MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Nine, News Corp resist Porter bid to protect his reputation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michaela Whitbourn
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 19-Aug-21

Industry Minister Christian Porter recently filed an official notice of discontinuance of his defamation action against the ABC, several months after the parties reached a settlement. Porter is now seeking a court order to prevent News Corp Australia and Nine Entertainment from using 27 pages of the ABC’s defence document that have been officially removed from the court’s public record. The media groups had previously been given access to the ABC’s full 37-page defence; Porter and his lawyers will argue that the media companies cannot use the redacted sections for any purpose other than their previous involvement in the defamation case.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

ViacomCBS launches Paramount+

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 9-Aug-21

The new Paramount+ subscription video-on-demand service will offer a range of exclusive international content and new locally-produced drama when it debuts in Australia on 11 August. ViacomCBS has also invested some $300m on sports broadcasting rights, with soccer competitions such as the A-League and W-League to be shown on both Paramount+ and the Ten Network. Unlike rival streaming services such as Stan and Binge, Paramount+ will have direct access to the output of US film and television studios.

CORPORATES
VIACOMCBS INCORPORATED, PARAMOUNT+, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, THE W LEAGUE PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, BINGE

Inconsistent YouTube rules challenged by Sky

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Aug-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker has asked YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki for a clearer explanation as to why 21 of Sky’s videos were removed from its platform and why it was banned from uploading content for seven days. Whittaker contends that YouTube’s policies on COVID-19 are "internally inconsistent and incapable of compliance", while he has asked for an explanation of remarks made by YouTube to other media groups as to why Sky was suspended. YouTube was apparently quoted as saying it was suspended for "content that denies the existence of COVID-19". Whittaker says Sky absolutely rejects that suggestion.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Seven strikes gold with Games coverage

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 9-Aug-21

The Tokyo Olympic Games have been a ratings boon for the Seven Network, with new data showing that 19.95 million Australians watched its coverage of the first 11 days of the showcase event. Viewers have also embraced Seven’s streaming coverage, watching more 4.6 billion minutes via 7plus during the first 14 days of the Olympics. Seven now boasts some 9.1 million registered users of 7plus, up from 6.4 million prior to the Olympics. Chief digital officer Gereurd Roberts says the strong growth in uptake of the free streaming service demonstrates the power of the Olympics and the success of Seven’s strategy.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, 7PLUS

ABC admits staff numbers are on the rise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-21

The ABC has come under scrutiny after new figures showed that its headcount rose by 2.8 per cent in 2020-21, with the addition of 120 additional employees. This includes 95 temporary positions. ABC MD David Anderson recently told a Senate committee that he did not think the public broadcaster’s headcount had increased in the last financial year. Liberal senator Ben Small says the ABC has been exposed as deceiving the public on resourcing, and notes that it is taking on additional staff at a time when its commercial rivals are cutting jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

TV legend David Leckie dies at 70

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Jul-21

Media identities have praised industry veteran David Leckie, who has passed away after a long illness. Leckie became CEO of the Nine Network in 1994, after holding a number of roles at the media group. He joined the Seven Network in 2003, and it subsequently displaced Nine as Australia’s top rating free-to-air network under his leadership. Seven West Media’s CEO James Warburton has described Leckie as a "true legend of the Australian media industry", while Nine CEO Mike Sneesby says he was a "giant of television".

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Sky News numbers boom in crisis

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says many viewers have discovered the pay-TV group’s content during the pandemic and continued to watch it. He notes that a growing number of viewers are accessing Sky News content via digital platforms rather than Foxtel. An online survey undertaken by Hoop Group shows that Sky News videos were viewed 95.6 million times on YouTube in June, a year-on-year increase of 248 per cent, while viewership on Facebook rose by 170 per cent. Sky News now boasts over 1.8 million YouTube subscribers and more than 1.1 million Facebook followers.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOOP GROUP, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Nine dumps Hewson in gender shake-up

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Nine Entertainment aims to have equal representation of men and women among its newspapers’ opinion writers. Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson has been a columnist for "The Sydney Morning Herald" and "The Age" for nearly two decades, but he has been dropped by Nine due to this policy. However, Hewson believes that the real reason for the decision was the fact that he has become too critical of the federal government. Hewson has tweeted that neither the government or the mainstream media believe in a free press. Former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone was also recently dropped from the roster of columnists at "The Age".

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

ABC lashed over call to fund Milligan case

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 5-Jul-21

The ABC’s policy on employees’ usage of social media is under renewed scrutiny after the public broadcaster advised that it will pay the legal costs of investigative reporter Louise Milligan in a defamation case. Federal MP Andrew Laming alleges that his personal and professional reputation were "irrevocably" damaged after Milligan posted a series of tweets regarding claims that Laming had taken a photo of a woman while she was bending over. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has questioned the ABC’s decision to fund Milligan’s legal defence, adding that taxpayers have the right to know whether it would also pay up if damages are awarded against her.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Sims welcomes Facebook deals with two outlets

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Jul-21

Facebook has secured a content deal with online news website Guardian Australia under the federal government’s news media bargaining code. Guardian Australia content will be featured on the Facebook News platform, which has yet to be launched. Country Press Australia has also secured a content deal with the social media giant. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says the majority of local media companies have now secured such deals, adding that they would not have been achieved without the media bargaining code.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, COUNTRY PRESS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION