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Irresistible Benefits Of Hiring Professional Junk
Removal Services For Your Home
Rubbish removal is essential not only to keep your
home organized but also to keep up with hygiene. Whether
you have just moved in or moved out of your home,
you need to take care of all the extra trash to keep
your space clean. While municipal trash services might
come in handy but they usually visit once or twice
a week which wouldn't be enough. Also, they have a
limit to how much junk they take at one time which
makes it more difficult to keep up with the hygiene
and cleanliness of the home. However, hiring rubbish
removal services can put you at great benefit
and ease your life in such situations. Here are a
few benefits that would compel you to hire rubbish
removal services for your home too.
1.
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you the advantage that your trash gets removed the
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lead a busy life. You don't have to lift a finger
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can dispose of all of your home's trash at once without
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you are removing rubbish out of your home, you are
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junk out of your house. Hiring a professional rubbish
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of experts comes to help you with rubbish removal
without you having to move.
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can ensure your family's safety by leaving things
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various waste items and dispose of them without having
an impact on the environment. You'll get a fast and
same-day waste removal service to keep up with the
hygiene and cleanliness of your home. The professionals
will leave your property to look more clean and organized.
The
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Casino
Movie; Bruno Mars in Casino
Gonzo
Casino 'N Gaming Edition
Art
Imitates Life and Visa Versa
Everything
Is A Gamble
Casino
was my last good role, says iconic actress Sharon
Stone
Sharon
Stone has said she never got a good part again after
1995's Casino and described herself as "the invisible
actress".
The
Basic Instinct star, now a stunning 66, has since
appeared in films such as Catwoman, Lovelace and Basic
Instinct 2.
Stone
was passed over on snatching an Oscar for Martin Scorsese's
crime thriller Casino to Susan Sarandon in Dead Man
Walking.
Speaking
on high profile Louis Theroux Podcast, Stone disclosed
The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola warned
her in advance that this would be the case.
She
said: "Francis put his hand on my shoulder and
he said: 'I need to talk to you.'
"He
said: 'You're not going to win the Oscar.'
'I
want you to feel like you're going to cry now. I don't
want you to cry in the room, and that's why I'm doing
this, and it feels so mean right now.
"'But
I didn't win for The Godfather and Marty didn't win
for Raging Bull, and you're not going to win for Casino."
Coppola
said none of them won because the Academy couldn't
"hear opera", she remembered.
"'This
is not the level of films they want," she remembers
him saying.
Discussing
attending the Oscars when she knew she was going to
lose, she said: "You have to pretend it's fantastic
and it's not fantastic.
"And
then I didn't get any good parts ever again for the
rest of my entire life."
When
Theroux replied: "That can't be true. I'm sure
there were other movies you did that were good,"
she replied: "No, and guess what? I hate it."
She
continued: "It's easier to say: 'She's cold',
or: 'I don't like her', or: 'She's difficult', or:
'She must be sick', or: 'She's too old', or that 'she's
hard to cast', or: 'We don't know what to do with
her.'
Stone
also touched on her experiences with disgraced and
vulgar producer Harvey Weinstein, who is in the clink
(jail) for sex offences and with whom she she crossed
paths at events for the Aids charity Amfar.
She
said: "I had a long time of dealing with Harvey
and I'm really glad that he's in prison and I think
he should stay there with the rest of the people who
are like him. Harvey's a pig. He's an octopus and
you're just always getting one of his tentacles off
you."
Asked
if she was too powerful for him to try to coerce into
sex, she said: "He would say things to me like:
'You know, you think you're such a princess, Sharon,'
as I would unwind him off me.
"And
I'd say: 'Yeah, I think I'm the queen of France. F***
off.'
"But
he was certainly comfortable with throwing me across
the room. He was physically violent to me on more
than one occasion because he was so angry at me because
I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do."
