Sunday Night in the news for Seven, by Matthew Ricketson - The Age - 10th October 2008

Just months after the demise of Channel Nine's long-running Sunday program, the Seven Network has announced a new one-hour current affairs program beginning next year — Sunday Night.

Seven's decision to invest in a one-hour, long-form program comes after years of decline in current affairs programming on commercial television and as it seeks to underscore its status as the top-ranking free-to-air network.

Peter Meakin, Seven's head of news and current affairs, would not say whether the program would compete against Nine's long-running current affairs program, 60 Minutes.

"I guess the title is a bit of a giveaway as to when the program will air, but it won't necessarily go head to head with 60 Minutes," he said.

It is possible Sunday Night will air after the 6pm news, before 60 Minutes at 7.30pm. With strong stories, it could steal Nine's program's thunder and hook in viewers.

Sunday night is one of the three most important timeslots for commercial networks — along with Monday and Tuesday nights.

Meakin would not specify the program's budget nor any candidates for presenter. He ruled out departing Today Tonight host Anna Coren, who is leaving Seven to work for CNN overseas.

Seven's last major foray into long-form current affairs was in the late 1990s with Witness. It ended sourly, with patchy ratings and acrimony between executive producer Peter Manning and presenter Jana Wendt.

Industry analyst Steve Allen of Fusion Strategy said the announcement signified "Seven's growing confidence that they have the material and the ability to make this work".

(Credit: The Age)

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Branson documentary to air on Virgin 1, by Alex Fletcher - Digital Spy - 8th October 2008

A documentary featuring Richard Branson and his children sailing across the Atlantic will air this Autumn on Virgin 1.

One-off show The Bransons: Come Hell Or High Water will follow Richard, daughter Holly and son Sam as they attempt to break the record for crossing the ocean in a mono-hull sailing boat.

Speaking about the hour-long programme, Branson said: "It's so difficult to explain what you experience during a record-breaking attempt whether it is at sea or in the air, so it's great to have documentary film maker onboard to share the highs and lows.

"Strange thing for a father to wish for his kids to experience - but at least we'll be in it together!"

The Bransons is the highlight of Virgin 1's Autumn/Winter schedule, which also sees returns for American series Chuck, The Riches and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Other programmes on the schedule include popular HBO animated comedy The Life And Times Of Tim and a fly-on-the-wall series based in Mallorca called Sun, Sea and A&E.

The lineup also features My Holiday Hostage Hell, which tells real life horror stories about British holidaymakers, reality series Britain's Worst Learners and Gethin Jones' Danger Hunters, factual entertainment show Prisoner X and fishing documentary The North Sea, which is produced by the makers of the award-winning Deadliest Catch.

(Credit: Digital Spy)

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NRL ready to spark rights bidding war, by Jacquelin Magnay - Fairfax - 8th October 2008

Channel Nine's stranglehold on broadcasting rugby league matches free to air is threatened by an NRL push to have its matches broadcast on several television networks and internet platforms by 2013.

Rugby league officials are even considering breaking up the rights to the NRL grand final and the top-rating State of Origin series when negotiating the next round of multimillion-dollar broadcast deals.

An NRL sub-committee has been looking at whether it is more financially attractive to split the rights, or to follow the trend of recent negotiations and stick to the one free-to-air network for an entire rugby league package.

The league rights, currently with Channel Nine and the pay-TV operator Fox Sports, are due to expire at the end of the 2012 season. Some media buyers and an external consultancy company are understood to have advised the NRL that a separate offering of the Origin series would generate a fierce bidding war and boost the NRL coffers. The Origin series is one of the most watched sporting events year after year, with this year's deciding game drawing a five city audience of 2.145 million people.

NRL chief executive David Gallop told the Herald that splitting the rights was "certainly an option, as is selling individual nights as distinct packages, a whole of these options are open to us". He said one idea was to sell the Friday night football to one broadcaster, the Saturday night to another and the Monday night to a third.

"The money is a big factor, it is the factor," Gallop said. "But we also want to see our game reach as many people as possible and be well presented."

The NRL has its free-to-air, pay-TV and broadband internet rights all expiring at the one time. While the sub-committee is investigating different opportunities, the negotiations with TV networks and internet providers won't commence for at least 18 months.

This comes as the ratings for the NRL grand final clawed back the high-flying AFL ratings when the regional figures were released yesterday.

Overall the AFL rated 3.247 million to the NRL's 3.070 million from the five capital cities and regional networks. The NRL grand final rated extremely high in the bush - one of its traditional supporter bases - with a regional audience of 996,000. The AFL's regional figures were 756,000. Of no surprise was the fact the NRL rated higher in Sydney than Melbourne and the reverse was true for the AFL.

The only disappointing aspect to the twilight grand final kick-off - seemingly well received in Sydney - was the reduced audience in Melbourne, compared to last year's grand final, which also featured the Storm.

This year the AFL grand final between Geelong and Hawthorn was the second-highest rating event, behind the Olympic Games opening ceremony, both televised on Channel Seven.

But rugby league's Origin III came in at eight, behind some Beijing Olympic Games prime-time events, the men's Australian tennis open final and the AFL grand final presentation. The NRL grand final, at No.15, rated behind all three Origin matches.

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Smart Live takes affiliates to a new level

New affiliate program aimed at capitalizing on "impressive growth"

September 18, 2008 -- As part of its latest marketing drive, leading online and live TV casino Smart Live Casino has launched a new affiliate scheme to encourage more traffic to its website and TV channels.

Smart Live, which has been operating since May 2007, operates two roulette channels on the Sky Satellite network and Freeview digital terrestrial television.

The most popular broadcast is the presenter-led show, freely available on Sky Channel 869 from 5pm to 5am, every night of the year. The show features popular names from satellite and cable television, including Naomi Millbank-Smith and Jem Patel, as well as qualified croupiers from some of the finest land-based casinos in the world.

Smart Live's new affiliate program is aimed at capitalizing on an impressive 500% growth since January 2008, and offers partners either a generous 60% commission share or CPA of £150.

The launch is backed up by a confident schedule of new and exciting features in coming months, including …
• An Online Poker room coming soon with the Ongame network
• An Online Bingo room coming soon using Parlay Software
• An enticing range of player promotions and VIP schemes
• A new state-of-the-art website and internet community

Affiliate Manager at Smart Live, Jason Prasad, said the new deal for partners was a demonstration of the casino's continuing commitment to best value and innovation.

"Smart Live is fully licensed, operated and regulated in the United Kingdom to the highest standards, as approved by the UK Gambling Commission," he said. "Now we want to make sure that our new affiliate marketing scheme is set up and run to the same high standards."

"We've already made great strides in a competitive business and the astounding growth we've achieved this year shows that our products are appreciated and trusted by ordinary punters too."


About Smart Live Casino
Smart Live Casino is owned by Smart TV Broadcasting, a registered company in England and Wales founded in May 2007 with offices at 130 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5EU. The Casino is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (licence number 000-002715-R-103240-001).

The company employs more than 50 staff members at operating centers in central London, Teddington, Middx, Kent, and Manchester. The company uses gaming software by major providers including Ongame, Parlay and NetEnt, and has contracts with financial service providers including MoneyBookers.


Further Information
For further information on partnering with Smart Live Casino please contact Affiliate Manager Jason Prasad (jason@smartlivecasino.com, tel: 020 7149 3776). For general enquiries, please contact Magda Biernat (magda@smartlivecasino.com, tel: 020 7149 3786).

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Strong local content, by John Elder and Tom Reilly - The Age - 5th October 2008

Cheap and nasty — and even worse, boring — is what Australian-made free-to-air television was looking like for a few years. Big Brother with its turkey-slapping pants down was probably the lowest point … along with that great trite hope of locally made drama, The Alice, a pretty-looking stinker with its travelogue photography and toothless characters born from a drongo dreaming.

"It was looking pretty ordinary for a while," says commentator Greg "Media Man" Tingle. "But what a difference a year makes. We now have what's almost an epidemic of Australian-made shows. Just look at Underbelly on Nine, Rush on Ten, and Packed to the Rafters on Seven. They're mixing it with the best foreign imports and coming out on top.

"There are so many quality shows being produced, it's hard to keep up with them."

Tingle says the unsettled mood of the free-to-air networks during the late '90s and early 2000s — unnerved by the threat of cable TV and the internet revolution — has been turned around such that "there's a feeling we're entering a golden age of Australian television".

Seven's homey sitcom Packed to the Rafters has been watched by an average of 2 million viewers since it debuted Tuesdays at 8.30pm just after the Olympics. Many of those viewers stay tuned for the enduring hospital soap All Saints. Seven is also quite gleeful about the 1.6 million who regularly watch Monday's gritty City Homicide.

At Nine, where the ratings are sustained right now by endless repeats of Two and a Half Men, the good ship Sea Patrol held its own in the first half of the year with more than 1 million viewers. And we learned that almost 600,000 Victorians had not yet downloaded Underbelly illegally when they tuned in to the first pixellated episode last month; add them to the million interstate viewers who watched in April, and it may have earned back its legal fees.

While the two newest cop dramas, Nine's The Strip and Ten's Rush, are struggling, the numbers show that Australians have rediscovered the habit of watching dramas with a local accent.

The turning point came a year ago, Tingle says, with the return of David Gyngell to the helm of Channel Nine. "What the Australian networks desperately needed was a creative boost to competition," he says. "Without a strong Nine asserting itself, the industry doesn't flourish. The other thing that's happened is the networks have stopped just looking at numbers and started focusing on quality. That's what healthier competition has achieved."

Dr Vincent O'Donnell, an honorary fellow at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's School of Applied Communication, agrees Australian TV has had a resurgence in the past year as a result of increasing competition between broadcasters.

"Historically, Channel Nine was always regarded as the home of well-written drama shows that were well-received by audiences, while Seven liked to consider itself as the broadcaster which excelled at sports," he says. "But a few years ago those perceptions started to change as Nine faltered. I believe when they commissioned Underbelly, it was probably as a result of that shift. It was an attempt to reassert themselves in this area of fast-moving, well-written drama."

O'Donnell says commissioning a big-budget program such as Underbelly "is a gamble for networks but one which hopefully they'll continue to make.

"A big-budget drama like that would cost … $300,000 to $400,000 for an hour of television. If a network bought a drama in from America, they'd probably get something for little more than a tenth of that. But it's important to remember that Australian audiences have always tuned in to these well-written locally produced shows, so hopefully networks will have to keep investing in them, even if they do cost a lot."

According to Geoff Brown, executive director of the Screen Producers Association of Australia, the Underbelly strategy was the result of a change in attitude to project financing by the major industry players. "A few years back, the Film Finance Corporation made a decision it would invest in 13-part Australian mini-series, along with the network licensees. What it did was ramp up budgets and led to shows like Underbelly, with substantially better production values and better writing.

"In film production, the critical relationship is between producer and director; in television, it's between producer and writer. We have very good writing teams in television, and certainly the investment in writing is one of the main reasons why the current crop of Australian productions are doing so well. A good idea doesn't work without good writing."

Brown points to programs such as The Circuit, Rush, Sea Patrol and East West 101 as examples of good writing translating to success with viewers and critics. "We make the best drama for the cheapest dollar anywhere in the world. We have to compete with the CSI franchise, which costs … $5 million to $6 million an hour to make. For the high-end of Australian drama, you're looking at $600,000 an hour … so our stories have to be more narrative-driven."

Brown says Australia has a history of producing good television "but the networks lost their way in the '90s and early part of this millennium. They backed away from Australian drama in particular and put their focus on infotainment and reality programming. They kept serving up more Big Brothers and in the end this didn't work for the networks. The audience has shown itself to be more sophisticated … and now Seven and Nine are re-establishing their brands on the back of good old Australian drama."

Some analysts point to a lack of quality programs from the US — a result of the writers' strike that crippled Hollywood — as a key reason behind the resurgence of Australian-made drama.

"This makes our local offerings even more appealing," says one industry insider. "There was also a hiatus where few local programs were being made, so again, when new ones came around, there was even more interest in them.

"The shows are actually good. The networks have invested heavily in them: probably figuring that they have to meet their local content quotas, they might as well invest and do it properly. The scripts and the acting have reflected this willingness to take it seriously and make hits."

And that added slice of healthy self-image — attributed to the efforts of former prime minister John Howard — is another reason audiences are keen to watch shows for Australians, by Australians, about Australians.

"We're not selling shrimps on the barbie any more," says Greg Tingle. "We're a more sophisticated society and our television programs demonstrate that.

"Our locally made shows are hot exports in their own right, and they help sell the country. Our entertainment is part of the tourism spiel … the rest of the world sees us moving ahead with quality. The confidence for that was certainly bolstered under the previous government."

Jonathan Nolan, chief executive of Pisces All Media, which runs the Hottest on TV website, agrees. "No matter what else you might say about him, John Howard made Australians feel great about themselves. It really started with the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Howard actually presided over a cultural shift that saw the death of the cringe factor — the adolescent craving for approval from America and Britain," he says.

"Even the dumbest talking-heads on TV have the confidence not to cringe and fawn all over celebrities visiting from overseas. Compare that to the old days, with Molly Meldrum constantly saying how wonderful it was that such-and-such a pop star was in the country."

Nolan says evidence for this new-found confidence can be seen in private investment in television production. "We had a sheltered workshop here, where everything was driven by government grants. All that did was compomise quality. That's no longer the case. People invest in these shows because they believe in them, not just because they're getting a tax break …

"The pay-off is that we now perform extremely well on the overseas market. You get a show selling well overseas — like Stingers or Police Rescue — (and) you have an earner for life. At the Roma Fiction Fest (a television awards and buying festival) in July, there were buyers from all over Europe looking at the Australian shows with the greatest interest.

"The Italian shows looked like something from the '70s … they were desperately clinging to their own culture, while the Australian shows were more sophisticated and well-placed for the international market."

Dr Sue Turnbull, co-ordinator of the Media Studies Program at La Trobe University, says the Australian push into the global market was pioneered in the '80s by Neighbours, Home and Away and older programs such as The Sullivans and Prisoner. One British critic whinged at the time that UK television was overrun by Australian content. "There were 11 different Australian soap operas being shown on British TV in a week," says Turnbull.

In the '90s, the Australian invasion died down such that only Neighbours and Home and Away held a significant audience. We were making some good shows, but the Brits weren't interested. "There was the great failure of Sea Change to find a market in the UK. It never got a release."

Now, Aussie producers are deliberately targeting the global market ahead of local viewers. A second series of Sea Patrol was planned ahead of the first series release, with a view to an international release — which it gained through Hallmark.

Turnbull says that the later episodes of Kath & Kim were blatantly written for the UK, featuring appearances by Kylie Minogue "and the fellows from Little Britain".

While Australian-made "usually goes well at home — from the days of Graham Kennedy on IMT to Packed to the Rafters — audiences won't watch bad Australian TV. Like The Alice."

With MICHELLE GRIFFIN

(Credit: The Age)

Media Man Australia Profiles

Television

TheFightChannel.com is seeking capital to launch our live streaming high definition web TV network

TheFightChannel.com is a planned streaming high definition web TV network airing live PPV and library fighting events, 24/7 FightNews coverage, Deportes TFC's all Spanish language network, producing original programming, social networking and virtual gaming plus much, much, more.

For investor information please write info@thefightchannel.com or antinneil@att.net for more information.

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Proof of mixed martial arts' rapid growth lies within the tube, by Josh Gross - INSIDE MMA - 1st October 2008

Want proof mixed martial arts is a brute of an emerging sport? Flip on the TV.

When casino magnate brothers Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III joined Dana White in pooling together $2 million dollars to purchase the UFC in 2001, MMA -- dubbed "No Holds Barred" then -- couldn't so much as get a bite from the pay-per-view industry.

Two weeks after 9-11 when, in MMA's Nevada debut, the UFC reappeared on PPV. Dotted with decisions, UFC 33 was regarded a near disaster for going off the air prior to the conclusion of the main event. The night, however, marked an important moment in the revitalization of MMA. At a minimum, it gave rise to a stronger gust the following summer when Fox Sports Net and the UFC partnered for the first fight aired on U.S. cable television. NHB was now MMA, and executives of all kind were paying attention.

Fast forward seven years and CBS, in a feat still unbelievable to many, is set to air a live fight card on prime time Saturday. It will be the network's third MMA showing in less than six months.

Asked what was needed to remove the "underground" label so closely associated with MMA, most observers offered a not-so-simple suggestion: Get MMA on TV and people will watch.

Executives at Spike TV took the first gamble, agreeing to air a reality show featuring mixed martial artists competing for a UFC contract -- but not before the fight company footed the $10 million price tag. Soon, the sport's core audience was discovered to be a marketer's dream, and the UFC wasn't about to pay anyone to broadcast its product again.

For the benefit of advertisers and TV execs, who was watching became almost more important than how many. Although a 1.9 rating for The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finale was nice nonetheless. Faith in MMA fans -- more than half of whom are males 18 to 49 -- came early in 2005 for Spike executives like Brian Diamond, the network's current senior vice president of sports and specials.

"I'm not surprised everybody is trying to get into the mix [today]," Diamond said of the bevy of networks vying for the coveted audience. "It speaks to the power, strength and fan base of MMA. It was a sport looked upon disgracefully when it came in 15 years ago because of the way it was positioned. And now it's the hottest growing sport worldwide."

Attempting to find the magic shared by UFC and Spike has proved fruitless for most. While competing promoters and networks disappeared, consolidated or downsized, the deal between Spike and UFC, recently extended through 2011, ensured continued growth in each group's brand equity. So intertwined are Spike and its flagship sports property, some have labeled the network the rather uninspired "UFC Channel." Diamond doesn't agree, saying that while the "network was the home of the UFC," it also carries other important properties.

Mark Cuban's HDNet would love to be known as the home of MMA. But HDNet's efforts have taken a different direction than Spike, Showtime or CBS in trying to make itself unique.

"We're interested in bringing the best fights for fight fans, regardless of where it's being held and who the promoter is," said HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon. "That's the piece that makes us a little bit different."

Offering up to 30 live MMA events this year, HDNet ventured across and outside the U.S. to find broadcast-worthy fights in 2008. With homes increasingly adopting hi-def and additional cable carriers offering HDNet, Cuban expressed pleasure in "the way things are going," even though his goal of surpassing Showtime's subscriber base, which stands at 16 million, seems unlikely this year.

From the promoter's point of view, as Strikeforce Vice President Mike Afromowitz attests, exposure and cost-cutting are two major benefits of having a broadcast partner. The California-based fight company currently has three television deals to fit its needs -- The Score in Canada, HDNet and NBC, which averages 700,000 viewers for its repurposed fights several hours after Saturday Night Live.

"Getting a deal is by no means easy," Afromowitz added. "There's a lot of competition out there on the networks, and the product has to be superior in order to get a TV deal."

Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio, who also signed a deal with HDNet, acknowledged that even in a climate when most networks are sincere in their interests as the sport approaches mainstream acceptance among advertisers and a widening fan base, "it's still difficult" to nail down a quality TV deal..

As a group, however, TV executives in the MMA business appear to be a happy bunch. Returning to prime time from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., the Oct. 4 EliteXC-CBS card, said Senior Executive Vice President of CBS Prime Time, Kelly Kahl, should deliver similar numbers to the 6.5 million viewers who tuned in last May to watch MMA's debut on CBS.

"I think we gave it some mainstream legitimacy," Kahl said of the first CBS card when Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, who headlines Saturday against Ken Shamrock, won in controversial fashion. "I certainly like to think we helped bring a lot of new fans on board. For CBS, this isn't a one-shot deal. This is more of a journey. We need to continue to develop fighters and develop the sport. That's the longer term plan for us."

Short term, Kahl will do what most in his position do after an event: check ratings.

(Credit: Sports Illustrated)

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Back to the glamorous days - Marketing Week - 25th September 2008

Demand for branded content is rising steeply because there are projects to suit brands large or small - from film financing such as Eurostar's Somers Town, to pop star tie-ups. Catherine Turner reports

Few ads generate anything like the excitement of the big TV campaigns of the Seventies and Eighties, and in pursuit of that old-time glamour - and with the aim of "giving consumers more" - marketers are turning to the idea of branded entertainment.

It isn't a new idea, but has gained traction in marketing circles since 2001 when a series of short films by Hollywood A-list directors had the BMW car as the star of the action.

Seven years on - and with the internet amplifying the shift from "interruptive" to "engaging" advertising - branded content has exploded. And the good news for advertisers is there's a format or idea to suit every budget - from low-cost hosting of videos and entertainment on the web, through staging festivals and shows such as the O2 Wireless event, and funding or sponsoring hit TV shows.

Eurostar of the show

Earlier this year train operator Eurostar raised the bar by financing a film from gritty UK director Shane Meadows. The film takes place in Somers Town, from which the film takes its name, an area near St Pancras station, Eurostar's new UK home.

Jonathan Webb, managing director of Virgin Media Television, which set up the UK's first dedicated advertiser-funded programming team, says: "In my view the most impactful recent example of branded content comes not from commercially-focused television, but from the world of cinema. The £500,000 budget for Somers Town came from Eurostar, which also plays a starring role in the story."

Branded content blurs conventional distinctions between what constitutes advertising and what constitutes entertainment and, according to its advocates, creates a richer relationship with the target audience.

Branded entertainment should primarily be that - a piece of entertainment, but which aligns with the brand's attributes and is a reflection of the advertiser's brand personality. Get it right, and you've created a property that can sit at the heart of your marketing strategy, amplifying any PR or advertising and straddling all media and consumer touchpoints, according to Gemma Newland, managing director of TBWA/Stream.

But it is easy to get wrong. Daniel Salem, Viacom Brand Solutions head of partnerships, says pitfalls include not working with partners such as broadcasters earlier enough, and developing properties that do not relate to any other activity. "This should not be an afterthought," he says. "It should fit in to your overall activity. Brands should not do it 'just because they can'."

Branded entertainment works particularly well for brands wanting to associate with subjects that people feel passionate about, such as sport, music and food.

"Bold advertisers will reap rewards", says Virgin Media TV's Webb, but he cautions that television regulation still makes it difficult to achieve real brand integration on the medium. He believes newer platforms such as mobile and online bring one obvious benefit: they are free of the kind of tight and unyielding regulations that limit TV deals.

The Pros Of Online

Another advantage the internet brings is value. Online branded campaigns cost a fraction of the price of TV and can be distributed more cheaply too.

Rebecca Allen, head of client services at specialist agency HowTo.tv, says there has been an increase in brands seeking to create short, targeted films and clips to either distribute or host on their websites, from pure entertainment to advice.

Others look to events to create a closer relationship with customers, such as Polish music marketing company STX Jamboree which recently staged a music festival at Wembley Arena featuring the cream of Poland's music scene to reach the 1 million Poles living in the UK. The concert was sponsored and branded by Polish bank PKO BP.

In every case close collaboration is critical. Getting branded content right is an art and requires media agencies, producers and media owners to work together from the beginning of an idea. Only this can produce content that really lives up to its full potential.

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Virgin Media, Virgin Casino and Virgin Games Profiles Updated

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TheFightChannel.com is a streaming high definition web TV network airing live Pay-Per-View fighting events and library programming, 24/7 FightNews coverage, originally produced and licensed movies, documentaries and TV shows, plus a state of the art community and social networking site, "Deportes" TFC's all Spanish language network, virtual online gaming room, mobile TV, RadioFightChannel and much, much more.

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WWE SmackDown, WrestleMania on MyNetwork - The Miami Herald - 9th September 2008

World Wrestling Entertainment on MyNetworkTV will kick off a night early with a first ever broadcast presentation of WrestleMania at 8 p.m. EST/PST Thursday, Oct. 2, said the network's president, Greg Meidel, in a release.

This special presentation featuring the best moments of WrestleMania XXIV in March from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando including boxer Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show will be followed by the premiere of WWE SmackDown! at 8 p.m. EST/PST Friday, Oct. 3.

WWE SmackDown! moved to MyNetworkTV from the CW Network, formerly UPN which housed WWE SmackDown! from 1999-2006, after CW and WWE opted not to renew their contract. MyNetworkTV, an offshoot of stations dropped when CW took some of UPN's affiliates, quickly snatched the television ratings' grabber.

WWE SmackDown!'s prime-time wrestling show boasts 474 episodes and counting. It has been one of the highest-rated shows on the networks, even drawing millions of viewers when it moved from Thursday to Friday nights, television's death wish.

Meidel said, ``We're thrilled to bring fans even more of their favorite WWE action on MyNetworkTV. These side-by-side primetime events are sure to deliver two nights of edge-of-your-seat, action-packed entertainment.''

WWE SmackDown! will be presented on MyNetworkTV weekly on Fridays and showcase a star-studded cast of WWE stars including Triple H, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, Shelton Benjamin, Big Show, Carlito, Mr. Kennedy, Great Khali, Umaga, Undertaker, Michelle McCool, Victoria, Natalya, Thee Brian Kendrick, Vladimir Kozlov and Miami's own MVP.

It will feature the action, excitement, drama and athleticism that have made it for nine years one of the most popular programs among males on broadcast television and one of the Top 10 English language prime-time programs among Hispanic households.

• WrestleMania is one of the biggest annual sports entertainment events. In addition to the Mayweather/Big Show match, this year's lineup featured the retirement of the legendary Ric Flair following an emotional loss to Shawn Michaels, as well as the crowning of the Undertaker as the new World champ and Kane as the new WWE/ECW champ.

Celebrity appearances included a performance of America the Beautiful by John Legend along with special guest hostess Kim Kardashian and BunnyMania Lumberjack Match Master of Ceremonies Snoop Dogg. Raven-Symon helped entertain 50 children honored by WWE in its largest ever Make-A-Wish event.

WrestleMania XXIV was the highest grossing live event for WWE and the Citrus Bowl.

• About MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV is a primetime general entertainment broadcast television network. Reaching more than 97 percent of the country and targeted to Adults 18-49, MyNetworkTV provides its affiliates 12 hours of diverse programming Monday through Saturday. Visit mynetworktv.com.

• About World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE produces original weekly programming, 52 weeks per year, distributed domestically, internationally and via WWE.com. WWE programs reach more than 16 million total viewers during the average week.

Its domestic cable and broadcast programs include Monday Night RAW and A.M. RAW on USA Network and WWE's ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling on the Sci Fi Channel. WWE's television programming can also be seen in more than 130 countries around the world on broadcast partners including BSkyB in the UK and Foxtel in Australia.

Visit wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com and wwe.com/worldwide.

• Wrestlers Rescue, a very worthy cause, is Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Radisson in Piscataway, N.J.

Meet Torrie Wilson, Terri Runnels, Mick Foley, Dawn Marie, Tammy Sytch, Missy Hyatt, Iron Sheik, Superfly Snuka, Greg Valentine, Lou Albano, Balls Mahoney, Nikolai Volkoff, Lanny Poffo, Brutus Beefcake, JJ Dillon, Sandman, Manny Fernandez, Baywatch's Traci Bingham, boxing legend Emile Griffith and others.

There will be a wrestling convention/autograph session and a semi-formal dinner with the stars. For up-to-date information on the star-studded celebrity guests, schedule, prices, super tickets, auction, charity, etc. visit WrestlersRescue.Org.

Questions about the event, e-mail Michele at wrestlersrescue@aol.com.

• Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling television series debuts 8 p.m. EST Oct. 18 on cable channel CMT.

The celebrities are Dustin Diamond from Saved by the Bell, Tiffany, Todd Bridges from Different Strokes, Trishelle from Real World, boxer Butterbean, Nikki Ziering from Playboy, Sylvester Stallone's acting/singing brother Frank, Erin Murphy from Bewitched, Danny Bonaduce and former NBA player Dennis Rodman. They will be learning to wrestle.

The reality-type television show, under the direction of Eric Bischoff (AWA/WCW/WWE), Jason Hervey (Wonder Years) and Hogan, was filmed in a converted warehouse in California.

Jimmy Hart, Bischoff and Hogan will be the judges. Rodman previously worked with Bischoff and Hogan in WCW. Sylvester Stallone inducted Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Bischoff and Hervey run their own production company, co-produced a reality show on television sitcom star Scott Baio for VH-1 and actor/singer Billy Ray Cyrus for CMT as well as I Want To Be a Hilton for NBC. Hogan starred in Hogan Knows Best on VH-1.

• The Killer Kowalski Memorial Wrestling Show is 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 at the Irish-American Club in Malden, Mass. Proceeds will benefit the Walter Killer Kowalski Memorial Fund. See Tito Santana, Nikolai Volkoff and more. Visit superstarprowrestling.com.

• WWE's Monday Night Raw is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Oct. 4. Prices $70, $50, $40, $30 and $20.

WWE Raw has a house show 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 at the Bank Atlantic Center in (South Florida) Sunrise. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Aug. 30. Prices $60, $45, $35, $25 and $20.

WWE SmackDown/ECW has a house show 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee. Tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 24. Prices $40, $30, $25 and $20.

• Florida Championship Wrestling, the feeder group to WWE, is Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Lee County Civic Center in Fort Myers, Fla. See talent signed to WWE developmental contracts. Go to fcwwrestling.com.

• Between The Ropes wrestling radio is 6-8 p.m. EST Tuesdays on ESPN Florida AM 1080 and AM 1060. Brian Fritz, Vito DeNucci and Dickerman host the show which is simulcast worldwide online at BetweenTheRopes.com

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THE FIGHT NETWORK LANDS EXCLUSIVE DEAL IN CANADA WITH HISTORIC AFFLICTION BANNED EVENT

TORONTO, ON – June 21, 2008… The Fight Network’s President and CEO George Burger announced today that it has secured the exclusive rights to air the live star-studded, one-hour undercard for July 19th’s Affliction Banned Pay-Per-View event on its Network.

Mr. Burger made the announcement at a packed news conference at Toronto’s MMA Expo, alongside Tom Atencio, Affliction’s Vice President; Fight Network Senior Vice President, Strategy and founder Mike Garrow; and two MMA superstars: Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovksi and “Big” Ben Rothwell who will face each other on Pay-Per-View.

“This is a stellar card, arguably the best collection of heavyweights under one roof in the history of MMA. The Fight Network is excited to be working side by side with Affliction in taking the launch of this promotion worldwide,” said Mr. Burger. “Not only are we showing the undercard live and exclusively on our Network, a great lead-in to the Pay-Per-View event, but we are also distributing the Pay-Per-View in Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.”

The 60-minute broadcast on the Fight Network will air in Canada at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT, and is expected to feature at least two of the five scheduled preliminary bouts, including a heavyweight clash between former UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello and Aleksander Emelianenko. The pay-per-view broadcast will follow starting at 9 pm ET.

“With this card, Affliction vaults into the front ranks of what is the fastest growing sport in the world,” said Mr. Atencio. “We have a long relationship with The Fight Network and are pleased to share this momentous event with them.”

Affliction Banned is the monster mixed-martial-arts promotion presented by Affliction, the premier fashion label for men who love hard rock and fast living, in association with Roy Englebrecht Events. Earlier this month, Donald Trump announced his involvement and partnership with the promotion. The main event features the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor ”The Last Emperor” Emelianenko against former two-time UFC® heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.-

Mr. Burger also announced that The Fight Network’s on-air MMA experts Mauro Ranallo and legendary MMA pioneer and Fight Network analyst “Big” John McCarthy will be calling the action for this worldwide event.

Along with the Emelianenko-Sylvia match-up, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett will take on Pedro Rizzo in a rematch of their February 2001 bout, Team Quest founder Matt Lindland will return to action against Fabio “Negao” Nascimento, and UFC veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Mike Whitehead will collide as well.


ABOUT THE FIGHT NETWORK

Launched in 2005, The Fight Network is currently seen in nearly 10 million homes in Canada and the UK. The Fight Network is a multi-platform, international sports and entertainment company, providing its content to fight fans on digital television, pay-per-view, VOD, radio, mobile and online. The Fight Network is the global leader in presenting and covering all combat sports, including Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Boxing, Wrestling and Kickboxing and theme-related entertainment, through its 24/7 dedication to the sports. The Fight Network Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TFN Global Inc., whose corporate headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada. Visit www.thefightnetwork.com

ABOUT AFFLICTION

Already a mainstay for most elite athletes, heaviest bands, A-listers and the fashion conscious, Affliction Clothing’s ability to set the bar high in fashion is evident in its collections of style and design, focus on quality and its trademark series of divinely executed, dark and powerful themes.

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Couture Returns to Defend Heavyweight Crown against Lesnar on Nov. 15, by Thomas Gerbasi - 2nd September 2008

If we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never say old adage was solidified once again today, as UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract. But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.

“We had some problems with Randy, we’ve resolved them all, and he’s always been the heavyweight champion of the UFC,” said White. “It took us some time to get everything straight, but I think we’re all good now and ready to move forward and get Randy back out there fighting again.”

”I think we cleared the air and addressed a lot of the issues, we’re both in a different place, and both the company and myself are trying to move forward,” said Couture. “I think we understand each other, and I certainly would much rather fight in the Octagon than anywhere else. Spending the last year in legal fights is not someplace where I’ve had a very good time. At 45, I can’t sit around in court rooms for very long – I want to fight.”

