encounter. (Grok)

News

Diyar Nurgozhay's Head Kick KO

Diyar Nurgozhay recently showcased his striking prowess at Dana White's Contender Series, where he secured a notable victory via a head kick knockout against Bartosz Szewczyk during the light heavyweight bout at DWCS 74. This event took place on October 1, 2024, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nurgozhay, maintaining his undefeated record, delivered the knockout in the second round, further solidifying his reputation in the MMA community. This performance not only electrified the audience but also significantly boosted his potential for earning a UFC contract, given the platform's purpose of scouting new talent for the UFC roster. This victory adds to Nurgozhay's highlight reel, known for his finishing capabilities, as he continues his journey with an eye on the UFC. (Grok)

News

New WWENXT Logo Debuts on The CW

WWE NXT has introduced a new logo as part of its transition to The CW network, marking the beginning of a new era for the wrestling brand. The rebranding, effective from October 1, 2024, aims to evoke a more classic aesthetic. The debut on The CW was highlighted by various wrestling personalities and news outlets, with many expressing enthusiasm for the new look and the show's premiere. The debut episode featured significant matches, including a championship bout and a street fight, indicating a strong start to NXT's new chapter on The CW. (Grok)

News

Roxanne Perez Retains NXT Title with Cora Jade's Return

Roxanne Perez successfully defended her NXT Women's Championship against Giulia in a recent WWE NXT event, marked by an unexpected twist when Cora Jade returned to assist Perez in retaining her title. This intervention was pivotal in Perez's victory, sparking varied reactions among fans. While some expressed disappointment with the match's conclusion and the manner of Giulia's defeat, others were thrilled by Cora Jade's comeback, anticipating new storylines. Despite the controversial finish, the match received praise for its quality. (Grok)

News

Mixed Reactions to New NXT Titles

Based on the information gathered from posts on X and general web sentiment, the introduction of new NXT titles has generated a mix of reactions among fans and observers:

Design Critique: There's a noticeable divide over the aesthetic of the new NXT titles. Some fans have expressed a preference for the previous designs, particularly the "rainbow titles" which were admired for their vibrant yet balanced color scheme. The new designs have been described by some as less appealing initially, but there's an acknowledgment that acceptance might grow over time. For instance, one user likened the transition in perception from the old to the new titles humorously, suggesting that while the initial reaction might be negative, eventual adaptation is expected.

Nostalgia and Change: The change in title designs seems to reflect broader changes within NXT, including its move to The CW network. This shift has stirred mixed feelings, with some fans feeling nostalgic about the "black and gold" era of NXT, which these new titles symbolically depart from. However, there's also excitement about what this change could mean for NXT's future, especially with the involvement of figures like Shawn Michaels in crafting the new era.

Performance and Presentation: Despite mixed feelings about the titles' design, there's a consensus on the quality of the matches and the presentation of NXT on The CW. The debut of NXT on this new platform, highlighted by significant matches like Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Title, and the involvement of high-profile figures or matchups, indicates that while the titles themselves might be divisive, the content and direction of NXT are still highly anticipated and discussed.

Fan Engagement: The new titles have certainly engaged the fanbase, sparking conversations not just about design but about what these changes signify for NXT's identity and its place within WWE's broader ecosystem. This engagement ranges from criticism to cautious optimism, with some fans seeing it as a necessary evolution for NXT to stand out in the crowded landscape of wrestling entertainment.

Cultural and Identity Shifts: There's an underlying discussion about what these titles represent for NXT's brand identity. Some fans have humorously or critically remarked on the choice of design, questioning if it aligns with NXT's desire to carve out a unique identity or if it's merely a shift for the sake of change. This touches on broader themes of brand evolution and fan acceptance of change in professional wrestling.

In summary, while the new NXT titles have sparked a variety of reactions from critique over their design to nostalgia for previous eras, there's an underlying excitement about the narrative and performance aspects of NXT's new chapter. The conversation around these titles encapsulates fans' emotional connection to NXT's history and their hopes or concerns for its future under its new presentation. (Grok)

News

Wes Lee Wins Street Fight at WWENXT

During a recent WWE NXT event, Wes Lee defeated Zachary Wentz in a highly praised street fight. The match, described as both brutal and entertaining, featured intense action characteristic of street fights. Both wrestlers received acclaim for their performance, with fans and commentators noting the match as a highlight of the evening's programming. The fight included dramatic moments, such as Wentz missing a table dive, adding to the spectacle. This victory for Wes Lee was celebrated, with many expressing enthusiasm for the match's quality and hoping for future encounters between the two. (Grok)

News

WWE Bad Blood

WWE Bad Blood is making a comeback in 2024, marking the fourth event under this name and the first since 2004. Here's what you need to know:

Event Date and Location: The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This date coincides with the 27th anniversary of the first Bad Blood event.

Broadcast Details: Bad Blood 2024 will be available via traditional pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and will also air on WWE's streaming platforms, specifically Peacock in the United States and WWE Network internationally.

Historical Significance: The original Bad Blood in 1997 introduced the Hell in a Cell match, which has been a staple of the event, including in its previous iterations in 2003 and 2004.

Matches and Card: One of the main matches includes Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship, with a unique twist where Dominik Mysterio will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage to prevent interference.

There's also speculation and reports about a Hell in a Cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, though there was some uncertainty about whether this would be the main event or if a tag team match involving Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Solo Sikoa, and possibly Jacob Fatu would close the show. However, recent discussions and fan reactions suggest a strong possibility of Punk vs. McIntyre main eventing due to the historical significance of Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood.

Themes and Anniversaries: The event is not only a nod to its own history but also leverages the anniversary of the first Hell in a Cell match. The involvement of high-profile figures like CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and the intertwining storylines with Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes adds layers to the event's narrative.

Fan and Industry Buzz: There's considerable excitement around the return of Bad Blood, especially concerning how WWE will utilize the Hell in a Cell structure this time, given its history with the event. Fan posts on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) show anticipation for the matches, particularly the potential main events, and how WWE might script the outcomes to impact ongoing WWE storylines.

This event represents not just a wrestling spectacle but a significant moment in WWE's calendar, blending nostalgia with current rivalries, making Bad Blood 2024 a must-watch for WWE fans. (Grok)

News

Beterbiev vs Bivol: Clash of the Undefeated

The latest on Beterbiev vs. Bivol, titled "Clash of the Undefeated," centers around their upcoming fight scheduled for October 12, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here's what's been circulating and reported:

Fight Details: Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) will face Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) in a unification bout for the IBF, WBC, WBO, and WBA light heavyweight titles, marking a significant event in boxing as both fighters are undefeated.

Beterbiev's Condition: After a knee injury forced a postponement from an initially planned June fight, Beterbiev has confirmed his 100% recovery and readiness for this bout. His approach to training and recovery underscores his intent to maintain his 100% knockout record.

Bivol's Perspective: Dmitry Bivol has expressed that this fight is not personal but a professional challenge to become the undisputed champion. His strategy likely involves his well-known boxing skills, with an emphasis on counterpunching and movement, aiming to possibly outbox or even, as speculated by some like Chris Algieri, potentially knock down Beterbiev.

Public and Expert Opinions: There's a mix of predictions and excitement around this match. Some fans and analysts believe Bivol's boxing IQ and defensive skills might give him an edge, while others favor Beterbiev's relentless pressure and knockout power. The discussion often revolves around whether Bivol's style can withstand or adapt to Beterbiev's aggressive tactics.

Undercard and Event: The undercard features notable fights, enhancing the event's appeal. Names like Chris Eubank Jr., Fabio Wardley, and Jai Opetaia add to the night's boxing spectacle.

General Sentiment: The fight is widely anticipated as one of the biggest in 2024, not just for the titles at stake but for the clash of styles and the potential for defining moments in both fighters' careers. The narrative around this fight often highlights the rarity of seeing two such high-caliber, undefeated champions facing off, especially at light heavyweight.

This event is not just a fight for belts but is seen as a significant moment in boxing, where the outcome could solidify one fighter's legacy or dramatically alter perceptions of both in the sport. (Grok)

News

AEW Dynamite 5-Year Anniversary Show

The AEW Dynamite 5-Year Anniversary Show, set for October 2, 2024, at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA, is gearing up to be a landmark event for All Elite Wrestling. Here's what's on the slate based on the latest information:

Main Event: A high-stakes, title-for-title match is scheduled where Bryan Danielson will defend his AEW World Championship against Kazuchika Okada, who is bringing his AEW Continental Championship into the match. However, there's a twist: Okada's championship will only be on the line for the first 20 minutes of the match. If the match goes beyond that, only Danielson's AEW World Championship remains in contention.

Another Title Defense: Will Ospreay will defend his AEW International Championship against Ricochet. This match has been highlighted as part of the anniversary celebration.

Other Matches:
Hangman Adam Page is set to face Juice Robinson. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. will return for a match, although the opponent hasn't been specified in the latest updates provided, there was mention of her facing Serena Deeb in some fan discussions or reports.

Special Features: The episode is not just about the matches but also about celebrating five years of AEW Dynamite. Tony Khan, AEW's President, has teased a significant announcement which could potentially set the tone for the future of AEW. This adds an element of anticipation beyond the in-ring action.

Broadcast Details: The show will have a significant overrun, courtesy of TBS Network, indicating more content than the usual runtime, possibly to accommodate the extra matches or the celebration elements.

This anniversary episode is not just a showcase of wrestling talent but also a milestone for AEW, marking its growth and the journey it has had over the past five years. The inclusion of champion vs. champion matches underscores AEW's commitment to big matches on big nights, promising fans a memorable event to commemorate this occasion. (Grok)

News

Danielson vs. Okada: Title-for-Title Match

On the 5-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite, a significant wrestling event is scheduled for October 2, 2024, in Pittsburgh, PA, where Bryan Danielson, the AEW World Champion, will face Kazuchika Okada, holder of the AEW Continental Title. This match is unique as it features a title-for-title stipulation with a twist: the Continental Championship, which usually has a 20-minute time limit, will only be at stake for the first 20 minutes of the match. However, the World Championship, with its 60-minute time limit, will remain in contention for the entire duration. This setup has sparked varied reactions among wrestling fans, with some questioning the effectiveness of the stipulation, while others are excited about the potential of the match. The event is set to be a highlight of AEW Dynamite's milestone celebration, pitting two of wrestling's top talents against each other in what promises to be a memorable clash. (Grok)

News

Conor McGregor's Stroll on Emirates Pitch

Conor McGregor was spotted walking around the Emirates Stadium pitch following Arsenal's victory over PSG in the Champions League. Videos and photos showed McGregor enjoying himself, including interactions with Arsenal player Declan Rice. This appearance led to various reactions and discussions online, with many finding amusement in McGregor's post-match activities. Meanwhile, Arsenal secured a 2-0 win against PSG, with goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. The match also marked the debut of Mikel Merino for Arsenal, who joined from Real Sociedad. Additionally, Thomas Partey was highlighted for his exceptional performance during the game. However, there were concerns about Jurrien Timber, who felt a muscular issue during the match, prompting Arsenal to manage his playing time carefully. (Grok)

Combat Sports News/Profile via Grok

Combat sports encompass a wide range of athletic competitions where the primary objective is to physically subdue an opponent. Here's a brief overview of some popular forms:

1. Boxing

Origin: Ancient Greece, but modern boxing is often associated with 18th-19th century England.

Rules: Competitors use only their fists, wearing gloves, and aim to score points by landing punches on the opponent's upper body or head. A fight can end by knockout (KO), technical knockout (TKO), or points decision.

2. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

Origin: While various forms of mixed combat have existed historically, modern MMA was popularized through events like the UFC starting in the 1990s.

Rules: Allows a mix of striking and grappling techniques from various martial arts. Fighters can win by knockout, submission (tap out), judges' decision, or disqualification.

3. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)

Origin: Derived from judo in Brazil in the early 20th century, made famous by the Gracie family.

Rules: Emphasizes ground fighting and submission holds. Competitors aim to force a submission through joint locks or chokeholds. Points can also be scored for position control and takedowns.

4. Wrestling

Freestyle and Greco-Roman: Common in the Olympics, Greco-Roman restricts holds below the waist.

Professional Wrestling (Pro Wrestling): More entertainment-focused, with choreographed matches, high flying moves, and storylines.

5. Kickboxing

Origin: A group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching. It evolved from Karate, Muay Thai, and Western boxing.

Rules: Similar to boxing but includes kicks. Variants include allowing knee strikes and elbows (influenced by Muay Thai).

6. Muay Thai

Origin: Thailand, known as the "Art of Eight Limbs" because it uses punches, kicks, elbows, and knees.

Rules: Similar to kickboxing but with a heavier emphasis on clinching (a kind of standing grapple) and use of all eight points of contact.

7. Judo

Origin: Japan, developed by Jigoro Kano in the late 19th century as a physical, mental, and moral pedagogy.

Rules: Based on throws (Nage-waza) and ground techniques (Katame-waza). The objective is to either throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, immobilize them, or force a submission through joint locks or strangles.

8. Karate

Origin: Okinawa, Japan, with influences from Chinese martial arts.

Styles: Many styles with different focuses, but generally emphasizes striking with punches, kicks, knee strikes, and open-hand techniques like knife-hands.

9. Taekwondo

Origin: Korea, developed in the 1940s and 1950s.
Rules: Known for its high, fast, and spinning kicks.

Competitors score points in Olympic Taekwondo for strikes to the torso or head.

10. Krav Maga

Origin: Israel, designed as a self-defense system for the Israel Defense Forces.

Rules: Not typically a sport, but some organizations hold competitions. Focuses on real-world scenarios, aiming to neutralize threats quickly and efficiently.

Each combat sport has its unique culture, training methods, and competitive environments, reflecting diverse historical, cultural, and practical contexts. If you're interested in any particular sport, each has its own set of governing bodies, leagues, and famous athletes or events that could be explored further! (Grok)

 

 

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Streaming Movies Top 10 (North America)

August 27, 2024

1. Furiosa (Max)

2. The Union (Netflix)

3. Jackpot (Prime Video)

4. The Instigators (Apple TV+)

5. Alien (Hulu)

6. The Bikeriders (Peacock)

7. Immaculate (Hulu)

8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Hulu)

9. Alien: Covenant (Hulu)

10. Twister (Max)

 

News

Top 10 Streaming TV (North America)

August 27, 2024

1. Bad Monkey (Apple TV+)

2. The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

3. Industry (Max)

4. The Bear (Hulu)

5. From (Prime Video)

6. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)

7. Emily in Paris (Netflix)

8. Time Bandits (Apple TV+)

9. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (Netflix)

10. Evil (Paramount+)

 

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News (Australia) via Roy Morgan

Shares climb for fifth session; miners drop

August 16, 2024

(Roy Morgan Summary)

The Australian sharemarket posted another modest gain on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.2 per cent to close at 7,865.5 points. NRW Holdings rose 9.7 per cent to $3.50, Magellan Financial Group was up 7.6 per cent at $10.44. However, a fall in the iron ore price weighed on local producers of the steel input, with Fortescue down 2.9 per cent at $16.82 and Rio Tinto retreating 3.6 per cent to end the session at $108.40.

(Roy Morgan Summary)

News

Apple opens up tap-and-go but banks wary

Westpac CEO Peter King has welcomed an announcement by Apple that it will allow banks to offer payments directly from their customers' iPhones without the use of its Apple Pay platform. Apple's decision appears to have been forced upon it by a European antitrust deal in July, with Australia's banks having been involved in an ongoing stoush with Apple in a bid to force it to open up its devices to other financial services operators. King said Apple's decision could result in more competition and choice for consumers.

News

ASIC 'was warned about problems with ASX CHESS upgrade'

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched legal action against the ASX this week, alleging it made "misleading and deceptive" statements to investors about the status of the upgrade of the CHESS clearing and settlement system. It has been revealed that a technology vendor that was liaising with the ASX in regard to the CHESS upgrade wrote a letter to ASIC in 2021 outlining various concerns it had about the upgrade, while former Sydney Futures Exchange and ASX senior manager Phillip Galvin raised concerns over the CHESS program with the then Reserve Bank assistant governor Michele Bullock in 2021.

News

Qld govt, Rio forge deal to keep smelter viable

Rio Tinto wrote off the value of its stake in the Boyne smelter aluminium smelter in 2023, citing high energy costs. However, the resources group has committed to operating Boyne at full capacity until the end of 2040 after securing a deal with the Queensland government that is believed to include subsidised energy costs for the smelter. Premier Steven Miles says the Rio Tinto deal will help protect Queensland jobs; the Gladstone smelter directly employs more than 1,000 people and boasts annual production capacity of more than 500,000 tonnes of aluminium.

News

Virtual power plant as big as coal power station

Origin Energy has used the release of its annual results on Thursday to advise that its virtual power plant had grown to 1.385 gigawatts from 815 megawatts last year, with 1.385 gigawatts equating to the size of an average coal-fired power station. It comes a day after AGL stated that its virtual power plant had grown to 1.25GW from 1.1GW last year. Virtual power plants are 'aggregations' of customer-owned energy resources such as solar panels, home batteries and electric vehicle chargers; they can be commandeered by an energy retailer with the customer's permission during grid 'squeezes' to avert blackouts and moderate prices.

News

KPMG partner income slides 9pc to $650,000

Consulting firm KPMG has reported 2023-24 revenue of $2.2 billion, down 3.6 per cent, while average partner income was down nine per cent to $650,000; KPMG's average partner income compares to average partner income of about $814,000 at EY and between $430,000 and $516,000 at Deloitte. Like its consulting firm rivals, KPMG has been hit by the downturn in demand for advisory services from the public sector, while private sector demand is down as a result of companies cutting costs in response to higher interest rates.

News

Judge slams Victoria over class actions

NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell has told the Association of Litigation Funders that 2020 legislation in Victoria that introduced contingency fees had "skewed" the market for class actions. He noted there had been a blanket prohibition on contingency fees prior to then, and that the new class action regime in Victoria had overridden both solicitor conduct rules and the Legal Profession Uniform Law (LUPL) of 2015. Bell claims the recent increase in the number of class actions being filed in Victoria was not because of the quality of its judges but because of the opportunity for solicitors "to take a slice of the outcome of litigation".

News

Telstra rejigs game plan

Telstra is to ask the federal government to reconsider the so-called universal service obligation, which requires it to connect Australians through a copper network at a time when the use of home phones is on the decline. The network is still used for home phones and some NBN connections, but Telstra is suggesting it could be replaced in some areas with quicker satellite connections or other technologies that make it easier to download data. Telstra's call for the universal service obligation to be changed came as it reported its latest annual results, with its net profit for the 12 months to June 30 down 13 per cent to $1.79 billion.

News

'Woefully short': Dearth of cyber security specialists leaves Australians vulnerable

A report by security firm StickmanCyber claims Australia has just 11,300 cyber security workers spread across hundreds of thousands of businesses, with StickmanCyber CEO Ajay Unni saying the number of cyber security specialists is "woefully short" of what is required to combat modern cyber security threats. StickmanCyber's report also found that just 16 per cent of cyber security workers in Australia are female, while the majority of them are migrant workers; its report comes at a time when Australia has experienced a big increase in cyber attacks on companies in recent times, with those on Optus and Medibank two of the more notable ones.

News

IV scandal: excuses are fluid

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is claiming that there is a global shortage of intravenous fluids such as saline, but health authorities in other parts of the world do not seem to be having the same problems as Australia, where hospitals are experiencing a severe shortage of IV fluid bags. People from within the pharmaceutical industry contend the IV crisis is due to the lack of a functional national procurement policy, with state governments each having contracts for the supply of saline fluid. For its part, the TGA states that the federal government is working with state and territory governments, and with private hospitals, to minimise any impact on patient care.

News

Bookies join call to ban gambling ads on jerseys

Bookmaking firms Sportsbet, Pointsbet and Entain contend that excluding wagering companies' logos on jerseys and signs at stadiums from a clampdown on gambling advertising on TV is "illogical". Sportsbet is the biggest online bookmaker and the sector's largest advertiser, and it is the first time it has publicly backed a ban on wagering logos on jerseys and signs. Their comments come as the federal government continues to come under attack for its apparent reluctance to implement a complete ban on gambling advertising, as recommended by a bipartisan inquiry led by late Labor MP Peta Murphy.

News

Casinos to get cash reprieve in NSW after carded play delay

A spokesperson for NSW Gaming Minister David Harris has confirmed that The Star Sydney and Crown Barangaroo casinos will be able to accept cash bets of up to $5,000 for another 12 months, instead being limited to $1,000 from Monday as was previously planned. The spokesman also said that Harris had agreed to extend The Star's deadline to roll out mandatory carded play across its operations until 19 October, with the extension of the deadline by a month coming as a result of a request from new Star CEO Steve McCann.

News

United States

Signed up to Disney+? Disney says you can never sue the company, even for wrongful death

An American man is suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts over the death of his wife, with Jeffrey Piccolo claiming she died as a result of an allergic reaction to food served at an eatery in Walt Disney World Resort. Disney is seeking to have the case thrown out because Piccolo had previously signed up to a free trial of Disney+, and that in doing so he had agreed never to sue it. His lawyers have described Disney's argument as "absurd", while they also argue while he may have agreed to its term, he did not do so on behalf of his wife or her estate.

News

Live music industry on its knees and pleading for a government lifeline on insurance costs

An increasing number of Australian music festivals are being cancelled or deferred, with many citing increased insurance costs as one of the main reasons for their action. Live music venues are also being hit by higher insurance costs, with one Adelaide pub reporting an increase in its public liability insurance from $10,000 to $40,000 as a result of it offering live music. The National Cultural Policy Senate inquiry used its interim report to recommend that the federal government work with festival providers and the insurance sector to reduce insurance premiums for festivals, as well as investigating options to ensure "access to insurance is available to small and medium operators".

News

Mining And Resources

Pilbara takes $560m punt on Brazil lithium project

Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals will diversity its operations beyond Western Australia with a takeover bid for Latin Resources, which owns the Salinas project in Brazil. Pilbara Minerals is offering 0.07 of its shares for every share in Latin Resources, valuing the latter at about $560m. Pilbara Minerals CEO Dale Henderson has defended the takeover bid for Latin Resources, amid doubts among some analysts about the merits of the deal. Kaan Peker from RBC Capital Markets contends that there may be few synergies given the distance between WA and Brazil.

News

Indonesia learns a lesson from cosying up to China

Chinese investments have helped Indonesia to become the world's dominant producer of nickel, which is a key mineral in the production of electric vehicles. However, the Chinese investment in its nickel sector makes it difficult for Indonesia to access the tax credits available under the US Inflation Reduction Act; tax credits are not available to minerals produced by companies with more than 25 per cent Chinese ownership, with China viewed as a 'foreign entity of concern". Another problem that Indonesia has in regard to accessing the IRA tax credits is that it does not have a free trade agreement with the US, which is a requirement for its nickel to be IRA-compliant.

News

Inquiry leaves door ajar for WA gas exports

A Western Australian parliamentary inquiry has concluded that the state's onshore gas producers should be permitted to export their output, so long as the sector can address a looming domestic shortage, with WA facing a shortfall of up to 30 per cent of its total gas demand in the next decade. Onshore gas producers have argued that being able to export gas would make it easier for them to access greater international investment, and produce more domestic gas, while Wesfarmers and other large gas consumers oppose overturning the current ban on onshore producers exporting their gas.

News

Chinese cuts drive iron ore price to 21-month low

The price of iron ore has fallen to its lowest point since November 2022, being at $95.25 a tonne, with the price of iron ore having topped $US144 on 3 January. It comes after the National Bureau of Statistics of China revealed that steel production in July was 82.94 million tonnes, down nine per cent on the previous month, while production for the first seven months of 2024 was down 2.2 per cent on the same seven months in 2023; China Baowu Steel, the country's largest steel maker, has warned the sector faces a crisis more severe than the downturns of 2008 and 2015.

(Roy Morgan Summary)

 

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Cryptocurrency News via Media Man and FxPro

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July 1, 2024

Buyers failed to pick up on the crypto market

Market picture

The crypto market has been enjoying an influx of buyers since Saturday, with a visible acceleration on Monday. Over the past 24 hours, capitalisation has risen 3.6% to $2.33 trillion. Last week’s drop in the crypto sentiment index to 30 (fear zone) reversed the price twice, showing that the market is dominated by a ‘buy the dip’ pattern.

Bitcoin is trading near $63.3K, adding 5% since Saturday morning and reaffirming the importance of support at 61.8% of the Jan-March rally. From another perspective, Bitcoin is adding and bouncing off the lower boundary of the downward channel. Likely, the price is now moving towards the upper boundary at $67K. However, cautious buyers may prefer to wait for confirmation with the price rising above $72-73K - the pivot area of the last four months - which would be confirmation of the start of a new impulsive wave of growth.

Bitcoin ended June down 8.5% to $61.9K. In terms of seasonality, July is considered quite successful for BTC, adding eight times (22.3% on average) out of the last 13 and declining on five occasions (-7.8% on average).

News background

In terms of on-chain analysis, quotes have crossed the realised price level of short-term holders at $62,000, which historically can act as support during corrections in bull markets.

According to Arkham data, German authorities sent another 595 BTC worth ~$36.6 million to crypto exchanges on 26 June. Authorities began actively moving the cryptocurrency on 19 June, when some of it first hit the Kraken and Bitstamp exchanges.

Bitwise forecasts net inflows into spot ETH-ETFs in the US of $15bn in the first 18 months. Bloomberg expects trading in the new product to start on 2 July.

Solana Foundation has launched tools that enable it to turn any website or app into a gateway for cryptocurrency payments and other blockchain transactions.

On 26 June, the Blast development team completed the first phase of an airdrop, distributing 17 billion BLAST tokens (17% of the total issuance). Blast is an Ethereum-based layer 2 (L2) network that was launched in November 2023 by Blur founder under the pseudonym Pacman. In terms of blockchain value locked (TVL), the Blast ecosystem is ranked sixth in the DeFi Llama ranking with a value of $1.58bn.


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Punk, Danielson would give All Elite Wrestling big boost - August 8th, 2021

How UFC Got Social Media Right; WWE taking the fight online via social media and people power

 

Pop Culture/Streaming Entertainment

Top 10 Movies Streaming (United States)

1. The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Hulu)

2. Deadpool 2 (Disney+)

3. Twister (Max)

4. Deadpool (Disney+)

5. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Netflix)

6. Tarot (Netflix)

7. If (Paramount+)

8. Wicked Little Letters (Netflix)

9. Challengers (MGM+)

10. Abigail (Peacock)

Others

The Beekeeper (Prime Video)

Find Me Falling (Netflix)

My Spy: The Eternal City (Netflix)

*correct at time of publication

 

 

Streaming TV (United States)

Top 10 TV

1. House of the Dragon (Max)

2. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (Netflix)

3. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)

4. Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)

5. Time Bandits (Apple TV+)

6. The Decameron (Netflix)

7. The Bear (Hulu)

8. The Boys (Prime Video)

9. Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+)

10. Evil (Paramount+)

 

 

Streaming Service

An online provider of entertainment (music, movies, multi-episode series, etc.) that delivers content over an Internet connection to the subscriber's computer, TV or mobile device.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Binge (Australia), Kayo Sports (Australia), Hulu, HBO, Disney, ESPN Plus, Gaia, Passionflix, Spotify, Discovery, Peacock, Paramount Plus, Triller TV, UFC Fight Pass, WWE Network and Apple TV+ are examples of paid streaming services.

Examples of free services include Amazon ABC iView, Freedive, Free TV, Hoopla, Kanopy, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Snagfilms, Sony Crackle, SBS On Demand, Tubi TV, VUDU and Xumo.

 

 

Media Man Int

Media Man Int X



Elon Musk’s X Files Antitrust Suit Against Global Advertising Alliance

August 6, 2024



Elon Musk’s social media platform X has launched a significant antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and several of its member companies, alleging an illegal ad boycott that targeted the platform. The lawsuit, filed in Texas, is aimed at GARM, its parent firm World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and members including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever.

In an open letter to advertisers, X CEO Linda Yaccarino highlighted the reasons behind the lawsuit, stating that it was a direct response to GARM’s actions which allegedly cost the company billions of dollars. “This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions,” Yaccarino wrote. “The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars” per The New York Post.

The lawsuit is seeking trebled compensatory damages and injunctive relief, according to a complaint viewed by The New York Post. GARM, led by Robert Rakowitz, is an initiative of the WFA, which represents many of the world’s largest companies and ad organizations, including Disney and Coca-Cola. Its members control 90% of global marketing spending, nearly $1 trillion per year.

Yaccarino emphasized that the issue extends beyond financial damages. “This case is about more than damages — we have to fix a broken ecosystem that allows this illegal activity to occur,” she added.

According to The New York Post, the suit argues that the boycott undermined the marketplace of ideas by financially harming certain viewpoints over others. (Credit: PYMNTS)

Full article and coverage via PYMNTS

https://pymnts.com/cpi-posts/elon-musks-x-files-antitrust-suit-against-global-advertising-alliance/

PYMNTS is a former Media Man 'Business News Outlet Of The Month' award winner and finalist

 

News

Elon Musk takes GARM, several companies to court over alleged advertising boycott of X outlined in bombshell report

August 7, 2024

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has taken several companies and an advertising alliance to court over allegations of a "boycott" of X.

Elon Musk has waged “war” against advertisers as his social media platform X filed an antitrust lawsuit against a global ad alliance and several major companies, accusing them of illegally boycotting the site.

X filed a suit in a federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and its members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever.

The suit comes after a report from the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee found GARM and its members “directly organised boycotts” and employed other indirect tactics to target disfavoured “platforms, content creators” and news organisations to demonetise them.

It alleges that GARM’s boycott led advertisers to pull money from X under the guise of “brand safety” concerns.

X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino argued this tactic hindered users on the social media platform from accessing a wide breadth of ideas by funding alternative viewpoints.

“The consequence - perhaps the intent - of this boycott was to seek to deprive X’s users, be they sports fans, gamers, journalists, activists, parents or political and corporate leaders, of the Global Town Square,” she wrote.

“To put it simply, people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is undermined and some viewpoints are not funded over others as part of an illegal boycott.”

Mr Musk shared his colleague’s statement to the platform and boldly declared: “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.”

He later encouraged “any company who has been systematically boycotted” to file a suit.

Following his post, video sharing platform Rumble joined Mr Musk’s lawsuit, claiming it has also been impacted towards GARM’s alleged skew away from right wing voices and ideologies.

The platform announced its move on X where it accused GARM of being “a conspiracy to perpetrate an advertiser boycott of Rumble and others, and that's illegal”.

Since Musk took over the social media platform in October 2022, X has suffered a serious dive in ad dollars with the platform taking in US$2.5 billion in 2023, according to Bloomberg.

This was down from the US$1bn it was bringing in every quarter of 2022.

Musk triggered controversy again in November 2023 when he endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jewish communities push “hatred against whites”.

The X owner responded: “You have said the actual truth,” sparking an advertiser exodus that was reported to have lost the company as much as $75m, per The New York Times.

He made headlines again in the same month after blasting advertisers boycotting the social media platform, boldly declaring: “Go f**k yourself”.

“If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself. Go f**k yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is,” he said. (Sky News Australia)

Full article and coverage via Sky News Australia

https://www.skynews.com.au/business/media/elon-musk-takes-garm-several-companies-to-court-over-alleged-advertising-boycott-of-x-outlined-in-bombshell-report/news-story/7bac6243aada770042d14ca84afc23e7

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Yahoo Finance wins Media Man 'Business News Outlet Of The Month' award

 

 

PYMNTS wins Media Man 'Businees News Outlet Of The Month' award

Market, Commodities and Financial News Snapshot via Media Man

August 7, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6520 USD (up $0.0024 USD)

Iron Ore Sep Spot Price (SGX): $102.85 USD (down $0.70 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $72.96 USD (down $1.02 USD)

Gold Price: $2,389.45 USD (down $19.96 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.0095 USD (up $0.0085 USD)

Bitcoin: $56,485.71 USD (up 3.10% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 38,997.66 at 5.02pm NY time (up 294.39 points on yesterday's close)

(Roy Morgan Summary)

 

Paramount+ to become an Official Partner of Formula 1 in a new multi-year deal


Sports Streaming Operators, News and Promotions: Brands, Breaking News

Super Bowl LVII Will Be "Monumental" Day in History...Here's What Bettors Are Backing (Gambling911)

Super Bowl - American Football - WWE sports entertainment connection

AI News

Elon Musk: News Google News Search News Property News Casino News

Super Bowl LVII Will Be "Monumental" Day in History...Here's What Bettors Are Backing (Gambling911)

 

 

 

Sports News Update

X's Grok Helps Keep Online Publishers, Newsrooms Up To Speed; Media Man

August 2, 2024

News

U.F.C. Abu Dhabi Fight Card

The UFC event in Abu Dhabi on August 3rd, 2024, is generating significant discussion among fans and analysts. The main event features Umar Nurmagomedov against Cory Sandhagen, with Nurmagomedov being favored by many. The card includes other notable fighters like Deiveson Figueiredo, Marlon Vera, and Shara. Predictions and betting odds are being shared across social media, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is expected to be in Umar's corner. The event is free to watch on ABC Network, further enhancing its accessibility and viewership. Tony Ferguson has expressed his desire to continue fighting in the UFC, while other fighters like Figueiredo and Vera are also generating interest among fans. The event promises to be an exciting showcase of talent and competition in the world of mixed martial arts. (Grok)

News

UFC Abu Dhabi Event

The upcoming UFC event in Abu Dhabi on August 2, 2024, is generating significant buzz, featuring a main event between undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. The event is free to watch on ABC Network and includes notable fighters such as Deiveson Figueiredo and Marlon Vera. The card also features Tony Ferguson, who has expressed his desire to continue fighting in the UFC. The event is anticipated to be a major one, with Khabib Nurmagomedov expected to be in Umar's corner. Betting predictions and discussions are prevalent across social media platforms, with various analysts and fans sharing their insights and picks for the fights.

News

Survivor Series: WarGames in Vancouver

WWE has announced that Survivor Series 2024 will be held in Vancouver, Canada, marking the first WWE pay-per-view event in the city since 1998. The event, featuring the WarGames match format, is scheduled for November 30 at Rogers Arena. This decision has sparked excitement among wrestling fans and local residents, with many expressing enthusiasm about attending the event in Vancouver. (Grok)

News

SummerSlam Predictions and Anticipation

WWE SummerSlam 2024 is generating significant anticipation among fans, with many expressing excitement and making predictions about the outcomes of various matches. Key discussions revolve around potential returns of prominent wrestlers such as Roman Reigns and The Rock, as well as the outcomes of matches like Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa and Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley. The event is set to feature a variety of matches that fans are eagerly awaiting, including those involving LA Knight, Logan Paul, and Gunther. The overall sentiment is one of excitement and speculation, with fans looking forward to a thrilling event. (Grok)

News

Rampage Debuts for MxM & Private Party on AEW

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is gearing up for an exciting lineup of events, including the highly anticipated All In event scheduled for August 25, 2024. The event is generating significant buzz among fans and is anticipated to surpass the success of the previous year's event. The card for All In features high-stakes matches such as Bryan Danielson putting his career on the line against Swerve, MJF facing Will Ospreay, and a tag team grudge match involving Darby Allin, FTR, and ROH Champion Sussex Co. Chicken against formidable opponents. AEW is also promoting other shows like AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage, which feature matches like Hangman Page vs. Darby Allin and MxM Collection's debut against Private Party, respectively. The promotion is leveraging various platforms and media to engage with fans and build anticipation for these events. (Grok)

News

Crawford vs Madrimov: Pre-Fight Press Conference

Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov are set to face off in a highly anticipated boxing match on August 3rd, as part of the Riyadh Season Card. The event, which will be available on PPV, has generated significant buzz among boxing fans and media. The undercard for the event is also noted for its quality, featuring a heavyweight bout between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Jarrell Miller, as well as other notable fights. The event is expected to be a major draw, with fans eagerly anticipating the outcome of the main event between Crawford and Madrimov. (Grok)

News

TNA Wrestling: Rascalz vs. Bailey, Seven & KUSHIDA

TNA Wrestling's iMPACT episode on August 1, 2024, featured a lineup of exciting matches and events. The show included a TNA World Title match between Nic Nemeth and Mustafa Ali, as well as the wedding of PCO and Steph De Lander. Other matches included The Rascalz in action against Mike Bailey, Trent Seven, and KUSHIDA in a six-man tag team match, Frankie Kazarian vs. Ryan Nemeth, and Jody Threat vs. Masha Slamovich. The event was broadcasted on various platforms including TNA+, AXS TV, DAZN, and YouTube, catering to a wide audience. Fans and wrestling enthusiasts expressed their anticipation and excitement for the event across social media platforms. (Grok)

ROH

Ring of Honor (ROH) is a professional wrestling promotion recently acquired by Tony Khan, CEO of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Chief Football Strategy Officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and GM/Sporting Director of Fulham F.C. ROH has been holding events and television tapings, with notable developments including Sammy Guevara's return to help Dustin Rhodes against the Dark Order at the July 28th tapings. The promotion has been building new stars and continues to feature high-profile matches and events. (Grok)

News

WWE 2K24 Online Stability Hotfix

WWE 2K24 released Patch 1.14 to address online stability issues, which was automatically applied upon game loading. The update aimed to fix problems with the Pat McAfee Show Pack DLC for PS5 users, which was resolved, allowing the pack to be downloaded. However, the patch also caused issues with mods on PC, and some users reported problems with Titantrons in create an entrance and the unavailability of DLC for PlayStation 5 users. Despite these issues, WWE 2K24 encouraged players to participate in a giveaway for SummerSlam and provided a locker code for 7500 VC. (Grok)

Max Verstappen's Potential Mercedes Move

Speculation is rife about Max Verstappen potentially joining Mercedes, fueled by recent high-profile departures from Red Bull Racing. Despite the rumors, some fans express skepticism about the likelihood of such a move. The discussion also touches on the stability of other drivers' positions within their teams, with some questioning the rationale behind certain team decisions. Additionally, there is discussion about the performance comparison between Verstappen and his teammate, Perez, at Red Bull Racing. (Grok)

News

Wheatley's Move from Red Bull to Audi F1

Jonathan Wheatley, the long-serving sporting director at Red Bull Racing, is set to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season to become the new team principal of the Audi Formula 1 project. This move has been confirmed by Red Bull and widely reported across various Formula 1 news outlets. Audi has not officially commented on Wheatley's appointment, and there are indications that they were not expecting the announcement. Wheatley's departure marks a significant change in leadership for Red Bull and a notable acquisition for Audi as it prepares to enter Formula 1. The transition is expected to take place after the 2024 season, with Wheatley remaining in his current role until then. (Grok)

News

WWE NXT Great American Bash Week One

The WWE NXT Great American Bash kicked off with a series of exciting matches and events, including a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match where Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn defended their titles against Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend. Other highlights included a NXT Women’s Championship match between Roxanne Perez and Thea Hail, a live concert by Joe Hendry, and a NXT Heritage Cup match between Tony D'Angelo and Tavion Heights. Fans and commentators expressed excitement and anticipation for the event, with many rooting for their favorite wrestlers and speculating on potential outcomes. (Grok)

News

NXT Women's Championship: Roxanne Perez Retains

Roxanne Perez successfully defended her NXT Women's Championship against Thea Hail in a highly acclaimed match at NXT GAB. The match was praised for its intensity and the young ages of the competitors, with both being under 23 years old. The event also featured other notable matches, including Joe Hendry expressing frustration with Gallus and a confirmed match between Joe Hendry and Joe Coffey for the following week. The overall event was well-received, highlighting the talent and potential of the NXT roster. (Grok)

News

Bowlin Graham's Pocono Win Secures Playoff Spot

Graham Bowlin secured a spot in the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs with a win at Pocono Raceway. Despite missing out on the playoffs, drivers from Spire Motorsports expressed pride in their team's efforts. Nick Ottinger also secured a playoff spot, marking the seventh consecutive season Team Conti has fielded at least one car in the post-season. The playoff lineup includes Steven Wilson, Parker White, Nick Ottinger, Graham Bowlin, Vicente Salas, Bobby Zalenski, Tucker Minter, Garrett Lowe, Dylan Duval, and Daniel Faulkingham. (Grok)

News

CM Punk's Top 5 Wrestlers of All Time

During an interview on ESPN's First Take, CM Punk named his top-5 wrestlers of all time, which included Harley Race, Terry Funk, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, and initially Ricky Steamboat, but he later switched to Roddy Piper. This selection sparked discussions among fans and commentators, with some expressing surprise at the absence of Bret Hart from the list. Punk also highlighted Stone Cold Steve Austin as the biggest superstar in the industry. The interview took place ahead of SummerSlam 2024, which is set to occur in a few days, generating anticipation among wrestling fans. (Grok)

News

Cedric Alexander's NXT Victory

Cedric Alexander emerged victorious in a match against Brooks Jensen on the WWE NXT show. The win was unexpected by some fans and commentators, and it was celebrated by many on social media. The event also featured other matches and announcements, including a promo by Pete Dunne about his upcoming match with Trick Williams. (Grok)

News

UFC Abu Dhabi Event

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to host a highly anticipated event in Abu Dhabi this Saturday, featuring a stacked card of fights. Notable fighters on the card include Tony Ferguson, Cory Sandhagen, and Mackenzie Dern. The event is free and open to the public, with a live broadcast on various platforms. Fans and analysts are discussing the matchups and sharing their predictions and betting tips for the fights. Cory Sandhagen is a key focus of the event, with many fans and analysts predicting a strong performance from him in his fight against Umar Nurmagomedov. (Grok)

News

AEW Returns and Criticisms

The recent episode of AEW's Dynamite received mixed reactions from fans and critics, sparking discussions on various aspects of the show. Topics included the return of a star after a five-month absence, the company's approach to pushing certain talents, and comparisons between AEW and WWE. Some fans expressed disappointment in the show's content and booking decisions, while others praised specific moments and storylines. The discourse highlighted a range of opinions and critiques regarding AEW's current direction and its relationship with its audience and competitors. (Grok)

News

AEW Collision Viewership Drop Amid Summer Events

AEW Collision viewership experienced a significant drop, averaging 383,000 viewers with a 0.12 P18-49 rating, marking a 19% decrease from the previous week. This decline was attributed to tough competition from the Olympics. Meanwhile, WWE's SummerSlam is generating anticipation, with fans expressing mixed feelings about the event and the potential outcomes for their favorite wrestlers. (Grok)

News

Grok Search: TNA Wrestling

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2002 by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. It is currently owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. TNA was initially known as NWA: Total Nonstop Action until 2004 when it rebranded to its current name.

TNA has been known for its innovative matches and storylines, and it has featured many notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy. The promotion has also been praised for its women's division, known as the Knockouts Division, which features some of the top female wrestlers in the world.

TNA has faced a number of challenges over the years, including changes in ownership and a decline in viewership. However, the promotion has continued to produce entertaining and innovative content, and it remains a significant player in the world of professional wrestling. (Grok)

News

Umar vs Sandhagen for Title Shot

Umar Nurmagomedov is set to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi, with the winner potentially earning a title shot against the victor of the Sean O'Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili bout. The event also features Tony Ferguson, who is looking to make a comeback. The fight card is generating significant interest and betting activity among fans and analysts. Additionally, there are discussions about potential matchups for Shakur Stevenson, including a verbal agreement for a fight with William Zepeda, although no official agreement has been reached yet. The event is also notable for Khabib Nurmagomedov's involvement in Umar's corner. (Grok)

News

Ruiz vs Miller: Boxing Showdown in Riyadh

On August 3, 2024, a significant boxing event is set to take place featuring several high-profile matches. The main event includes a face-off between Andy Ruiz and Jarrell Miller, which has garnered significant attention and anticipation. Other notable fights on the card include a matchup between Isaac Pitbull and Jose Valenzuela, which is expected to be a highlight of the evening. Additionally, the event features the return of Andy Cruz against Antonio Moran, adding to the excitement. The event is part of the Riyadh Season and will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus PPV. (Grok)

News

Russell Disqualified, Hamilton Wins Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton was declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix after his teammate George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car. Russell initially crossed the line first but was stripped of his win due to the technical violation. Hamilton's victory marked his second win in three races, sparking discussions among fans and commentators about the nature of his win and Russell's performance. The disqualification also led to Oscar Piastri being promoted to second place, and Charles Leclerc finishing third for Ferrari. (Grok)

News

F1 Drivers Pole Positions and Race Outcomes Debate

In recent Formula 1 races, Charles Leclerc has been praised for his ability to secure pole positions and maintain leads in a slower car, contrasting with Lando Norris's performance in a faster car. Max Verstappen has consistently performed well, often starting from lower positions and finishing higher, despite debates about the relative performance of his car. The current season is highly competitive, with several drivers from different teams closely competing in points, highlighting the tight competition in Formula 1. (Grok)

News

US Women's Rugby Wins First Olympic Medal

The United States women's rugby sevens team won their first Olympic medal, a bronze, in a dramatic match against Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The victory was sealed by a last-minute try and conversion by Alex Sedrick. Meanwhile, Simone Biles led the United States to a dominant victory in the women's gymnastics team final, securing her fifth career Olympic gold medal and becoming the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history with a total of 8 medals. (Grok)

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Showbiz News from Hollywood; Screenwriters reach tentative deal with studios to end strike

The show must go on - eventually, anyway! With or without a dash of AI et al.

The Writers Guild of America, which represents thousands of Hollywood writers, advised Sunday PM that it has reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with the major entertainment studios, paving the way to end the 146-day strike that has brought television and film production to a standstill. That's right - 146 days! That's some kind of record.

"The WGA and [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Produces] have reached a tentative agreement," according to an online WGA statement that discloses that more details will follow after the contract language has been finalized...ink had dried, you know the drum.

Though the AMPTP trade alliance of major film and television producers has yet to comment on the development, WGA described the contract to members in a letter as "exceptional." It contains "meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership," it said.

The roughly 11,000 writers were demanding "economic fairness," streaming-service residuals and regulation on the use of AI (artificial intelligence) - take that, you bots!

"What we have won in this contract ... is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days. It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal," it said.

The language of the contract was being finalized, it said, with guild members to vote on whether to accept it in the coming days.

Union members are being advised that "no one is to return to work" unless specifically authorized by the guild.

"We are still on strike until then," it said, though it was suspending picketing.

The Hollywood writers went on strike early May after negotiations with the studios and streaming services fell through, following six weeks of talks, which brought a halt to television productions.

Many insiders as well as regular consumers of streaming media shows and other had noticed a dive in overall quality.

In mid-July, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the movement, shutting down any active studio productions.

The deal announced late Sunday does not mean the resumption of Hollywood productions, as SAG-AFTRA members remain on the picket lines, and WAG is encouraging its members to join in the actors' fight.

SAG-AFTRA issued a statement congratulating WGA on the deal it said it would review.

"We remain on strike in our TV/Theatrical contract and continue to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand," it said.

The agreement was reached following a recent breach in a stalemate in negotiations, which began about mid-August.

The two sides were quiet until Sept. 14, when they said they had agreed to return to the negotiating table, and they have been hashing out a deal since Wednesday.

"After a nearly five-month long strike, I am grateful that the Writers Guild of American and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached a fair agreement and I'm hopeful that the same can happen soon with the Screen Actors Guild," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.

"Now, we must focus on getting the entertainment industry, and all the small businesses that depend on it, back on their feet and stronger than every before."

The strike, which has waylaid productions for months, has hurt the bottom line of studios, with Warner Bros. Discovery telling the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month in a filing that the strikes have "negatively impacted" the company by a cost of up to $500 million. Some folks in and around the biz are pleased that that likes of a somewhat "woke and broken" Disney had lost so much money.

Under the watercooler Media heard, "More about fairness, distribution of funds, and a fair days pay for a fair days work. We showed the world and this script kind of wrote itself"!


If 99pc of start-ups fail, how do AirTree and Blackbird make money?

Starting an ambitious technology company is undeniably hard, but fresh data suggests failure rates aren’t as high as parts of the industry say.

On a darkened screen, a line of text lays out the stakes for The New Hustle, a 2017 documentary series: “Over 92 per cent of start-ups fail. What separates those who don’t?”

Six years later, the production company behind that feature, Founder Films, was back with a new documentary series called Founder on the same topic. This time, the odds seemed to be stacked even higher against start-up founders. “Ninety-nine per cent of start-ups fail,” the on-screen text from the documentary reads.

Apparently, those six years were a grim time for start-ups, whose founders were portrayed as valorous figures surmounting almost impossible odds. Yet between 2017 and early 2022, start-up funding soared in Australia, giving even questionable firms war chests of cash to sustain their dreams for years.

Statistics requested by The Australian Financial Review from the country’s biggest tech venture investors suggest many more start-up companies are staying afloat than the most heightened founder mythology suggests.

The disparate figures reflect an industry that does not have a uniform definition of failure even as commentators contend that failure is discussed too harshly, or too much, or not enough. And they show how failure rates are deployed to either showcase investment performance or valorise founders.

Startmate, the long-running accelerator, has reported that 63 per cent of the more than 230 companies it has a stake in are still active. AirTree Ventures, the large Sydney-based fund that was founded in 2014, said its failure rate – defined using the fairly common rule of investments where it has got back less than it invested – is lower than 20 per cent. Company closures in its portfolio are even lower, at less than 3 per cent.

Blackbird Ventures, meanwhile provided data from its first fund, raised in 2013, where 25 per cent of the companies have closed down, compared with the same number of exits and 10 that are still operating. Square Peg, the third major Australian venture fund, did not make any data available.

Better than regular businesses

Those start-up failure rates compare fairly favourably to the economy as a whole. For the past four years, failure rates for all Australian businesses with staff have hovered around 8 per cent, according to data from the Bureau of Statistics.

But unlike small-business investors who want to preserve capital and grow slowly, venture capitalists bet on a host of companies hoping a small percentage will become enormously valuable in the knowledge many will fail.

That has led some start-up industry figures such as Finder founder Fred Schebesta to argue some high-profile failures should be celebrated to avoid discouraging founders.

James Alexander, a partner at early-stage investor Galileo Ventures, said he did not support the idea of “celebrating” failure, though he acknowledged that founding a business, whether small business or start-up, was very hard.

“Do I think failure is positive? No, I don’t,” Mr Alexander said. “I don’t think [failures] are positive, but I don’t think they’re anywhere near as bad as people make them out to be.”

Mr Alexander’s portfolio has four failures, defined as firms shut down or sold that returned less than invested capital, out of 18 bets. But he said that if one of those surviving companies became a super valuable firm akin to Google, “No one’s going to mind if we lose money on five, 25 or 30 per cent of the investments or even more.”

Founder Films, owned by the founder of $2.7 billion start-up SafetyCulture Luke Annear, declined to comment on its figures, but a spokesman pointed to a 2012 Wall Street Journal article reporting Harvard research that 95 per cent of start-ups fail to hit projected figures. The 92 per cent failure rate number is also all over the internet, with the figure derived from a 2011 report by an organisation called Startup Genome that no longer appears online.

Mr Alexander said that high failure rate figures were a reflection of the way venture firms sought out exceptional results.

“When people throw out these things like ‘90per cent of businesses fail’, I think usually they mean 90 per cent of businesses never become big,” Mr Alexander said.

Murray Hurps, who runs the industry survey project Startup Muster, did not provide data on failure rates because the varying definitions make it hard to collect. But he said that average failure levels were not as useful as understanding the proposition of investing or building an individual firm.

“There are many kinds of lower risk, technology-enabled entrepreneurial pursuits that entrepreneurs should be considering, and more today than there ever were before,” Mr Hurps said.


What Lachlan Murdoch told fundies in Sydney two weeks ago - September 23, 2023

Lachlan Murdoch’s been in and around Australian business circles for most of his working life, but had little to do with the country’s big investors. Until a few weeks ago.

A couple of weeks ago, Lachlan Murdoch, 52, broke cover with Australia’s investor ranks.

Not one to normally front Australia’s fund managers on roadshows, Murdoch was the headline attraction at a small and private dinner held only a few kilometres from his home in Sydney’s inner-east.

The small crowd were all fund managers – big name stock pickers from the larger institutional equities shops in Sydney – most of who had little to do with Murdoch or his father Rupert over the years, and some of who had never met him despite him being in and out of Australian business circles his whole working life.

Murdoch spoke off the cuff. There were no notes or powerpoint slides, no script and no minders, just an update on the family’s two businesses News Corporation and Fox Corporation, and where he wanted to take them.

Perhaps playing to the small crowd, he repeatedly stressed he was 100 per cent focused on creating shareholder value, according to those at the dinner. It was a friendly crowd; money is the name of the game in funds management, and fund managers tend to bow down to billionaires. He was valued at $3.35 billion on this year’s AFR Rich List.

He was clearly proud some of the investments he had overseen – high growth and conviction bets like News Corp’s $13 billion stake in REA Group, student loans business Credible and streaming business Tubi Corporation for example – and gave the impression of a hands-on and pretty passionate senior executive.

He travels back to US head office every second week from his home in Sydney, where his children go to school. When he’s in Sydney, he tends to work New York hours. That’s the sort of stuff that top Sydney money managers are glad they do not have to worry about.

