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Combat Sports Events

WWE
WWE SmackDown
January 3, 2025
Footprint Center
Phoenix, Arizona

WWE RAW On Netflix
January 6, 2025
Intuit Dome
Inglewood, California
WWE Legends: Past And Present, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Celebrities and more

NXT
NXT New Year's Evil
January 7, 2025
The Shrine Expo Hall
Los Angeles, California
Trick Williams vs Oba Femi vs Eddy Thorpe
Roxanne Perez vs Giulia

WWE SmackDown
January 10, 2025
Moda Center
Portland, Oregon

WWE RAW On Netflix
January 13, 2025
Sap Center
San Jose, California

UFC
UFC Fight Night 249
January 11, 2025
Apex Arena
Paradise, Nevada

WWE SmackDown
January 17, 2025
Pechanga Arena
San Diego, California

WWE RAW On Netflix
January 20, 2025
American Airlines Center
Dallas, Texas

UFC
UFC 311
January 18, 2025
Intuit Dome
Inglewood, California
Makhachev vs Tsarukyan 2

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
January 25, 2025
Frost Bank Center
San Antonio, Texas

WWE Royal Rumble
February 1, 2025
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana

UFC
UFC 312
February 9, 2025
Qudos Bank Arena
Homebush, Sydney, Australia
du Plessis vs Strickland 2

WWE Elimination Chamber
March 1, 2025
Rogers Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

*card/s subject to change

Combat Sports Watercooler

News

WWE Pro Wrestler Karrion Kross On Mox Telling Him To Call Triple H About A Contract

"After the show, he's like, he basically says 'Hey listen. I'm not telling you where to go. I'm not telling you where to make money. But I'm just saying, you really should call Triple H, cause you could make a very, very good living there" ... "He was like 'Work wherever you want, go wherever you want. But I just have a feeling that if you call him, things are going to be good for you.'

"And I was like...that's like 'What do you mean? Call Triple H? What do you mean?' He's like 'Nah, just call him...I'm giving you his number. I want you to call him.' And I was like 'Oh my god.' Well now I can't [not call him]...So now I had to...So I sent him [Triple H] a text. He calls me and is like 'Is this really Killer Kross?' Cause like, I don't know, it could be a crank caller or somebody gets his number. So we talk, and a few months later, I was in 'NXT,' and that's kind of how that worked." (Not Sam Wrestling)

News

Bully Ray on TNA Wrestling, WWE and AEW via Busted Open Radio

"TNA will grow, the WWE will grow bigger, and we will either be talking about the resurgence or the demise of AEW, and I go 50/50 on that. I want to see the resurgence, but from what I see right this very moment, I hope we're not speaking about the demise, and that's just my fair assessment on everything." (Busted Open Radio)

News

Wrestling Legend Kurt Angle On Wrestling Movies And Career via Talk Is Jericho

"I've been pretty much building to this movie I'm having done about my life's sports story" ... "The directors are Ian and Eshom Nelms. They're really talented directors. The reason why I picked them is because they were wrestlers in high school and college. So they understand my sport.

"So we got the ball rolling with that, and now we're getting investors and we're going to start picking the cast soon. This movie's only about my Olympic story, not my WWE story. There's going to be, actually, two movies. 'Angle 1' and 'Angle 2.' One's for the Olympics, one's for after, my WWE and TNA career, everything after that. It was just too much to put in one movie, so they wanted to split it in two." (Web Is Jericho)

News

Tommy Dreamer on CM Punk And Seth Rollins Raw Face To Face Promo

"It's a very 'what have you done for me lately.' There's so much to get into with CM Punk and leaving, and yes, some people can still harbor a grudge towards that"

"I can't even say 'blurring the lines,' because if you ask me, these two guys don't like each other" (Busted Open After Dark)

News

AEW Signed Adam Copeland On His Injury Via TMZ Sports

"I've actually been cleared for about three months, but then with everything that happened here with the hurricane, it just — we all had the discussion," Copeland said. "It's more important to be home and kind of get everything at home squared away, and then just come back to work."

"In that time, I've been healthy and going to the ring, and been able to go 100 in the gym" ... "It's time. I feel ready." (TMZ Sports)

News

WWE Raw Moves to Netflix

WWE has entered into a significant partnership with Netflix, debuting its flagship show 'Raw' on the streaming platform starting January 6th, 2025. This move has sparked excitement among fans worldwide due to the increased accessibility of WWE content. In the UK, all WWE programming including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and Premium Live Events will be available live on Netflix, while in the US, only Raw will be streamed. This partnership marks the end of the WWE Network era, with WWE content now transitioning to Netflix. Fans are particularly enthusiastic about the availability of uncensored content and extensive WWE archives, including classics like WrestleMania 17. The collaboration is viewed as a transformative step for WWE's distribution strategy and is expected to influence viewing habits, potentially reintroducing wrestling into mainstream entertainment.

News

MMA/UFC

Strickland's Controversial Comments Stir MMA Community

Sean Strickland, a prominent MMA fighter, recently sparked controversy with his comments on Islam, suggesting it promotes violence and is incompatible with American values. His statements have led to a significant backlash from fans and fellow fighters alike, with many accusing him of hypocrisy given his career in a sport centered around violence. While there has been speculation about a potential match-up with Khamzat Chimaev, a Muslim fighter known for his deep commitment to his faith, no official confirmation of such a fight has been made. The discourse around Strickland's comments has brought to light the complex interplay between personal beliefs, professional conduct, and public statements within the MMA community, highlighting how fighters' personal views can influence their public and professional lives.

Sweet Daddy Siki passes away

WWE is saddened to learn that Elkin James, known to wrestling fans as Sweet Daddy Siki, passed away on December 31, 2024, at age 91.

Siki wrestled worldwide for promotions such as Maple Leaf Wrestling, Grand Prix Wrestling, and Stampede Wrestling through the ’60s and ’70s and became a fixture in the Toronto community. He trained many future wrestlers out of Sully’s Gym in Toronto, Canada, including iconic WWE Superstars Edge and Christian.

WWE extends its condolences to Siki’s family, friends and fans. (WWE)

News/Profile

Combat Sports via Grok

Combat sports are competitive physical activities involving one-on-one combat where the objective is to score more points, submit, disable, or defeat an opponent through regulated techniques. These sports have a rich history, tracing back to various ancient civilizations and have evolved into diverse forms practiced worldwide:

Boxing: A sport where competitors use their fists to throw punches within a designated ring, aiming to outscore or knock out their opponent. It's one of the oldest combat sports, with roots in ancient cultures like Egypt and Greece, and became an Olympic sport in 1904.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA): Often seen in promotions like the UFC, MMA combines techniques from numerous martial arts including wrestling, boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It gained significant recognition in the 1990s and is known for its no-holds-barred approach within a regulated environment.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ): Developed by the Gracie family in Brazil, BJJ focuses on ground fighting and submission holds. It became popular through MMA and is now practiced globally for both sport and self-defense.