Couture’s first order of business – taking on the imposing 6-3 ½, 265 pound Lesnar, a former NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion whose arrival in the UFC earlier this year shook the foundations of the MMA world. Add in the former pro wrestling superstar’s spectacular victory over Heath Herring at UFC 87 in August, and the stage is set for what will most certainly be one of the most highly-anticipated heavyweight title fights in history.

“I haven’t looked at tape yet and studied him,” said Couture of Lesnar. “Obviously, he’s a great big guy, and on the ground or standing, he poses some interesting problems, so I’ve got to go to work and find the answers to those questions.”

“My whole goal coming into this company was to get a shot at the UFC heavyweight title, so for me, this is a great opportunity, one that anybody in my position wouldn’t turn down,” added Lesnar. “Randy poses all kinds of threats, and we’re gonna try to nullify them and try to win the title that night.”

You don’t have to convince White when it comes to the importance of this matchup.

“I can tell you this right now,” said White. “Couture vs Lesnar will be the biggest fight in UFC history.”

And though some might question whether Couture
Click here to find out more!
- 45 years old and more than a year removed from his last fight – will be able to keep up with a younger, faster, and stronger challenger, keep in mind that the Las Vegas resident has made a career of baffling oddsmakers, most recently in March of 2007, when he returned from a year-long retirement to shutout 6 foot 8, 263 pound Tim Sylvia to win the UFC heavyweight crown a record third time.

Couture went on to successfully defend the title with a third round TKO of Gabriel Gonzaga in August of 2007, but two months later, the title was left in limbo, leaving Brazil’s Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to swoop in and take the interim belt by submitting Sylvia in February. Nogueira is scheduled to clash with his fellow Ultimate Fighter 8 coach (and former heavyweight champion) Frank Mir in December, with the winners of these two heavyweight megafights to meet sometime in 2009.

“The winner of the Brock-Randy fight will be the heavyweight champion of the UFC,” said White. “Obviously, the reality show is already in motion, and those two (Nogueira and Mir) are already scheduled to fight, so they’ll fight for the interim (title) and then it will be Champion vs Champion when this thing’s all done. So it’s a pretty interesting little tournament.”

Of course, Lesnar will have something to say about putting a dent in Couture’s fighting plans, and he’ll get his chance to say it on November 15th.

“Things happen in mysterious ways, and I’m fortunate and honored to get in the Octagon with Randy, so it’s very exciting all the way around,” said Lesnar.

As for Couture, it’s been a long, strange trip to get to this point, but suffice to say, he’s happy to put acting, book tours, and speaking engagements on the side for now in order to get back to where he belongs – the Octagon.

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Setanta Sports News rebrands to take on its Sky rival - Guardian News and Media Limited - 4th September 2008

As the Virgin Media and Setanta joint venture channel nears its first birthday, it has toned down its previous "busy" look

Setanta Sports News has unveiled an on-screen revamp as it approaches its first birthday in a bid to create a simpler look and provide greater contrast with its rival, Sky Sports News.

The channel, which launched in November last year, has seen its audience grow steadily, hitting a record reach of 784,000 viewers on Monday.

This week's on-screen revamp has seen its branding brought more into line with Setanta Sports 1 as well as the toning down of its previous "busy" look with the ditching of one of the two news tickers at the bottom of the screen.

Setanta Sports News editor-in-chief Geoff Hill said he expected the channel's ratings to continue to grow as it geared up for its busiest season ever after Setanta Sports became the FA's broadcast partner, picking up rights to England internationals and FA Cup games in addition to its existing live Premier League coverage.

A spike in viewers is expected tomorrow when England's World Cup qualifying campaign kicks-off, with live coverage of the game on Setanta Sports.

Hill said:

We are a television medium and if we have rights it makes our coverage better. The World Cup qualifying matches on Saturday will be the biggest story in town.

The sports news channel, a joint venture between Virgin Media and Setanta, with its output produced by ITN under a three-year contract, was created after Sky Sports News was withdrawn from the Virgin Media cable TV network following the row with BSkyB over carriage fees.

Setanta Sports News now has a staff of more than 60 based at ITN's central London headquarters, although it is still about a third of the size of Sky Sports News' team.

Sky Sports News, which has been on air for a decade and continues to be the channel of choice for other news organisations, had an average daily reach of 1.6 million viewers for the week ending Sunday August 24. In the same week Setanta Sports News had an average reach of 317,000 viewers.

Hill said he didn't expect Setanta Sports News to overtake its rival but instead wanted it to be a contrast and praised the fact that the total audience for sports news was growing.

He added:

I don't know if overtaking Sky is possible. What we need to do is compete with them and offer viewers more. We try and offer something different. We have 12 appointment to view shows in our schedule.

We are also a bit less formal than Sky Sports News. We try not to be too serious in terms of interacting with our viewers. Sport is very important but it can be fun too.

There are three million people out there who want to watch sports news and there is evidence there is a growing number of people watching both channels.

With Setanta Sports News having a monopoly on viewers on the Virgin Media cable network, Hill said the battle with Sky Sports News was now on its rival's home ground - Sky's own digital satellite TV service.

He added:

Every increase in viewing we get will come from the digital satelitte platform. That is the battleground. Sky Sports News will be a hard habit for people to give up but we have something different for them.

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Lesnar vs. Couture could be finalized next week

Sources close to the MMA world indicate that a November fight between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture could be finalized as early as Tuesday of next week.

If a deal can be reached, the fight would likely take place in Portland's Rose Garden.

Sources also say that in a perfect world that the legendary Couture would like to have three more fights before he retires and those fights would all be for the UFC.

Lesnar vs. Couture would be an extremely intriguing match up if contracts can be worked out. One would assume that getting a deal done quickly after the Labor Day holiday would allow both fighters to officially begin their preparation within a few days.

It will also be interesting to see where the betting line starts and ends for this
one if it does happen. This match blows away the previously discussed Lesnar-Kongo fight and should do huge business on PPV. (Credit: JR)

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Drama, not doomsday, by Matthew Warren - The Australian - 28th August 2008

A forthcoming environmental apocalypse portrayed in a new television series should be treated as fiction, writes, Matthew Warren

BY Christmas Eve in 2012, no rain has fallen in Sydney for more than 200 days and, despite its new desalination plant, the emerald city has run out of drinking water. The effects of climate change have created the conditions for a ring of bushfires that surround the city, but authorities don't have enough water to put them out.

This is the plot synopsis for the Nine Network's new tele-feature experiment called Scorched, which will screen nationally in prime time on Sunday night. Promoters have hailed the production a "major television event" with an all-star cast, fake news broadcasts from authentic Nine newsreaders and a comprehensive supporting website.

"Mother nature is on the warpath. It's armageddon," the publicity kit modestly proclaims. Media previews have described the plot as "scarily plausible". Director Tony Tilse claims the idea of a city running out of water is "basically a true story, but it just hasn't happened yet".

Oh, really? Perhaps what is more scarily plausible is that the producers of the program didn't bother to speak to Sydney Water or the Sydney Catchment Authority before going to air. They would have discovered that even in the worst-case scenario, Sydney already has enough water in its huge network of catchments to meet demand until 2014. The city's new desalination plant will come on line by 2010 and will be able to supply 15 per cent of Sydney's demand, but has been designed to quickly double its capacity to a half-billion litres of water a day.

Scorched is the headline act in a wave of climate porn to hit Australia in coming weeks. In 2006, Britain's Institute for Public Policy Research reviewed media, government and activist reporting of climate change and found it to be confusing, contradictory and chaotic, leaving the public feeling disempowered and uncompelled to act.

Most notable was the tendency to use alarmist language, or climate porn, which offered "a thrilling spectacle but ultimately distances the public from the problem".

Scorched producer Kylie Du Fresne says the telemovie is not meant to be seen as a documentary, but admits "we were interested in blurring the lines between fact and fiction".

A water disaster of this magnitude is like being run over by a steamroller. It's possible, but only if you do nothing. Sydney Water spokesman Brendan Elliott says the plot is "truly a work of fiction".

Given it's Sydney Water's primary job to make sure the city doesn't run out of water in the face of population growth and climate change, it's not surprising they have a range of strategies to keep moving in the face of the steamroller. These include desalination, increased water recycling and increased conservation programs.

Water Services Association chief executive Ross Young says he is concerned the show might spark a wave of panicked callers to water authorities on Monday morning.

"It's very important that the program is clearly labelled a drama and not a documentary," he tells The Australian. "Even though the chances of climate change are significant, there are processes in place to manage the consequences.

"The bottom line is our cities are not going to run out of water."