There were no hints about what was to come and fund managers left the dinner not knowing that only a few weeks later, Murdoch would finally get the keys to his father Rupert’s News Corporation.

He was announced as News Corp’s executive chairman on Thursday night, the same role he holds at sister company Fox Corporation, while his 92-year-old father would step off the board and become chairman emeritus of both companies.

Changing of the guard

Lachlan Murdoch’s succession may end a tumultuous 12 months for the family’s two companies. This time last year, the Murdochs were planning to reunite their News Corp and Fox businesses, calling it the next logical step of the strategy that led the media billionaires to sell entertainment giant 21st Century Fox to Disney in 2017 for $US52 billion.

It was about bringing together live sport and news, two things that consumers want immediately and are arguably less discretionary than TV entertainment and movies – but the deal was off a few months later called “not optimal for shareholders of News Corp and Fox at this time”.

In reality, it also faced considerable backlash from investors including Sydney-based Airlie Funds Management, who didn’t want to see News Corp combined with Fox. News Corp owns the company’s stake in REA and Move in the United States, Foxtel in Australia, Dow Jones and HarperCollins, among other businesses, and trades at a significant discount to its asset backing.

Soon after, it also abandoned talks to sell its US digital real estate business Move for about $US3 billion ($4.4 billion).

Murdoch’s comments from the dinner were ringing through those fund managers’ heads on Friday, as they tried to work out what it meant for the future of the family’s media empire.

It was a timely introduction to a man who’s well known in media circles – there are plenty of former News Corp executives who’ll give their two cents worth and recount fronting him when they hadn’t made budget or wanted money for something – but less in local markets.

Those close to him say he’s been fronting investors in the US for a while, just not Australia. Fox Corp isn’t listed in Australia, while News’ ASX-listing is small.

One thing that stuck in the Australian fund managers’ heads were Murdoch’s remarks about M&A.

He said large media sector deals were hard to get past the antitrust regulator in the United States – which is similar to deals in every concentrated sector (banking, energy, tollroads) in Australia.

So, investors are thinking there is unlikely to be any giant strategic pivot in the near to medium term, at least, although are fully aware that deals (big and small) have been a big part of the family business under Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan has been at the table for plenty of them.

“Evolution not revolution” is how his backers were putting it on Friday, pointing out that he’s done a long apprenticeship under his father at News Corp and has been Fox executive chairman since 2105 (it was 21st Century Fox before a $US50 billion sale of its film production business to Disney) . It is still all about news, sport and digital, and looking forwards not backwards.

Closing the gap in value

The ASX-listed shares were up 1.9 per cent to $32.25 in Friday afternoon trade.

Murdoch junior’s most notable was paying about $10 million for a 44 per cent stake in realestate.com.au (later REA Group), following a direct approach from Sydney real estate agent and company director John McGrath, while others for the company include Credible, where loans are up three-times since News Corp’s acquisition, Tubi, which has tripled subscribers.

Of course, it has not been all winners. He’s still remembered for One.Tel, a telecommunications company that collapsed in 2001, and Channel Ten owner Ten Network Holdings, which went into administration in 2017. News Corp’s betting play is also in trouble.

One of his loudest supporters in Australian markets is Sydney stockbroker Angus Aitken, who is known for backing family-led businesses and was quick to tell clients that News Corp was in good hands.

“Lachlan Murdoch has the same entrepreneurial genes as his Dad and has zero to prove, he already has proved himself in spades,” he said in a 1400 word note to fund managers that hit inboxes as the sun rose over Sydney Harbour.

“Anyone who has heard Lachlan talk about these businesses knows he knows these businesses inside out and knows how to allocate capital and back people within these firms with that capital for the long term.”

He said Rupert Murdoch had turned a three-paper tiddler into $US100 billion of assets, if you add the market capitalisations of News and Fox (about $US30 billion) and some of the big asset sales (c$US70 billion). “It is hard to think of anyone who will replicate that in life.”

Lachlan Murdoch will likely struggle to create anywhere near that much value, but he also doesn’t have to. Investors will be happy enough if he can close the discount between New Corp’s share price and asset value – which funds like Melbourne’s L1 Capital have talked about for years. That discount was so glaring that stockbroker UBS for a while was putting out a regulator News Corp note, pointing out the difference between the sum of its parts and share price.

The bigger news on Friday was the end of the Rupert Murdoch-era, after a career stretching seven decades. Lachlan’s ascension to the top of both companies was telegraphed by his father in the past few years. Second son James moved to the fringes of the family business after the Fox/Disney deal in 2019.


'Take it over’: Perth lands WWE’s first Aussie event in six years - September 23

One of the world’s biggest sporting organisations is coming back to Australia for the first time since taking over the MCG in 2018.

The WWE will return to Australian shores for the first time since 2018 in February after the Elimination Chamber event was announced for Perth’s Optus Stadium.

After months of speculation, the sports entertainment behemoth announced that the 60,000 seat stadium would host the live event on Saturday February 24.

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The last time the WWE came down under was in 2018 when the Super-Show Down took over the MCG with Ronda Rousey stunning a packed house before Triple H pinned The Undertaker.

In the meantime, Aussie Rhea Ripley has become one of the sports’ biggest names and is expected to star as the WWE comes back to Australia, while Grayson Walker is also a near certainty to fight.

While the schedule has not yet been released, it will culminate in at least one six-man cage match with some of the promotion’s biggest names set to visit just one month out from WrestleMania 40.

Wrestlers Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods joined WA Premier Roger Cook for the announcement.

“These are set to be the hottest tickets in town and fans can pre-register and secure their spot from today,” Cook said.

“We expect the premium live event at Optus Stadium will be a sellout with thousands of east coast and international fans flocking to Perth, Western Australia to witness this exclusive show.”

The show is expected to reach an audience of one billion people worldwide and Kingston, who is one of the members of The New Day alongside Woods and Big E, said the Elimination Chamber could “totally change the trajectory of whatever is going on in the WWE landscape”.

“Two combatants enter and there are four pods with the other combatants within them,” Woods added.

“As time passes, one of those pods will open until all of their combatants are inside of the ring.

“And then the match officially begins and you lose by pinfall or submission until there is one combatant standing and they are the winner.

“And the reason that this is so intense is because you are waiting for people to get into this match.”

The wrestlers involved are expected to have community activations and meet-and-greets with fans, and Kingston said they “really come into a town and take it over”.

The WWE has recently merged with the UFC, which had a massive show earlier this year in Perth when Alexander Volkanovski lost a controversial bout to Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title.


Expend4bles

A new generation of stars join the world's top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in Expend4bles. Reuniting as the team of elite mercenaries, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone are joined for the first time by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia. Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world's last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give "new blood" a whole new meaning.—Lionsgate

 

The Unbreakable Bunch

An Alien Force Came To Conquer - They Had No Idea This Bunch Was In Town.

Producers Ray “Glacier” Lloyd and Steve Luther Wilson, aka “Big Sexy” Luther Biggs, trained at the Power Plant and broke into the business about the same time. A decade ago, the two started talking about a movie.

“We had this idea,” says Lloyd, “What if a bunch of pro wrestlers had to step out of their wrestling world and into a fantasy world where they have to battle aliens?”

“We’re both big fans of The Magnificent Seven, The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, and The Professionals. They were all ensemble casts, and most of them were somewhat diverse. We thought, ‘What if we could make a movie like that and celebrate the wrestling business?’”

Most wrestling movies either focus on the dark side, or they go for the campy humor,” says Lloyd. “They make movies like The Wrestler, which was very good and yes, that is how some guys turn out. Or they make fun of wrestling and wrestling fans. We wanted to celebrate what’s great about being a wrestling fan and what’s fun about the business without making fun of it. We didn’t think that anyone else was going to make a movie like that, and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t get it right.”

“The story changed a lot from that first draft, but we tried to stay true to the essence of the characters and what they stood for,” explains Lloyd.

Ernest “The Cat” Miller

Stan Hansen

Tonga Uli’uli Fifita, aka Haku, aka Meng

Larry Zbyszko

Diamond Dallas Page

David “Gangrel” Heath.

“An ensemble cast like this has never been done in a wrestling film.” says Lloyd. “We also worked with some great actors we cast in the non-wrestling roles. Nicholas Logan did a tremendous job in our movie, and he’s had some great roles before and after The Unbreakable Bunch. I’m excited to see where his career goes.”

“These are men like us who have their life together,” says Lloyd. “They have good jobs, a nice home. You also see how these guys come together to put on a show. It’s a team effort, whether it’s for one night or a tour. Then they all go their separate ways. That’s something we’ve never seen in a movie about wrestling, and we wanted to portray that.”

“Wrestling is at its best when everyone can enjoy it,” says Lloyd. “A lot of the fans I meet at shows and convention are grown ups who were kids when I was first on TV. Now they’re bringing their kids because they want the next generation to enjoy wrestling like they did. There’s definitely some action, but we kept it to a PG or PG-13 level. We really want families to enjoy this picture, even if they don’t watch wrestling.”

“We want this movie to be something that wrestlers and wrestling fans will be proud to recommend to people,” says Lloyd. “At the end of the day, it’s about camaraderie, loyalty, friendship. It’s about the noble side of professional wrestling.”

WWE Hall of Famer Larry Zbyszko via aQ&A on AdFreeShows.com. In addition to taking fan questions, he also talked about the movie, “The Unbreakable Bunch” that Ernest Miller, himself, and several other wrestlers are in:

"Ray Lloyd, Luther Biggs, had been working their butts off for some years to get this movie going. They wrote it, and then they had to get financed. At the end of 2009, we filmed it and it really came out great. I mean, it's a movie about wrestlers saving a town from aliens, but it's not a wrestling movie. It's kind of a science fiction action movie with emotion and you'll find yourself laughing when you don't expect to. I mean, it was really well done. It's a family friendly movie. Nothing dirty, nothing raunchy. I mean, if you're not a wrestling fan, you're gonna love it too because it's not about wrestling. But it was really well done. I've been dying to see it. As soon as we finished it, like at the end of 2019 right before Christmas, a couple of months later this stupid COVID hit and slowed it down a little bit with the editing, but there was the guy alone editing in the booth. So it's finally all done with the editing and the sound and the music and the special effects, and I hear it's going to come out October 13th. I can't wait to see it."

Zbyszko talking about two movies he should have been in:

"I should have been in two big movies. I'll tell you a story quickly. Alright, 1976 or something I was wrestling in California a little bit. I was wrestling a man and I got a message to talk to some producer in the audience. So after the match, I went to talk to this guy. He said, 'Hey, I'm making my first movie. It's a low budget movie, but I'd like to have you in it because I like the way you look and move.' So I said, 'Okay.' So I went down to his office which turned out to be a crap hole and got a script and read it and I'm going, oh my God. Three weeks in the desert shooting this movie for hardly any money for the guy's independent little movie. It's eating babies and stuff. I said, 'Oh God.' So I nicely told the guy I couldn't do it. I was busy. It turned out the guy's name was West Craven and it was his first movie, 'The Hills Have Eyes.' It became a classic and I'm supposed to be it."

"Then some years ago in like the mid 80s or something. I got a message at the NWA office to call Jerry Reed. I'm thinking Jerry Reed? The only Jerry Reed I know is the country western singer, unless it's Jerry Reed the IRS guide. So I call this number and it's Jerry Reed the singer. He says, 'Son, you're my favorite guy.' We talked and he wanted me to be in the last Smokey and the Bandit movie they were going to make because Jackie Gleason just died and they wanted me to play the part of a young a**hole sheriff after the bandit in the last movie. But right when they were going to do the last movie, that's when Burt Reynolds went off the deep end taking all the Halcyon pills and getting divorced from Loni and getting wiped out, so they never made the movie. So I was supposed to be in the Hills Have Eyes and the last Smokey and the Bandit never happened, but The Unbreakable Bunch, I'm in like the whole movie and I can't wait to see the thing."


AEW WrestleDream - October 1, 2023

Broadcast into Australia via FITE

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

AEW Tag Team Champions FTR defend against Aussie Open

ROH Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF defend against The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch)

NJPW Strong & ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston defends both titles against ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata

TNT Champion Christian Cage defends against Darby Allin in a two out of three falls match

TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Julia Hart

Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita, and Sammy Guevara vs. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho

Additional matches have been added to next Sunday's AEW WrestleDream card.

Don Callis on Saturday’s Collision revealed that Will Ospreay will team with Konosuke Takeshita and his newest family member Sammy Guevara against Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Kota Ibushi. This stems from events that took place on Friday’s Ramapge, where Omega made the save for Jericho after Guevara and Takeshita jumped Jericho.

In addition, Christian Cage will defend the TNT title in a two out of three falls match against Darby Allin. On Saturday’s Collision, Allin had a three-way title match won between himself, Cage, and Luchasaurus when Cage posted Allin, allowing himself to pin Luchasaurus. In a backstage interview, Tony Schiavone told Cage he would be defending the title at WrestleDream.

Eddie Kingston in a promo revealed that he will be putting up both the ROH and New Japan Strong titles against Katsuyori Shibata at WrestleDream, saying that he wanted a match that would honor Antonio Inoki.


WWE PPVs

Saturday, Oct. 7

WWE Fastlane

Indianapolis

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

November 4, 2023

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saturday, Nov. 25

WWE Survivor Series

Chicago

WWE Survivor Series 2023

November 25, 2023

Rosemont, Illinois (Chicago) - Allstate Arena

 

Lachlan Murdoch inherits a daunting to-do list. Observers are divided over how he will cope -23rd September 2023

First among equals is how media mogul Rupert Murdoch once described his eldest son Lachlan, when asked about the succession plan at his global media empire. Now with Rupert’s retirement this week from the boards of Fox Corporation and News Corporation, Lachlan’s position at the top of the family-controlled empire is cemented.

However, 52-year-old Lachlan inherits a daunting task. He takes control of the global newspaper and television businesses as both face major challenges. He becomes head of one of the most influential American media companies as the US goes into perhaps its most important presidential election in recent history. And, his every step will be measured against his father’s legacy.

Former News Corporation executive John Cowley has no doubt that Lachlan is up to the task. “He was trained by the best. His father would have rubbed off on him, but he’s also his own man. He will do a good job,” Cowley said.

Lachlan’s first real job in the Murdoch empire was working for Cowley. It was three decades ago, when at the age of 22, he joined Queensland Newspapers as its general manager. Fresh from having studied philosophy at Princeton University, the young Murdoch would walk the newsroom floor with his shirt sleeves rolled up – exposing a tribal tattoo on his left arm – discussing stories with journalists, much as his father had once done.

Over seven decades, Rupert Murdoch, 92, built a global media empire from a single Australian newspaper. As his business expanded so did his influence and he became one of the world’s most powerful, polarising and right-wing businessmen, owning outlets such as Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, The Times, and The Australian.

R?upert pitted ?Lachlan from an early age against two of his siblings, older sister Elisabeth and younger brother James, to take over the family empire. ?

Lachlan, Elisabeth and James would come and go from the family business, vying for their father’s affection and at times falling out with him. But it would be Lachlan who would return to the fold and stay.?

The Murdoch family governs News Corporation and Fox Corporation through a family trust. Rupert has six children from three wives. The family trust owns almost 40 per cent of the voting shares in both companies.

Each of Murdoch’s children know how difficult it is being the progeny of a successful parent. Put simply, if the adult children of successful parents make good, it’s because of what their parents left them. If they don’t, people ask what’s wrong with them.?

This is what Lachlan is up against, even in his middle age.

Billionaire James Packer can sympathise, as he spent most of the first half of his life being compared against his father – the late media tycoon Kerry Packer.

James multiplied the wealth he inherited from his father. But then his publicly listed Crown casino business became embroiled in a Chinese money-laundering scandal. It was fined, and he sold it, and since then, has focused on private investments.

“Lachlan will do very well. He’s following in a legend’s footsteps, one of the biggest, being Rupert, and that’s never easy,” says Packer, who has been friends with Lachlan for more than three decades. “But I think Lachlan’s ready, and he’s the right man for the job.”

Not everyone agrees.

Rod Tiffen is an emeritus professor at the University of Sydney, who has published books on the news media, including about Rupert Murdoch. He’s critical of Lachlan’s rise to the top of News Corporation and Fox Corporation.

“The idea that a position like that should go by heredity belongs more in the age of Jane Austen than of the contemporary corporate world,” Tiffen says. “It might be okay for the corner store to pass from father to son, but a global corporation should be based on some sort of merit, and not just having the same surname.”

Lachlan becomes chair of News Corporation, which owns newspaper and real estate assets, and also the chair and chief executive of Fox Corporation, which owns Fox News and Fox broadcasting.

In 2019, Fox sold its $US71.3 billion film and television business to Walt Disney, predicting the streaming war that is now playing out, and which has cost companies such as Disney, Netflix and Amazon billions. It was a clever move hailed as Rupert’s crowning achievement.

However, it has left Fox much smaller than many of its peers, with a focus on news and sport. The broadcast and cable TV outlets in the US are declining, and Fox is also competing against bigger players such as Amazon, Netflix, Comcast, Disney and Warner Brothers in securing sporting rights.

The embattled news arm was also sued after broadcasting conspiracy theories and claims of vote rigging promoted by Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Earlier this year, Fox settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting systems for $US787.5 million ($1.2 billion). It is now facing another lawsuit from a voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, which is likely to be at the top of Lachlan’s to-do list to resolve.

?Another problem for Lachlan is that Donald Trump is shaping up as the most likely Republican candidate for the 2024 election, if he’s able to overcome the legal cases that he is facing.

However, it would be hard for Fox News to back him given Rupert has publicly criticised Trump and disowned him.? And yet, much of the Fox News audience are Trump supporters. Fox News will risk alienating its audience more if Trump becomes the Republican candidate, and it doesn’t back him.

News Corporation has real estate assets such as REA Group and owns newspapers such as The Times, The Australian and the Wall Street Journal. The print assets are declining while the digital side of those newspapers has been growing, particularly the Dow Jones group in the US.

Matt Williams is head of Australian equities at Airlie Funds Management. It owns 2 per cent of the voting shares in News Corporation, which he argues remains undervalued. “Over the last ten years management have done a very good job with the Dow Jones business in re-aligning the business from being reliant on advertising to much more now a subscription-based business.”

He says Lachlan has been a good steward of News Corporation, and expects the strategy of that group to remain unchanged.

However, Tiffen expects there will be pressure to shut print newspapers when Rupert dies. “Everyone rightly goes on about what a terrific global media empire Rupert Murdoch has built. On the other hand, if you were writing his obituary now, you would say that he’s lost more money on newspapers than anyone else in history. And chances are that won’t continue after he dies.”

Tiffen expects that Lachlan will not make any significant changes to either Fox Corporation or News Corporation’s strategy while his father remains alive. “It’s much more likely that any changes will have to be after Rupert’s death, and then it’s quite unpredictable.”

The unpredictability is over whether Lachlan’s siblings who have voting rights in the trust – Prudence, Elisabeth and James – will be happy with his leadership of Fox Corporation and News Corporation, and the right-wing agendas they have pursued.

“In the short term, while Rupert’s alive, the other three children are going to be respectful,” says Tiffen. “But after he dies, then Lachlan’s relations with his other siblings will be much more difficult to predict.”

(SMH)

Rear Window - September 14, 1999

Kostya, TAB go down fighting

It had more celebrities than a Saturday night in Atlantic City. In one corner, "Break Even" Bill Mordey; in the other, Russian-born dynamo Kostya Tszyu and a gaggle of heavy-hitters including Packer confidant Theo Onisforou and Jeff Fenech.

Mordey won round one when NSW Supreme Court Justice Russell Bainton last year ordered Tszyu to pay $7.3 million to Mordey's Fightvision Pty Ltd for breach of contract, in the process describing the Russian-born boxer as a "spoiled brat".

Yesterday, round two ended with a TKO to Break Even, who managed to deliver a haymaker to TAB boss Warren Wilson. Having bought Sky Channel from Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp last year, TAB will now have to partially foot a $7.3 million damages bill after three appeal judges found Sky Channel had induced Tszyu to breach his contract with Mordey.

Sky Channel will have to pay the costs of Fightvision's original claim against Sky Channel and its appeal in a result Wilson said was disappointing. TAB is considering whether it has any further legal avenues.

The stoush began when Tsyzu appealed against last year's decision, claiming the damages awarded against him were excessive. That prompted Mordey's counterpunch, appealing against the cases he lost to the other five defendants: Fenech, Sky Channel, Onisforou, Tszyu's new promoter, Vlad Warton, and Tszyu's company, Tszyu Enterprises.

The NSW Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed Tszyu's appeal. Mordey had a victory against Sky Channel, Warton and Tszyu Enterprises, but struck out against Onisforou and Fenech. Warton and Tszyu Enterprises will be back for a third round after the court ordered a new trial in relation to Mordey's claims.

Mordey and Fightvision had sought compensation from Tszyu for lost promotion revenue after the fighter breached his contract in early 1995 by agreeing to give Optus Vision or Sky Channel exclusive rights to broadcast his bouts.

In his judgement, Justice Bainton found Tszyu entered into a binding three-year contract with Mordey's Classic Promotions in 1992 and that contract contained an option of renewal for two years. The company wound up in 1993 and Fightvision took over its promotions.

Justice Bainton found that the renewal option in Tszyu's contract had been effectively exercised in January 1995, and that the boxer had broken that contract almost immediately.

Fightvision was entitled to recover from Tszyu profits it would have made from promoting his fights from January 1995 to January 1997 in total $7.3 million.

Room with a view? Er, I'll settle for the ground floor, thanks all the same

While travelling always presents its challenges, Rear Window's Tasmanian tourism operative appears to have struck an unusual problem while cycling through the Apple Isle.

During a bracing journey down the Midland Highway from Launceston to Hobart, our peleton wanabee sought refuge at a cosy bed and breakfast in the hamlet of Campbell Town, where the civic motto is: "Reaching out across the land, over the sea, through the air, towards the stars, Campbell Town is reaching out to you."

Noting the prominent "Vacancy" sign, our operative entered, only to be told by the landlady: "Sorry, we have no vacancies."

But what about the sign? "We haven't got around to making a `No Vacancy' sign yet. Getting the floors fixed comes a long way ahead of a `No Vacancy' sign in our priorities."

We'd advise getting a room on the ground floor.

Rupert shows UK interest but his ratings keep falling

Not content with wading into the murky world of Chinese-Tibetan relations, Rupert Murdoch has turned his hand to matters economic.

Murdoch has attacked the Bank of England in the wake of last week's surprise decision to lift British interest rates, expressing dismay that the central bank should be worried about the United Kingdom's 1.5 per cent economic growth when "the US economy is charging along at 4 per cent with no sign of inflation".

In an interview with London's Sunday Business newspaper, Murdoch also attacked UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, claiming Brown was "wrong" to give the BoE the power to determine interest rate policy one of the central tenets of central bank indepence worldwide.

"We elect governments to govern, not to give up power to faceless bankers," Murdoch reportedly said, highlighting his growing schism with the government of Tony Blair, who only a few years ago attended News Corp's Hayman Island executive love-fest.

Just last week, Murdoch was kowtowing to the Chinese Government, claiming he had heard cynics say the Dalai Lama was "a very political old monk shuffling around in Gucci shoes" and questioning whether Tibet a "terrible old, autocratic society out of the Middle Ages" had any culture before China invaded.

It is all reminiscent of Murdoch's comments at News Corp's 1995 annual general meeting in Adelaide, where he blasted the Australian economy as "a disgrace" as he offered an opinion on all manner of non-media topics.

By 1997, a chastised Murdoch said son Lachlan had told him he was "not allowed" to talk about Australian politics. "I'm now under very strong instructions from my son to keep my mouth shut because I can go back to America and he has to live with what I have said," the elder Murdoch said.

The Sun King might be better off worrying about the performance of his News Corp empire, which recently suffered a hefty drop in profitability and has kicked off the latest United States television season in unspectacular fashion.

Ratings for News Corp's core Fox group are down an average 6 per cent, with not even the 10th series of its old standby, Beverly Hills 90210, improving the situation.

Guess who's late for dinner?

Here's hoping the 2000 Olympics are better organised than Rear Window, which battled the gremlins in yesterday's paper only to have an item about tomorrow night's glamour Australian Olympic Committee 1999 Countdown Dinner run about two weeks too late. Times have changed since the AOC first sought a plug for the function: the dinner is now sold out, with 1,000 people each paying $1,000 to raise a more than $700,000 for the Australian team. A number of team members will be there on the night, with dual gold medallist Kieren Perkins one of the 100 past and present Olympians who will each sit at the tables snapped up by companies including Telstra, CUB and Westfield. Major Olympic sponsor Westpac is holding its own function.

(AFR)

 

News

High Stakes: The ‘life-or-death’ battle over a company name

Two stars of Australia’s new economy – the similarly named share trading platform Stake and online cryptocurrency casino juggernaut stake.com – are locked in a life-or-death court battle over naming rights amid growing concerns the gambling outfit has major plans for its home country.

Stake the share platform launched legal action in the Federal Court in August seeking to enforce its trademarks and stop stake.com, a multibillion-dollar enterprise, from using that name for its business in Australia.

The fast-growing Sydney-based share trading platform, the third-largest broker in the country, alleges that the casino group stake.com has been breaking Australian consumer law and has misled consumers through the use of its brand in Australia and its marketing, including its sponsorship of the Alfa Romeo team and the sale of apparel.

Stake the share trading platform, which owns the URL stake.com.au, alleges stake.com’s use of the name in Australia has potentially led to consumers believing the two brands are related when they are not.

The share trading platform Stake, founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Dan Silver and Matt Leibowitz, alleges there is a threat that more consumers could be misled if stake.com is allowed to continue with its plans to grow its business significantly in Australia under the brand name Stake.

The casino group, led by Melbourne-based twenty-somethings billionaires Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, is expected to seek to have the matter summarily dismissed.

A spokesperson for stake.com said: “We are aware of a frivolous claim lodged in the Federal Court by Stakeshop, which in part claims that our global Formula One team sponsorship impinges on their ability to sell trucker hats.”

“We are proud of the global stake.com brand. As a group, we abide by the laws of the countries in which we operate, and do not offer our stake.com platform to Australian customers. We believe the claim has no legal merit and will vigorously defend our rights.”

The court case has shed new light on stake.com’s expansion plans for Australia, where it remains blocked to Australian users.

Court documents reveal the casino group has sought to buy the stake.com.au website from the sharemarket trading platform business. According to the court documents, the casino group has also registered several Australian website domains for its Australian expansion and applied to register a slew of trademarks including Stake Australia, Stake Bet and Stake Casino.

The Federal Court action comes after years of simmering tensions between the two groups over the use of stake.com’s name in Australia.

Stake.com was established in 2017 but flew under the radar in Australia until late 2021, when this masthead revealed the local origins of the business that had grown to be one of world’s largest online casinos, processing hundreds of billions of bets on sports, virtual table games and online slot machines.

In early 2022, stake.com signed hip-hop megastar Drake as its lead ambassador. Later in 2022 it signed a multi-year deal to become lead jersey sponsor for English Premier League team Everton FC as well as its sponsorship of Alfa Romeo’s F1 team.

The significant increase in stake.com’s marketing and media presence was noticed at the share trading platform group that built its user base during the COVID-inspired boom in Gen Y and Gen Z investors, thanks in part to its ultra-low cost brokerage fee model, savvy marketing and the broadening into other financial services including a superannuation product.

A spokesman for Stake the share trading platform said that since the group was founded in Australia it had built a client base of more than 500,000 and more than $2.5 billion in assets under management.

“Over the past six years, we have established a trusted and culturally relevant Australian brand that reflects our dedication to meeting customer needs. It permeates all parts of our business, spanning products, content, internal culture, customer interactions and much more, making it our most valuable asset. We are committed to protecting the Stake brand and the high level of consumer trust associated with it,” the spokesman said.

“We are concerned by the threatened use of the Stake brand in Australia by stake.com in relation to gambling, casino and sports betting services, due to the potential for customer confusion and damage to our brand and reputation.”

Stake.com is not available in Australia but according to court documents, the group is already making arrangements for a major expansion in this country and is seeking a sports betting licence.

In October 2022, stake.com casino executive Brais Pena Sanchez contacted Stake share trading founder Silver on LinkedIn and arranged a video conference meeting where the pair discussed Stake the share platform selling its Australian URL, stake.com.au, to the Curacao-registered, Australian-operated casino group.

During those discussions, Sanchez – the casino group’s chief strategy officer – informed Silver that stake.com planned to launch in Australia under the name Stakebet, or similar, according to court documents. A deal never ensued and the website remains owned by the share trading platform.

Tensions flared again in early 2023 after stake.com the casino was announced as the new team sponsor for Formula 1 team Alfa Romeo, sparking a flurry of legal letters between the two groups ahead of the Melbourne race.

According to the court documents, the casino group’s lawyers assured the share trading Stake that it would not use its logo in conjunction with the Melbourne Grand Prix and did not intend to display the name on any vehicles or uniforms or as part of the Alfa Romeo team name.

However, the share trading Stake alleges that during the four days of the Grand Prix, Stake casino logos appeared on banners for official team merchandise, the team display and on signs at the event and in the race program.

In May, Stake.com was applying to register a large number of new trademarks for goods and services. This included Stake Australia, Stake Bookie, Stake Betting, Stake Gaming, Stake Esports, Stake Casino, Stake Sportsbook, Stake Bet, Stake Punt, Stake Sports, Stake Pokes and Stake Slots.

The casino group has also registered a series of Australian website names under the “.au” domain including stakebet.au; stakecasino.au, stakesports.au and playstake.au.

The case continues.


Crown to launch digital self-exclusion scheme for casinos - July 2023

People with gambling problems will be able to ban themselves from Crown casinos over the internet instead of having to do so in person, as part of a wider overhaul of the group’s approach to harm minimisation.

Crown Resorts’ new safer gambling program also includes the establishment of a dedicated gambling policy team, which will monitor customer playing behaviour and create interventions to better prevent gambling harm from occurring.

Crown boss Ciaran Carruthers joined the business last year following an overhaul of Crown’s management, after a series of bruising inquiries into the company. Carruthers, who has led other global casino groups including Wynn Macau, said the new leadership of Crown was committed to making gambling safer, even if it meant less turnover in its casinos.

“I have been in this business for 34 years and I can tell you – no one does this,” Carruthers said.

“It is critically important to me that when I look at the long-term viability of this business that people see our resorts as entertainment to enjoy safely.”

Under the changes, customers will be able to block themselves from entering a Crown casino through a new digital self-exclusion portal. Those who wanted to ban themselves from Crown venues were previously required to visit, in person, a designated responsible gambling centre run by the group.

The group has also moved to cashless gaming at Crown Melbourne and Crown Sydney – a condition of its temporary gaming licences in NSW and Victoria– as well as introducing $10 maximum bet limits on poker machines at Crown Perth. The technological overhaul required to facilitate the changes has so far cost the business $13 million.

Carruthers pointed to changes Crown has already made which go beyond government regulation, such as encouraging customers to take breaks every three hours, as an indicator of its commitment to shifting problem gambling patterns.

The group said it wanted to establish advisory panels to work with state regulators and community groups to improve gambling harm education and share its research.

Carruthers conceded some aspects of its new approach to harm minimisation, called Crown PlaySafe, would not be welcomed by heavy gamblers. But he argued the changes would make the casinos more appealing to the general public.

Crown’s new head of gambling policy research, Dr Jamie Wiebe, said the most critical shift in the groups gambling policy was a move away from harm minimisation to prevention.

“We want to prevent a problem from ever happening,” she said.

The new program was unveiled just weeks after the Federal Court determined Crown will pay one of the biggest penalties in Australian corporate history to the financial crimes watchdog, after past anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism failings in its Perth and Melbourne casinos.

The $450 million fine is about five per cent of Crown’s last listed market capitalisation before it was taken private by Blackstone Capital for $8.9 billion in May last year.

In 2019, an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed Crown had been infiltrated by international criminal syndicates and money launderers.

Crown was forced to overhaul its board, management and procedures to satisfy the regulators, who approved a conditional licence for Crown to operate its Barangaroo casino in June 2022. The conditional licence is valid until the end of this year.

Carruthers said the integrated hospitality offerings at Crown meant the casino could afford to embrace the shift.

“I want people to enjoy the experience of our casinos whether they’re coming for dining, casino or retail. I’m fairly agnostic across which one of those experience or how many of those experiences you want to enjoy,” he said.


Reclusive Sydney gambling mogul emerges as kingmaker in South Africa -
September 2023

Reclusive online gambling mogul Martin Moshal is playing an increasingly influential role in a push to oust the South African government.

Mr Moshal, who lives on the exclusive Sydney Harbour row of Camp Cove alongside shopping centre billionaire Steven Lowy, is not on many rich lists but has made a fortune from online casino technology.

Herman Mashaba is the leader of ActionSA, one of a handful of opposition parties Mr Moshal has backed in the lead up to the 2024 South African national election. Mr Mashaba, known for taking a tough line on immigration and endorsing hard labour for prisoners, is hoping the gambling tycoon will continue his support.

“I wish he won’t give up on us and help us democratically remove the [incumbent African National Congress] and bring about a peaceful transition... please help ActionSA,” Mr Mashaba said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review.

“I have been lucky to have known Martin long before I went into politics,” he added. “I approached him and he was willing to back me up because he knows me as a capitalist... Martin was one of the first to come to the party.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s social democratic African National Congress party is set to come under pressure next year amid South Africa’s dire economic troubles. A senior party official has warned the country could become a failed state.

Mr Moshal is the largest individual political donor in South Africa in the last two years. He has given 46.5 million rand ($3.8 million), according to electoral records analysed by My Vote Counts, a non-profit advocating for more transparency in politics.

“Given the amounts donated it has become clear to us he now has a large stake in our politics,” said Robyn Pasensie, a researcher at the organisation.

The size of Mr Moshal’s wealth is unknown. He is extremely private and only admitted to his ownership of online gambling giant Betway after UK journalists traced his ownership back to offshore trusts. Mr Moshal did not respond to a request for comment.

Aside from ActionSA, Mr Moshal has donated to the Democratic Alliance (DA), Build One South Africa and said he also intends to support the Inkatha Freedom Party. Mr Moshal is ActionSA’s biggest backer. The Australian Financial Review is not suggesting Mr Moshal supports the party’s policies.

“I’m not saying these parties are all perfect, but we shouldn’t let perfect be the enemy of good... They are all far better than the government we have today,” Mr Moshal told The Jewish Report earlier this year.

“Pirkei Avot was my late dad – John Moshal’s – favourite part of the Talmud within which Rabbi Tarfon is quoted as saying, ‘It’s not up to you to finish the task, but you aren’t free to avoid it’.”

Mr Moshal said he believed South Africa needed a new government and was on its way to becoming a failed state.

“[This is a] government that’s corrupt, cannot provide basic security and opportunity to its citizens... we need the change of government and leadership that these parties can provide.”

ActionSA is known for advocating for life sentences and hard labour for serious offenders and also wants to repeal the ANC’s Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy, a form of affirmative action introduced post-apartheid.

“Martin knows my views on racial policies and how dangerous they are,” said Mr Mashaba, who started off in business and was the founder of African hair care brand, Black Like Me.

ActionSA has also been vocal on immigration, views labelled as “xenophobic” by some critics and politicians.

“We recognise that South Africa was built... on the back of migrants,” said Mr Mashaba. “But they must come here legally... you break our laws, we will send you back to your country, the country where you came from.”

One of South Africa’s main economic problems is mismanagement and corruption inside the country’s electricity utility Eskom. The utility has been forced to implement rolling blackouts, which have further stymied economic growth.

“If Eskom cannot run on a commercial basis then it must die a natural death,” Mr Mashaba said, adding changes were needed to give other companies the opportunity to compete.

Mr Moshal’s Entrée Capital is one of Israel’s most active funds in the Israeli VC space. He is the beneficiary of a trust which is the largest individual shareholder in Super Group, which became the parent of Betway and online casino brand Spin after a 2022 listing. The group reported net gaming revenue of €1.3 billion ($2.1 billion) in 2022.

“Moshal is one of the least visible betting entrepreneurs in the world,” Guardian reporter Rob Davis wrote in his book Jackpot: How Gambling Conquered Britain.

“Moshal made much of his fortune from his home in Durban where he patented a series of technological solutions for the online gambling world and developed them via his company Microgaming. The company has since become one of the industry’s leading software players”

A philanthropist, he sits on the capital management advisory committee of Sydney’s Moriah College, alongside Steven Lowy and former Babcock & Brown chief executive Phil Green. He is also a life trustee of the Moriah Foundation and previously donated to Israel’s SpaceIL project attempting to land spacecraft on the moon.


SkyCity puts aside $45m for potential AUSTRAC penalty - August 2023

SkyCity Entertainment set aside $45 million for a penalty if it is convicted of breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism laws.

The financial crimes watchdog, AUSTRAC, lodged proceedings against SkyCity in December over alleged serious and systemic non-compliance with the laws at its Adelaide casino.

SkyCity said on Monday it was difficult to determine the size and timing of the penalty, given the proceedings are in the early stages. But it decided to lodge a $45 million provision on the basis that each breach attracts a maximum civil penalty of between $18 million and $22.2 million.

“Estimating the potential exposure to penalties with any degree of accuracy at this stage of that ongoing process remains challenging, particularly given the outcome is highly dependent on a range of factors which are not yet known,” a statement said.

AUSTRAC has alleged “serious noncompliance” with anti-money laundering laws against SkyCity, claiming the company allowed 59 suspicious patrons to churn more than $4 billion in dirty cash through its Adelaide casino. The independent review is on hold because of the Federal Court action.

The company cut full-year earnings expectations at an investor day in May, with a slowdown in revenue from the international business and rising legal and compliance costs related to a crackdown on money laundering weighing on its bottom line. Analysts have provisioned about $50 million for the AUSTRAC fine, but there is no guarantee that will be enough.

In late May, SkyCity announced it would hire an independent expert to review its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism programs. It is still waiting for South Australia’s investigation into whether it should hold a casino licence to recommence.

“Judgements in civil penalty proceedings bought by AUSTRAC to date demonstrate that the Court’s determination of the appropriate penalty ... is very specific to the fact in each case and that the Court will have regard to a broad range of factors,” SkyCity said.

SkyCity’s provision announcement coincided with a $45.6 million write-down of the Adelaide casino licence, which was attributed to the value and timing of future discounted cash flows.

The company said the impairment and provision were non-cash and would not affect earnings for fiscal year 2023. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation remain in line with guidance of $NZ300 million ($276.6 million) to $NZ310 million.

SkyCity’s provision comes a month after the federal court agreed on rival casino operator Crown’s $450 million fine for breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws. The fine is being paid over a two-year period without interest.

Shares closed on Friday at $2.09.


Hotel room rates plummet for F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend - September 2023

Hotel room rates for Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend have fallen by nearly 60 percent in some cases since they were first posted last fall. But an industry expert says that does not necessarily mean interest in the event is failing to meet expectation.

When select Las Vegas resorts in November 2022 opened their booking schedules for race weekend, listed prices were as high as they have been seen in the city’s history. While still at higher than normal rates, a major decrease has occurred.

When a drop in booking pace occurs, it automatically triggers revenue management systems to suggest the lowering of room rates, according to Dr. Mehmet Erdem, professor of hotel operations and technology at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.


Pennsylvania online casinos cross $5 billion in lifetime revenue - September 2023

Business is booming in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State is the clear market leader when it comes to online casino revenue within the US. After August’s total of $171.9 million, Pennsylvania surpassed the $5 billion threshold for lifetime revenue.

Pennsylvania online casinos are constantly upgrading and adding new content, and customers are responding. It doesn’t appear the market will be slowing down anytime soon, either.

Pennsylvania has set the US online casino revenue record four times over the last 11 months, and almost did so again. August’s revenue total of $171.9 million came second to March’s figure of $181.5 million. It was the second-best month of all time for any state with legal online casinos.


Atlantic City: Five-year turnaround of Ocean Casino Resort among city’s greatest successes - September 2023

In the winter of 2019, if any New Jersey sportsbook had tried to offer odds on the Atlantic City casino hotel then known as Ocean Resort Casino making it through another summer, no gambler in their right mind would have taken the bet.

Fast forward to the end of summer 2023, and the property now called Ocean Casino Resort is one of the city’s best performers. In fact, an argument can be made that Ocean’s rise to the upper echelon of the Atlantic City casino market is the most remarkable turnaround of any gambling parlor in history.

From its failed origins as Revel Casino Hotel to its seemingly doomed trajectory in February 2019, the $2.4 billion casino at the north end of the AC Boardwalk felt almost cursed (if you believe in that kind of stuff). But, apparently, the gambling gods decided Ocean was deserving of a better fate.

Once shunned by casino operators, responsible gaming campaign turns 25

At a time when problem gambling matters were rarely mentioned in gaming company boardrooms, Harrah’s Entertainment decided the issue needed to be raised on casino floors.

But it wasn’t just rival corporate executives that looked askance at the idea of employees learning how to spot signs that a customer might have a gambling problem.

“Our own lawyers tried to block it,” recalled Jan Jones Blackhurst, who was then a Harrah’s senior vice president. With the support of company CEO Phil Satre, she led Harrah’s launch of the casino industry’s first responsible gaming initiative in the mid-1990s.

“We had employees that wanted to be educated on the subject. They wanted to be able to help,” said Jones Blackhurst, who completed two terms as Las Vegas mayor before joining Harrah’s. “Maybe because I came out of politics. You have a responsibility to your communities, your customers and your employees. We believed it was the right thing to do.”


Sportsbooks ratchet up targeted advertising at start of NFL season

Shortly after the NFL forged authorized gaming partnerships with a host of leading sportsbooks in the 2021 offseason, operators began flooding the airwaves with a series of humorous spots that featured celebrities hawking their products.

Caesars Sportsbook spent lavishly on an ad package starring the Manning Brothers and actor J.B. Smoove as the eponymous emperor. During Super Bowl LVII last February, Kevin Hart expressed his displeasure for “taking the under” in a DraftKings spot while standing mere feet from WWE wrestler The Undertaker. Another commercial from FanDuel featured a live field goal attempt by former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, one that drifted wide left of the upright at the last second.


Former lieutenant governor calls for Nevada Gaming Commission cyber briefing after MGM and Caesars hacks - September 2023

In light of cyberattacks on MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, former Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, now a Nevada Gaming Commission member, called for a briefing on the hacking incident to shed more light on what happened and how it can be prevented in the future.

The suggestion comes the same day the Massachusetts Gaming Commission met in executive session “to consider information related to an MGM cybersecurity issue.” It held a similar closed meeting on Monday.

After it returned to the public session on Thursday, the Commission entered into an executive session regarding security at MGM Springfield, according to the Commission agenda.

Krolicki made his comments at the end of Thursday’s five-hour meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Since it was made during the public comment session, the commission could not take up the matter, but it’s likely the issue will return to the Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board at some point.

In the latest cyberattack that started being felt Sept. 10 and went into this week, hackers knocked slot machines out of commission and created havoc with ATMs and computer systems. MGM, which is reported by a Wall Street analyst to have lost between $4.2 million and $8.4 million a day with the hack, said its systems were operating normally across their properties nationwide as of Wednesday. Caesars reported it was hacked in late August and had customer information stolen but paid a $15 million ransom that avoided any shutdowns.

In December, the Commission approved cybersecurity regulations for the state’s gaming industry to protect operators’ information systems from attacks that could shutter casinos and compromise customer data. The rules went into effect Jan. 1. That approval came right after BetMGM reported that its customers’ personal information – including Social Security numbers – was obtained in an unauthorized manner and included information on their transactions.

In the regulations, casinos were required to do a risk assessment of their systems by the end of 2023 and take any necessary steps on an ongoing basis to ward off an attack. If any breach was successful that compromised player data, credit card information and other records, including that of employees, properties would be required to report it to gaming regulators within 72 hours.

“It would be important and enlightening given the recent events of the past week regarding cyber security and ransomware in particular at MGM and our friends at Caesars and look at how it impacts our world and regulatory responsibilities,” Krolicki said, later adding, “I think at some point in time when there’s the energy and understanding of what just happened if we could get some kind of briefing of what transpired that’s appropriate for public record and perhaps policies going forward of how do we avoid these things and if they do happen whether the reporting schemes on whether it was immediately reported to the Gaming Control Board. There are a lot of questions and a lot of publicity. It’s a global story, and I just think it would behoove all of us to get a good handle on what just happened.”

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released a statement on Sept. 13 saying Gov. Joe Lombardo and the board “are monitoring the cybersecurity incident with MGM Resorts and are in communication with company executives. Additionally, the Nevada Gaming Control Board remains in communication with other law enforcement agencies.”

Casino consultant Brendan Bussmann, managing partner of B Global, which tracks gaming boards and commissions, said the Massachusetts hearing won’t be the last and expects states across the country to hold similar sessions wanting to hear from MGM executives.

“Nevada is the second regulator that I know has raised their hand on this after Massachusetts,” Bussmann said. “It should be about what happened and how it happened, which should be considered confidential information. This is going to be a question that every regulator for both commercial gaming and tribal gaming is going to be concerned about. Since we’re still trying to figure out what happened, then we can see what tools we need as an industry to beef up our efforts on cyber-related events.”

While everyone is focused today on MGM and Caesars, this is not the first cyber attack, Bussmann said.

“This can go back to the Las Vegas Sands attacks in 2014 from the Iranians and any other data breaches that happened between then and now,” Bussmann said. “I would expect every state at a minimum has MGM and Caesars in it to at least say what happened and what can we do regulatory to help this and what can we do with testing and what can we do IT and host of things.”

Bussmann said the regulators can’t be reactionary but instead should get evidence on how it happened and use the best resources outside of the casino industry, such as security firms, to do it right.

“There’s no one better suited to regulate Nevada on this issue than the Gaming Control Board in working with law enforcement partners across the country,” Bussmann said.

 

News

Word Life

A. Authority, Agent, Algorithm, Awake, Ads and Alphabet

B. Balls, Balance and Blogs

C. Creative and Content

D. Digital and Disrupt

E. Expert, Entertainment and Exposure

F. Fix

G. Go, Grappling, Genuine, Gems, Gold and Gonzo

H. Hits and Hashtags

I. Instinct and Instagram

J. Jewels and Journalism

K. Karate and Keywords

L. Lift and LinkedIn

M. Money, Moneytize and MMA

N. Numbers and News

O. Open and Online News

P. Passion, Promotions, Platforms and Pop Culture

Q. Questions

R. Revenue and Results

S. Suplex, Space X and Social Media

T. Trust, Twitter, Tesla and Trends

U. Universe, Unique and UFC

V. Vortex

W. Wrestling,

W. Words, Webcode and World

X. X-Journo and X.

Y. YouTube and YouTube Shorts

Z. Zoom

 

Elon Musk loses $30 billion in one day amid Wall Street’s tech wipeout - 21st July 2023

Elon Musk’s fortune slumped $US20.3 billion ($29.5 billion) after Tesla warned it may have to keep cutting the prices of its electric vehicles, sending shares tumbling.

The drop in net worth to $US234.4 billion is the seventh-largest decline ever among those in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and further narrows the wealth gap between Musk and Bernard Arnault, the world’s two richest people. Musk’s fortune still exceeds that of Arnault, chairman of luxury goods maker LVMH, by about $US33 billion.

Musk wasn’t the only US technology billionaire having a tough day. Amazon.com’ s Jeff Bezos, Oracle Corp.’s Larry Ellison, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shed a collective $US20.8 billion in net worth as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.3 per cent.

Shares of Tesla slid 9.7 per cent to $US262.90 in New York, the most since April 20, after the company warned of more hits to its already-shrinking profitability. Months of markdowns have taken a toll on automotive gross margin, which fell to a four-year low in the second quarter. Musk, the company’s CEO, said Tesla will have to keep lowering prices if interest rates continue to rise.

In addition to potentially having to budge further on pricing, Tesla is pouring money into new models, including the behind-schedule Cybertruck, plus Dojo, the in-house supercomputer Musk plans to spend at least $US1 billion on by the end of next year. While Tesla remains on track to produce around 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, output will dip this quarter due to factory upgrades.

“It does make sense to sacrifice margins in favour of making more vehicles, because we think in the not-too-distant future they will have a dramatic valuation increase,” Musk said, referring to his belief Tesla will eventually offer autonomous-driving capability that will make already-sold cars worth more.

Adding to Tesla’s challenges is its growing inventory of cars. The company said it now has 16 days’ worth of supply globally, up from 15 days last quarter and just four days a year ago. Inventory continued to build despite steep discounts on Tesla’s best-selling models, and perks including free charging that the carmaker offered consumers.

Musk, 52, derives his wealth primarily from his stake in the EV manufacturer, as well as his holdings in Space Exploration Technologies and Twitter. His wealth had increased about $US118 billion this year through Wednesday, as shares of Tesla climbed 136 per cent.

Arnault, 74, has seen his net worth rise by $US39 billion this year to $US201.2 billion. Shares of Paris-based LVMH have gained 26 per cent in 2023.


FIFA deletes Matildas fans’ World Cup videos from social media

Fans who shared footage taken inside World Cup stadiums have had their videos wiped from social media after complaints from football’s organising body FIFA.

Strict rules buried in the 13 pages of fine print that accompany match tickets specify that people not broadcast “live or near live” material from the grounds on their personal social media accounts, to protect broadcaster’s rights.

But the fine print gives FIFA discretion to decide what constitutes a “near live” broadcast, so that fans who uploaded mobile phone footage of crowds celebrating several hours after the Matildas’ one-nil win over Ireland at Stadium Australia on Thursday had footage deleted.

This masthead also is not allowed to use any images legally from these videos.

“I took some footage throughout the game, including the penalty, which was at the far end of the ground,” said Dan, who requested that his surname not be published. “Then I sort of looped around and got some of the amazing crowd reactions.

“Later, around midnight, I uploaded it on Instagram. In the early hours of the morning I opened Instagram and there was a copyright notice and the video had been deleted.”

Dan later received an email from Instagram saying he could contact the complainant, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, to resolve the issue. He reposted his video, which at the time of writing is still live.

FIFA did not comment directly on Dan’s case but said some people posting social media videos would have them removed because the organisation was conducting a large operation against digital piracy.

Some innocuous social media posts may be swept up by algorithms searching for pirate broadcasters, especially those that feature snippets of on-field action, it said.

“Digital rights are quite restricted so as to protect broadcast rights,” a spokesman said.

FIFA said it broadly encouraged people to post images from matches on social media. While some videos have been deleted, most are still up, including one posted by environment minister Tanya Plibersek, who captured the same goal as Dan from a different angle and posted it to her Instagram page.

“It does seem like overreach to target people who are just sharing content of a major sporting event,” said Isabella Alexander, a law professor at the University of Technology Sydney.

“I think it’s common for live sporting events to be very strictly controlled because of the value of the broadcast rights - and because there’s no copyright on the actual sporting event itself the way they can enforce it is via the fine print on the tickets,” she said.

“It’s probably not common for tickets to have quite the range of provisions like this, but since nobody ever reads them, how would we know?”

Other social media platforms have seen World Cup content removed this week. Journalist Hamish McNeilly from the Stuff website had a tweet that contained a short video from the match between New Zealand and Norway deleted on Thursday night, and posted a take down notice he received from FIFA shortly afterwards.

FIFA’s control of imagery can seem extreme. During the 2018 men’s world cup, football’s governing body ordered Twitter to take down a short video of seven-year-old England fan Alex Conn dancing in his living room because a TV showing a match could be glimpsed in the background.

“It just seems a bit pathetic,” Alex’s mother Kathryn told NBC at the time. “The fact that the TV is on in the background is largely incidental. He’s just enjoying himself and enjoying the game.”

FIFA struck controversy earlier this month when a directive to cover up plaques of seven Australian athletes at Allianz Stadium met outrage from some in the sporting community.

The move, part of FIFA’s “clean site” policy to remove all non-World Cup branding from venues, was reversed last week.

‘What, so betting markets can be changed?’ Robinson backs Matildas over Kerr injury

Three-time NRL premiership winning coach Trent Robinson has emerged as an unlikely ally for Matildas counterpart Tony Gustavsson after he attracted criticism for keeping Sam Kerr’s World Cup injury a secret.

Kerr’s shock withdrawal from Australia’s tournament-opening win over Ireland due to a calf injury was kept under wraps by the Matildas right up until final teams were named 90 minutes before kick-off on Thursday night.

Kerr and Gustavsson spoke at a pre-game press conference as though the world’s best player was not in any doubt despite knowing she had suffered the injury earlier in the day and wouldn’t play.

In his post-match press conference, Gustavsson appealed for understanding as to the tactical advantage gained by not flagging Kerr’s injury, and told host broadcaster Channel 7 in a separate interview that “we weren’t honest in the press conference [because] we didn’t have all the information either”.

Robinson was at the centre of a similar narrative around Cooper Cronk leading into the Roosters’ 2018 grand final triumph, when the star half was in doubt with a serious shoulder injury and Robinson ducked and weaved around the question of whether the star halfback would play until 30 minutes before kick-off. Cronk played the match despite having suffered what was revealed to be a badly broken shoulder blade.