Muay Thai: Known as "The Art of Eight Limbs," this Thai martial art uses punches, kicks, elbows, and knee strikes, making it uniquely comprehensive in terms of striking techniques.

Wrestling: With styles like freestyle and Greco-Roman, wrestling involves grappling techniques to pin or throw an opponent. It's one of the oldest sports, with historical ties to ancient Greece, and is a mainstay in the Olympics.

Judo: A Japanese martial art emphasizing throws and submission holds, judo has been an Olympic sport since 1964, showcasing its global impact on combat sports.

Kickboxing: A hybrid sport that incorporates elements from boxing, karate, and other martial arts, focusing on both punches and kicks. It's popular in both professional and amateur circuits.

Combat sports also serve various benefits beyond competition, including physical fitness, mental toughness, and self-defense skills. They are regulated by organizations to ensure safety, with rules varying by sport and sometimes by region. In Australia, for instance, combat sports are overseen by bodies like the Combat Sports Authority of NSW, ensuring participants are registered and events are permitted.

These sports are not only about physical confrontation but also promote discipline, respect, and sportsmanship among participants. They have a cultural significance, often tied to national heritage, and continue to evolve with new techniques, safety measures, and competitive formats. (Grok)

News/Profile

Pro Wrestling

Professional Wrestling Overview: Professional wrestling is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama, where the premise is that performers are competitive wrestlers. It's distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment over genuine competition. The staged nature of matches is an open secret, maintained through a practice known as "kayfabe," where both wrestlers and spectators pretend that the performances are legitimate competitions. Wrestlers perform as characters with distinctive gimmicks, including unique attire, stage names, and entrance themes.

Current Landscape: As of early January 2025, the wrestling landscape in Australia includes notable promotions like Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) in Sydney, which focuses on providing both adult-themed and family-friendly shows. United Pro Wrestling (UPW) is another key player, particularly in Queensland, known for its quality events and character development. Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW) has been active with events like their anniversary celebration planned for March 15, 2025.

Global Influence: Wrestling has achieved mainstream success worldwide, influencing popular culture with its terminology and concepts. It's performed across various promotions globally, with unique styles in countries like the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and Europe. The largest promotions continue to be WWE and AEW, with significant cultural impact through television, music, film, and video games.

Community and Culture: Professional wrestling has developed its own culture, including a vernacular specific to the industry. Fans engage through live events, online discussions, and fan-created content, showing the community's dedication and passion for the sport-entertainment hybrid.

For more specific details on events, wrestlers, or promotions, further exploration into current wrestling news sources would be beneficial. (Grok)

News

WWE: Events

WWE hosts a variety of events throughout the year, ranging from weekly televised shows to premium live events (PLEs), previously known as pay-per-views (PPVs). Here's a breakdown of the upcoming WWE events:

Weekly Shows:
Monday Night Raw: Broadcast live every Monday. The next event on January 13, 2025, is at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA.

Friday Night SmackDown: Aired live every Friday. The upcoming event on January 3, 2025, will be at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ.

WWE NXT: Typically taped or live on Tuesday nights. The next significant event, New Year's Evil, is scheduled for January 7, 2025, at The Shrine LA in Los Angeles, CA.

Premium Live Events (PLEs) for 2025:

Saturday Night's Main Event: January 25, 2025, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX.

Royal Rumble: February 1, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

Elimination Chamber: March 1, 2025, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada, marking WWE's return to Canada for a PLE.

WrestleMania: While the exact date for WrestleMania 41 hasn't been mentioned in the available data, it's traditionally held in April.

International and Specialty Events:

WWE is planning a European Tour starting in mid-March 2025. No specific dates or locations within this tour have been detailed yet.

There's also mention of WWE considering multi-night formats for major events like the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank in future years.

Streaming and Viewing:

All WWE PLEs are available live on Peacock in the United States and through various international WWE Network partners or other streaming services in other countries. In Australia, PPVs are shown on Main Event.

Weekly shows like Raw, SmackDown, and NXT are broadcast on traditional TV and streaming services depending on the region.

Additional Notes:
WWE has no scheduled live events in the U.S. until the European Tour in March, which has been reported to be well-received by talent for providing a break.
There's a buzz about CM Punk main eventing WrestleMania, indicating his significant role in upcoming storylines.

For the most up-to-date information, checking WWE's official website or following WWE on social media platforms would provide real-time updates on any changes or additional events. (Grok)

Wrestling/Pop Culture News

Mildred Burke biopic: Queen of the Ring

Under The Media Man Watercooler

Premiers: Newport Beach Film Festival

Lead: Emily Bett Rickards as Mildred Burke

Quotes to UPI

"I was like, 'Oh, I feel like I can do that. I just haven't'"

"I've always been super active and I pick up things pretty fast."

Burke wrestled professionally from 1937 to 1956 and launched her own World Women's Wrestling Association after leaving the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Rickards portrays Burke, covering her training through the wrestling organization's creation.

"Mildred was a pioneer in this arena"

"She really brought women to wrestling"

"It was heavy weights, slow on the way down, faster on the way up"

"There was a period of time where I remember putting my hands on my hips and I just felt solid, like there was just more of me."

"Wrestling is a lot about safety"

"To take the bump, you spread out"

Deborah Ann Woll, Francesca Eastwood, Marie Avgeropoulous, Kelli Berglund and Damaris Lewis also play real-life wrestlers. AEW's Kailey Farmer and WWE's Toni Rossall portray two of Burke's real-life opponents.

Farmer helped train her in pro wrestling.

"If you see us wrestling on-screen, she's leading"

"She brought me into that trust as someone who is an actor, not a wrestler but was doing my darndest."

"This ability to weave story and have it be structured but improvised -- there's an essence there that is so beautiful"

"I'd say acting actually is all contact"

"Maybe it's not punching each other all the time, but it is really about affecting the other person"

Mildred Burke Profile/News via Grok

Mildred Burke was a pivotal figure in professional wrestling, particularly known for her contributions to women's wrestling. Here's an overview based on the information available up to October 20, 2024:

Career: Mildred Burke began her wrestling career in the early 1930s and quickly made a name for herself by not only competing against but often defeating male competitors. Her heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, during which she held the NWA World Women's Championship for nearly twenty years, showcasing her dominance in the sport.

Achievements: Burke is recognized for her strength, tenacity, and for being a trailblazer for women in wrestling. She was instrumental in introducing women's wrestling to several countries, including the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, and parts of Asia like Japan, where she helped lay the groundwork for what would become a significant scene for women's wrestling.

Legacy: Burke's legacy is honored in several Halls of Fame:

She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Legacy Wing in 2016, recognizing her as one of the first major female competitors in wrestling.
She's also a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, underscoring her impact on the sport.

Personal Life and Challenges: Burke's career was marked by personal and professional challenges, particularly her tumultuous relationship with Billy Wolfe, a promoter who was also her husband. Their relationship was fraught with issues, including Wolfe's infidelities and control over the business aspects of wrestling, which led to significant conflicts and legal battles over the control of women's wrestling.

Film: Her life story has been adapted into a biographical sports drama film titled "Queen of the Ring," where actress Emily Bett Rickards portrays Burke. This film aims to capture her struggle, success, and the broader impact she had on women's wrestling. The film has garnered attention for its portrayal of Burke's life, with its premiere events listed in various film festivals in October 2024.

Cultural Impact: Beyond her in-ring achievements, Burke's efforts helped to legitimize women's wrestling. Her story, involving both her wrestling prowess and her fight for the recognition of women in the sport, continues to inspire new generations of female wrestlers.

Mildred Burke's story is not just one of athletic achievement but also of breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, making her a significant figure in both sports and women's history. (Grok)

Queen of the Ring via Grok

The term "Queen of the Ring" relates to several entities across different media:

WWE's Queen of the Ring: This is a professional wrestling tournament by WWE, where Nia Jax won the tournament in 2024, as indicated by posts on X. This event was part of WWE's broader push to highlight women's wrestling, providing the winner with a match for the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam.

Mildred Burke Biopic: There's a biographical film titled "Queen of the Ring" focusing on Mildred Burke, the first million-dollar female athlete and a pioneer in women's professional wrestling. This film has been shown at various film festivals in 2024, with its world premiere and subsequent screenings noted across the U.S.

South Korean TV Series: "Queen of the Ring" also refers to a South Korean drama series, part of the "Three Color Fantasy" trilogy, which aired in 2017. It's a romantic drama involving characters in a fictional narrative around themes of appearance and personal relationships.

News

MMA

UFC 311 Betting

UFC 311, scheduled for January 18, 2025, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, features several high-profile fights with notable betting odds. Here's a breakdown of the betting information for the main events:

Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan Islam Makhachev is listed as the favorite with odds around -235 to -334, indicating a strong likelihood of retaining his lightweight title.

Arman Tsarukyan comes in as the underdog with odds ranging from +200 to +250, suggesting a potential for an upset but less likely according to the bookmakers.

Co-Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov is the betting favorite at -220, reflecting confidence in his undefeated record and grappling prowess.

Merab Dvalishvili is the underdog with +185 odds, despite being the current champion, possibly due to Nurmagomedov's impressive run and the anticipation around his title challenge.

Other Notable Fights:
Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill: The odds here are close, with Hill at -103 and Prochazka at -117 or vice versa, depending on the latest updates, indicating a highly competitive match.

For those interested in placing bets, these odds provide a snapshot of how the betting markets view the chances of each fighter. Remember, odds can shift as the fight date approaches based on various factors including fighter form, public betting trends, and any last-minute news.

Please note, betting on UFC fights involves risks, and these odds should be used for informational purposes. Always bet responsibly and within your means. If you're looking to place bets, consider checking with reputable betting sites for the most current odds. (Grok)

News/Profile

WWE WrestleMania Vegas 2025

WWE WrestleMania 41 is set to take place in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium on April 19 and 20, 2025. This will be the second time Las Vegas hosts WrestleMania, with the first being WrestleMania IX in 1993 at Caesars Palace. The event will span two nights, marking a continued trend from the format established during the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Event Details: WrestleMania 41, also known as WrestleMania Vegas, will feature matches from both Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will be broadcasted via pay-per-view and livestreaming, with international markets able to watch on Netflix following the WWE Network's merger with the platform in January 2025. This will be the first WrestleMania to occur during Easter weekend.

Ticket Information: Tickets for WrestleMania 41 went on sale on October 25, 2024, with presales starting on October 23. There are also 2-day combo tickets available for purchase.

Cultural Impact: The event is expected to bring significant economic benefits to Las Vegas, with more than 180,000 fans anticipated to attend, occupying over 144,000 room nights. Apart from the main event, WWE will also host Raw, SmackDown, NXT Stand & Deliver, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, and WWE World, contributing to a comprehensive fan experience.

Notable Matches: There have been discussions about potential matches, including a bout between John Cena and Logan Paul for WrestleMania 41.

This event signifies WWE's return to one of the world's entertainment capitals, promising a grand spectacle with a mix of sports and entertainment. (Grok)

Media Man Int

Combat Sports (Media Man Int) *in progress
https://www.mediamanint.com/combat_sports.html

Pop Culture (Media Man Int) *in progress
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Coming Soon (Media Man Int) *in progress
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2024

WWE Speed
Every Wednesday on X

WWE Crown Jewel
November 2, 2024
Kingdom Arena
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Cody Rhodes vs Gunther
Roman Reigns and The Usos vs The Bloodline

UFC Fight Night
November 2, 2024
Rogers Place
Edmonton, Canada
Moreno vs Albazi
Blanchfield vs Namajunas

BKFC
BKFC 68
Utilta Arena
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Faulkner vs Oscar

WWE Raw
November 3, 2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Fallout from Crown Jewel
The Road To Survivor Series

WWE NXT
NXT 2300
November 6, 2024
2300 Arena FKA ECW Arena
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Numerous ECW legends to appear

WWE SmackDown
November 8, 2024
Keybank Center
Buffalo, New York

UFC
UFC Night Night Vegas
November 10, 2024
Apex Arena, Las Vegas
Magney vs Prates

WWE Raw
November 11, 2024
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, Michigan

UFC
November 17, 2024
UFC 309
Madison Square Garden
New York
Jones vs Miocic

UFC
November 23, 2024
UFC Fight Night
Yan vs Figueiredo
Galaxy Arena
Macau, SAR, China

WWE Survivor Series: War Games
November 30, 2024
Rogers Arena
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Boxing
Frank Warren/Queensberry Promotions
Usyk vs Fury
December 21, 2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

UFC
December 8, 2024
UFC 310
Muhammad vs Rakhmonov
T-Mobile Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
December 14, 2024
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Long Island, Uniondale, New York

UFC
UFC on ESPN 83 aka UFC Fight Night
December 14, 2024
Amalie Arena
Tampa, Florida

2025

UFC
UFC Fight Night 249
January 11, 2025
Apex Arena
Paradise, Nevada

UFC
UFC 311
January 18, 2025

WWE Royal Rumble
February 1, 2025
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana

*card/s subject to change

Combat Sports Week

WWE Raw
November 11, 2024
Grand Rapids, Michigan

WWE NXT
November 12,, 2024
Orlando, Florida

WWE SmackDown
November 15, 2024
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson
Netflix - Most Valuable Promotions
November 15, 2024
Arlington, Texas

UFC 309
November 16, 2024
New York City, New York

News

Combat Sports Week via Grok

Combat Sports Week is a term often used to describe a week packed with significant events in various combat sports like boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), kickboxing, and more. Here's a look at what's happening based on recent information:

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: This boxing event has captured a lot of attention due to its unique matchup. Jake Paul, known for his YouTube fame and his transition into boxing, is set to fight against the legendary former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. This event is highlighted as part of a significant weekend in combat sports, showcasing the blend of traditional boxing fame with modern influencer culture.