Climate porn is the latest manifestation of infotainment that flourishes in the no man's land between fiction and nonfiction: dramas loosely based on factual events and the communication of often credible and important ideas and theories sexed up with an extra dose of dramatic licence.

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles caused panic across the US when he broadcast a dramatisation of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. Like Scorched, the radio broadcast used simulated news broadcasts to create an aura of authenticity; some of the program's six million listeners thought there was a Martian invasion in progress.

Climate disaster movies date back to the release of Soylent Green in 1973. The dystopian science-fiction film is set in a severely over-populated and overheated (as a result of climate change) New York in 2022 facing chronic food shortages. Charlton Heston plays a detective who discovers to his horror that the newest food substitute (Soylent Green) is made by reprocessing dead people.

Then in 1995, Kevin Costner starred in the box-office flop Waterworld, a kind of climate-change crisis meets Mad Max movie set in a futuristic Earth where the polar ice caps have melted and the few survivors sail around or live on floating islands, inevitably fighting with each other.

The most explicit climate porn may well be the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow. Released two years before Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, it grossed 10 times more at the box office. Melting ice sheets and glaciers caused the Altantic Ocean currents to stop suddenly, plunging the entire northern hemisphere into a deep snap-freeze. The film was derided by most climate scientists and highlighted the real problem with creating drama about the effects of climate change: in reality the changes are not sudden, but slow and insidious.

In a review, US paleoclimatologist William Hyde observed: "This movie is to climate science as Frankenstein is to heart transplant surgery."

But even a genuine attempt to explain the science, such as An Inconvenient Truth, sailed close to the wind at times in order to sustain the level of drama in what is basically a 90-minute lecture.

In one example, Gore made much of the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans as a portent of increased natural disasters caused by a warming climate.

The main cause of New Orleans' flooding was a poorly maintained system of levees holding back the Mississippi River and surrounding lakes. But holding this aside, scientists are still arguing over whether Gore's claim is actually true. Despite predictions to the contrary, the two subsequent hurricane seasons on the US Atlantic coast were well below average.

Climate porn is not just constrained to the cinema. It is just as pervasive in the written form. One of the pioneers of the genre was US ecologist Paul Ehrlich with the 1968 book The Population Bomb.

Concerns about human overpopulation date back to English economist Thomas Malthus in the 19th century, who observed the exponential growth of the human population and grimly doubted the capacity of agricultural systems to keep pace. "The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race," he wrote.

Ehrlich picked up the idea, expanding Malthus's concerns to include the unsustainable consumption of Earth's natural resources and the destruction of the environment.

While Ehrlich was widely regarded as a brilliant young scientist, The Population Bomb was more speculation than science, proposing three grim scenarios for the future, including a food war between China and the US, total nuclear annihilation and, on a more upbeat note, 500 million dying from starvation in the 1970s and '80s, including millions in developed countries.

It was a blockbuster, selling more than three million copies worldwide and catapulting Ehrlich into the public spotlight. On the lecture and interview circuit that followed, Ehrlich's warnings became predictions, bolder and more reckless. He predicted that a billion people might starve to death, including some 65 million Americans by the '80s, and that many key minerals would be nearing exhaustion point by 1985.

Curbing population growth is undoubtedly crucial in solving poverty and fundamental to reducing environmental damage. But while Ehrlich thrilled millions with his portents of doom, none of his headline projections have eventuated. The postwar transformation in global agriculture, known as the green revolution, developed new breeds of grain crops coupled with more targeted fertilisers and pesticides to radically increase yields.

The World Bank estimates the proportion of the world's population living in countries where per-capita food supplies are less than 9200 kilojoules a day has decreased from 56per cent in the mid-'60s to below 10 per cent by the '90s, during which time the world's population increased by more than two billion.

This week, Canadian writer on war and geopolitics Gwynne Dyer is in Australia to launch his latest book, Climate Wars. It's being promoted as "a terrifying glimpse of the none-too-distant future, when climate change will force the world's powers into a desperate struggle for advantage and even survival".

Dyer views the potential impacts of climate change - shifting agricultural production, reductions in freshwater supplies, crashing economies and large population movements - from a military and strategic perspective, and notes that most leading military strategists are already making contingency plans for what might happen later this century. He doesn't pull any punches: on the second page Dyer writes, "there is a probability of wars, including even nuclear wars, if temperatures rise 2 to 3 degrees Celsius".

He then constructs seven scenarios for the future, including the collapse of Europe and anarchy in the subcontinent by 2045, the emergence of a fortified border between the US and Mexico and the rise of eco-terrorism across the world by 2032.

"My background is 30 years in the strategic field and I look at this stuff, and the potential for huge disruption to internal relationships and international relationships to me looks enormous," Dyer tells The Australian.

"There is a range of possibilities here, that's why these scenarios are not mutually independent, each one is a free-floating possibility, and they depend on the amount of change that you have got. But that basically is a question of dates."

Dyer says discussing the consequences of events such as the potential drying out of the Indus River, which is crucial for the Pakistani economy, is important because it is an inevitability if the planet keeps warming.

"I don't imagine people reading this book will be empowered or disempowered to the extent that it will make a whole lot of difference to the balance of outcomes," Dyer tells The Australian.

"I'm not a pessimist. I don't think these are foregone conclusions. We are on a large highway and there are any number of exits off this highway that we could take and avoid the bridge that's out down the road.

"But (there are) no guarantees that any of them will be taken, and further down the highway very bad things will happen if the exits aren't taken."

Matthew Warren is The Australian's environment writer.

Aunty puts five new channels online, by Miriam Steffens - The Sydney Morning Herald - 24th July 2008

ABC viewers can now watch television online, with the launch of an internet platform that streams five new ABC channels onto computer screens.

The service, called ABC iView, enables viewers to catch up on some popular programs they might have missed and to watch the latest news bulletins.

It also has a children's cartoon channel, a documentary channel and ABC Arts, with At The Movies, Painting Australia and other programs.

The digital push is designed to increase the ABC's audience. Its managing director, Mark Scott, said he wants to triple the broadcaster's number of TV stations and radio services over the next 12 years to increase Australian content and cement Aunty's place in the digital media age.

The ABC's head of television, Kim Dalton, said: "As Australians spend more time online and increasingly get some of their entertainment and information via broadband, we want the ABC to be there."

The network's existing stations, ABC1 and ABC2, are not streamed online, and it previously offered downloads of only some of its most popular programs.

iView, which is modelled on the BBC's iPlayer service, is available to households with a high-speed broadband connection.

The site delivers full-screen content through an in-built video player, so users can watch the channels or select programs and create their own TV schedule.

The service is free, but there are hidden costs. Program streaming guzzles up internet bandwidth, so viewers could breach their download limits and be charged extra fees by internet service providers.

Mr Dalton said the ABC was "very aware" of the problem and would warn users of the file sizes they were about to watch.

He said the broadcaster was trying to convince internet providers to exclude ABC channels from download limits and by last night iiNet had agreed.

(Credit: Fairfax)

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Foxtel chief opens up his cupboard of channels, by Miriam Steffens - The Sydney Morning Herald - 26th July 2008

FOXTEL'S chief executive, Kim Williams, has indicated the pay TV operator will report solid results for 2007-08 but the slowing economy has dampened consumer spending.

"Foxtel has performed well over the past year, although it hasn't been easy," Mr Williams told a business luncheon in Melbourne yesterday.

"Clearly the impact of high interest rates and rising petrol and food prices, and exuberant demand over the last few years causing rises in inflation, have affected consumer confidence and spending."

Foxtel - which is owned by Telstra, News Corp and Consolidated Media Holdings - is banking on new high-definition channels and its latest personal digital recorder, iQ2, to retain customers and keep up its growth rates after exceeding a milestone of 1.5 million subscribers this year.

But its churn rate, which indicates contract cancellations, jumped from less than 12 per cent in 2006-07 to 13.5 per cent in the first half of the financial year just gone, sparking concern that higher interest rates and petrol costs were taking their toll. ABN Amro has estimated Foxtel's subscriptions will be up 8 per cent in 2007-08, down from 14 per cent growth in the year before.

The success of the iQ2, which has been taken up by more than 22,000 subscribers since its launch last month, has helped to boost the share of Foxtel customers using a personal digital recorder (PDR) to more than 24 per cent and would take it past 30 per cent by the end of the year, Mr Williams said.