“What, are you saying we should tell everyone so the betting markets can be changed?” Robinson responded when asked about keeping team secrets under intense scrutiny.

“There was a bit written about it [in 2018], but it’s not going to change people turning up. The objective of a coach is to win a game – other people might have a difference of opinion – but our job is to create intrigue and guessing in the opposition.

“Showing your cards days and weeks before a game is giving a bit of a tip sheet to the opposition. People wouldn’t have turned up if they found out? People wouldn’t have watched?

“The coach’s job for Australia is to win the game, and if that was a tactical advantage so Australia could win the game then I think we’re happy with that as Australians rather than having the knowledge hours before that Sam wasn’t playing.”

Gustavsson declined to answer a pre-game question about the fitness of his players and was similarly coy after Australia’s win when pressed on Kerr’s availability for the rest of the tournament.

Questions about how Kerr was injured and the nature of her calf issue were dead-batted, confirming only that the Chelsea superstar will miss next Thursday’s clash against Nigeria, with a match against Canada following four days later.

There is then a week’s break until Australia’s prospective round of 16 fixture on August 7.

“She’s going to be out for two games, and then we’ll reassess afterwards,” Gustavsson said. “That tells you a little bit about what grade it is, but we don’t want to go into more details on that at this point.”


Nike versus Puma: The ambush marketing campaign dividing the Matildas

Football Australia has blocked players from the pioneering 1975 Australian women’s team from referring to themselves as former Matildas as part of an ambush marketing campaign by a rival apparel brand that has bitterly divided the national team’s alumni network.

A long-running debate over who should be regarded as the ‘first Matildas’ – and thus the true matriarchs of the sport in Australia – has erupted in the build-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, implicating current players and, according to one source who did not wish to be named due to the sensitive nature of the situation, has even ruined friendships between ex-teammates.

It relates to the team that wore green and gold at the 1975 Asian Cup Ladies Football Tournament in Hong Kong, whose groundbreaking role in Australian women’s football was given overdue formal recognition by FA for the first time in May 2022, after almost half a century in the shadows.

But because FA’s historical committee unanimously ruled they were a club team – with the majority of the 16 players drawn from all-conquering Sydney side St George Budapest, including coach Joe O’Connor, and the rest from NSW rivals – the federation stopped short of classifying them as full-blown Matildas due to the absence of a competitive national selection process.

The team had gained permission from Sir Arthur George, the chair of the FIFA-affiliated Australian Soccer Federation, to wear the national colours and coat of arms – although the ASF had no involvement at the time with the women’s game, which was run by the Australian Women’s Soccer Association, which formed a year earlier.

The 1975ers were offered unnumbered caps by FA, inclusion in the federation’s official records, recognition as the first women’s team to represent Australia in an internationally sanctioned tournament, and entry into the Matildas Alumni club, which holds various functions and events for ex-players.

But they thumbed their nose at FA’s offer, and 10 of them have since linked up with Puma – a direct competitor to the Matildas’ apparel sponsors Nike – which has launched a reported six-figure advertising campaign spotlighting the 1975 players with billboards, social media advertising and various other pieces of content telling their remarkable story.

The 1975ers are shown shedding tears as they read out a letter of recognition from Puma’s Oceania general manager Pancho Gutstein in one video. In another, current Matildas Charli Grant and Aivi Luik, as well as AFL stars Toby Greene and Scott Pendlebury – who all have individual endorsement deals with Puma – announce the names of the players who will take part in a ‘walking football’ rematch against New Zealand, their rivals at that tournament in Hong Kong, to be held on Cockatoo Island in Sydney this weekend.

The players, who have been dubbed the ‘OGs’ by Puma, were reunited for the first time since 1975, supplied with branded tracksuits and shoes, and have also been provided tickets for Thursday night’s clash between Australia and Ireland. They will watch it with their New Zealand counterparts – despite the Football Ferns hosting Norway in the tournament’s opener in Auckland on the same day.

FA says it planned to produce similar video content highlighting the players’ contributions had they taken up the offer made to them last year. Gutstein confirmed that when Puma’s campaign launched, an FA executive made contact and warned them about not breaching the federation’s IP, including use of the term ‘Matildas’, the trademark for which is owned by FA.

Last month, FA submitted another trademark request for ‘Tillies’, a shortened version of the team’s nickname commonly used by fans.

FA said it did not “hold a view” on the Puma campaign as it didn’t infringe on any trademarks or their partnership with Nike, which was also contacted for comment.

FA’s board will review the 1975ers’ claims again after the World Cup, with the players believed to be undeterred in their pursuit of further recognition – despite FA’s historians and some ex-Matildas, while recognising the significance of their achievements, believing they are overreaching by demanding numbered caps.

“With regard to the debate, that’s really not our call at all,” said Gutstein. “We just think that they have an amazing story. It’s a wonderful year to celebrate and share that story.” Puma sponsors only two of the 32 teams at the World Cup, while Adidas has a longstanding deal with FIFA.

Unnumbered caps were also recently offered to – and accepted by – the 1978 Australian team, which FA says was the first senior women’s side selected through a national process, but since they competed against club teams at an invitational tournament in Taiwan that year, and not against other nations, those matches are also not seen as full ‘A’ internationals.

Of the 16 players from the 1975 team, two have since passed away, as has coach O’Connor, and only three went on to earn numbered caps by playing in full ‘A’ international matches. Inaugural Matildas captain Julie Dolan was one of them, and featured in the 1979 clash against New Zealand that FA recognises as the Matildas’ first ‘A’ international, as well as the 1978 team.

Dolan is not involved with the Puma campaign. She declined to comment; sources close to Dolan claim her family was verbally abused the last time she weighed in on the topic. Dolan is the holder of Matildas cap No.1, a status which has led to prominent roles in FA and FIFA activities at World Cup events, and one she would theoretically lose if the caps were to be reshuffled to accommodate the 1975ers – as some of her ex-teammates seem to insist should happen.

In a public Facebook post, former FA director Heather Reid alleges the Puma campaign’s narrative “smacks of deception”, sparking a slanging match in the comments where 1975 player Trixie Tagg accuses her of trying to “rewrite our history” and describing the team’s treatment as that of “illegitimate cousins”. Others questioned what they said was an exclusionary approach.

Tagg said in an article on The Roar in 2020 that simply being acknowledged by FA – as they were last year – would “mean the world to us”, and that the players would never expect cap numbers to be changed.

In another post on a private Matildas Alumni group, seen by this masthead, one ex-player wrote: “Given the choice between honesty and kindness, most of us have chosen kindness. But after the Puma campaign ... it’s time for honesty.

“A team that isn’t nationally selected doesn’t pass the test to be classified as a national team – regardless of what colours they were allowed to wear. We all played many games in green & gold that weren’t classified as A international caps, for a whole range of reasons. A team where nobody else has an opportunity to be chosen simply isn’t a national team.

“Whoever is giving them false expectations is not doing them, or football, any favours. It’s sad to see this divide our game.”


McGregor 'will not be intimidated' over sexual assault allegation from Miami Heat NBA finals game - June 2023

Thee NBA and the Miami Heat are investigating an allegation former UFC champion Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman inside an arena bathroom after Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The woman’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, said her client has provided Miami police with the clothing she was wearing on the night and a report had been filed.

McGregor’s attorney said the fighter denied any wrongdoing. “McGregor will not be intimidated,” said lawyer Barbara Llanes.

In letters sent to the NBA, the Heat and McGregor’s representatives, Mitchell detailed her client’s allegations and said the client would discuss “reasonable settlement offers” before June 12 or else proceed with litigation.

“We are aware of the allegations and are conducting a full investigation,” read a statement from the Heat. “Pending the outcome of the investigation, we will withhold further comment.”

The NBA had a similar statement, saying it was working with the Heat to gather information.

The alleged incident happened on the same night McGregor knocked out the Heat mascot in a midgame bit that went wrong.

Burnie, more specifically the man who occupies Burnie’s costume, briefly sought medical attention Friday night after taking two punches from McGregor during a third-quarter stoppage of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

The employee, who was not identified, received pain medication and was recovering, the team said.

McGregor was there as a promotional gimmick for a pain-relief spray and was booed by many in the Miami crowd even before the bit started.

The flame mascot was wearing oversized boxing gloves and a robe akin to what a fighter would wear entering the ring for a bout.

McGregor hit Burnie with a left hook, knocking him down, then punched the mascot again after he hit the floor.

McGregor then tried to “spray” the mascot with the pain-relief product, while several members of the Heat’s in-game promotional team dragged Burnie off the court.

McGregor hasn’t fought since injuring his left leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. His last win came in January 2020.


Roman Reigns agrees to put his Tribal Chiefdom on the line against Jey Uso! - July 21, 2023

On a frenetic Friday Night SmackDown, the stakes between Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Jey Uso got magnified as Reigns agreed to put his Tribal Chiefdom on the line as well as his title against Jey at SummerSlam! Plus, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio won his first NXT North American Title defense against Butch, Rey Mysterio advanced in the U.S. Title Invitational Tournament, Charlotte Flair overcame IYO SKY so much more!

 

Combat Sports News - Nate Diaz explains how Jake Paul trash talking Conor McGregor and Dee Devlin helped influence him into accepting the fight - 21st July 2023

Diaz (21-13 MMA) will be making his boxing debut against ‘The Problem Child‘ who has a 6-1 record in the ring, 4 of those wins via knockout.

Nate Diaz opened up about why he agreed to take the fight with Paul when speaking on the ‘Raw Talk’ podcast:

“This guy (Paul) actually thinks he’ll beat up everyone’s ass and he’s louder than all you fools who are really beating people’s ass. So, now I have to step the f**k out the box real quick and whup this motherf**ker’s ass so everyone knows who’s the real ass-whupper. You understand what I’m saying?”

Continuing the 38 year old shared:

“This fool was poppin’ off on everybody. Like, ‘Oh, we’re real fighters.’ Well prove it, motherf**ker. Go beat his ass for talking sh*t. He was going after everybody. On that big of a stage where he’s making everybody believe that, like you’re letting this guy talk sh*t to the whole roster? And ain’t no one saying sh*t? Louder than the roster? The UFC’s big, but the roster?”

Addressing what Jake Paul was saying about Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz continued:

“And then he was talking sh*t to Conor, talking sh*t to Conor and dissing his wife and sh*t? Some real disrespectful stuff that he shouldn’t have been saying. And nobody’s saying sh*t. I’m the one who said ‘Shut the f*ck up, b**ch. I’ll whup your ass. Have some respect.’ You’re gonna disrespect somebody’s wife and stuff like that who would actually whup your ass? To get a fight like that, that suppresses the fight fight game.”

Concluding, Nate Diaz said (h/t MMAMania):

“Like, that’s a real fight and you should shut the f*ck up, and no one’s saying anything because everyone’s acting like the whole roster, the UFC, everyone’s acting like ‘He can’t really.’ But he should shut the f*ck up. And no one’s speaking up, saying ‘Shut the f*ck up.’ So … shut the f*ck up.”

With the fight just 2 weeks away, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be the victor after 10 rounds in the boxing ring.


UFC RAISES MORE THAN $130,500 FOR THE UFC FOUNDATION DURING INTERNATIONAL FIGHT WEEK

July 22, 2023

During the 11th Annual International Fight Week, UFC raised a total of $130,790 with net proceeds benefitting the UFC Foundation.

To commemorate International Fight Week, UFC raised funds across three charitable campaigns surrounding the week-long celebration, including VIP sweepstakes with digital charity platform 15 Seconds of Fame, the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and a week-long 50/50 raffle.

To coincide with IFW, UFC launched a statewide online and in-venue 50/50 raffle. Fans were able to participate in the raffle by purchasing tickets during the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena, at the Las Vegas Convention Center during UFC X, at ceremonial weigh-ins, and during UFC 290: VOLKANOVSKI vs. RODRIGUEZ at T-Mobile Arena. The raffle generated a total jackpot of $78,240, with 50% ($39,120) benefitting the UFC Foundation.

The winner of the remaining 50% of the jackpot, Jonathan Weber of Poinsettia, Ariz., who was making his second consecutive International Fight Week trip, will receive $39,120 after purchasing his 50/50 raffle ticket during UFC 290.

“We always contribute to the 50/50 raffle at every UFC event we attend,” said Weber. “We love watching the jackpot grow and build for the foundation. We have attended many UFC events and every time we go we buy raffle tickets! We’re going to take our winnings and pay some bills and create funds for our nine and four-year old daughters' savings accounts!”

Other funds raised during the week included $17,000 from a VIP sweepstakes for two tickets to sit in Dana White’s section during UFC 290 and $35,550 in ticket sales proceeds from the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

UFC’s CSR activations during International Fight Week also included athletes visiting patients currently undergoing treatment at the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation and hosting a two-day youth freestyle wrestling clinic in partnership with Wrestle Like a Girl at UFC X.

The UFC Foundation works in tandem with UFC’s corporate social responsibility program, #UFCInTheCommunity, to strategically collaborate with partners, sponsors, and athletes to develop additional charitable programs and funding sources to help bolster and inspire the local community.

Since 2017, UFC has organized 29 50/50 raffles throughout North America that have grossed more than $1.55 million, with net proceeds benefitting local charitable organizations in the communities that have hosted UFC events throughout the United States and Canada.

UFC’s next 50/50 raffle will take place from Friday, September 15 – Saturday, September 16 at T-Mobile Arena as part of NOCHE UFC: GRASSO vs. SHEVCHENKO 2. For more information, please visit UFCFOUNDATION.

(UFC)


WWE® ANNOUNCES 27 ADDITIONAL DATES TO 2023 FALL LIVE EVENT TOURING SCHEDULE

STAMFORD, Conn., July 7, 2023 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced 27 additional live events as part of the company’s 2023 touring schedule. Tickets go on sale next Friday, July 14.

The schedule includes:

- Saturday, Sept. 9: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event – Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

- Sunday, Sept. 10: WWE Sunday Stunner – John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.

Friday, Sept. 15: SmackDown® – Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.

Saturday, Sept. 16: WWE Supershow – Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash.

Sunday, Sept. 17: WWE Supershow – Extra Mile Arena in Boise, Idaho

Monday, Sept. 18: Raw® – Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

Friday, Sept. 22: SmackDown® – Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

Saturday, Sept. 23: WWE Supershow – Acrisure Arena in Greater Palm Springs, Calif.

Sunday, Sept. 24: WWE Supershow – Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Monday, Sept. 25: Raw® – Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif.

Friday, Sept. 29: SmackDown® – Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.

Saturday, Sept. 30: WWE Supershow – Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.

Sunday, Oct. 1: WWE Supershow – Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Monday, Oct. 2: Raw® – SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Friday, Oct. 6: SmackDown® – Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Saturday, Oct. 7: WWE Fastlane – Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

Monday, Oct. 9: Raw® – CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.

Friday, Oct 13: SmackDown® – BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Saturday, Oct. 14: WWE Supershow – T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Sunday, Oct. 15: WWE Supershow – Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Mo.

Monday, Oct. 16: Raw® – Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Friday, Oct. 20: SmackDown® – AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas

Saturday, Oct. 21: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event – Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas

Sunday, Oct. 22: WWE Sunday Stunner – Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas

Monday, Oct. 23: Raw® – American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas

Friday, Oct. 27: SmackDown® – Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis.

Monday, Oct. 30: Raw® – Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX, BT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.

Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.


Aussie Open win Tag Team titles at ROH Death Before Dishonor

The duo won the titles in a four-way match.

Aussie Open are the new ROH Tag Team Champions.

Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher won the titles at Friday’s Death Before Dishonor event, defeating former champions Penta El 0 M and Rey Fenix, Best Friends, and The Kingdom in a four-way match. The finish had Davis and Fletcher hitting Coriolis on Trent Beretta to win the titles for the first time.

Lucha Bros. had held the titles for 113 days, winning them back at Supercard of Honor on March 31 in a Reach for the Sky ladder match. The titles had been vacated due to the death of Jay Briscoe back in January.

Aussie Open had to vacate the IWGP and NJPW Strong Tag Team titles after Davis suffered a knee injury that required surgery. This was the first time since May that Aussie Open had teamed up, and the first time since they had signed with AEW.

The rest of the card saw champions retain their titles. The double main event had Claudio Castagnoli successfully retain the ROH World title against PAC, and Athena retain the ROH Women's title against Willow Nightingale.


Wrestling and sports announcing legend Jim Ross on AEW - July 2023

"Ian (Riccaboni) really distinguished himself in Calgary, I thought. I thought he and Nigel McGuinness had a hell of a night. I don't trust anybody any more than Ian Riccaboni to get the stuff in. We've got a great anchor with Excalibur and another great anchor with Ian Riccaboni and you just got to try it and see what kind of chemistry there is between teams. The team of Taz and Tony Schiavone and Excalibur is excellent. They really are excellent and they're getting their timing together. They're not talking over each other. They're trying, I think, not to use so many fu**ing pronouns. Then Nigel and Ian had a hell of a night, and that's leaving out Kevin Kelly in this debate. He'll be back as I understand it to do Collision, but I don't know how all that's gonna work out. I don't have any idea. But anyway, you just got to see if they got chemistry. The skill set it takes to have the patience to talk in sound bites and not make your dialogue about you. That's what we're waiting to see how that was all going to transfer.” - Jim Ross


AEW's Matt Hardy On The Pros & Cons Of Social Media - July 2023

 

Matt Hardy has remained a top star for several decades. However, his career was rejuvenated in a big way with the emergence of his break-out "Broken" character in TNA. The new persona wound up going viral on social media, thanks to wrestling fans. As a result of leveraging social media to his benefit, Hardy has a pretty solid grasp on the pros and cons of its usage, which he shared during a recent appearance on "Busted Open Radio."

"I have said this for a long time. Social media is the best thing ever to happen and social media is the worst thing to ever happen," Hardy explained. "When you are on social media, it gives guys that are hungry and driven a great platform to promote themselves, to promote their business, to promote their projects — whatever it may be. But it also allows people to come on social media without accountability and without responsibility. And they can insult people and troll people."

Hardy recently encountered some toxicity at the hands of Jim Cornette and his fans on social media, but Hardy does his best to not let it affect him.. "Just because there are a group of people that may follow someone who is an antiquated relic in terms of his opinions — if they came at me and insult me that doesn't bother me at all," said Hardy. "Matter of fact, it is kind of like a badge of honor because I am picking up attention in some capacity". Hardy has realized the best response is not to waste energy arguing or trying to change opinions.

Hardy also recognizes social media isn't going anywhere, and he pushed that to thrive in society you needed to embrace technology and adapt to societal changes. "Social media is a magical thing. It is a monster. It is so powerful," said Hardy. "I just hope people try hard to be very responsible and use it for good."


ONE Championship To Host Four U.S. Events In 2024

ONE Championship, the world’s largest martial arts organization, today announced that the promotion will host four events in the United States in 2024.

Coming off a successful U.S. debut in May at 1stBank Center in Colorado with ONE Fight Night 10, ONE will look to carry its momentum into 2024 with a recurring cadence of ONE Fight Night events in America, which will air live on Prime Video in the U.S. and Canada. Cities, venues, and ticketing information will be announced at a later date.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship is coming back to the U.S. with four massive events in 2024. When we made our historic U.S. debut with ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, I was blown away by the support we received from our fans in the U.S. ONE is home to the greatest martial artists in the world, and I’m excited to once again showcase our World Champions on American soil. To our fans that haven’t seen a live ONE event, I promise you an experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

ONE Fight Night 10 featured Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson defending the ONE Flyweight World Title, the return of “Super” Sage Northcutt, the U.S. debuts of Thai superstars Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Stamp Fairtex, and more. Milestones for the event included:

Tickets: Sold out 1stBank Center in Colorado

Viewership: Most watched event to date for ONE on Prime Video

Search: A new peak on Google Trends for “ONE Championship” in the U.S.

Social: #ONEFightNight10 trended #1 on Twitter in the U.S. and Canada for Sports

Prime Video Partnership: Merch on Demand QR codes for ONE apparel, in-stadium Twitch Watch Parties featuring ONE athletes, live coverage throughout fight week

Stage Front VIP, the exclusive U.S. VIP experience partner of ONE, will continue to provide fans with unrivaled access through immersive VIP experiences that include premier seating, premium hospitality offerings, athlete meet-and-greets, event collectibles, after-party access, and more.

Streaming quotas decision would ease Hollywood strike headache: studio boss - July 16, 2023

Australia’s film and television sector will avoid major disruption as a result of union strikes in Hollywood, although the Albanese government is being urged to finalise its decision over proposed local content quotas to ease uncertainty in the industry.

Former chief executive of Nine Entertainment Hugh Marks – who last year founded Australian studio Dreamchaser alongside former Endemol Shine boss Carl Fennessy – said the writer and actor strike had added a layer of complexity to the Australian industry.

After announcing in January it would implement local content requirements for international streaming services, the government is yet to set a number for the quota. A spokesperson for Tony Burke, minister for the arts and for workplace and employment relations, reaffirmed a decision would be made this side of the new year, ahead of its implementation in July 2024.

Marks said the local offices of the likes of Netflix, Disney and Apple will be affected by the strikes, with Australian content pitches increasingly being angled towards a global audience.

The strikes have coincided with a period where streamers have shifted gears from “a gold rush of global domination”, Marks says, to being forced to figure out how to monetise their vast audiences.

Several, including Netflix, Disney+ and Binge locally, have turned to advertising as a contributing solution. A clear direction from the government, he says, would ease the headache over decision-making on domestic content.

“The one thing that would really be beneficial now would be the release of the new proposed laws about quotas in this market because that would certainly give everyone some focus as to at least what’s got to be done domestically,” Marks says.

“I’m certainly encouraging the government to act sooner rather than later to remove that unnecessary lack of certainty from the local market.”

In a positive for the local industry, a statement on Friday from Screen Producers Australia (SPA) noted the strike does not apply to non-scripted productions, including documentaries, light entertainment and reality shows – the latter of which is widely noted to be a beneficiary of the writers’ strike in 2007.

SPA said it anticipated a limited number of non-Australian productions will be affected by the strikes locally. The body said all scripted local productions produced and controlled by Australian production companies that have engaged Australian and Imported SAG members will continue unaffected, provided they engage all cast under Australian Industry Contracts in accordance with the Global Rule One Agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA).

While it has been suggested prolonged strikes in the US could see an additional influx of Australian-produced content, Marks believes it is too early in the process to think that might be the outcome.

The country’s biggest streaming services are required under legislation introduced by the Morrison government to report their spending on Australian content to the authority. The big five – Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Paramount+ – reported that in 2021-22 they collectively spent $668.5 million on “Australian” and “Australian-related” content.

Last month, NBC Universal walked away from its $180 million sci-fi series, Metropolis, which had pre-production under way at Docklands Studios in Melbourne. After the actors union voted to strike last week, the Sam Neill/Annette Bening drama Apples Never Fall, halted on Friday. Production was already under way in Queensland, budgeted at an estimated $79 million.

NBC Universal signed a content deal with Foxtel in November, with an extended deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of the highly regarded network HBO, in February.

Foxtel’s streaming service Binge has relied heavily on content from HBO for its sustained growth since launching in 2020, with popular shows such as White Lotus, Succession, and The Last of Us. Binge was responsible for 11.9 per cent of all new Streaming Video on Demand subscriptions in the first quarter of this year, according to data from Kantar, with 18 per cent of all of its new user acquisitions driven by The Last of Us, its blockbuster nine-part series that debuted in January.

Local players including Foxtel and Stan (owned by Nine) were approached for comment on the impact of their programming schedules.

One of the streamer’s largest subscription drivers in 2022, House of the Dragon, will continue filming in the UK, due to the show being largely comprised of British actors with contracts governed by the local union, Equity.

Paramount, which owns Network Ten and streaming service Paramount+, is understood to not be affected by the strikes. While it benefits from a constant stream of content from Paramount Studios, the local arm of the company has focused its efforts on Australian-produced content, which includes shows such as The Last King of the Cross, Five Bedrooms, and the recently green-lit series NCIS: Sydney, being produced locally by Endemol Shine.

Screen Producers Australia wants a 20 per cent levy on the streamers’ Australian revenue, while the streamers insist they are spending plenty already, with local TV networks in agreement.

In May, a submission by industry body Free TV, which represents Nine, Seven West Media and Network Ten, said it opposed the introduction of quotas for local productions, arguing the screen production industry in Australia is already booming.

Free TV doubled down this week, calling for a balanced approach to the introduction of streaming quotas. In response to comments by Bryan Brown AM in an address to the National Press Club, Bridget Fair, CEO of Free TV Australia said the group invests $1.5 billion every year in Australian content.

“But if the Government is going to impose content quotas on streaming services, it needs to carefully consider the impact this will have on the Australian public who rely on free services from our local broadcasters,” she said.


Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes splits from wife - 22nd July 2023

An Australian tech billionaire worth $19 billion has reportedly split from his wife after 13 years of marriage.

Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has reportedly split from his wife after 13 years of marriage.

Sources close to the family of Mr Cannon-Brookes, who is Australia’s sixth-richest person and the co-founder of Atlassian, have confirmed he is separating from his wife, Annie, according to Nine newspapers.

The couple married in 2010.

Their separation comes just a week after the high-profile split of Australia’s richest couple, Twiggy and Nicola Forrest.

The Forrests, who had been married for 31 years, said they were living apart but insisted the separation will not impact their mining and philanthropy empire.

Mr Cannon-Brookes made his estimated $19 billion fortune alongside fellow Aussie billionaire Scott Farquhar, with whom he co-founded software firm Atlassian in 2002.

The company is widely considered a great Australian success story, its share price having quintupled since it was listed on the US stock exchange in 2015.

Atlassian has, however, suffered a tough 12 months amid broader turmoil in the tech sector. In March, the company laid off 500 workers just a few months after a dramatic hiring blitz.

In a self-described “no bulls**t” note to staff, Mr Cannon-Brookes and Mr Farquhar said it was a “very hard day in our 20 year history” and they were “deeply sorry” to make the job cuts.

“To be clear, this decision is not a reflection of Atlassian’s own financial performance, as we will be reinvesting in roles that better support our priorities,” they wrote.

The Cannon-Brookes family owns an impressive property portfolio, including the 1.1-hectare Fairwater estate, previously the home of the late Lady Mary Fairfax, which they acquired in 2018 for a reported $100 million. It was believed to be the priciest property sale in Australian history.

In June, the couple forked out $14.25 million to buy a home in Newport, on Sydney’s northern beaches, neighbouring the $24.5 million estate they purchased in 2020.

The five-bedroom home is set on a 3000-square-metre block of land and features a 1000-square-metre netted bathing area.

