Category Archives: Australian television

Fears for local news diversity if rightwing startup buys Southern Cross regional TV network

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Fringe news streaming channel ADH TV, which launched with Alan Jones at the helm, confirms offer for 93 regional free-to-air stations

Diversity of local news may be at risk if a rightwing startup, ADH TV, is given the green light to purchase Southern Cross Austereo’s regional television network, an expert has warned.

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has confirmed it has received an offer from the fringe streaming news channel to buy its 93 regional free-to-air TV stations. The digital broadcaster, which is chaired by the former ABC chair Maurice Newman, was launched in December 2021 with the former 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones at the helm.

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Blockbuster: will Victoria’s tough housing market push The Block into the red?

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Some predict the TV show will lose money this season as investors exit property and contestants face ‘a buyer’s market’ at auction

Channel Nine’s hit series The Block could be caught in the firing line of Victoria’s flat housing market and investor woes, with one expert predicting the show will make a loss this year.

The properties in the seaside township of Cowes, on Phillip Island, are set to go under the hammer on Saturday.

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Former Channel Seven reporter Robert Ovadia drops legal case against network

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Sacked journalist steps away from high-profile legal proceedings for ‘personal reasons’, lawyer tells media

The Seven Network has confirmed its former reporter Robert Ovadia has dropped an unfair dismissal case, only days after it claimed in court that more than 13 women had come forward with complaints about his conduct.

Ovadia had dismissed the claims, saying Seven’s “propaganda unit” was seeking to destroy his reputation, but walked away from the case on Friday afternoon without receiving any payment from the network, it said.

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Anti-gambling ads to ‘swarm’ key Labor seats during footy finals season

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Exclusive: Alliance for Gambling Reform to ramp up pressure on Albanese government to impose a full gambling ad ban

Three key Labor seats won at the last election will be targeted by a “swarm” campaign of anti-gambling ads during footy finals season.

The ads, organised by the Alliance for Gambling Reform, will run in the Parramatta, Bennelong and Gilmore electorates in an attempt to pressure the government into a full gambling ad ban.

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Logie awards 2024: ‘television’s most axed man’ Larry Emdur takes gold

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Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe wins big at Australian television’s biggest night, as ceremony broadcaster Seven takes a battering from host Sam Pang

The Morning Show presenter Larry Emdur has reflected on once being “television’s most axed man” after winning the Gold Logie at the Logie awards on Sunday night.

“I’ve never done anything else, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else,” said Emdur, after winning his first Logie in a 40-year career in which he has fronted everything from The Price Is Right to Celebrity Dog School.

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Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright faces fresh charges over fatal Northern Territory helicopter crash

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NT WorkSafe has charged the celebrity croc-wrangler and his aviation company Helibrook with ‘reckless conduct for operating unsafe aircraft’

Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright and his aviation company have been hit with a slew of new charges over a fatal chopper crash that killed his co-star.

Chris Wilson plunged to his death in a remote area of the Northern Territory in February 2022 while attached to a helicopter owned by Wright and being flown by pilot Sebastian Robinson.

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Australia joins international call for local content quotas on streaming TV platforms

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Statement from peak bodies argues independence and viability of global screen industry under threat unless mandatory quotas for non-US content introduced

Australia has joined an international campaign calling on governments to provide better protection for local screen industries in a market dominated by global streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) issued a joint statement with counterparts in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, demanding regulation to force streaming services to make content that is relevant to local markets where they operate.

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Australian TV shows including Home and Away handed tax breaks in battle against Hollywood

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‘We want to see more Australian stories shown on screen,’ arts minister Tony Burke says

Australian television shows such as Home and Away will be able to compete on a level playing field with Hollywood streaming companies such as Netflix, Apple Tv and Disney+, after federal government changes to tax laws in the industry.

Australian producers have long complained that local productions are unfairly disadvantaged because the tax breaks offered to the industry only apply to mega-budget productions that invariably only Hollywood studios can afford in Australia.

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Free-to-air group rubbishes claims Australian government wants to ‘control your TV’

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Industry feud flares over proposed smart TV laws that will likely mean free local apps feature more prominently than paid services

Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters have hit back at a campaign from the subscription media lobby that claims the federal “government wants to control your TV” through its new laws for smart TVs.

The government’s prominence framework for connected TV devices will likely mean smart TV free-to-air apps such as 10play, 7plus, 9Now, ABC iView and SBS on Demand, are offered ahead of those from paid streaming services such as Netflix, Binge and Stan. It might also affect searches for content.

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Home and Away actor Johnny Ruffo dies aged 35

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Actor and singer was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and revealed it was terminal last August

Johnny Ruffo, the former Home and Away actor and X Factor contestant, has died aged 35.

Ruffo was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, and underwent surgery to remove a tumour, but the cancer returned three years later. Last August, Ruffo revealed that his diagnosis was terminal.

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News live: economists wary ahead of RBA rates decision; agriculture minister says Australia is free of lumpy skin disease

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Anthony Albanese says increasing the income-free area for jobseeker would have ‘unintended consequences’. Follow live news updates today

PM says he would ‘rather not have’ double dissolution trigger as housing bill to be reintroduced

Anthony Albanese has spoken to ABC Sydney and FiveAA about Labor’s $10bn housing Australia future fund bill, which is going to be reintroduced to parliament, possibly providing a trigger for a double dissolution election.