News
Work
Life Balancing Act For Mr Mars via MGM
News
Travels Fast Via Vegas Casinos, Cafe and Dance Floor
Bruno
Mars' shocking $50 million gambling debt report sparks
wild fan jokes: 'He is high on…'
Bruno
Mars owes millions to MGM casino for hefty poker debts,
risking long-term partnership
Bruno
Mars is renowned for lighting up the stage, but recent
reports alleging a staggering $50 million gambling
debt at the MGM Grand have fans buzzing for a different
reason.
In
2016, the singer-songwriter announced a 'multi-year
residency deal' with MGM Grand in Las Vegas. However,
the recent report suggests that the collaboration
between Mars and the gaming come hospitality and live
entertainment hybrid brand has gone south somewhat
due to mounting and almost unbelievable debt.
Bruno
Mars reportedly in $50 million debt to MGM Grand
On
March 16th, it was reported that Bruno Mars now owes
millions of dollars to the MGM casino after reportedly
accumulating hefty poker debts. The Talking to the
Moon singer had a multi-year residency agreement with
Park MGM in Las Vegas, where he performed on a regular
basis.
Citing
that MGM “basically owns him,” they continued,
“He earns $90 million a year from the casino
deal, but then he has to pay back his debt... after
taxes (Mars earns $1.5 million per night).”
What’s
going on between Bruno Mars and MGM Grand...
In
2016, it was announced that the hospitality industry
had entered into a long-term partnership with Mars,
which will feature his exclusive performances across
an extensive portfolio of world-class entertainment
venues. The president of MGM Grand delivered a statement
claiming, “Bruno is among the most talented performers
in the world and we are excited to start a long-term
relationship with him.” Now, the once mutual
relationship appears to have evolved into a feud due
to piled-up casino debts.
Bruno
Mars’ casino debt sparks meme frenzy
While
the 24K Magic singer has never shied away from admitting
that he supported himself by playing poker before
pursuing music, fans are shocked that news of his
casino debt has made its way onto the top of headlines.
“Bruno
Mars having $50 million gambling debt lets me know
his next album gonna be a classic, real degenerate.”
A user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Others chimed
in too, “Bruno Mars needs a movie about his life
cause ik my mans be wylin…
50
MILLION DOLLARS in GAMBLING DEBT?”,
“Bruno
Mars walking through MGM casino undercover trying
to avoid that $50m gambling debt”, “He is
high on debt”, “Bruno mars when the dealer
gets blackjack.”
Another
famous entertainer used to sing something about "Know
when to walk away; know when to run".. Was Bruno
listening, partying away, both or neither?
Life
in the fast lane. Everything is a risk - especially
in showbiz circles in a casino no less.
Casino,
Entertainment And Internet Rumors
Casino
And Entertainment Giant MGM Denies Claims Bruno Mars
Has Debt With Casino
‘Any
Speculation Otherwise Is Completely False’
MGM
Resorts came to Bruno Mars’ defense on Monday
after rumors circulated about the Grammy winner’s
debt with the casino.
In
the last week, a report from NewsNation made claims
and the rounds that Mr. Mars had racked up over $50
million in gambling debt at MGM. They cited an anonymous
source close to the situation that said Mars allegedly
made $90 million a year through his residencies at
MGM but was using a large chunk of that profit to
pay off his gambling debt. “[He will] only make
$1.5 million per night after taxes,” the report
claimed. (“MGM) basically own him,” they
added.
A
"spokesperson" for MGM Resorts International
told entertainment news staple Variety that these
allegations are “completely false” as Mars
has “no debt with MGM.”
“We’re
proud of our relationship with Bruno Mars, one of
the world’s most thrilling and dynamic performers,”
they wrote in a statement. “From his shows at
Dolby Live at Park MGM to the new Pinky Ring lounge
at Bellagio, Bruno’s brand of entertainment attracts
visitors from around the globe. MGM and Bruno’s
partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect.
Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he
has no debt with MGM. Together, we are excited to
continue creating unforgettable experiences for our
guests.”
Representatives
for Mars declined Variety‘s request for comment
and redirected the inquiry to MGM’s previous
statement.