Cannon-Brookes, who was previously a fashion designer, was born in the US.

It’s believed he and Annie met at a Qantas lounge during a trip between Sydney and San Francisco.


Endeavour calls on states to work together on gambling reform

Endeavour Group boss Steve Donohue has urged state and territory governments to work more closely together when considering policies to fight problem gambling, as the hotels’ operator promises to get a jump on implementing gaming reforms unveiled in Victoria this week.

Donohue said on Thursday that Endeavour, one of the largest operators of poker machines in the country, has written to state governments calling for a “more co-ordinated and collaborative approach” and to make sure that knowledge is shared across all states on proposals such as cashless gaming and facial recognition technology.

He said there was room for the states to share more insights with each other about the impact and efficacy of different policy measures.

“What we are saying is we think there is an opportunity for deeper collaboration and more co-ordination in relation to various approaches, suggestions and ideas,” he said.

“We can learn from the experiences that each state and territory is having.”

A spokesperson for New South Wales Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris said the state was committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver evidence-based gambling reform.

“We will be paying very close attention to the activities of other jurisdictions, such as the Victorian government and the evidence they unearth through the work of their implementation working group,” they said.

“Just this week the minister met with the ACT minister for gaming to continue collaboration and discussion on gambling reform across jurisdictions.”

Endeavour told shareholders on Thursday that the company would move swiftly to implement changes after the Victorian government unveiled proposed reforms to gaming machine regulations on Sunday.

The state’s plan for reducing gambling harm includes slower spin times for games, mandatory closing periods for gaming room floors, mandatory pre-commitment limits and a load-up limit of $100, which will cap how much an individual can put in a machine at a time.

Endeavour confirmed it would adjust the hours of gaming machine areas at its ALH Hotels in Victoria, so they close between 4am and 10am by August 31; 10 months ahead of the government’s proposed timeline.

This would bring Victoria’s rules in line with operating-hours regulations in NSW and South Australia.

The company also confirmed it supported the $100 load-up limit and would bring this into operation for Victorian machines “as soon as is practicable”.

Shares in the business closed 9.9 per cent weaker on Monday as investors and analysts considered what impact the reforms would have on the group’s earnings.

Goldman Sachs analysts said on Monday that the exact impact would be difficult to estimate, but said it could lower earnings by 0.5 per cent to 1.8 per cent during the 2024 financial year.

E&P Financial analyst Philip Kimber said policies such as the $100 load-up limit were likely to have a smaller impact on Endeavour’s financials than the Victorian government’s policy on pre-commitment limits.

“There is no change to our view that the Victorian government proposal with the potential to have the most material impact on electronic gaming machine spend in Endeavour’s Victorian pubs is mandatory pre-commitment limits [via carded play],” he said in a note to clients on Thursday.

Endeavour shares opened stronger but did not maintain momentum during Thursday’s session as the broader market stayed flat. The stock was up 0.3 per cent to $5.91 in late afternoon trade, but still down by 5.6 per cent over the past five days.


Media Man commentary for David Rowe Illustrations as per The Australian Financial Review

Pen Dan Thon Games For Four. Great art.

No Pentathlon. No nothing. Gang of four. Gonzo and satire +. Commentary open to interpretation, as per pro wrestling legend John Cena's Instagram. Beauty of otherwise in the eye of the beholder. Alternative commentary: Sports biz blessing in disuise and doddged a bullet from the range.


Media Man commentary for Mike Mooneyham feature on 'The Bloodline' and wrestling factions news in the WWE

Exactly. But, hopefully it becomes the "new normal" for the WWE version of pro wrestling. The Judgement Day faction also looks very promising to me with Dirty Dom as a heat seeking "killer heel" element, while going after all of the belts. Tony D gets seen on today's WWE SmackDown backstage and he's got "mob" and family business history with Escobar, so LWO also gets a shot in the arm. So much better than 3 to 5 years ago. The Triple H era with apparent assistance by Shawn Michaels and a few others who listened to fans of pro wrestling. Paul Heyman fingerprints over the "crime scenes" for the past 56 months or so. And WWE business is at historic levels. Feel welcome to quote me.


Media Man commentary for recent scribes in Search Engine Journal - 2023

SEJ's Kristi on the latest on the Hollywood writers strike connection with AI, human writers and the like..To paraphrase the world's leading tech entrepreneur/innovator, Elon Musk, "Once you summon the beast (of AI) there's no turning back". For me, founding and overseeing a modest size independent media and online publishing firm.Insew both opportunity and threats with AI. More threats at this stage of the game.. Circa 1980 pro wrestling legend, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes cut a promo which was decades ahead of its time and included the verse, "A computer took my job Daddy"..and "that's hard times". Well, we may not be quiet at that point but social is inching closer. We are somewhat reluctantly starting to embrace some A.I elements. Twitter Spaces broadcast raised interesting points on AI in business and life over the past week. The part about "summoning the demon" is still giving me mild nightmares. AI can certainly save publishers and the like a considerable amount of money? How? By reducing if not elimination of human writers, web-coders and so on. Ying and yang. AI wins and a human loses. But, humans are still in control right?! This is getting me even more fired up for the potential match: Musk vs Zuck! Man vs Machine!


Media Man commentary for Search Engine Journal: Supercharge your Alt text SEO strategy

SEJ - Alt Text AI.. motivated to work on an AI project to help get the best parts of the subject and have AI write one of these AI articles for us. Open AI, xAI, Bard and/or other! AI tender wars could be a potential growing trend. Save time and save money by not having to pay a human to do a job an AI robot machine can do! "Never pay a human to do a machines job". (Agent Smith -;The Matrix). In AI and SEJ we trust. Man over machine or Machine vs Human? Can they both co-exist in the AI SEO space or will a battle be looming or more a Darwinism for the AI writer and scribe. An AI writer will work for nothing and around the clock 365 right? Little wonder the article was done or largely done by AI. A growing trend, or a one-off? All the news that's fit to print on SEO. AI SEO all the way to the bank.


Netflix reveals jaw-dropping result after password sharing crackdown

The streaming giant has unveiled the results of its controversial password-sharing crackdown – and they’re quite staggering.

Netflix has revealed that subscriptions to their streaming service climbed by nearly six million in the wake of its crackdown on password sharing.

The streaming giant finished the recently ended quarter with a total of 238 million subscribers and a profit of $US1.5 billion ($1.77 billion), according to an earnings release.

The pick-up in subscribers came as a potentially crippling writers and actors strike hits the US entertainment industry, but with analysts saying Netflix is better positioned than its rivals to weather the storm.

“We are constantly at the table negotiating with everyone across the industry,” Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos said during an earnings presentation.

“We need to get to this strike to a conclusion so that we can all move forward.”

Revenue came in lower than expectations with Netflix posting $US8.2 billion ($12 billion) in sales over the April to June period, pushing the company’s shares down more than eight per cent in after hours trading on Wall Street.

Netflix in May expanded its crackdown on users sharing passwords with people beyond their immediate family as it seeks to shore up revenue after a rough patch last year.

Earlier this year the company complained that more than 100 million households were sharing accounts at the service.

“Let’s face it, the crackdown on passwords is working,” Navellier and Associates chief investment officer Louis Navellier said of Netflix.

“I was ecstatic with the results; I think they hit the ball out of the park with subscriber growth.” In its earning statement, the company said that the policy would expand to all its markets worldwide.

To convert non-paying users, Netflix has introduced “borrower” or “shared” accounts, in which subscribers can add extra viewers for a higher price or transfer viewing profiles to new accounts.

Netflix launched an ad-subsidised offering around the same time as the crackdown, and on Wednesday eliminated its lowest priced ad-free plan that cost $10 a month in the US.

“The decision to cut its basic tier is an effort to bolster advertising by elevating the price difference between its advertising and non-advertising tiers,” said Insider Intelligence principal analyst Ross Benes.

“Building an ads business from scratch isn’t easy and we have lots of hard work ahead, but we’re confident that over time we can develop advertising into a multi-billion dollar incremental revenue stream,” Netflix said in the letter to shareholders.

Benes estimates that Netflix will generate $US770 million ($1.13 billion) in advertising revenue in the US this year, and more than US$1 billion by 2024.

“Netflix’s increased focus on password sharing will occur alongside heightened pressure to expand ad revenue,” Benes said.

“As the service’s subscriber base plateaus in more countries, Netflix will focus on moving price-sensitive freeloaders to its cheaper ad-supported plan.”

Actors on strike

The earnings report came as Netflix and other film and television makers see productions halted by an actors and writers strike in the United States.

“The share price is down a bit after market; there is worry they will run out of content because of the Hollywood strike,” Navellier told AFP.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) members joined writers who have been on strike for weeks, triggering the first industry-wide walkout for 63 years and effectively shutting down Hollywood.

“Our experts say that Netflix is best positioned to weather the strike compared to competitors, but it could start to feel pressure if its content pipeline gets increasingly strained,” said Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley.

Sarandos said on an earnings call in April that the company has a “pretty robust slate of releases” and a large base of upcoming films and shows from around the world to help it endure a strike.

The company touted the success of fresh Murder Mystery and Extraction films, as well as series such as Bridgerton, The Witcher and Never Have I Ever.

“This year we’ll have more returning seasons than any other streamer,” Netflix told shareholders, sharing a list that included The Crown and Virgin River.

Netflix scraps huge comeback movie for beloved 80s franchise - July 2023

Netflix has scrapped a huge comeback movie for a beloved 80s series, despite already spending more than $44m developing it.

Netflix has scrapped a huge comeback movie for a beloved 80s series.

Despite spending more than $44m on the project, it seems the upcoming film has officially been given the axe by the streaming giant.

The Masters of the Universe – based on the He-Man and other Mattel toys – has been in the works at Netflix since 2019.

The streaming giant already released an animated series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in 2021, and two other shows were also in development.

However according to Variety, despite the extortionate amount of money spent on development costs, the project has been axed.

The news reportedly comes after “budget concerns” were raised.

The project previously had a tough time trying to find its way to the big screen as it went through both Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures.

Many writers have been involved in the project since 2007, as well as acclaimed directors Jon M. Chu and McG.

Huge names were attached to the film including The Lost City directors Adam and Aaron Nee and lead actor Kyle Allen, 28, who is best known for roles in West Side Story and American Horror Story.

Significant pre-production procedures took place even though producers worked to get the budget down.

Netflix reportedly rejected a $180 million budget as it never officially gave the project the green light.

Although the film is no longer at Netflix, Mattel is reportedly looking for a new home for the film.

CEO of the company Ynon Kreiz recently told The New Yorker: “It’s hundreds of pages of characters and sorcerers and vehicles and weaponry – you name it.

“And then you flip through the pages, and here’s a movie, and here’s a movie, and here’s a TV show. . . . it’s endless!”

The film is based off a toy line franchise of the same name, which was also a hit cartoon series that aired from 1983 to 1985 and consisted of 65 episodes.

The series was so successful that it spawned a spin-off series, She-Ra: Princess of Power, following the adventures of He-Man’s sister, Princess Adora.

A live action movie version was released in 1987 which starred the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Courteney Cox and Frank Langella.


‘They Live’, starring Roddy Piper, returning To U.S theaters For 35th Anniversary

John Carpenter’s classic They Live, starring WWE star Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, came out in 1988. The film is based on “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” by Ray Nelson. As AMC Theatres summarized, They Live centers around “aliens who are gaining control of the earth by masquerading as humans and the one man determined to stop them.” This special anniversary event will feature an exclusive intro from director John Carpenter.” To commemorate the movie’s thirty-fifth anniversary, it is returning to theaters on September 3 and 6 through Fathom Events. The special edition will include an exclusive intro from Carpenter.


Meta and other social media giants blocking news in Canada - July 2023

Some Instagram users in Canada are finding their access to news accounts restricted as Meta and other social media companies prepare for the country’s Online News Act to come into effect. Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, says it underwent testing in June to limit some users and publishers from viewing or sharing news content in Canada. It says tests impact up to five per cent of Canadian users. Many have questions about the federal government’s Online News Act, why it’s being opposed by social media companies and how the friction between the two will impact Canadian users. Here are some of your questions, answered.

What is the Online News Act?

The Online News Act, or Bill C-18, is a piece of Canadian legislation that requires tech companies like Google and Meta to compensate news outlets for sharing links to their pages. The law received royal assent on June 22 and is slated to take effect “no later than 180 days” after that date.

What are the concerns for social media companies?

Critics, including Meta and Google, say Bill C-18 is unfair, unworkable and amounts to a tax on links, with no recognition of the traffic or “free marketing” the tech companies provide to news publishers. Along with blocking access to some users, Meta has begun an ad campaign on its Facebook and Instagram platforms, criticizing the law and explaining its decision to remove news links.

“The Online News Act is based on the incorrect premise that social media companies benefit unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, but the reverse is true,” said Lisa Laventure, spokesperson for Meta, in a statement Monday. “News outlets voluntarily share content on social media to expand their audiences and help their bottom line. Unfortunately, the only way we can reasonably comply with this legislation is to end news availability for people in Canada in the coming weeks.”

Is this what the bill’s proponents wanted?

No. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez called Meta’s move “disappointing” and said Canadians will not be intimidated by these tactics. Meanwhile, Paul Deegan, the head of News Media Canada, called Meta’s move a “kick in the shins” to Canadians at a time when the value and need for credible information has never been greater.

“Meta’s decision to ‘unfriend’ Canada by denying access to trusted sources of news for some of their users, as wildfires burn and when public safety is at stake, is irresponsible and tone deaf,” Deegan told CBC News in an email. “This hard-nose lobbying tactic is more evidence of the power imbalance that exists between dominant platforms and publishers.”

Will this happen to all of us soon?

In order to comply with the law, both Google and Meta have stated they would remove news links in Canada before the law comes into effect by the end of the year. Rodriguez has said Google and Meta do not have obligations under the law because the regulatory process is just beginning.

“We’re deeply convinced that Google’s and Facebook’s concerns can be resolved through the regulatory process. If Facebook truly believes that news has no value, they can say so at the negotiating table,” Rodriguez said in a statement on Monday. “Threats to pull news instead of complying with the laws in our country only highlight the power that platforms hold over news organizations, both big and small.” Google has said it will work with the government throughout the regulatory process, while Meta believes the process isn’t equipped to make changes to parts of the legislation with which it disagrees.

What is CBC doing about this?

Legacy media and broadcasters have praised the bill, which promises to “enhance fairness” in the digital news marketplace and help bring in more money for shrinking newsrooms. Tech giants including Meta and Google have been blamed in the past for disrupting and dominating the advertising industry, eclipsing smaller, traditional players. CBC/Radio-Canada’s corporate position is that the Online News Act will help level the playing field and contribute to a healthy news ecosystem in Canada “at a time when 80 per cent of digital ad revenue goes to Facebook and Google,” said spokesperson Leon Mar. In an editor’s blog, CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon has suggested audiences follow the broadcaster on TikTok and other apps, such as Gem and CBC Listen.

Has there been pushback?

Meta, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., has taken similar steps in the past. In 2021, it briefly blocked news from its platform in Australia after the country passed legislation that would compel tech companies to pay publishers for using their news stories. It later struck deals with Australian publishers. Gregory Taylor, a communications, media and film professor at the University of Calgary, pointed to Australia as an example for why Canadian news publishers should hold strong on their position.

“Facebook is really trying to assert itself, but in the end they can’t afford to lose a lot of these markets,” Taylor previously told CBC North. “I believe that we are at the leading edge of getting these companies to contribute to our democracy by bringing in this kind of funding model.”

What is the answer to combat this?

Alfred Hermida, a journalism professor at the University of British Columbia, believes C-18 is a “flawed piece of legislation” that doesn’t address greater issues in the news industry, such as the concentration of private media ownership.

“It doesn’t take into account the record profits of media conglomerates like Bell and Rogers,” he previously told CBC News. “And it doesn’t really do anything to support for more than 140 journalism startups that have been created in Canada since the year 2000.” In the near term, private messaging and chat groups may also be alternatives as Meta’s Facebook Messenger does not appear to be affected by the company’s plans to block news links.

In conclusion, the implementation of Canada’s Online News Act has led to restrictions on news accounts for some Instagram users in the country. Meta and other social media companies have undergone testing to limit the viewing and sharing of news content in Canada. The Online News Act requires tech companies to compensate news outlets for sharing links to their pages. Social media companies like Meta and Google oppose the law, stating that it is unfair and amounts to a tax on links. Meta’s decision to block news links has been criticized by proponents of the bill, who argue that it is irresponsible and highlights the power imbalance between platforms and publishers. Both Google and Meta have announced plans to remove news links in Canada before the law comes into effect. CBC/Radio-Canada supports the Online News Act, believing it will enhance fairness in the digital news marketplace. There has been pushback from social media companies, with Meta previously blocking news in Australia but later striking deals with publishers. The answer to combat this issue is still being debated, with some arguing that the legislation does not address larger issues in the news industry. In the meantime, private messaging and chat groups may serve as alternatives for accessing news content.


Top 5 Movies about writers on Netflix

Movies are a great part of our lives. They make us happy and sad, inspire us to embark on journeys to unknown lands, and become our escape when everything seems to go down. You can find a movie about literally anything and use it as a tool to get out of a crisis.

This is especially relevant for academic writers and their blocks. The writing industry knows no boundaries, starting with novel writers who spend years on their books and finishing with professional essay writers who can finish a difficult assignment in 8 hours. SmartWritingService is a great sample of such websites.

Both get writer’s blocks from time to time. Just like batteries, they need to be recharged to continue their work. Sometimes it’s the feeling of the worthlessness of what they do, while other times, it’s just general exhaustion.

If you’re in a similar situation, let us help you recharge with the 5 best movies about writers!

TOP 5 MOVIES ABOUT WRITERS

These will enchant you with interesting stories and help get your mind off the struggle. Get some popcorn, a blanket for extra coziness, and let’s begin.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

This is an extraordinary story that comes alive thanks to an amazing cast. Here you can see legends such as Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Another treat is Will Ferrel in an unusual role for him. We all know the actor for his humor and sarcasm, but in this movie, he’s a completely different, serious, character.

With this movie, you will experience all the stages of the writing process, a unique interpretation of it, and the way to make your characters open from new sides on screen. It’s unique, creative, and very engaging. The movie will leave an impression you won’t be able to shake off for several days. And you won’t have to!

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

If you’re more into romantic stories, this movie is a great choice for your rewind time. This is Woody Allen at his best! The movie shows a story, filled with romance and comedy, about a promising writer on a journey to the most loving and loved city of the world, Paris, with his fiancee.

The author, played by the talented Owen Wilson, is filled with fears, a lot of writers have, no matter the genre, experience, or era. The movie takes a fantastic twist when the writer meets a lot of authors he was inspired by before their famous breakthroughs. Their stories help him overcome every doubt and fear, coming out a completely new person and giving himself a chance.

The story is enhanced by the beauty of the French capital, which is just magical.

SWIMMING POOL

This movie is more of a thriller, for those who like to be on the edge of their seats, thinking of nothing more but the plot. It’s about deadlines (the most powerful thriller for a writer anyway) and inspiration in unexpected places. The main character, played by Charlotte Rampling, is nearing her deadline that comes as quickly as an express train. She has a new novel to present to her publisher, and it should become as good as her previous successful book, maybe even better.

She goes to the countryside in France and meets a teen played by Ludivine Sagnier. As teenagers can be, she’s quite rebellious, but the writer, unexpectedly, finds inspiration and motivation in their interaction that drives her to make the book much better. The story is filled with mystery, as well.

WILDE

The name of the movie says everything. Oscar Wilde is one of the most unique and famous writers in the world. This story highlights certain parts of his personal life, where a lot of writers can find similarities or explanations to some of their questions.

The author appreciated beauty in everything, was quite witty and painfully honest in his works. This movie can help you gain a new understanding of the world of writing, personal crisis, and more. Besides, you’ll find out a lot of new information about the writer, which is always interesting.

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

For everyone who loves pretty things, this is an incredibly beautiful movie. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow and is a special film in her life. The actress won an Academy Award for it! This is a drama-comedy about a writer that everyone around the world knows.

We learn about Shakespeare in school, and some continue to do it due to their major or sheer interest in this extraordinary person and a talented writer. The movie is highly entertaining and beautiful, shot in a traditional British manner. If you’re struggling with writer’s block, this film is a must-watch!


Pop Culture Podcast Wars; Media Man Monthly awards

4 Way Tie: Logan Paul's Impaulsive, WWE's Out Of Character, Joe Rogan and Russell Brand

TMZ wins Media Man 'Pop Culture News Outlet Of The Month'

WWE wins Media Man 'Wrestling Promotion Of The Month' Runner-ups: All Elite Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance

Search Engine Journal wins Media Man 'Search News Outlet Of The Month'; Runner-up: Search Engine Land

 

 

News

News.com.au holds number one news traffic ranking in April for fourth consecutive month - May 22, 2023

News.com.au has retained the number one news website traffic ranking for the fourth month in a row, reaching 12.71 million Australians in April.

The latest Ipsos Iris report showed the news website has resolidified its market-leading stance, although there was a three per cent dip month-on-month in unique audience. Average time on site per person, sitting at 29 minutes and 55 seconds, also slipped modestly compared to March.

Oliver Murray, news.com.au editor, pointed out April was a month when many should’ve switched off to enjoy Easter and the school holidays.

“It’s testament to our team that we kept serving up news they needed to read,” he said.

That content offering drew in the largest and most engaged audience in the news category, he pointed out – six in 10 online Australians.

“We saw a 17 per cent month-on-month increase in our sports audience to become the number one sports brand, driven by our NRL and AFL coverage,” Murray said.

“Australians also turned to us for travel news, reaching an audience of 2.541 million and leading the travel news category.”

The gap between news.com.au and rival ABC News, sitting in second spot, is sizeable. The national broadcaster’s web offering attracted the eyeballs of 11.14 million Aussies.

Rounding out the top five was nine.com.au with 10.73 million unique viewers, 7news.com.au on 10.06 million, and Daily Mail Australia on 8.35 million.

The Ipsos Iris report found 20.2 million people used a news website or app in April, with engagement increasing by 1.2% to almost six hours per person, per month.

Major news events ranging from the death of comedian Barry Humphries to the arrest of former US President Donald Trump and the federal budget helped fuel the increase, it said.

The report called out travel-related browsing in the month, given Easter and the school holidays, with 16.9 million Aussies aged 14 and above visiting a travel website or app in April.

Those in the 55-plus age bracket spent the most time browsing – 33% more than those under 55 – while women were more likely to use travel sites and apps than men. People aged 25 to 39 are the largest cohort engaging with travel content online.

(News.com.au)

News

Sydney Morning Herald is the country’s best-read masthead May 22, 2023

 

The Sydney Morning Herald has retained its position as Australia’s top masthead, with more readers across all platforms than any other over the 12 months to March this year.

Total News figures from the industry’s official data provider, Roy Morgan, showed 7.7 million people, or about one in three Australians, read the masthead. It puts the Herald ahead of its traditional NSW rival, the News Corp-owned Daily Telegraph, which has 3.98 million readers.

The Herald’s sister paper, The Age, cemented its place as the most-read Victorian masthead with 5.2 million readers, and the outlets’ Good Weekend magazine was the premier Saturday insert. It had an average print readership of 754,000 people, up 4 per cent for the quarter.

Print was a particular bright spot for this masthead, with the Monday to Friday newspaper recording 17 per cent growth year over year and quarterly growth of 4 per cent, taking its average readership per edition to 417,000. It marks the sixth consecutive quarter of growth for the physical newspaper, while the Sun Herald’s Sunday print edition was steady, up 1 per cent, to a readership of 423,000. In the last four weeks, an average of almost 1.9 million people read the printed paper.

The Herald and Age’s Good Food and Traveller titles had audiences of 1.49 million and 1.56 million, respectively, each month. Sunday Life had an average issue print readership of 419,000, and Domain defied a softening real estate market, seeing annual growth of 7 per cent and quarterly growth of 5 per cent, to record an average issue print readership of 537,000.

“I am proud of our team for achieving such a strong result, particularly given the challenging environment all publishers are finding themselves in right now,” Herald editor Bevan Shields said.

“The Herald continues to set the benchmark for quality journalism in Australia and I want to thank our subscribers and readers for their continued support for what we do.”

Roy Morgan’s data covers all news brands and digital news websites and tracks audiences on Apple News and Google News.

(The Sydney Morning Herald)

 

News

Financial Review most-read business masthead. By Sam Buckingham-Jones - May 22, 2023

 

The Australian Financial Review is the country’s most-read premium business masthead, reaching a print and digital audience of 3.5 million people, figures released by Roy Morgan show.

More than 1.1 million people read the print edition of the Financial Review over the past four weeks, and the masthead reported its third consecutive quarter of growth and a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent. The Australian suffered an annual drop of 17 per cent in print readership for the same period.

The Financial Review’s combined print and digital audience fell slightly from last quarter, from 3.6 million to 3.5 million, but the decline was smaller than rivals.

The AFR Weekend print edition readership grew 59 per cent, on the Roy Morgan figures, and 11 per cent in the last quarter. The weekend and weekday print editions have recorded their highest quarterly result since 2018.

The Australian Financial Review Magazine recorded a print readership of 481,000, after quarter-on-quarter growth of 12 per cent and annual growth of 14 per cent. This is AFR Magazine’s highest quarterly result since 2018.

“After the hit from COVID-19, it’s encouraging to see readers return to the newspaper edition of the nation’s premium business, finance and political publication,” said the masthead’s editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury.

“That’s an endorsement of the newsroom’s journalism, including our breaking and ongoing pursuit of the PwC tax scandal.

“At the same time, the Financial Review continues to hold the most digitally focused readership of any newspaper brand as we increase our share of that national market.”

Nine’s total publishing assets – including the Financial Review, nine.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WA Today, Domain Digital and more, reach a de-duplicated audience of 16.6 million Australians across print and digital.

ThinkNewsBrands, a group representing news publishers, says 16.5 million Australians read news each week and 20.6 million or 96 per cent of Australians read news each month.

The Total News readership figures are produced each quarter by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands.

(The Australian Financial Review)

 

Pop Culture, Streaming, Wrestling, MMA, Combat Sports, Movies, Sports Business...

 

Netflix finally reveals how much it makes from Australians - 1st June 2023

Netflix made more than $1 billion from Australians last year, a figure the company reported for the first time after deciding no longer to funnel revenues through a Netherlands-based subsidiary.

Accounts lodged by the streaming giant show Netflix Australia made $1.06 billion in 2022, up from $30.7 million the year before.

The increase in reported revenue came after the company’s local subsidiary changed how it bills. It now describes itself as a “distributor of access” to Netflix Service as opposed to a provider of services for its parent company.