UFC 309: Scheduled for November 16, 2024, at Madison Square Garden, this UFC event features a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. This match-up is anticipated to be a highlight of the combat sports calendar, bringing together two of the most storied fighters in the division's history.

Gamebred FC Bareknuckle MMA: An event featuring 12 UFC veterans participating in bareknuckle MMA, headlined by Randy Costa for the first-ever Gamebred bantamweight belt. This event is noted for being available to watch for free on platforms like YouTube and X, indicating a shift towards more accessible viewing for fans.

These events collectively define what many enthusiasts would call a "Combat Sports Week," where fans get to witness high-profile fights across different disciplines, showcasing both established legends and rising stars in the world of combat sports. If you're a fan of these sports, this week offers a plethora of action, from traditional boxing to the raw intensity of bareknuckle MMA, all highlighted by significant bouts that could define careers and legacies. (Grok)

News

Fight Week via Grok

"Fight Week" typically refers to the week leading up to a significant combat sports event, such as a boxing match or a UFC fight. Here's what you might expect during a typical Fight Week:

Pre-Fight Activities:
Training: Fighters often scale back intense training to avoid injuries, focusing instead on fine-tuning techniques, strategy sessions, and lighter workouts. The intensity decreases as the week progresses, with some fighters tapering off to rest and hydration management.

Weight Cutting: For those in weight class sports like boxing or MMA, this is the time when fighters cut weight to meet the required limits. This can involve dehydration, dietary adjustments, and other weight loss strategies.

Media Obligations: Fighters participate in press conferences, media days, and interviews. This is when they might face off with their opponents for promotional purposes, often leading to memorable moments or trash-talking.

Open Workouts: Some events allow fans or media to watch fighters train, although these workouts are usually light and more for show than for serious training.

Weigh-Ins:
Usually held a day before the fight, weigh-ins are crucial for ensuring fighters meet the weight requirements of their division. This can be tense, with last-minute weight cuts sometimes visible.

Final Preparations:
Fighters might have their last sparring sessions early in the week, followed by rest, recovery, and mental preparation. Hydration and nutrition are carefully managed, especially after weigh-ins when fighters rehydrate and refuel.

Fan Events:
For big events like UFC's International Fight Week, there are numerous fan-centric activities like meet-and-greets, fan expos, and Q&A sessions with fighters.

Fight Day:
The culmination of Fight Week where all the preparation comes to fruition. Fighters usually have a very light day, focusing on staying calm, mentally sharp, and physically ready for the fight.

For 2024, notable events during Fight Weeks include:

UFC 303 featuring significant bouts like Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka 2, set for June, showcasing the typical fight week activities leading up to this major event.

Boxing events like Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul on November 15, where the build-up would include all the traditional elements of a fight week, amplified by the personalities involved.

These weeks are filled with anticipation, strategy, and often, drama, as fighters and their teams navigate through the final preparations for their bouts. (Grok)

News Corp puts Foxtel up for sale after asset review

By Sam Buckingham-Jones

August 9, 2024

News Corp, the publishing and broadcast giant controlled by the Murdoch family, has put its majority-owned Australian pay television platform Foxtel up for sale after a nine-month strategic review of its assets.

Outlining its financial results on Friday, News Corp said there was “third-party interest” in Foxtel, which owns a pay TV business, streaming services Binge and Kayo Sports, and aggregation platform Hubbl.

“We are confident in the company’s long-term prospects and are continuing to review our portfolio with a focus on maximising returns for shareholders,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said.

“That review has coincided recently with third-party interest in a potential transaction involving the Foxtel ... We are evaluating options for the business with our advisors in light of that external interest.”

News Corp owns 65 per cent of Foxtel, and Telstra owns the rest.

Foxtel has spent the past decade pivoting to the streaming era, building Kayo and Binge – which have much leaner profit margins – while preserving its legacy base of around 1 million subscribers who pay, on average, $90 a month. It has grown its total paying subscription base to 4.7 million people.

Any sale of Foxtel would have a flow-on effect on long-term content deals, multi-billion dollar sports rights packages, and more.

Mr Thomson told analysts that News Corp had a “significant overture that we are naturally assessing”, but declined to provide further details.

“We have full faith in the potential of Foxtel and the talented team at Foxtel,” he said. “On behalf of shareholders, we have to evaluate any interest … You’ll have to stay tuned. Not indefinitely, not perpetually, not ad infinitum.” (Credit: The Australian Financial Review) @FinancialReview

Full article via subscription to The Australian Financial Review

https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/news-corp-puts-foxtel-up-for-sale-20240809-p5k0yv

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John Shakespeare wins Media Man 'Illustrator / Artist Of The Month' award

Box Office Numbers and more via Showbizz Daily

Disruptors Of The Month

PGA announces bombshell merger with LIV Golf, stunning players

LinkedIn News wins Media Man News Agreggator Of The Month award again;

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Media Man Int

Media Man Int X

Elon Musk’s X Files Antitrust Suit Against Global Advertising Alliance

August 6, 2024

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has launched a significant antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and several of its member companies, alleging an illegal ad boycott that targeted the platform. The lawsuit, filed in Texas, is aimed at GARM, its parent firm World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and members including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever.

In an open letter to advertisers, X CEO Linda Yaccarino highlighted the reasons behind the lawsuit, stating that it was a direct response to GARM’s actions which allegedly cost the company billions of dollars. “This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions,” Yaccarino wrote. “The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars” per The New York Post.

The lawsuit is seeking trebled compensatory damages and injunctive relief, according to a complaint viewed by The New York Post. GARM, led by Robert Rakowitz, is an initiative of the WFA, which represents many of the world’s largest companies and ad organizations, including Disney and Coca-Cola. Its members control 90% of global marketing spending, nearly $1 trillion per year.