That doesn’t necessarily provide for an early election, it could go into 2025 – but what it does is mean that can be a focus and you have a joint sitting after a double dissolution is held, but I just want this legislation to be passed … Their spokesperson [Max Chandler Mather] put this in writing in an opinion piece in a magazine, essentially saying that if this is just waved through and happens we won’t be able to continue to door knock and campaign on it. Well, I don’t want to play politics with this – I want to get this done. We have a mandate for it, and the Senate should pass it.

The truth is you do need appropriate development, particularly along public transport corridors … But it’s true sometimes local government can get in the way because people want to oppose anything at all that looks like development. But the truth is we do need to increase housing supply, that’s the key.

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Logie awards 2023: Crazy Fun Park beats Bluey, Sonia Kruger takes gold and Tony Armstrong’s back-to-back win

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Host Sam Pang cracks joke at celebrities including Sam Neill, Karl Stefanovic and Jonathan LaPaglia – and takes a shot at broadcaster Channel Seven

Little-known ABC show Crazy Fun Park beat out the enormously popular animation series Bluey for the outstanding children’s program and Channel Seven presenter Sonia Kruger took home the top prize at the Logie awards.

Crazy Fun Park’s win surprised even its creator, Nicholas Verso. He ascended the stage to accept the gong and immediately apologised for besting the competition. “I know everyone comes up and goes, ‘We didn’t think we were going to win’ but seriously, we were up against Bluey,” he said.

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Labor to consider ways to protect ABC and SBS from future funding threats

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Michelle Rowland says review into security of national broadcasters will consider options to support their independence

A review into the security of ABC and SBS funding will examine ways to protect the public broadcasters from future threats of privatisation and arbitrary funding cuts, the communications minister Michelle Rowland has said.

Rowland told an ABC Friends dinner the communications department review would consider options to support the independence of the ABC and the SBS and it was open for public submissions.

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Raw footage from Bruce Lehrmann’s Channel Seven interview subpoenaed in defamation case

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Lawyers for Network Ten are examining footage from Spotlight interview as they prepare to defend themselves against Lehrmann’s defamation case

Lawyers for Network Ten are examining raw footage of Channel Seven’s recent interview with Bruce Lehrmann as they prepare to defend themselves against his defamation case.

Lehrmann is currently suing Network Ten, Lisa Wilkinson and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the federal court, alleging they defamed him by wrongly suggesting he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

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Joan Sydney, Neighbours and A Country Practice actor, dies aged 83

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The English Australian actor, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died at home in Sydney in December

Neighbours and A Country Practice actor Joan Sydney has died at the age of 83.

The English Australian actor, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died at her Sydney home on 28 December. Her long-time friend and fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton confirmed the news on social media on Friday.

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Aacta awards 2022: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Mystery Road and Heartbreak High win big

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Mandy Walker became the first female to win best cinematographer for Elvis, which beat out the Drover’s Wife and the Stranger in most film categories

Baz Luhrmann’s $127m biopic extravaganza Elvis has scooped the 12th annual Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) awards, collecting a total of 11 gongs including best film, best director, best lead actor for Austin Butler in the title role and best supporting actress for Olivia DeJonge, for her role as Priscilla Presley.

The film also made history, with Mandy Walker winning for cinematography at an earlier ceremony this week: a first for female cinematographers at the Aactas. No woman has ever won for cinematography at the Oscars or the Baftas.

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Sarah Harris to join The Project after Peter Helliar, Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore quit

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Studio 10 presenter will co-host Ten’s flagship news program with Waleed Aly in a move the executive producer says will ‘re-energise’ the show

Ten’s Sarah Harris is joining Waleed Aly as a co-host on The Project next year following the recent exodus of three of the program’s presenters.

While the departures have been framed as a personal choice, sources say flagging ratings and revenue at the flagship news program may be the reason behind the exit of three highly paid presenters within weeks.

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Carrie Bickmore announces on air she is leaving The Project after 13 years

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Founding co-host outlasted Charlie Pickering and Dave Hughes to be longest-serving panellist on nightly current affairs show

Carrie Bickmore, a founding co-host of The Project, has announced she will leave the Channel Ten show at the end of November after 13 years.

“It’s been the hardest decision of my professional life to make this call, but it’s time for a new challenge, time for the next chapter,” a teary Bickmore, 41, said on Tuesday night’s show.

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More sports could be free to watch on Australian TV as anti-siphoning review kicks off

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Streaming services on standby as review expected to recommend changes to the number of games broadcast on free-to-air television

More elite sports could end up on free-to-air television in Australia and streaming services such as Stan or Kayo could face increased regulation when bidding for broadcast deals, as the federal government looks to modernise rules governing which events can be shown on Foxtel pay TV.

“Every Australian deserves the chance to enjoy live and free coverage of events of national significance, regardless of where they live or what they earn,” the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said.

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Neighbours stalwarts tell of tears on set after 28-year stint on soap

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Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne – who play Karl and Susan – reflect as fans prepare for final episode to air

The Neighbours stalwarts Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne, who played Karl and Susan Kennedy in the Australian soap opera, have said they shared “a few tears and a lot of hugs” as their 28-year stint on the show came to an end.

With the Neighbours finale due to air later this month, some of the show’s longest-standing actors have been reflecting on their time on set and working alongside future Hollywood stars.

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