Anit-siphoning list reform back on the table?
The Australian reports the government is considering reviewing the anti-siphoning list to 'win industry support' as part of a broader reform to Australia's archaic media regulation. In the article, a spokesperson for communications minister Mitch Fifield said any reforms would need 'broader parliamentary support', so it is unclear where the source of the this change of tact has come from.
The protectionist anti-siphoning rules ring-fence certain sports for free-to-air TV networks, preventing Foxtel from bidding, but do not apply to internet streaming companies, such as Optus Sport. The Australian is owned by the News Corp, which part owns Foxtel.
News Corp reports Optus EPL deal shrinks press coverage
Australia's largest publisher and owner of Fox Sports, News Corp, has blamed a reduction in press coverage of the English Premier League on the fact the competition is now being broadcast by Optus Sport on its "second-tier pay-TV platform" in an article in The Australian.
Press coverage of the EPL reduced 29% in November across print, online, TV and radio, according to figures from media monitor iSentia. The figures also show coverage of Manchester United is down 10% and places blame at the hands of Optus rather than the fact the club has had its worst start in the Premier League era.
News Corp part owns Foxtel and fully owns Fox Sports, which previously broadcast the competition before Optus swooped. News Corp also owns the majority of Premier League rights in the UK and many other countries.
Former PM Paul Keating rounds on ABC
Former prime minister Paul Keating has said the ABC is “letting Australians down” with its news and current affairs programs dominated by “hard luck stories”, The Australian reports.
The remarks follow attacks on the ABC by indigenous leader Noel Pearson and current prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
At a book launch, Keating said the ABC’s coverage had tragic but inconsequential stories and pointed out SBS News a good service because it covered more global news, such as what’s happening in Iraq and the US election.
Last week, Pearson claimed the ABC is “miserable and “racist” while Turnbull complained about it being an “elite media”.
Foxtel cuts affect around ‘100 staff’
Foxtel has made more than 100 employees redundant from its strategy team, IT, brand team and promotions, Fairfax Media report.
The cuts were announced a fortnight ago but Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh refused to reveal numbers. The Australia Financial Review reports the cuts are due to business units not meeting targets and comes months after its part-owned SVOD service Presto was closed.
Ad revenue, not politics behind many fake news sites
Hundreds of fake news websites have been set up by entrepreneurs looking to make money on pay per click advertising by spreading wildly sensational pro-Trump material in the recent US election campaign, The Saturday Paper reports.
The dissemination of fake news on the internet to large audiences is believed to have had an impact on the outcome of Donald Trump’s election win, placing pressure on Facebook and Google to tackle the problem.
Now the scale of the problem is starting to emerge, extending well beyond US borders. For example, in a village in Macedonia, a small group of young people established more than 140 fake news websites under American-sounding domain names, such as USConservativeToday.com and USADailyPolitics.com.
The Saturday Paper reports that many of the websites were purely motivated by profit rather than politics, and grew traffic at incredible rates. Almost all of them focused on the alt-right movement because it attracted far greater audiences.
One website, run by two flatmates in California, increased its audience fivefold in the six months leading into the vote.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.