Yaccarino emphasized that the issue extends beyond financial damages. “This case is about more than damages — we have to fix a broken ecosystem that allows this illegal activity to occur,” she added.

According to The New York Post, the suit argues that the boycott undermined the marketplace of ideas by financially harming certain viewpoints over others. (Credit: PYMNTS)

Full article and coverage via PYMNTS

https://pymnts.com/cpi-posts/elon-musks-x-files-antitrust-suit-against-global-advertising-alliance/

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Elon Musk takes GARM, several companies to court over alleged advertising boycott of X outlined in bombshell report

August 7, 2024

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has taken several companies and an advertising alliance to court over allegations of a "boycott" of X.

Elon Musk has waged “war” against advertisers as his social media platform X filed an antitrust lawsuit against a global ad alliance and several major companies, accusing them of illegally boycotting the site.

X filed a suit in a federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and its members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever.

The suit comes after a report from the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee found GARM and its members “directly organised boycotts” and employed other indirect tactics to target disfavoured “platforms, content creators” and news organisations to demonetise them.

It alleges that GARM’s boycott led advertisers to pull money from X under the guise of “brand safety” concerns.

X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino argued this tactic hindered users on the social media platform from accessing a wide breadth of ideas by funding alternative viewpoints.

“The consequence - perhaps the intent - of this boycott was to seek to deprive X’s users, be they sports fans, gamers, journalists, activists, parents or political and corporate leaders, of the Global Town Square,” she wrote.

“To put it simply, people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is undermined and some viewpoints are not funded over others as part of an illegal boycott.”

Mr Musk shared his colleague’s statement to the platform and boldly declared: “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.”

He later encouraged “any company who has been systematically boycotted” to file a suit.

Following his post, video sharing platform Rumble joined Mr Musk’s lawsuit, claiming it has also been impacted towards GARM’s alleged skew away from right wing voices and ideologies.

The platform announced its move on X where it accused GARM of being “a conspiracy to perpetrate an advertiser boycott of Rumble and others, and that's illegal”.

Since Musk took over the social media platform in October 2022, X has suffered a serious dive in ad dollars with the platform taking in US$2.5 billion in 2023, according to Bloomberg.

This was down from the US$1bn it was bringing in every quarter of 2022.

Musk triggered controversy again in November 2023 when he endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jewish communities push “hatred against whites”.

The X owner responded: “You have said the actual truth,” sparking an advertiser exodus that was reported to have lost the company as much as $75m, per The New York Times.

He made headlines again in the same month after blasting advertisers boycotting the social media platform, boldly declaring: “Go f**k yourself”.

“If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself. Go f**k yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is,” he said. (Sky News Australia)

Full article and coverage via Sky News Australia

https://www.skynews.com.au/business/media/elon-musk-takes-garm-several-companies-to-court-over-alleged-advertising-boycott-of-x-outlined-in-bombshell-report/news-story/7bac6243aada770042d14ca84afc23e7

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August 7, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6520 USD (up $0.0024 USD)

Iron Ore Sep Spot Price (SGX): $102.85 USD (down $0.70 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $72.96 USD (down $1.02 USD)

Gold Price: $2,389.45 USD (down $19.96 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.0095 USD (up $0.0085 USD)

Bitcoin: $56,485.71 USD (up 3.10% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 38,997.66 at 5.02pm NY time (up 294.39 points on yesterday's close)

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Fox News Channel crushes CNN, MSNBC during historic news week to finish No. 1 in all of cable

Americans relied on Fox News for critical information and analysis

Americans relied on Fox News Channel for information and analysis during last week’s historic news events.

The aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Trump, JD Vance being named Trump’s running mate, the momentous Republican National Convention and President Biden dropping out of the race resulted in one of the most significant news cycles of all time from July 15-21.

During that time, Fox News topped all of television among primetime viewers, beating out broadcast competition and posting its highest-rated week since the 2020 election among both total day and primetime viewers.

During the RNC, Fox News averaged 6.7 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. ET for a staggering 75% share of the entire cable news primetime audience. CNN drew 1.2 million and MSNBC managed an average audience of 1.1 million.

On Sunday, Fox News reported that Biden ended his reelection campaign before CNN or MSNBC when anchor Mike Emanuel informed the audience at 1:50 p.m. ET. From 2-4 p.m. ET, as the news unfolded, Fox News averaged 3.5 million viewers compared to two million apiece for CNN and MSNBC.

Fox News then bumped regularly scheduled programming and attracted a primetime audience of 3.3 million on Sunday night with continued coverage of Biden stepping aside.

During the week of July 15, Fox News averaged 2.5 million total viewers to crush all cable competition. MSNBC averaged 716,000 to finish second, CNN managed 571,000 to finish third, followed by the Hallmark Channel and ESPN.

During primetime, Fox News averaged five million viewers compared to 1.3 million for No. 2 ESPN, while MSNBC, CNN and Hallmark rounded out the top five.

When it comes to the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, Fox News averaged 376,000 total day viewers compared to 174,000 for No. 2 ESPN. During primetime, Fox News averaged 790,000 demo viewers with runner-up ESPN averaging 528,000, followed by CNN, USA and TBS. Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in all categories.

All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research. (Fox News)

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News.com.au holds number one news traffic ranking in April for fourth consecutive month - May 22, 2023

News.com.au has retained the number one news website traffic ranking for the fourth month in a row, reaching 12.71 million Australians in April.

The latest Ipsos Iris report showed the news website has resolidified its market-leading stance, although there was a three per cent dip month-on-month in unique audience. Average time on site per person, sitting at 29 minutes and 55 seconds, also slipped modestly compared to March.

Oliver Murray, news.com.au editor, pointed out April was a month when many should’ve switched off to enjoy Easter and the school holidays.

“It’s testament to our team that we kept serving up news they needed to read,” he said.

That content offering drew in the largest and most engaged audience in the news category, he pointed out – six in 10 online Australians.

“We saw a 17 per cent month-on-month increase in our sports audience to become the number one sports brand, driven by our NRL and AFL coverage,” Murray said.

“Australians also turned to us for travel news, reaching an audience of 2.541 million and leading the travel news category.”

The gap between news.com.au and rival ABC News, sitting in second spot, is sizeable. The national broadcaster’s web offering attracted the eyeballs of 11.14 million Aussies.

Rounding out the top five was nine.com.au with 10.73 million unique viewers, 7news.com.au on 10.06 million, and Daily Mail Australia on 8.35 million.

The Ipsos Iris report found 20.2 million people used a news website or app in April, with engagement increasing by 1.2% to almost six hours per person, per month.