Mars
has been performing for Las Vegas residencies since
2016 and has a multi-year partnership with MGM Resorts.
In addition, Mars and the casino recently partnered
to launch the Pinky Ring cocktail bar and entertainment
lounge inside the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. The venue
features live performances, all curated by Mars.
The
chart-topping artiste’s last solo project was
24K Magic in 2016, which included hits such as That’s
What I Like and Versace On The Floor.
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.
9.
The American Society of Magical Negroes - $1.3 million
10.
Ordinary Angels - $1 million
Cryptocurrency
News via FxPro and Media Man - arch
18, 2024
Crypto
market deepens correction
Market
picture
The
crypto market lost 6% in 24 hours to $2.42 trillion.
Solana reversed Tuesday's decline, losing 9% in 24
hours - the last of the major altcoins to fall into
a correction.
Bitcoin
is down 5% after falling to $64.4K. That's its lowest
level in two weeks and 13.5% below its high. A close
below $65.5K would signal a move to a deeper level
– the classic 61.8% retracement of the rally
with a potential target near $60K.
Solana
had been above $210, reaching highs not seen since
late 2021 before following the general corrective
mood of the markets. A classic retracement pattern
suggests a downside potential of $168. However, if
this level is approached, one needs to look at bitcoin
sentiment and global risk appetite to understand whether
this support will be strong enough.
Ethereum
is under selling pressure and has already pulled back
to $3300, erasing all gains since early March. Having
fallen below the 61.8% retracement of the rise from
the January lows, ETHUSD can only hope for support
in the form of the 50-day average ($3080) and $3000
(previous consolidation, plus the round level).
News
background
According
to CoinShares, crypto fund investments rose by a record
$2.916B last week, surpassing the previous record
set the week before ($2.685B) and continuing significant
inflows for the seventh consecutive week. Bitcoin
investments increased by $2.896B; Ethereum decreased
by $14M, and Solana decreased by $2.7M. Investments
in funds that allow shorting Bitcoin increased by
$26M.
Bitcoin
is in a bullish phase of a cycle like December 2020-January
2021. The current correction is "healthy"
and removes some of the leverage in the system, said
http://Crypto.com CEO Chris Marszalek.
Rekt
Capital warned of a "danger zone" ahead
of the upcoming halving in April. Historically, bitcoin
has fallen weeks before the event. The depth of the
correction was 20% in 2020 and 40% in 2016.
According
to new data from Bitcointreasuries, 93.6% of total
bitcoins (19,656,760 BTC) have already been mined
as of mid-March 2024. Miners have only 1.34 million
BTC left to mine, significantly limiting the future
supply of the asset.
Ethereum
issuance fell to its lowest level since August 2022
following the activation of the crucial Dencun update
on 13 March, CryptoQuant noted. According to The Block,
the ETH network has reached annual highs in the number
of active and new addresses, daily transactions, and
transaction volume.
The
buzz around meme coins has boosted the token rate
of the networks on which they are issued. The Solana
(SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX) cryptocurrencies updated
local highs. In pre-selling, users send network tokens
to a wallet address in exchange for a corresponding
number of coins when the meme token is launched. Solana
has once again become the trendiest crypto asset among
traders, with new Meme tokens appearing almost every
minute, according to ContentFi Labs.
(Source:
FxPro) with Media Man and Bitcoin News Media
News
Media
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.
Stream
Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. Join
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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)
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Bikini
besties Tash Oakley and Devin Brugman make waves on
Bondi - 7th March 2016
Published
on 29 Mar 2016
Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman talk fitness and
their new activewear line, Monday Active with E! news
host Ksenjia on Bondi Beach.
On
a Web site, a blog, a short form for weblog, is a
personal journal that is frequently updated and intended
for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent
the personality of the author or the Web site and
its purpose. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical
musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues,
and links to other sites the author favors. The essential
characteristics of the blog are its journal form,
typically a new entry each day, and its informal style.
The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger.
People who post new journal entries to their blog
may often say they blogged today, they blogged it
to their site, or that they still have to blog.