It was previously estimated that Netflix made between $790 million and $1.4 billion from Australians, but customers were billed by Netflix International BV. But from January 1 last year, customers were billed by Netflix Australia, meaning subscription revenue was recognised and taxed locally.

The accounts, filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, show Netflix Australia paid $966 million to the Netflix Group in distribution fees and other costs, meaning it made just $22.7 million from total revenues of $1.06 billion.

After paying $6.9 million in income tax, it reported $15.8 million profit for the year.

“As Netflix continues to grow and invest in Australia, we want our corporate structure to reflect our business activities here,” a spokesman for Netflix said last year when The Australian Financial Review reported the structural change.

In 2021, Netflix Australia reported $30.7 million in revenue, $2.4 million in profit pre-tax, and $1.5 million in profit after its $868,000 income tax bill.

Netflix does not disclose subscriber numbers for Australia, but the revenue figures included in its latest accounts implies the service has around five million customers locally, if its standard plan, $16.99 per month, is used as a guide. It has four monthly price tiers including a new, cheaper one that now adds some advertising.

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, streaming services made a combined $2.49 billion in Australia in 2021.

The disclosure of Netflix’s true Australian revenue comes as the federal government considers introducing quotas that would force streaming companies to spend a certain amount making shows locally.

Some suggestions have been forcing them to spend between 10 and 20 per cent of local revenue on Australian shows, meaning Netflix would be required to spend, depending on the rate, between $100 million to $200 million.

ACMA estimates streaming providers spend $335.1 million on Australian content in the 12 months to the end of June last year, up from $178.9 million the year before.

Netflix has been contacted for comment.

News

Mistakes and miscalculations: How the Murdochs and Fox got it so wrong - 30th May 2023

In August 2021, the Fox Corp. board of directors gathered in Los Angeles. Among the topics on the agenda: Dominion Voting Systems’ $US1.6 billion ($2.5 billion) defamation lawsuit against its cable news network, Fox News.

The suit posed a threat to the company’s finances and reputation. But Fox’s chief legal officer, Viet Dinh, reassured the board: Even if the company lost at trial, it would ultimately prevail. The First Amendment was on Fox’s side, he explained, even if proving so could require going to the Supreme Court.

That determination informed a series of missteps and miscalculations over the next 20 months, according to a New York Times review of court and business records, and interviews with roughly a dozen people directly involved in or briefed on the company’s decision-making.

The case resulted in one of the biggest legal and business debacles in the history of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire: an avalanche of embarrassing disclosures from internal messages released in court filings; the largest known settlement in a defamation suit, $US787.5 million; two shareholder lawsuits; and the benching of Fox’s top prime-time star, Tucker Carlson.

And for all of that, Fox still faces a lawsuit seeking even more in damages, $US2.7 billion, filed by another subject of the stolen election theory, voting software company Smartmatic.

Caught flat-footed

Repeatedly, Fox executives overlooked warning signs about the damage they and their network would sustain, the Times found. They also failed to recognise how far their cable news networks, Fox News and Fox Business, had strayed into defamatory territory by promoting President Donald Trump’s election conspiracy theories — the central issue in the case. (Fox maintains it did not defame Dominion.)

When pretrial rulings went against the company, Fox did not pursue a settlement in any real way. Executives were then caught flat-footed as Dominion’s court filings included internal Fox messages that made clear how the company chased a Trump-loving audience that preferred his election lies to the truth.

It was only in February that Murdoch and his son with whom he runs the company, Lachlan Murdoch, began seriously considering settling. Yet they made no major attempt to do so until the eve of the trial in April, after still more damaging public disclosures.

At the centre of the action was Dinh and his overly rosy scenario.

Dinh, a high-level Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, declined several requests for comment, and the company declined to respond to questions about his performance or his legal decisions. “Discussions of specific legal strategy are privileged and confidential,” a company representative said in a statement.

The second half of 2020 brought Fox News to a crisis point. The Fox audience had come to expect favourable news about Trump. But Fox could not provide that on election night, when its decision desk team was first to declare that Trump had lost the critical state of Arizona.

In the days after, Trump’s fans switched off in droves.

The Fox host who was the first to find a way to draw the audience back was Maria Bartiromo. Five days after the election, she invited a guest, Trump-aligned lawyer Sidney Powell, to share details about the false accusations that Dominion, an elections technology company, had switched votes from Trump to Joe Biden.

Soon, wild claims about Dominion appeared elsewhere on Fox, including references to the election company’s supposed (but imagined) ties to the Smartmatic election software company; Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan dictator who died in 2013; George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor; and China.

‘Fox News did its job, and this is what the First Amendment protects. I’m not at all concerned about such lawsuits, real or imagined.’

Fox’s chief legal officer Viet Dinh

On November 12, a Dominion spokesperson complained to Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott and Fox News Media executive editor Jay Wallace, begging them to make it stop. “We really weren’t thinking about building a litigation record as much as we were trying to stop the bleeding,” said Thomas A. Clare, one of Dominion’s lawyers.

As Fox noted in its court papers, its hosts did begin including company denials. But as they continued to give oxygen to the false allegations, Dominion sent a letter to Fox News general counsel Lily Fu Claffee, demanding that Fox cease and correct the record. “Dominion is prepared to do what is necessary to protect its reputation and the safety of its employees,” the letter warned.

Fox, however, did not respond to the Dominion letter or comply with its requests — now a key issue in a shareholder suit filed in April, which maintains that doing so would have “materially mitigated” Fox’s legal exposure.

Three months after the election, another voting technology company tied to the Dominion conspiracy, Smartmatic, filed its own defamation suit against Fox, seeking $US2.7 billion in damages. Dominion told reporters that it was preparing to file one, too.

Dinh was publicly dismissive.

“The newsworthy nature of the contested presidential election deserved full and fair coverage from all journalists. Fox News did its job, and this is what the First Amendment protects,” Dinh said at the time. “I’m not at all concerned about such lawsuits, real or imagined.”

The Fox legal team based much of the defence on a doctrine known as the neutral reportage privilege. It holds that news organisations cannot be held financially liable for damages when reporting on false allegations made by major public figures as long as they don’t embrace or endorse them.

An early warning came in late 2021. The judge in the case, Eric M. Davis, rejected Fox’s attempt to use the neutral reportage defence to get the suit thrown out, determining that it was not recognised under New York law, which he was applying to the case. Even if it was recognised, Fox would have to show it reported on the allegations “accurately and dispassionately”, and Dominion had made a strong argument that Fox’s reporting was neither, the judge wrote in a ruling.

That ruling meant that Dominion could have access to Fox’s internal communications in discovery.

That was a natural time to settle. But Fox stuck with its defence and its plan.

Treasure trove

At nearly every step, the court overruled Fox’s attempts to limit Dominion’s access to private communications exchanged among hosts, producers and executives. The biggest blow came mid-last year, after a ruling stating that Dominion could review messages from the personal phones of Fox employees, including both Murdochs.

The result was a treasure trove of evidence for Dominion: text messages and emails that revealed the doubts that Rupert Murdoch had about the coverage airing on his network, and assertions by many inside Fox, including Carlson, that fraud could not have made a material difference in the election.

The messages led to even more damaging revelations during depositions. After Dominion’s lawyers confronted Rupert Murdoch with his own messages showing he knew Trump’s stolen election claims were false, he admitted that some Fox hosts appeared to have endorsed stolen election claims.

During Carlson’s deposition last year, Dominion’s lawyers asked about his use of a crude word to describe women — including a ranking Fox executive. They also mentioned a text in which he discussed watching a group of men, who he said were Trump supporters, attack “an Antifa kid”. He lamented in the text, “It’s not how white men fight,” and shared a momentary wish that the group would kill the person. He then said he regretted that instinct.

There is no indication that Carlson’s texts tripped alarms at the top of Fox at that point.

The alarms rang in February, when reams of other internal Fox communications became public. The public’s reaction was so negative that some people at the company believed that a jury could award Dominion more than $US1 billion. Yet the company made no serious bid to settle.

All along, the Fox board had been taking a wait-and-see approach.

But the judge’s pretrial decisions began to change the board’s thinking. Also, in those final days before the trial, Fox was hit with new lawsuits. One, from former Fox producer Abby Grossberg, accused Carlson of promoting a hostile work environment. Another, filed by a shareholder, accused the Murdochs and several directors of failing to stop the practices that made Fox vulnerable to legal claims.

The weekend before the trial was to begin, the board asked Fox to see the internal Fox communications that were not yet public but that could still come out in the courtroom.

The board learned for the first time of the Carlson text that referred to “how white men fight”. Dinh did not know about the message until that weekend, according to two people familiar with the matter.

By the time the board learned of the message, the Murdochs had already determined that a trial loss could be far more damaging than they were initially told to expect. A substantial jury award could weigh on the company’s stock for years as the appeals process played out.

“The distraction to our company, the distraction to our growth plans — our management — would have been extraordinarily costly, which is why we decided to settle,” Lachlan Murdoch said at an investment conference this month.

The text also helped lead to the Murdochs’ decision to abruptly pull Carlson off the air. Their view had hardened that their top-rated star wasn’t worth all the downsides he brought with him.

Still pending is the Smartmatic suit. In April, Fox agreed to hand over additional internal documents relating to several executives, including the Murdochs and Dinh. In a statement reminiscent of Dinh’s early view of the Dominion case, the network said that Fox was protected by the First Amendment.

“We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025,” the statement said.

News

Lachlan Murdoch explains $1.2b settlement, says Fox News won’t change ‘successful strategy’ - 10th May 2023

Fox News paid $US787 million ($1.16 billion) to settle a recent lawsuit on its reporting after the 2020 election to avoid a divisive trial and lengthy appeals process, its parent company’s chief executive said.

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp., also noted that a Delaware judge “severely limited” Fox’s defences against Dominion Voting Systems, which said the network defamed it by airing bogus charges of election fraud that it knew was untrue.

Fox Corp announced that it had lost $US50 million the previous three months, which it attributed to the lawsuit settlement. Murdoch, who answered questions from financial analysts, was speaking in public for the first time since the case ended and Fox fired its most popular anchor, Tucker Carlson. Carlson has just announced he is launching a new show on Twitter.

Murdoch said viewers, and investors, should expect no change in direction from Fox News.

“We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and multi-year appeal process, a decision clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders,” he said.

Fox still believes it was properly exercising its First Amendment rights to report on newsworthy fraud allegations made by former President Donald Trump, even though that defence was shot down in a pre-trial court ruling in the Dominion case, Murdoch said.

That’s important, since Murdoch said Fox intends to use the same defence against a similar lawsuit by another elections technology company, Smartmatic. That case is not expected to go to trial until at least 2025, he said.

Despite being asked directly about Carlson’s exit, Murdoch didn’t mention the former prime-time host’s name and referred to his reign obliquely. Fox has not explained why it cut ties with Carlson.

“There’s no change in programming strategy at Fox News,” he said. “It’s obviously a successful strategy. As always, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup and that’s what we continue to do.”

Although hurt by the Carlson exit, Fox News remains the leading cable news network.

Fox has lost viewers following Carlson’s firing. Last week’s substitute host, Lawrence Jones, reached between 1.28 million and 1.7 million last week in a time slot where Carlson usually drew around 3 million, the Nielsen company said.

Yet Fox has gained more than 40 new advertisers in that hour, the network said, confirming a report in Variety. Advertisers like Gillette, Scott’s Miracle Gro and Secret deodorant that had considered Carlson’s show a toxic environment have signed on.

(AP)


News

Jesse Armstrong on the roots of Succession: ‘Would it have landed the same way without the mad bum-rush of Trump’s presidency?’ - 27th May 2023

It has been the TV drama of our time – a brutal, hilarious unpicking of how power works. As the series comes to an end, its creator looks back at its origin and the unholy trinity of men who helped inspire Logan Roy

My first vivid memory of the project that would develop into Succession was trying to get out of it. It was about 2008 and I was on location for the filming of Peep Show, the UK sitcom my longtime writing partner Sam Bain and I wrote together. Between that show and my work on The Thick of It and In the Loop, and a bunch of other things, I was feeling overcommitted. That particular day we were pretending a very normal field in Hertfordshire was a safari park. I sloped off from set and, hiding from imaginary lions, tried to elegantly step away from the project.

I failed. And in the following months as I wrote, slowly, I became certain the script was a dud. It was stodgy and odd. The original idea, a faux-documentary laying out Rupert Murdoch’s business secrets, with them delivered straight to camera, evolved as I worked into a sort of TV play, set at the media owner’s 80th birthday party. Channel 4 were supportive, but it was an odd form, this docudrama/TV-play, and difficult to make happen. Around 2011, after a read-through in London where John Hurt played Rupert, the project essentially died.

My US agent was the first person I recall suggesting a totally different approach. A fictional family, a multi-series US show. For five years or so, I dismissed the idea, certain that a portrayal of a fictional family would never have the power of a real one. Four works changed my mind: HBO’s excellent Robert Durst documentary, The Jinx; Sumner Redstone’s grimly business-focused autobiography, A Passion to Win; James B Stewart’s propulsive DisneyWar; and Tom Bower’s fascinating Robert Maxwell biography Maxwell: The Final Verdict. These turned the idea of doing a media-family drama without a singular real-life model from a terrible betrayal of reality into a tantalising chance to harvest all the best stories. Here was an opportunity to explore all the most fascinating family dynamics within a propitiously balanced fictional hybrid media conglomerate. I took a long, deep dive into rich-family and media-business research.

I talked about this, as-yet-unwritten, idea in half-ironised terms as ‘Festen-meets-Dallas’

When Sam and I decided to bring things to a close on Peep Show, I flew out to pitch this media show around LA. I had a clear idea of where I wanted to develop it, but my agent persuaded me appetites would be whetted if we had a number of potential homes. So I spent three days doing a round of pitch meetings where I talked about this as-yet-unwritten idea in half-ironised terms as “Festen-meets-Dallas”. No stars, Dogme 95 camerawork. Scared of driving on the five-lane highways, I bumped around town in the back of a Honda Civic while a nice young man from my US agent’s mailroom ferried me between rooms stocked with identical tiny bottles of water and executives of vastly varying degrees of interest.

Eventually, I got to HBO, the place I most wanted the show to land, home to The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. I knew they might be receptive. Frank Rich – once known as the “Butcher of Broadway” for his theatre criticism, but now an in-house consigliere – had championed my work there to the boss, Richard Plepler, and I’d previously developed a show with them. So, out the back of a French-style bistro on a three-cappuccino high, I pitched it to their head of drama and comedy, Casey Bloys.

Sometimes a pitch stretches thin and threadbare, the fabric renting as you go, the other party peeping grimly through the holes. Other times, the air thickens, and you can feel the atmosphere in the room turn oxygen-rich as the enthusiasm you are trying to project transforms into an enthusiasm you are actually feeling.

By the time I left LA, HBO had made an offer and Adam McKay, fresh from The Big Short, had said he would be interested in directing. I’d written another Succession forerunner, a script about the US political strategist Lee Atwater, for Adam and his producing partner Kevin Messick. It had been one of the few LA experiences I’d had where the excitement expressed at the start of the project sustained through the writing and attempts to get it made.

This was 2016 and, once back in the UK, I wrote the pilot through the spring and summer in a one-room flat I rented on Brixton Hill, south London, walking across Brockwell Park each morning, listening to podcasts and reading news about the Brexit referendum. Scotland had recently voted by a narrow majority to stay inside the UK and the abiding sense right before the Brexit vote was, yeah, change looms, it glistens, menacingly, promisingly, but it doesn’t happen. Not really. Really, everything stays the same.

But then it did happen. And across the Atlantic, the Trump campaign was igniting – even if initially his candidacy felt like a slightly amusing, slightly too-vivid flash in the pan. Into early autumn, in fact, all serious people were still explaining to one another that Trump couldn’t happen. Although I suppose, looking back, there was a notable lack of detail in terms of the mechanism by which he would be stopped.

I think a lot of the better films and TV shows I’ve been involved with have at their heart a quite simple impulse around which the more subtle layers are spun. In the Loop’s spark was anger at the Iraq war. Chris Morris’s Four Lions I think was driven by his gut feeling that something was very wrong with the way we understood jihadi terrorism in the UK. Peep Show was about oddball male friendship, perhaps even “masculinity”.

I guess the simple things at the heart of Succession ended up being Brexit and Trump. The way the UK press had primed the EU debate for decades. The way the US media’s conservative outriders prepared the way for Trump, hovered at the brink of support and then dived in. The British press of Rothermere, Maxwell, Murdoch and the Barclay brothers, and the US news environment of Fox and Breitbart.

The Sun doesn’t run the UK, nor does Fox entirely set the media agenda in the US, but it was hard not to feel, at the time the show was coming together, the particular impact of one man, of one family, on the lives of so many. Rightwing populism was on the march across the globe. But in the fine margins of the Brexit vote and Trump’s eventual electoral college victory, one couldn’t help but think about the influence of the years of anti-EU stories and comment in the UK press, the years of Fox dancing with its audience, sometimes leading, sometimes following, as the wine got stronger, the music madder. It was politically alarming and creatively appealing: to imagine the mixture of business imperatives and political instinct that exist within a media operation; to consider what happens when something as important as the flow of information in a democracy hits the reductive brutality of the profit calculation inside such a company. How those elements might rebound emotionally and psychologically inside a family as it considered the question of corporate succession.

For Logan Roy, Murdoch, Redstone and Maxwell were my holy trinity of models. But Conrad Black, Brian L Roberts of Comcast, Robert Mercer of Breitbart, Julian Sinclair Smith of Sinclair, Tiny Rowland, Rothermere, Beaverbrook and Hearst all fed in. The three central models were wildly different, of course: the self-made refugee Maxwell and the already-rich Murdoch, a scion of Australian journalistic royalty, both so different from the tough Boston lawyer Redstone who started with a couple of his father’s drive-in cinemas.

But they were connected by a strong interest in a few things: a refusal to think about mortality (Redstone and Murdoch both used to make the same joke about their succession plan: not dying); desire for control; manic deal-making energy; love of gossip and power-connection; a certain ruthlessness about hirings and firings. And most of all, an instinct for forward motion, with a notable lack of introspection.

Perhaps the best part of Redstone’s autobiography for a casual reader is the opening, where he recounts clinging by one hand to a hotel balcony through a fire. Despite suffering third-degree burns over half his body, years of rehabilitation, excruciatingly painful skin grafts, he says this event, after which he made all his biggest business plays, had no impact whatsoever on the trajectory of his life.

Whether due to all this grist, or the aligning of the political planets (in)auspiciously, the pilot came unnervingly easily. Getting names in a script to feel real can be hard for me – they’re a tell-tale sign of whether I’m living inside it. Kendall, Shiv, Roman, Connor. They all felt right straight off the bat. Their inspirations, I suppose, were the children of these magnates: three of the Maxwell kids, the ones closest to the business (the boys, Ian and Kevin) and to their father (Ghislaine). Brent and Shari Redstone, with whom Sumner played a tough and complicated game of bait-and-switch over CBS-Paramount succession. And the Murdoch children, Prudence, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, Chloe and Grace.

But getting those names for the Roy children made them feel like their own individuals to me. It allowed me to pour in just what I wanted from the real world, fill each with all the faults they might have inherited, while giving me room to add some extra, just for them.

Greg and Tom came fast, too. Tom from two roots. One was thinking about the sort of lunks I’ve occasionally seen powerful women choose as partners. Plausible, manly men with big watches and a soothing affable manner. That mixed with the deadly courtier, a more 18th-century figure, minutely attuned to shifts in power and influence, an invisible deadly gas that occurs in certain confined places and rises to kill anyone unwise enough not to take precautions. A hanger-on sustained by some Fitzgeraldian illusions about the world, a sense that perhaps the rich really are different from us and a romantic ambition to make it in New York City.

Greg, I guess, was a distant relative of the sort of political adviser I had myself briefly been. Gormless, clueless, out of place and gauche. But not without an eye for a deal. And, I hope, a little more wheedling and insinuating than I ever was.

The scenes flowed. I put all research aside and followed my nose and wrote pretty much exactly what I wanted

The charge between these two semi-outsiders struck me from the start as toxic and comic. Tom, the interloper, is like an organism that has found a precarious but rewarding perch above some deep oceanic vent and adapted itself to conditions perfectly. He is not pleased at all to see a similar creature scuttling along hoping to share the same cramped evolutionary niche. That first half-bullying, half-provocative exchange they share in the outfield at a softball game in the pilot landed them right in the middle of a stew they’ve been cooking in ever since.

The scenes flowed. I had eaten a very large amount of research, but once I was writing I put it all aside and followed my nose and wrote pretty much exactly what I wanted. It felt funny but odd and broken-ended, fragmentary, abrupt, oblique and slightly brutal. When I emailed it off, I had the familiar feeling that Adam, Frank and HBO might email back to say not only was it not good, it wasn’t even actually, technically, a script. But their response was frighteningly positive. Almost as though the script was finished, after what was, I thought, a quick first draft. I think every other episode of Succession has gone to at least 30 drafts – usually 50. The pilot barely hit 15.

We had our read-through in New York on US election day 2016. Before we started, I made the sort of joke lots of people made that day, assuming the polls were right and Hillary Clinton was going to squeeze it. That night we gathered in Adam McKay’s apartment to watch the results roll in. Much later, I walked a long walk back from Soho to where I was staying near the United Nations looking at the electoral college numbers projected on to the Empire State Building.

We started filming the next day.

I still wonder whether Succession would have landed in the same way without the mad bum-rush of news and sensation Trump’s chaotic presidency provided. Trump wasn’t the firebombing of German civilians, and nor is Succession Slaughterhouse-Five, but I do sometimes think about Vonnegut saying no one in the world profited from the firebombing of Dresden, except himself.

This is an edited extract from Succession: The Complete Scripts – Seasons One, Two and Three (Faber & Faber), out now at £20 each. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copies for £17.60 each from guardianbookshop.com.

The final episode of Succession airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic/Now on Monday. Jesse Armstrong donated the fee for this article to the Writers Guild of America strike assistance fund.


News

LIV Golf announces new pay-per-view option - 26th May 2023

"The hope for LIV is to grow off the success first seen on YouTube in 2022, where the league attracted tournament audiences of several hundred-thousand views in the U.S. and abroad."

Going forward, LIV Golf Series events will be available via a pay-per-view option on YouTube.

The new deal was detailed by James Colgan of Golf.com.

“Less than six months after signing a media rights agreement with the CW, LIV announced Friday that it has created a new, pay-per-view broadcast option to run on YouTube,” Colgan reported. “The PPV broadcast will cost $3 per tournament day, LIV said in a release announcing the decision, and will run in addition to the league’s agreement with the CW.”

Colgan also detailed that “A LIV source indicated that the CW is aware of the decision to introduce a pay-per-view model, and that the decision does not violate any of the league’s preexisting broadcast agreements.”

“The hope for LIV is to grow off the success first seen on YouTube in 2022, where the league attracted tournament audiences of several hundred-thousand views in the U.S. and abroad. The league already has its own direct-to-consumer subscription platform, LIV Golf Plus, which the PPV channel will run counter to. LIV broadcasts will continue to be streamed for free on the CW app.”

This announcement comes less than two weeks after a rather embarrassing moment for the tour. One week before LIV’s Brooks Koepka triumphed at the PGA Championship, the Saudi-backed golf series was in Tulsa.

On one hand, it was a perfect showcase event for LIV. Two of its most high-profile players, Dustin Johnson and Cam Smith, went to a three-way playoff (along with Branden Grace). But most of the people watching did not get to see Johnson’s eventual triumph.

The CW, the league’s primary broadcast partner, went away from coverage in the vast majority of its markets, showing “regularly scheduled programming.” Jim Nantz was quick to make a joke at LIV’s expense on the matter at the PGA Championship. The CW also announced a change, saying that all events will be shown to their conclusions going forward.

[Golf.com]

News

WWE Night Of Champions Reportedly Earned Highest Viewership Of Any Saudi Arabia Show - 31st May 2023

According to a report from Fightful Select, Saturday's Night of Champions PLE scored WWE the highest viewership out of any of the company's Saudi Arabia events since the partnership between the two began in 2013. The report states that Night of Champions brought in an 18% increase in viewership compared to last year's Crown Jewel event, and the company is reportedly quite happy with its holiday weekend results.

Night of Champions was headlined by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline, with a major angle taking place on the show that saw The Usos turn on Reigns after more than a year of build-up and tension.This marks the second time a tag team match has served as the main event of a major WWE show in recent months. Additional matches on the show included Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles to decide the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a singles match between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, and a Backlash rematch pitting Brock Lesnar against Cody Rhodes, among others.

To date, WWE has held nine PPVs and PLEs in Saudi Arabia, along with three house shows. Back in 2019, WWE announced that they had "expanded their partnership" with Saudi Arabia, and that they would be hosting two major events per year in the Middle Eastern nation through at least 2027. Though it hasn't been announced yet, WWE will likely return to Saudi Arabia for another Crown Jewel event later this year.


News

Pat McAfee Comments On Empty Seats At AEW Double Or Nothing - 31st May 2023

All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing pay-per-view took place this past weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the event, Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston tweeted images of empty seats inside the venue. Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez also posted a photo from his ringside position, which showed many unoccupied places behind Orange Cassidy after he retained the AEW International Championship in a Blackjack Battle Royal. Former "WWE SmackDown" commentator Pat McAfee has weighed in with his thoughts.

"Anytime you get a shot away from hard cam, you know what I mean, you can really see a lot of things," McAfee said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "AEW found out this weekend or whatever at one of their events, it's like three quarters of an arena completely empty. They don't want that photo out anywhere."

Ahead of the pay-per-view going live on Sunday night, WrestleTix revealed 10,229 tickets had been distributed for an 11,641 setup inside the T-Mobile Arena, leaving 1,412 tickets available. An Anarchy in the Arena match headlined the show, with Blackpool Combat Club's Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, reigning ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta picking up the win in that bout against The Elite's Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and "Hangman" Adam Page.

AEW's next major standalone show, All In, which will take place on August 27 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, has currently sold over 65,000 tickets and has a gate of over $8 million. No matches have been announced for AEW's first event across the pond as of this writing. Ticket sales for All In have slowed following an initial surge.


News

WWE-UFC merged company to be called ‘TKO Group Holdings’ - 16th May 2023

A name has emerged for the group.

Coming out of WrestleMania, it was announced by Endeavor that an agreement had been reached with WWE and the company would be merging with UFC to form a new sports and entertainment company.

The deal has not been formally finalized but a name for the merged group has been revealed. CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Mike Calia published a story and an Endeavor spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the new group is going to be called ‘TKO Group Holdings’.

It will trade under the New York Stock Exchange as ‘TKO’.