Major news events ranging from the death of comedian Barry Humphries to the arrest of former US President Donald Trump and the federal budget helped fuel the increase, it said.

The report called out travel-related browsing in the month, given Easter and the school holidays, with 16.9 million Aussies aged 14 and above visiting a travel website or app in April.

Those in the 55-plus age bracket spent the most time browsing – 33% more than those under 55 – while women were more likely to use travel sites and apps than men. People aged 25 to 39 are the largest cohort engaging with travel content online.

(News.com.au)

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Sydney Morning Herald is the country’s best-read masthead May 22, 2023

The Sydney Morning Herald has retained its position as Australia’s top masthead, with more readers across all platforms than any other over the 12 months to March this year.

Total News figures from the industry’s official data provider, Roy Morgan, showed 7.7 million people, or about one in three Australians, read the masthead. It puts the Herald ahead of its traditional NSW rival, the News Corp-owned Daily Telegraph, which has 3.98 million readers.

The Herald’s sister paper, The Age, cemented its place as the most-read Victorian masthead with 5.2 million readers, and the outlets’ Good Weekend magazine was the premier Saturday insert. It had an average print readership of 754,000 people, up 4 per cent for the quarter.

Print was a particular bright spot for this masthead, with the Monday to Friday newspaper recording 17 per cent growth year over year and quarterly growth of 4 per cent, taking its average readership per edition to 417,000. It marks the sixth consecutive quarter of growth for the physical newspaper, while the Sun Herald’s Sunday print edition was steady, up 1 per cent, to a readership of 423,000. In the last four weeks, an average of almost 1.9 million people read the printed paper.

The Herald and Age’s Good Food and Traveller titles had audiences of 1.49 million and 1.56 million, respectively, each month. Sunday Life had an average issue print readership of 419,000, and Domain defied a softening real estate market, seeing annual growth of 7 per cent and quarterly growth of 5 per cent, to record an average issue print readership of 537,000.

“I am proud of our team for achieving such a strong result, particularly given the challenging environment all publishers are finding themselves in right now,” Herald editor Bevan Shields said.

“The Herald continues to set the benchmark for quality journalism in Australia and I want to thank our subscribers and readers for their continued support for what we do.”

Roy Morgan’s data covers all news brands and digital news websites and tracks audiences on Apple News and Google News.

(The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Financial Review most-read business masthead. By Sam Buckingham-Jones - May 22, 2023

The Australian Financial Review is the country’s most-read premium business masthead, reaching a print and digital audience of 3.5 million people, figures released by Roy Morgan show.

More than 1.1 million people read the print edition of the Financial Review over the past four weeks, and the masthead reported its third consecutive quarter of growth and a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent. The Australian suffered an annual drop of 17 per cent in print readership for the same period.

The Financial Review’s combined print and digital audience fell slightly from last quarter, from 3.6 million to 3.5 million, but the decline was smaller than rivals.

The AFR Weekend print edition readership grew 59 per cent, on the Roy Morgan figures, and 11 per cent in the last quarter. The weekend and weekday print editions have recorded their highest quarterly result since 2018.

The Australian Financial Review Magazine recorded a print readership of 481,000, after quarter-on-quarter growth of 12 per cent and annual growth of 14 per cent. This is AFR Magazine’s highest quarterly result since 2018.

“After the hit from COVID-19, it’s encouraging to see readers return to the newspaper edition of the nation’s premium business, finance and political publication,” said the masthead’s editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury.

“That’s an endorsement of the newsroom’s journalism, including our breaking and ongoing pursuit of the PwC tax scandal.

“At the same time, the Financial Review continues to hold the most digitally focused readership of any newspaper brand as we increase our share of that national market.”

Nine’s total publishing assets – including the Financial Review, nine.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WA Today, Domain Digital and more, reach a de-duplicated audience of 16.6 million Australians across print and digital.

ThinkNewsBrands, a group representing news publishers, says 16.5 million Australians read news each week and 20.6 million or 96 per cent of Australians read news each month.

The Total News readership figures are produced each quarter by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands.

(The Australian Financial Review)

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Netflix finally reveals how much it makes from Australians - 1st June 2023

Netflix made more than $1 billion from Australians last year, a figure the company reported for the first time after deciding no longer to funnel revenues through a Netherlands-based subsidiary.

Accounts lodged by the streaming giant show Netflix Australia made $1.06 billion in 2022, up from $30.7 million the year before.

The increase in reported revenue came after the company’s local subsidiary changed how it bills. It now describes itself as a “distributor of access” to Netflix Service as opposed to a provider of services for its parent company.

It was previously estimated that Netflix made between $790 million and $1.4 billion from Australians, but customers were billed by Netflix International BV. But from January 1 last year, customers were billed by Netflix Australia, meaning subscription revenue was recognised and taxed locally.

The accounts, filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, show Netflix Australia paid $966 million to the Netflix Group in distribution fees and other costs, meaning it made just $22.7 million from total revenues of $1.06 billion.

After paying $6.9 million in income tax, it reported $15.8 million profit for the year.

“As Netflix continues to grow and invest in Australia, we want our corporate structure to reflect our business activities here,” a spokesman for Netflix said last year when The Australian Financial Review reported the structural change.

In 2021, Netflix Australia reported $30.7 million in revenue, $2.4 million in profit pre-tax, and $1.5 million in profit after its $868,000 income tax bill.

Netflix does not disclose subscriber numbers for Australia, but the revenue figures included in its latest accounts implies the service has around five million customers locally, if its standard plan, $16.99 per month, is used as a guide. It has four monthly price tiers including a new, cheaper one that now adds some advertising.

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, streaming services made a combined $2.49 billion in Australia in 2021.

The disclosure of Netflix’s true Australian revenue comes as the federal government considers introducing quotas that would force streaming companies to spend a certain amount making shows locally.

Some suggestions have been forcing them to spend between 10 and 20 per cent of local revenue on Australian shows, meaning Netflix would be required to spend, depending on the rate, between $100 million to $200 million.

ACMA estimates streaming providers spend $335.1 million on Australian content in the 12 months to the end of June last year, up from $178.9 million the year before.

Netflix has been contacted for comment.

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Mistakes and miscalculations: How the Murdochs and Fox got it so wrong - 30th May 2023

In August 2021, the Fox Corp. board of directors gathered in Los Angeles. Among the topics on the agenda: Dominion Voting Systems’ $US1.6 billion ($2.5 billion) defamation lawsuit against its cable news network, Fox News.

The suit posed a threat to the company’s finances and reputation. But Fox’s chief legal officer, Viet Dinh, reassured the board: Even if the company lost at trial, it would ultimately prevail. The First Amendment was on Fox’s side, he explained, even if proving so could require going to the Supreme Court.