Firing another salvo at the Seven Network, whose rival recorder, TiVo, will go on sale on Tuesday, he said Foxtel called Seven's device a "Mother Hubbard PDR box" because "when you look inside it's pretty bare", providing just the free-to-air channels compared with more than 150 channels on pay TV.

The Foxtel boss repeated his calls on the Rudd Government to abolish rules governing sports coverage that favoured the free-to-air networks, urging it to employ a "use it or lose it" rule, allowing sporting events that aren't shown by the free-to-airs to be taken off the anti-siphoning list so that they can be bought by the highest bidder.

The Government is reviewing the anti-siphoning list over the next 18 months.

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Future may rest with the old school, by Will Brodie - The Age - 24th July 2008

So, one fine day soon we will be able to watch exactly what we want on TV. Thanks to impending technological advances, our living-room TV will act like a computer, letting us access an almost limitless array of visual material. Think YouTube in your living room.

You will be able to satisfy your compulsion to see the innovative, misunderstood final episodes of Chances or that perfect last quarter your team played a decade ago.

Someone somewhere will share your kooky tastes and possess the weird media fossil you covet. The brave new media ecology of audience-driven megadistribution, and, god forbid, maybe even high-speed broadband access, will get it for you, pronto. Search and play. Bless them, the web's subversive, anti-corporate, open-source, peer-to-peer, file-sharing, radical do-gooders.

Television's exact future is unpredictable because of the proliferation of competing options for its delivery. Media companies are striving to ensure the content they pay for continues to generate revenue. Committed individuals and foundations are decentralising content sharing so that no one entity can control access to programs. The audience is sharing shows with as much glee (and disdain for copyright) as they did with music and short video clips.

The idealist, cheapskate, lazy everyman and anarchist are strangely aligned against those who would restrict programming. But the enemy is also the provider of much of the planet's most beloved content. The only thing agreed on universally is that future delivery models will have to maximise choices and access for viewers.

But what of the sports fan? If you are into curling or caber tossing, you will have greater access to material of interest. But for fans of major sports, traditional networks will continue to provide live programming.

The infrastructure and expertise necessary to broadcast a sport like footy from a major stadium is limited to the established operators whose future prosperity may depend on specialising in such live events as news and mainstream sport. Most useful innovations for viewers, if and when they finally reach these shores, will be opening up access to already completed programs.

In the short-term, rabid AFL fans who like to rush home after a good win to soak in the televised version of their team's triumph may find Foxtel's set-top box, which enables you to record and play back live events, a useful if expensive option.

But, on the whole, we will remain at the mercy of programmers.

The recently departed and much mourned Fox Footy Channel was the historical high-water mark of AFL coverage. Diehard fans are now not nearly as spoilt. Live coverage remains excellent on Foxtel but recent replays were disfigured by brutal and clumsy editing into 90-minute highlight packages and they are no longer as conveniently scheduled. Bonus programs that really mattered, such as Jason Bennett's wonderful Headliners series, are no more.

I want to see the matches in full, first and foremost. I would settle for fewer panel discussions featuring newspapermen rehashing what they wrote in their columns and discussed on their radio spots. But others love those shows. The beauty of the telecommunications future is that more people's desires will be met. Sub-cultures will presumably thrive and variety and diversity will flourish.

All the same, it seems the more technologically connected people become, the more they feel the urge to congregate publicly. Live sport is booming and if people can't attend, they watch on TV, in numbers still relevant to advertisers.

Modern sports coverage is a lot more comprehensive than a generation ago. Compare the number of cameras and statistics in any footy telecast to Channel Seven's Big League from the 1970s. There are so many advances we take for granted.

But modern media consumers are fussy. They pay a lot, expect a lot and know overseas consumers get better services.

Already Australians with broadband sit at their computer more than in front of their TV. We are among the world's most enthusiastic users of bit-torrents, which enable the downloading of films and TV shows. Australians embrace whatever changes come.

AFL fans, however, should be wary about what they wish for in this evolving broadcast environment. Our clubs, and our sport, rely to an alarming extent on the need for traditional networks to broadcast popular mainstream sports.

Many things are going to change, soon, but those of us who love a one-nation sport that relies on a network television industry facing a revolution might be advised to put up with some shortcomings and count our blessings.

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Channel Nine bags news star of Ten, by Bonnie Malkin - 19th December 2005 - The Sydney Morning Herald

The Nine Network claimed its second Channel Ten scalp in two months yesterday when the newsreader Jessica Rowe announced she was leaving Ten to join Nine's breakfast program, the Today show.

Rowe follows the former Good Morning Australia host Bert Newton, who moved to Nine last month to host a game show, after 14 years with Channel Ten.

The signing ends Rowe's decade-long role as anchor of Channel Ten's evening news.

Rowe said yesterday that she was thrilled but would be sad to leave the team at Ten.

"I am incredibly excited about this opportunity, but I had 10 really happy fun years at Channel Ten so of course it was a big decision for me to make."

Rowe refused to comment on whether she had been hired to help revive the fortunes of Today, which has been losing the ratings war with Channel Seven's Sunrise, but said she would continue to pursue the program's agenda of breaking news.

The move is a return to Nine for Rowe, whose first job in the media was as a receptionist for Nine's Wide World of Sports.

Rowe will start alongside Karl Stefanovic at the end of January.

Nine also confirmed yesterday that the current Today co-host Tracy Grimshaw would move to A Current Affair next year and Ray Martin would become the network's senior correspondent.

Rowe joins her husband, the Sixty Minutes presenter Peter Overton, at the network.

Media Man Australia - Stalker situation update

My stalker visited by residence yesterday I was told. The authories have been notified of this development.

Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
w: www.mediaman.com.au

Broadcast Media Update

For updates visit the official Media Man Australia website.

Setting Up the Set-Tops - Poynter Online

Setting Up the Set-Tops, by Rob Runett - Poynter Online

Only the geekiest early adaptors would get all worked over the phrase “Internet protocol television delivery.” Of course, that means its perfect for The Chaser.

The translation into plain speak is a lot more tantalizing, at least as Microsoft has been explaining it for the past couple of years, admittedly with plenty of hyperbole. TV watching is better, better, BETTER! Content selection expands and navigation features get a boost. Multiple programs can be recorded simultaneously with a DVR (nice!) and, per Bill Gates’ oft-repeated objectives, the TV media experience now taps into video, music and photos found within a user’s home network.

The most recent IPTV development happened on Monday, when content distribution specialist [hardward maker] Scientific-Atlanta Inc. and Microsoft publicly announced a partnership to develop set-top boxes for what it deems “the growing worldwide demand for IPTV technology.” The team-up also gives support to Scientific-Atlanta’s advanced network known as “Project Lightspeed.”

Here’s how the company’s describe the benefits to media users and operators:

The new line of Scientific-Atlanta IP set-tops, which will be integrated with the Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition software platform, will support advanced codecs such as MPEG-4 Part 10/H.264 and VC-1 and will include standard-definition (SD), high-definition (HD), and whole home SD/HD digital video recorder (DVR) devices, as well as innovative gateway products that can serve an entire home with a single device. Additionally, these new set-tops will support a “no new wires” strategy for operators, which will enable IP video to be delivered over existing coax cable already installed in millions of homes. To help expedite the global implementation of IPTV services, country- or region-specific versions of the new Scientific-Atlanta set-tops will support U.S. or international standards.

The Chaser doesn’t profess to know the ins and outs of IPTV, but the release caught our attention because of the high-profile partners and the key phrases “high definition… whole home SD/HD digital video recorder (DVR) devices” and “no new wires.” For media users, high-def DVRs are becoming tech must-haves, and for operators, the ability to distribute IP video over pre-existing cable should mean a faster rollout.

No matter what language you speak, IPTV’s opportunities merit a place in discussions of future media consumption patterns and emerging technologies.


Media Man Australia writes:

The most successful convergent media models will have a high element of both mainstream press acceptance and high user interaction. My top picks for the companies and channels that are going to make it include:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation www.abc.net.au/broadband
The Interactive Channel www.tictv.com
Foxtel Digital / Sky News Active www.foxteldigital.com.au and www.skynews.com.au/onair/programs/programs.asp
Media Channel www.mediachannel.org
Banana TV www.bananatv.com
Open 4 Inspection www.open4inspection.tv
Fairfax http://media.smh.com.au

Technology enablers such as Stream X and Streamhouse TV will help make it happen.

I hope it’s acceptable to list these companies by name, as real examples are required.
Disclaimer: Greg Tingle, director of Media Man Australia, does have a commercial agreement with two of the above listed companies.