The merger between WWE and UFC is being valued at $20 billion. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will be the CEO of TKO Group and Vince McMahon is going to serve as Executive Chairman.


News

Nick Khan Says WWE In Talks With International Cities For 2024 PLEs

It sounds as though WWE will continue expanding its PLEs into international markets next year. Speaking at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference, WWE CEO Nick Khan stated that the company was discussing the potential for additional overseas shows in 2024.

"We're in conversations now with a lot of international cities about doing 2024 shows there," Khan said. "Also, part of the intent is to match those up with our media rights, even if they're not up to over-deliver for incumbent partners who can then invite their partners in the international city to the event, and host them. It's good for our overall business." Khan's comments came as part of a conversation about countries offering subsidies to WWE for bringing shows there, as the company brings a great deal of revenue to the city for major events. Khan cited recent events in Puerto Rico as well as the Dallas, Texas area as examples.

Previous rumors pointed toward Australia as a potential location for a future international WWE PLE. However, it's unknown if negotiations with the country have progressed in the months since.

WWE has steadily ramped up its major international shows over the last five years, with the company holding several yearly events in Saudi Arabia, as well as last year's Clash at the Castle and the upcoming Money in the Bank both being held in the United Kingdom. It seems fans around the world should stay on the lookout for upcoming announcements regarding WWE's international schedule in 2024.

News

“We Let People Go”: Months After $21.4 Billion UFC-WWE Deal, Endeavor CEO Recalls “Horrible” Time for Organization - 2nd June 2023

The year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges for individuals and organizations alike, and the UFC was no exception. The promotional frontman Dana White has reflected on those uncertain times and shared the struggles the organization faced in keeping things going. Despite the pandemic, White was determined to keep the show running and provide entertainment for fight fans worldwide. While the rest of the world was shut down, the UFC managed to organize consistent events, albeit on a smaller scale. However, this arduous journey was not without its fair share of hardships.

Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC and William Morris Endeavor talent agency, revealed the significant challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Endeavor recently secured a massive $21.4 billion deal to acquire the WWE, during the COVID-19 days, the company found itself at rock bottom struggling to stay afloat.

When Covid-19 posed a threat to the UFC

In an interview on the “Freakonomics Radio” podcast, Emanuel shared how the pandemic affected the company financially. During the interview, podcast host Stephen Dubner asked Emanuel, “Did you think COVID might kill Endeavor?”. Reflecting on this, the 62-year-old CEO replied, “It was bad,” He continued, “I’d never had to fire that many people.”

Emanuel mentioned that the continuation of UFC fights during the pandemic played a crucial role in saving the company, accounting for approximately 70% of their revenue that year. Further talking about the struggles to keep the organization alive during the pandemic, the Endeavor CEO stated, “We had our ESPN deal. We then started making deals for writers. So we stored all the cash. We didn’t let anything out. We let people go, which was horrible, or furloughed them.”

Through the storm, Endeavor’s leadership team, led by Emanuel, proved to be the lighthouse that guided them to safer shores. The UFC’s resilience and the implementation of innovative strategies, such as the ‘Fight Island’ events, not only salvaged the company but also became a beacon of hope for other professional sports leagues.

News

“Very, Very Easy for Jon Jones”: Ex-UFC Star Ruthlessly Shuts Down Tyson Fury Days After Boxer’s Callout of UFC Champ in Ugly Public Feud - 1st June 2023

The claim made by Joe Rogan that Tyson Fury would stand no chance against Jon Jones has sparked an intense and never-ending debate. Recently, another prominent figure from the UFC, the world of mixed martial arts, has jumped into this heated discussion. However, ‘The Gypsy King’ himself strongly opposed the take of the UFC commentator and didn’t hold back in expressing his views. In fact, he went as far as bashing Rogan and proudly proclaimed himself to be ‘the baddest man on the planet’.

As the back and forth continued between Fury and Rogan, UFC president Dana White has stepped in, proposing a potential fight between Fury and Jones. However, the WBC heavyweight champion firmly refused to step into the octagon, dismissing the idea altogether. This decision faced an immediate backlash from fans who had eagerly anticipated the materialization of this debate inside the fighting arena.

Despite the disappointment felt by fans, it becomes evident that the 34-year-old boxer has no intention of venturing into the octagon. On the contrary, a former UFC welterweight challenger believes that Fury would fare well in the realm of mixed martial arts. However, he warns that there may be unforeseen challenges along the way.

Tyson Fury will have a Jon Jones threat in MMA

During a recent interview, the former UFC fighter Dan Hardy shared his reflections on the latest happenings in the combat sports world, ranging from boxing to MMA. However, it was the Tyson Fury-Jon Jones debate that took center stage.

The 41-year-old Hardy began by heaping praise on ‘The Gypsy King’ for his potential in MMA, stating, “Tyson Fury doesn’t come from a boxing background. He comes from a fighting man background. Tyson Fury sees himself as a fighter first that boxes, and I think he looks at mixed martial arts and sees lots of ways he can capitalize on the changing of the rules.”

Continuing his analysis, Hardy mentioned Fury’s collaboration with Tom Aspinall and how he has showcased proficient elbows and knees in the videos shared with him. ‘The Outlaw’ confidently stated, “I feel like Tyson Fury would be really good if he crossed over to mixed martial arts. Of course, there’d be a lot for him to learn. The main issue would be, he’d be very, very easy for Jon Jones to take down. And I think that’s something that Tyson has not experienced and has not and has not really quite comprehended.”

Meanwhile, Jon Jones recently made a strong statement in his heavyweight debut, securing a first-round victory against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 after returning from a three-year-long hiatus.

This certainly explains Dan Hardy’s warning to Tyson Fury. How do you think ‘The Gypsy King’ would fare in MMA?

News

Dwayne Johnson to Return as Luke Hobbs in New ‘Fast and Furious’ Standalone Film - 7th June 2023

Dwayne Johnson is returning to the “Fast and Furious” universe with a new standalone film, reprising his franchise role as Luke Hobbs.

Universal Pictures announced the project on Thursday. Longtime “Fast and Furious” collaborator Chris Morgan wrote the untitled film’s script. Plot details were not available, though individuals familiar with the deal said the new movie will bridge between the events of the just-released “Fast X” and the upcoming “Fast X: Part II,” which is expected in 2025. Johnson just appeared as Hobbs, a diplomatic security service agent, in a credits scene for “Fast X.”

Johnson will produce the film with Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia for their Seven Bucks Productions, along with Vin Diesel and Samantha Vincent via their One Race Films. Additional producers include Chris Morgan for his Chris Morgan Productions, Jeff Kirschenbaum for Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and Neal Moritz for Original Film.

Screenwriter Morgan wrote and produced “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” and “The Fate of the Furious.” He’s also scripted and executive produced the fifth, sixth and seventh entries in the franchise. Directed by Louis Leterrier, “Fast X” opened at No. 1 around the world in May with $320 million and became the second-biggest global opening of 2023.

Johnson announced Hobbs’ return with a video posted to social media with the caption: “Your reactions around the world to Hobbs’ return in ‘Fast X’ have blown us away. The next ‘Fast & Furious’ film you’ll see the legendary lawman in will be the Hobbs movie that will serve as a fresh, new chapter & set up for ‘Fast X: Part II.'”

“Last summer Vin Diesel and I put all the past behind us,” Johnson added. “We’ll lead with brotherhood and resolve – and always take care of the franchise, characters & fans that we love. I’ve built my career on an ‘audience first’ mentality and that will always serve as my north star.”

Johnson is repped by WME, lawyers Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. and The Lede Company.

Seven Bucks has co-produced films like Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” and the DC Studios entires “Black Adam” and “DC League of Super-Pets.” Original series include NBC’s “Young Rock” and “The Titan Games.” Johnson will next produce and star in “Red One” at Amazon Studios and Disney’s live-action “Moana.”

News

13 States Comment On Possibility Of Allowing Gambling On WWE Matches

In March 2023, CNBC reported that WWE was working toward legalizing gambling on wrestling matches, enlisting the services of accounting firm Ernst & Young, with Michigan, Colorado, and Indiana mentioned as the initial targets. As of now, betting on WWE matches is only available at offshore sportsbooks like BetOnline.ag, based out of Antigua, and Bovada, based out of Latvia. Betting on matches in America would open up new streams of revenue for WWE and add some mainstream legitimacy to the sports entertainment powerhouse.

Since that report broke, however, it's been nothing bad news for WWE in the gambling department. Dave Meltzer has reported that WWE's efforts aren't going well — Colorado denied talking to WWE and said that "By statute, wagers on events with fixed or predicted outcomes ... are strictly prohibited in Colorado." Indiana told Casino.org that it had "no interest in approving wagering on scripted events," and Michigan also denied any recent talks with WWE, while New Hampshire Lottery Commission executive director Charlie McIntyre deemed it "very unlikely" betting on WWE gets approved in New Hampshire.

In light of this, Wrestling Inc. reached out to multiple states about the possibility of legalized betting on WWE matches. Each gambling commission was asked 1) how likely WWE would be to succeed if they pitched gambling on matches to them, and 2) if there were any regulations, laws, or statutes that barred betting on something with predetermined outcomes. 13 states -– Arizona, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington -– responded. While their responses varied slightly, overall, they paint a picture of increasingly fewer opportunities, and increasingly more obstacles, for legal gambling on WWE matches to get approved.

At least three states say they wouldn't allow gambling on WWE as a matter of policy, even if there are no explicit laws against it.

Kerry Hemphill, Manager of Sports Betting Product at the Oregon Lottery, made it clear that gambling on WWE wouldn't be allowed as a matter of policy in the Beaver State: "Although there is no law or statute that forbids it, Oregon Lottery sports betting policy is to not accept wagers on scripted events with predicted outcomes."

Seth Elkin, Assistant Director of Communications for Public Affairs for Maryland Lottery and Gaming, also told us his state had made a determination on the matter. "Maryland's sports wagering law and regulations prohibit forms of wagering that are contrary to public policy or unfair to bettors," he said. "We've determined that it is unfair to bettors, and therefore not in the public's interest, to accept wagers on sports entertainment events that have predetermined outcomes, like professional wrestling."

Meanwhile, a representative from the South Dakota Department of Revenue simply said, "WWE wrestling matches would not be eligible for sports wagering in South Dakota."

Iowa and Ohio say no to betting on predetermined events

Two more states said that predetermined events weren't permitted, but made a point to highlight policy and procedure. Brian J. Ohorilko, Administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, also shot down gambling on wrestling for the time being.

"Predetermined events are not permitted in the State of Iowa," he told Wrestling Inc. "Iowa law defines and permits professional sporting events and sports-related events; however, fixed or predetermined outcomes are not explicitly permitted. As such, and for other integrity concerns, the commission has not permitted predetermined events in any of the approved wagering markets."

Ohorilko also brought up the process that would be required for any kind of legalization: "From a practical standpoint, any request would need to come with a legal opinion as to how this would be permitted under Iowa law," he said. "It would need to go through legal review with consultation from the AG office. If legal review passes, the commission would still need to review policy and integrity concerns with respect to the activity having predetermined outcomes. Approval would be needed before this type of wagering activity could take place."

Ohio tells a similar story. Jessica Franks, Director of Communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, pointed us towards Rule 3775-11-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code — the process for adding to Ohio's catalog of wagers and events. She said the Commission's review of such requests includes, but is not limited to, the following criteria:

The quality of the governing body's documented integrity program.

The general availability of information related to the governing body.

The professional or skill level status of athletes.

The history of integrity related to events sanctioned by the governing body.

This already puts the WWE in shaky territory, but it's seemingly locked out for good with the following consideration: "Please note that the Commission will not approve requests for wagers/events involving 'Events which are pre-recorded or in which the outcome has been otherwise previously determined.'"

Arizona and Connecticut have laws against betting on fixed outcomes

At least two states have laws in place that would ban gambling on WWE matches.

Max Hartgraves, Public Information Officer at the Arizona Department of Gaming, provided a straightforward statement: "Arizona statute prohibits gambling on fixed events."

Meanwhile, when asked how likely WWE would be to garner approval for gambling on matches, Kaitlyn Krasselt, Communications Director at Connecticut Department of Consumer Protections, said "I cannot speculate on that." That said, she did inform Wrestling Inc. about state regulations on gambling: "Connecticut law only allows wagering on sporting or athletic events. WWE is sports entertainment. The 'matches' are predetermined by the company and are scripted. There is no regulation body for professional wrestling, and WWE is one of several companies that offers this type of entertainment. With a predetermined outcome, this would not be considered a sport. It is considered entertainment. Wagering on the Oscars, for example, is also not permitted in Connecticut."

That last part is significant, since CNBC's report mentioned that WWE executives were using Oscar betting as an example for regulators.

Maine and Montana agree with most of their colleagues

Two states specifically cited the statements from Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, and New Hampshire in their responses. After hearing that four other states had expressed skepticism over betting on WWE, Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion said, "On the surface, without looking into the matter, I would concur with my colleagues. Operators will submit with their application events that they want to take wagers on, and I shall approve them."

Daniel Iverson, Content Manager for the Montana Lottery, said something similar. "Montana does not intend to add WWE markets, for the same reasons our counterparts cited," he advised, before directing any questions on state law to the Montana Department of Justice Gambling Control Division.

New Jersey and Massachusetts punted, for now

Two states we contacted declined to comment on the matter, not wanting to address issues that haven't come before them yet. Thomas Mills, Communications Division Chief of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said, "I appreciate your question, but am unable to speculate on a hypothetical action the Commission may or may not take."

Dan Prochilo, Public Information Officer at the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, responded that "The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) cannot comment on any hypothetical discussion with an operator or league about future sports betting opportunities." He added that "In New Jersey, an entity seeking permission for a contest to be authorized for wagering on a sports event is required to submit its proposal to DGE for evaluation and approval pursuant to state law and regulations."

Prochilo also provided the state's legal definition of a "sports event" for the purposes of gambling. Notably, it includes the phrase "A 'sports event' shall include any live competition or talent contest, including awards competitions[.]"

New Jersey and Massachusetts are two of the only states that allow betting on the Oscars, with New Jersey okaying it in 2019 (the first state to do so) and Massachusetts greenlighting it in 2023. It's unknown if WWE will approach either state or how each state would respond, but at bare minimum, WWE's argument to treat wrestling like the Oscars for betting purposes might carry some weight.

Washington and New Mexico illustrate the challenges of Tribal gaming

Washington is unique among the states who responded to us, in that sports wagering is only available on Tribal lands yet still regulated by the state. Sports wagering was legalized, subject to terms of Tribal/State Compacts, on Tribal lands in 2020. All wagering, even online betting, must take place on Tribal lands, and each casino decides bets within certain limitations. The Angel of the Winds Casino and Resort and the ilani Casino Resort, for example, don't 100% overlap on sports offered for betting.

But WWE, or any wrestling, won't be joining those offering under current rules and regulations. Dan Wegenast, Agent In Charge for the Tribal Gaming Unit of the Washington State Gambling Commission, pointed Wrestling Inc. towards the Tribal/State Compacts for sports wagering. He also stated that "Washington State law and the Tribal/State Compacts for sports wagering ... prohibit wagers on events with known outcomes."

To further illustrate the complications of garnering approval for gaming on Tribal lands, a representative from the New Mexican Gaming Control Board told Wrestling Inc. that sports betting is illegal in their state, but legal with some Tribes. That said, New Mexico does not regulate Tribal gaming, meaning that approval would likely have to be worked out with each Tribe individually.

There are other obstacles, too

It's worth noting that gambling laws are constantly changing. Many states without gambling –- such as North Carolina -– have spent years hammering out legislation that would approve gambling off Tribal lands. Additionally, for states with legalized gambling, internal policies are not inherently laws, and can be subject to change under the right circumstances.

That said, even if WWE manages to get gambling on matches approved anywhere, that's only one part of the battle: They still need casinos and/or sportsbooks to be willing to accept wagers at all, and there's resistance in this field, as well, as demonstrated in subsequent coverage from CNBC. FanDuel deems it unlikely that they'd ever accept bets on WWE, noting that the Academy Awards –- which held once per year -– are vastly different than dealing with WWE's weekly programming. Additionally, when BetCEO Adam Greenblatt was asked if he had any interesting in accepting bets on WWE, he responded "NFW."

Between the overwhelming majority opinions of the 13 states who responded to Wrestling Inc., the states that have already responded, and the reluctance of sportsbooks to include anything that looks less than credible, WWE faces an increasingly uphill battle if they want to make betting on wrestling matches legal anywhere in the United States.


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US Government May Liquidate Around $4.4B In Bitcoin When The Time Is Right - November 9, 2022

Bitcoin (Wikipedia) Cyrptocurrency (Wikipedia)

Bitcoin (Google Finance) FOX Business: Cryptocurrency MarketWatch: Markets

Fortune: Crypto

Over the last couple of years, the U.S. government has become one of the largest whales of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC/USD), with over 214,046 bitcoins at minimum.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) seized around 50,676.17 bitcoins (roughly $1 billion at today’s prices) in November 2021 from a Bitcoin trader named James Zhong, who defrauded darknet marketplace Silk Road.

The seizure is notable—it’s the third largest in cryptocurrency history by Crypto Briefing’s count—especially considering the amount of Bitcoin the U.S. government already has under control.

In addition to the 50,676 bitcoins seized from Zhong, the U.S. government has acquired at least 163,370 bitcoins over the last two years, totaling 214,046 bitcoins, or about $4.43 billion, minimum.

According to BitInfoCharts, only one bitcoin wallet, Binance’s cold storage wallet, contains 252,597 bitcoins, mostly belonging to Binance customers, not the exchange itself.

The U.S. government generally liquidates its Bitcoin holdings through the U.S. Marshalls Service through public auctions. Most likely, the seized bitcoins by the DOJ will be similarly offered to the public.

In November 2021, DOJ auctioned off $56 million worth of cryptocurrencies seized from a BitConnect promoter at the height of the bull market.

It is yet to be seen if DOJ will wait for bitcoin prices to bounce back before liquidating. So far, it has restrained itself from liquidating the proceeds from the Individual X and Razzlekhan confiscations.

The agency seized 69,370 bitcoins (worth $1.4 billion) from Individual X in 2020 and 94,000 bitcoins from Razzlekhan (worth $1.9 billion).

Crypto.com Exchange Suspends Withdrawals on Solana Blockchain as Crypto Prices Crash – Another Exchange in Trouble? - 10th November 2022

 

In an email to users on Wednesday, the platform reportedly said that they are suspending deposits and withdrawals of USDC and USDT on the Solana Blockchain, effective immediately.

The note did not mention the exact reason for the move. However, it said stablecoin withdrawals and deposits in other blockchains like Ethereum and Cronos would resume normally.

In a Thursday tweet, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the recent developments around FTX and Alameda Research, which are two of the biggest backers of Solana, led to the decision.

"FTX was an important bridge/venue for SOL-based stablecoins, we do not want any additional risk to our users coming from this area, hence disabling it,"

"FTX was an important bridge/venue for SOL-based stablecoins, we do not want any additional risk to our users coming from this area, hence disabling it,"

"This is a critical moment for the entire industry. Transparency is more important than ever, and safety and security of users and funds remains the priority. It requires full and collective commitment,"

Kris | Crypto.com

However, some users suggested that sharing proof of reserves alone would not be enough. It is also important that crypto platforms do not trade with users' funds and be transparent with where the yield comes from.

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Putting a new spin on an old sales pitch

WWE's television push on Australian network TV via Nine's GO!, working says Media Man agency

Wrestling fans and general public calling for movies and world class documentaries on pro wrestling legends: Gorgeous George, Andre The Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Rowdy Roddy Piper, by Greg Tingle - September 2017

Online newspapers; News apps way of the future, says Media Man agency - September 2017

Local newspaper story back on track for Maroubra Business Media; Community people power thank you, by Greg Tingle - September 2017

Bitcoin Sydney: The ultimate Bitcoin business networking meetup; Bitcoiners unite: Novice to experts to Talk And Trade Bitcoin: Metropolitan Hotel, Sydney, Australia; Bitcoin ATM Launch Party

Domain vs RealEstate.com.au vs PurpleBricks vs Local Agent Finder media, marketing, advertising and online battle continues

Vince McMahon biopic, Pandemonium; Hollywood star Bradley Cooper approached with offer

Newspaper online showcase via Media Man Int and Media Man Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald The Age The Canberra Times

Illustrations by David Rowe (The Australian Financial Review)

Cartoons By John Shakespeare

Business Spotlight: Media Man questions Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull

Interview - Question to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Putting Your Business On The Map Google Australia event at North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club - 22nd April 2016

Social, Community and Philanthropic sector update from Greg Tingle
- 31st May 2016

Advertising, Promotions, Publicity: Special rates for Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction, Coogee, Maroubra Beach and Maroubra Junction; Sydney, Australia

History Of The Aussie Millions Poker Championship

Promotions

partycasino Wins Media Man Online Casino Of The Month Award

How to play at New Casinos

News

Bond, James Bond: Craig confirms 007 return

Talk up your chances - Schmooze or lose - It's who you know that counts

Strong local content

Hollywood approach a blockbuster for businesses - 23rd May 2017

Betting agency Paddy Power giving odds on Hulk Hogan and CM Punk WWE pro wrestling return! - May 2017

James Packer in $1.35bn Melco Crown Entertainment sellout - 9th May 2017

James Packer sells out of RatPac: Vale the most powerful Australian in Hollywood - 19th April 2017

Maroubra to host Carve Pro surf event - 11th January 2016

Betting ban on UFC over integrity issues - 3rd January 2016

Mr. McMahon & Stephanie McMahon address the WWE roster: Raw, January 11, 2016

The top 16 films to watch in 2016 - 9th January 2016

WWE Network unleashes Breaking Ground on Oct. 26

WWE Network 2015 Fall Preview

Netflix grows to 69 million members - 15th October 2015

Community Television in Australia is awesome; Joy Hruby and crew - Stay tuned - 
15th October 2015

Josh Gad Writing ‘Gorgeous George’ Biopic Movie for WWE Studios

NetEnt games go live with bwin.party in New Jersey - 14th October 2015

Leonardo DiCaprio to be in Delhi in October to profile for a documentary film - 14th October 2015

Sydney’s eastern beaches VS The Red Centre – Alice Springs; A media entrepreneur’s perspective and experiences, By Greg Tingle

Advertising, Promotions, Publicity: Special rates for Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction, Coogee, Maroubra Beach and Maroubra Junction; Sydney, Australia

Tom Hardy 'up for playing' James Bond

Beckham. David Beckham. Could he be the new Bond?

Cartoons by Alan Moir

Franco to teach high-school film classes

Beyonce sings for female empowerment - 7th September 2015

Four leadership lessons from Virgin Group's Sir Richard Branson

Big Brother is watching and reading your emails - 8th September 2015

New 'safe' screens a selling point

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson saves puppy - 8th September 2015

EB Expo 2015 announces more playable games - 28th August 2015

WWE Network: Edge & Christian perform "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's theme song: Stone Cold Podcast

WWE SummerSlam 2015 highlights (multimedia)

Quickflix suspends shares; May benefit competitors says Media Man

Greg Tingle Promotions website relaunched, Media Man Int and Media Man Australia ramps up - July 2015

Remembering 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper (from The Oregonian archives) - 31st July 2015

400k Strong On Facebook! - 29th July 2015

Sydney’s eastern beaches VS The Red Centre – Alice Springs; A media entrepreneur’s perspective and experiences, By Greg Tingle

Advertising, Promotions, Publicity: Special rates for Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction, Coogee, Maroubra Beach and Maroubra Junction; Sydney, Australia

Tom Hardy 'up for playing' James Bond

Four leadership lessons from Virgin Group's Sir Richard Branson

Big Brother is watching and reading your emails - 8th September 2015

New 'safe' screens a selling point

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson saves puppy - 8th September 2015

Howard says don't wind back gun control - 8th September 2015

EB Expo 2015 announces more playable games - 28th August 2015

ASX: news for today: 18th August 2015

Firms avoided $31b tax in Aust in a year - 16th August 2015

Disney, Universal square off in battle of the theme parks

Coca-Cola selects WPP agency team for global campaign

Netflix, Stan and Presto come to Telstra

Fairfax CEO Says Netflix Isn't Only Option - 28th July 2015

John Cena suffers broken nose on Raw

Hulk Hogan Dropped From 'WWE 2K16' - 26th July 2015

Goodes given extended leave - 29th July 2015

Hugh Jackman asks what Wolverine fans want - 28th July 2015

Goulding Sparks Bond Theme Speculation

AGE 2015 offering more to exhibitors, visitors: organiser - 17th July 2015

Beach Breaks Carnival and NSW State Titles hit Maroubra

Casino babes popular for promotion of entertainment, gaming and casino themed websites

20th Century Fox and Stan Lee in full force at Comic-Con - July 2015

Suicide Squad - Comic-Con First Look [HD]

Fantastic Four has 'relatable' superheroes - 14th July 2015

Packer’s CrownBet raises stakes in online betting ‘land grab’ - 13th July 2015

Gambling group GVC offers to buy larger rival Bwin for £908m - 9th July 2015

World DC Lego tour to premiere in Sydney - 10th July 2015

Karl Lagerfeld Brought Chanel Couture to the Casino for Fall 2015 - 7th July 2015

MGM targeting Atlanta - 3rd July 2015

News

Rupert Murdoch confirms plan to hand over 21st Century Fox reins to James - 17th June 2015

Brock Lesnar is revealed as Seth Rollins' next challenger: Raw, June 15, 2015

Kirk Kerkorian, billionaire investor in film studios and casinos, dies at 98 - 17th June 2015

Bwin: Recovers from Friday's major share sale- 15th June 2015

A fiscal growth fuelled by casinos - 14th June 2015

Jurassic World smashes global record - 15th June 2015

Marvel Brings Rob Steffens Back As CFO - 15th June 2015

Heard It In The Alice, By Greg Tingle - 22nd May 2015

Echo to bulk up Star casino ahead of Crown threat

Cairns casino looks towards improvements

Junket firm Iao Kun announces 2014 annual dividend

The Star casino in line for $100m overhaul

Coke cans rattle in earnest as big names prepare for a cold one

Disney Store is Largest in the World and First in China

Top 10 WWE SmackDown moments: May 21, 2015

Crown to raise $400 million - 17th March 2015

Morning news headlines - March 18th March 2015

Gold falls to four-month low - 18th March 2015

Roman Reigns interrupts Paul Heyman: Raw, March 16, 2015

Larry Zbyszko to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2015 - 16th March 2015

Activist Tracker Tilmouth remembered - 12th March 2015

Australian Mining And Exploration Sector Embracing Living Statues And Bodypainting For Special Events And VIP Functions