That determination informed a series of missteps and miscalculations over the next 20 months, according to a New York Times review of court and business records, and interviews with roughly a dozen people directly involved in or briefed on the company’s decision-making.

The case resulted in one of the biggest legal and business debacles in the history of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire: an avalanche of embarrassing disclosures from internal messages released in court filings; the largest known settlement in a defamation suit, $US787.5 million; two shareholder lawsuits; and the benching of Fox’s top prime-time star, Tucker Carlson.

And for all of that, Fox still faces a lawsuit seeking even more in damages, $US2.7 billion, filed by another subject of the stolen election theory, voting software company Smartmatic.

Caught flat-footed

Repeatedly, Fox executives overlooked warning signs about the damage they and their network would sustain, the Times found. They also failed to recognise how far their cable news networks, Fox News and Fox Business, had strayed into defamatory territory by promoting President Donald Trump’s election conspiracy theories — the central issue in the case. (Fox maintains it did not defame Dominion.)

When pretrial rulings went against the company, Fox did not pursue a settlement in any real way. Executives were then caught flat-footed as Dominion’s court filings included internal Fox messages that made clear how the company chased a Trump-loving audience that preferred his election lies to the truth.

It was only in February that Murdoch and his son with whom he runs the company, Lachlan Murdoch, began seriously considering settling. Yet they made no major attempt to do so until the eve of the trial in April, after still more damaging public disclosures.

At the centre of the action was Dinh and his overly rosy scenario.

Dinh, a high-level Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, declined several requests for comment, and the company declined to respond to questions about his performance or his legal decisions. “Discussions of specific legal strategy are privileged and confidential,” a company representative said in a statement.

The second half of 2020 brought Fox News to a crisis point. The Fox audience had come to expect favourable news about Trump. But Fox could not provide that on election night, when its decision desk team was first to declare that Trump had lost the critical state of Arizona.

In the days after, Trump’s fans switched off in droves.

The Fox host who was the first to find a way to draw the audience back was Maria Bartiromo. Five days after the election, she invited a guest, Trump-aligned lawyer Sidney Powell, to share details about the false accusations that Dominion, an elections technology company, had switched votes from Trump to Joe Biden.

Soon, wild claims about Dominion appeared elsewhere on Fox, including references to the election company’s supposed (but imagined) ties to the Smartmatic election software company; Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan dictator who died in 2013; George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor; and China.

‘Fox News did its job, and this is what the First Amendment protects. I’m not at all concerned about such lawsuits, real or imagined.’

Fox’s chief legal officer Viet Dinh

On November 12, a Dominion spokesperson complained to Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott and Fox News Media executive editor Jay Wallace, begging them to make it stop. “We really weren’t thinking about building a litigation record as much as we were trying to stop the bleeding,” said Thomas A. Clare, one of Dominion’s lawyers.

As Fox noted in its court papers, its hosts did begin including company denials. But as they continued to give oxygen to the false allegations, Dominion sent a letter to Fox News general counsel Lily Fu Claffee, demanding that Fox cease and correct the record. “Dominion is prepared to do what is necessary to protect its reputation and the safety of its employees,” the letter warned.

Fox, however, did not respond to the Dominion letter or comply with its requests — now a key issue in a shareholder suit filed in April, which maintains that doing so would have “materially mitigated” Fox’s legal exposure.

Three months after the election, another voting technology company tied to the Dominion conspiracy, Smartmatic, filed its own defamation suit against Fox, seeking $US2.7 billion in damages. Dominion told reporters that it was preparing to file one, too.

Dinh was publicly dismissive.

“The newsworthy nature of the contested presidential election deserved full and fair coverage from all journalists. Fox News did its job, and this is what the First Amendment protects,” Dinh said at the time. “I’m not at all concerned about such lawsuits, real or imagined.”

The Fox legal team based much of the defence on a doctrine known as the neutral reportage privilege. It holds that news organisations cannot be held financially liable for damages when reporting on false allegations made by major public figures as long as they don’t embrace or endorse them.

An early warning came in late 2021. The judge in the case, Eric M. Davis, rejected Fox’s attempt to use the neutral reportage defence to get the suit thrown out, determining that it was not recognised under New York law, which he was applying to the case. Even if it was recognised, Fox would have to show it reported on the allegations “accurately and dispassionately”, and Dominion had made a strong argument that Fox’s reporting was neither, the judge wrote in a ruling.

That ruling meant that Dominion could have access to Fox’s internal communications in discovery.

That was a natural time to settle. But Fox stuck with its defence and its plan.

Treasure trove

At nearly every step, the court overruled Fox’s attempts to limit Dominion’s access to private communications exchanged among hosts, producers and executives. The biggest blow came mid-last year, after a ruling stating that Dominion could review messages from the personal phones of Fox employees, including both Murdochs.

The result was a treasure trove of evidence for Dominion: text messages and emails that revealed the doubts that Rupert Murdoch had about the coverage airing on his network, and assertions by many inside Fox, including Carlson, that fraud could not have made a material difference in the election.

The messages led to even more damaging revelations during depositions. After Dominion’s lawyers confronted Rupert Murdoch with his own messages showing he knew Trump’s stolen election claims were false, he admitted that some Fox hosts appeared to have endorsed stolen election claims.

During Carlson’s deposition last year, Dominion’s lawyers asked about his use of a crude word to describe women — including a ranking Fox executive. They also mentioned a text in which he discussed watching a group of men, who he said were Trump supporters, attack “an Antifa kid”. He lamented in the text, “It’s not how white men fight,” and shared a momentary wish that the group would kill the person. He then said he regretted that instinct.

There is no indication that Carlson’s texts tripped alarms at the top of Fox at that point.

The alarms rang in February, when reams of other internal Fox communications became public. The public’s reaction was so negative that some people at the company believed that a jury could award Dominion more than $US1 billion. Yet the company made no serious bid to settle.

All along, the Fox board had been taking a wait-and-see approach.

But the judge’s pretrial decisions began to change the board’s thinking. Also, in those final days before the trial, Fox was hit with new lawsuits. One, from former Fox producer Abby Grossberg, accused Carlson of promoting a hostile work environment. Another, filed by a shareholder, accused the Murdochs and several directors of failing to stop the practices that made Fox vulnerable to legal claims.

The weekend before the trial was to begin, the board asked Fox to see the internal Fox communications that were not yet public but that could still come out in the courtroom.

The board learned for the first time of the Carlson text that referred to “how white men fight”. Dinh did not know about the message until that weekend, according to two people familiar with the matter.