Greg Tingle profile on Poynter Online

Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia

Media empire of one - B&T Blog

Media empire of one, by Tony Kelly

Are the owners of major media companies keeping their content providers, sorry journos, happily fettered by protecting them from their real potential?

I wanted to keep the discussion on the future of content going following some intelligent comment on Friday's post about a possible take over of the Fairfax group by rural press. W this is absolutely the case (see W’s comment on Friday’s blog). The big media companies are still the owners of a phenomenal amount of content in their own right and they do still employ some of the country's most prolific journalists, but a lot of journos are starting to get a scent of the new, new economy. If journalists can get their heads around how people are making money this time around and not just leave it up to the sales teams, media strategists or those writing about online business, they can become their own enterprises.

For instance if you can create a blog with a decent following and then learn how to optimise it to make it really interesting to Google, it is possible (and i know this from a real example) to make upwards of 100k US a year and apart from a few well fed veterans on some of the nationals this would seem a pretty attractive salary to most scribes.

However it doesn't have to be a case of f*** you i'm going out on my own. The really smart media companies will deal their journos in and get them excited by this, and, god forbid, profit share them in on the action. Ie say you write a really good blog or produce a great podcast what if you got a cut of the money your company makes on Adsense from this particular part of their content offering? it's just one thought.

If you haven’t watched the epic video yet you really ought to. It is hypothetical big media doomsday scenario, utterly brilliant and its end game is that NY Times and presumable most other major newspaper and media brands close down. In the end, by 2012, you subscribe only to individual editors to get your info as everyone is plugged into a global communications matrix.

Is this the future? Bottom line is exciting rather than scary and you can either get involved, get smart or get out of the way . BTW we haven’t forgotten the RSS feed it’s on the way possibly by week's end thanks for being patient.

Media Man Australia's reply...

Many folks are already building their own "media empires".

At the risk of being censored here (but real examples are required), check out Crikey Media, Craig's List, Margot Kingston's Web Diary (recently went out on her own), AutoBabes, Hottest On TV (http://www.hottestontv.com.au ), BangITUp.com, and my own Media Man Australia website (and blog). Again, sorry about the name drops / plugs, but real examples are required. You will note that all are Google - friendly, and even more powerful, they are also journo, editor and programme director friendly. I had over a dozen "cold" enquiries last week between eds, journos, and potential partners. It's great to see B&T have also caught blog and new media fever.

Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia

Blog Update - Google, Telstra and more

The following was recently posted on the B&T Weekly blog by myself

Having previously worked for Telstra (and Optus Communications), I can tell you that Telstra don't "get it". They are going to be eaten alive on the new media - internet telephony front. Sure, they will pick up some customers, but because they are so slow, and wouldn't know real customer service if it hit them right between the eyes (they hang up on people and there's some incorrect information in their databases), folks are going to mainly go with newer players who deliver on technology, price and customer service. More power to Google. I've seen a lot in my 4 years of running Media Man Australia, and Telstra's going down, and Google's going onward and upward. This should start 'em chatting! PS: how many people read this stuff?

That followed the following comments...

Google’s talking it up so what’s your plan telcos?

Google Talk, plus internet phones, plus broadband delivered through power sockets, is it just me or is anyone else wondering what we’ll need the traditional telcos for in the near future?

I was sitting in an airport lounge reading an article in the Financial Times (Asia) about Google’s foray into communications services with Google Talk and how Google sees communications as its other killer app (along with search of course). The idea among other things is to use an open platform for chat (unlike other instant chat services which you can only use with another user of the same chat service). Google wants everyone chatting with each other.

Add to this the fact that everytime I have frustrating dealings with a traditional telco I fondly remember an article I read months ago about power companies toying with delivering broadband over the electric grid, and you have to wonder how future proof traditional telcos are.

Picture this, I have a broadband connection that is as easy to use as plugging my computer into an electric socket, in any room, I have an Internet phone, and, soon and Internet mobile phone and it’s all charged as the one utility, for instance say I pay one bill for all communications and data services to an electric company and preferably one not addicted to onerous life long “plans” like the telcos do.

I mean truly one bill not a slim discount for having three services with one telco but a fair charge that treats high speed internet and all the associated data and communications services as the utility they are fast becoming.

So what’s your plan?

Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia

Media Man Australia updates

Hottest On TV is still one of Australia's most popular "media darlings"

Australia's media is having a field day with John Brogden's comments about Bob Carr's wife. Bob Carr is a former journalist, and we all know that the media like a "beat up"

Entreprenuers - The Reality Show is looking to pitch strongly to overseas markets, including Australia. Bob Winstead could be hitting Australian soil sooner, rather than later The websites for Entreprenuers, and it's start-up business, EventsLeader.com are back on the air

Foxtel will be showing 'The Entreprenuers' on The Biography Channel

Media Man Australia in negotiations with Japanese media celebrity, JD, of JTVWorld.com

For more recent news, see the Media Man Australia media news section

Thanks for your time and support.

Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia

Article: Footy goes under microscope, by Julian Lee - Sydney Morning Herald - 25th August 2005

The days when a company's return on investment of a sponsorship deal was measured by how many holes the managing director got to play with Greg Norman are well and truly gone. In its place is the language of accountability and return on investment.

That transition was made complete last week when the Australian Football Federation joined the AFL, NRL, ARU and Stadia Media, the sports signage company, to sign up to evaluation company S-Comm's football-wide program that compares the value of competing codes.
It is part of a move within the wider marketing community to bring some financial discipline to an area that has lagged in measurement.

S-Comm and a host of companies are offering measurement of sponsorship value services. The other companies include Repucom and media agency MindShare's soon-to be launched Performance.

Why the sudden change of heart among the rights-holders to be more accountable? "Fear of losing income," says S-Comm managing director Lynne Anderson.

"The clubs know that someone somewhere will be asking where that $1 million is best spent."
Lack of accountability has been cited as one of the reasons for growth in the $1.2 billion Australian sponsorship market failing to keep pace with the marketing industry overall.
For the AFF head of commercial operations, John O'Sullivan, accountability also means a better chance of signing up and keeping sponsors.

"We can now look them in the eye and say 'a third party has put this value on it, it's not just us'."
Competition for marketing dollars among the codes has also intensified. "I could find myself walking through the door that Brian Thorburn [his counterpart] of the Australian Rugby Union has just walked out of," he said. "The waterhole's only so big and there's a lot drinking from it."
Ms Anderson added that "smarter sponsors" were shopping around the codes and, she claimed, the comparison her company gave acted much like Oztam's for television ratings. The top five most "valuable" sponsorships are in the AFL, according to data for the last complete season (see table).

She also said her clients were supportive of the fact that her company had ditched the practice of equating the value of a brand's exposure to a 30-second ad, which has led to an estimated 90 per cent drop in value.

Article: Internet expansion now top priority, by Jane Schulze - The Australian - 12th August 2005

News Corporation is preparing to spend up to $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) to further expand its internet business, which chairman Rupert Murdoch yesterday nominated as the global media group's top priority.

Mr Murdoch said News, owner of The Australian, had tens of billions of dollars of value in its news, sport and general entertainment businesses.

"While we monetise this value daily in the form of our TV shows, films, books and newspapers, our priority now is to perfect a plan that will monetise them across the world on the internet," he said.

News last month spent $770 million buying US internet group Intermix, which owns the MySpace.com social networking site and about 30 other sites. Last week it bought US sports content site scout.com for $US60 million.

Mr Murdoch revealed News was now in talks to buy a small internet search engine and was developing its own mass entertainment website.

"It's a yet-to-be named general entertainment site. We have Fox sites now but they are more promotional in nature for films and products - this is a big entertainment site that encompasses the whole industry," he said. News had also tried to buy the voice-over-internet software group skype.com but its founders did not want to sell.

While News might spend up to $US1 billion on a series of "modest" investments, Mr Murdoch said it did not intend spending "tens of billions".

"This is something we want to grow," he said.

But Mr Murdoch said there was "no greater priority" for News than to "meaningfully and profitably expand its internet presence and to properly position the company to benefit from the explosion in broadband usage that we are now starting to see".

"Our commitment to this space will constitute a major part of the company's growth, profits and asset building over the next several years," he said.

Mr Murdoch said News would combine its content with consumer choice to "redefine the meaning of the internet vertical".

News planned to buy or develop a "full army of web tools" so users could personalise their internet experience. "We can go deeper with more resources than virtually anyone else, and we plan to exploit that advantage, not only editorially but also in the lucrative local ad market," he said.

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