By the time the board learned of the message, the Murdochs had already determined that a trial loss could be far more damaging than they were initially told to expect. A substantial jury award could weigh on the company’s stock for years as the appeals process played out.

“The distraction to our company, the distraction to our growth plans — our management — would have been extraordinarily costly, which is why we decided to settle,” Lachlan Murdoch said at an investment conference this month.

The text also helped lead to the Murdochs’ decision to abruptly pull Carlson off the air. Their view had hardened that their top-rated star wasn’t worth all the downsides he brought with him.

Still pending is the Smartmatic suit. In April, Fox agreed to hand over additional internal documents relating to several executives, including the Murdochs and Dinh. In a statement reminiscent of Dinh’s early view of the Dominion case, the network said that Fox was protected by the First Amendment.

“We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025,” the statement said.

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Lachlan Murdoch explains $1.2b settlement, says Fox News won’t change ‘successful strategy’ - 10th May 2023

Fox News paid $US787 million ($1.16 billion) to settle a recent lawsuit on its reporting after the 2020 election to avoid a divisive trial and lengthy appeals process, its parent company’s chief executive said.

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp., also noted that a Delaware judge “severely limited” Fox’s defences against Dominion Voting Systems, which said the network defamed it by airing bogus charges of election fraud that it knew was untrue.

Fox Corp announced that it had lost $US50 million the previous three months, which it attributed to the lawsuit settlement. Murdoch, who answered questions from financial analysts, was speaking in public for the first time since the case ended and Fox fired its most popular anchor, Tucker Carlson. Carlson has just announced he is launching a new show on Twitter.

Murdoch said viewers, and investors, should expect no change in direction from Fox News.

“We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and multi-year appeal process, a decision clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders,” he said.

Fox still believes it was properly exercising its First Amendment rights to report on newsworthy fraud allegations made by former President Donald Trump, even though that defence was shot down in a pre-trial court ruling in the Dominion case, Murdoch said.

That’s important, since Murdoch said Fox intends to use the same defence against a similar lawsuit by another elections technology company, Smartmatic. That case is not expected to go to trial until at least 2025, he said.

Despite being asked directly about Carlson’s exit, Murdoch didn’t mention the former prime-time host’s name and referred to his reign obliquely. Fox has not explained why it cut ties with Carlson.

“There’s no change in programming strategy at Fox News,” he said. “It’s obviously a successful strategy. As always, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup and that’s what we continue to do.”

Although hurt by the Carlson exit, Fox News remains the leading cable news network.

Fox has lost viewers following Carlson’s firing. Last week’s substitute host, Lawrence Jones, reached between 1.28 million and 1.7 million last week in a time slot where Carlson usually drew around 3 million, the Nielsen company said.

Yet Fox has gained more than 40 new advertisers in that hour, the network said, confirming a report in Variety. Advertisers like Gillette, Scott’s Miracle Gro and Secret deodorant that had considered Carlson’s show a toxic environment have signed on.

(AP)

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Jesse Armstrong on the roots of Succession: ‘Would it have landed the same way without the mad bum-rush of Trump’s presidency?’ - 27th May 2023

It has been the TV drama of our time – a brutal, hilarious unpicking of how power works. As the series comes to an end, its creator looks back at its origin and the unholy trinity of men who helped inspire Logan Roy

My first vivid memory of the project that would develop into Succession was trying to get out of it. It was about 2008 and I was on location for the filming of Peep Show, the UK sitcom my longtime writing partner Sam Bain and I wrote together. Between that show and my work on The Thick of It and In the Loop, and a bunch of other things, I was feeling overcommitted. That particular day we were pretending a very normal field in Hertfordshire was a safari park. I sloped off from set and, hiding from imaginary lions, tried to elegantly step away from the project.

I failed. And in the following months as I wrote, slowly, I became certain the script was a dud. It was stodgy and odd. The original idea, a faux-documentary laying out Rupert Murdoch’s business secrets, with them delivered straight to camera, evolved as I worked into a sort of TV play, set at the media owner’s 80th birthday party. Channel 4 were supportive, but it was an odd form, this docudrama/TV-play, and difficult to make happen. Around 2011, after a read-through in London where John Hurt played Rupert, the project essentially died.

My US agent was the first person I recall suggesting a totally different approach. A fictional family, a multi-series US show. For five years or so, I dismissed the idea, certain that a portrayal of a fictional family would never have the power of a real one. Four works changed my mind: HBO’s excellent Robert Durst documentary, The Jinx; Sumner Redstone’s grimly business-focused autobiography, A Passion to Win; James B Stewart’s propulsive DisneyWar; and Tom Bower’s fascinating Robert Maxwell biography Maxwell: The Final Verdict. These turned the idea of doing a media-family drama without a singular real-life model from a terrible betrayal of reality into a tantalising chance to harvest all the best stories. Here was an opportunity to explore all the most fascinating family dynamics within a propitiously balanced fictional hybrid media conglomerate. I took a long, deep dive into rich-family and media-business research.

I talked about this, as-yet-unwritten, idea in half-ironised terms as ‘Festen-meets-Dallas’

When Sam and I decided to bring things to a close on Peep Show, I flew out to pitch this media show around LA. I had a clear idea of where I wanted to develop it, but my agent persuaded me appetites would be whetted if we had a number of potential homes. So I spent three days doing a round of pitch meetings where I talked about this as-yet-unwritten idea in half-ironised terms as “Festen-meets-Dallas”. No stars, Dogme 95 camerawork. Scared of driving on the five-lane highways, I bumped around town in the back of a Honda Civic while a nice young man from my US agent’s mailroom ferried me between rooms stocked with identical tiny bottles of water and executives of vastly varying degrees of interest.

Eventually, I got to HBO, the place I most wanted the show to land, home to The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. I knew they might be receptive. Frank Rich – once known as the “Butcher of Broadway” for his theatre criticism, but now an in-house consigliere – had championed my work there to the boss, Richard Plepler, and I’d previously developed a show with them. So, out the back of a French-style bistro on a three-cappuccino high, I pitched it to their head of drama and comedy, Casey Bloys.

Sometimes a pitch stretches thin and threadbare, the fabric renting as you go, the other party peeping grimly through the holes. Other times, the air thickens, and you can feel the atmosphere in the room turn oxygen-rich as the enthusiasm you are trying to project transforms into an enthusiasm you are actually feeling.

By the time I left LA, HBO had made an offer and Adam McKay, fresh from The Big Short, had said he would be interested in directing. I’d written another Succession forerunner, a script about the US political strategist Lee Atwater, for Adam and his producing partner Kevin Messick. It had been one of the few LA experiences I’d had where the excitement expressed at the start of the project sustained through the writing and attempts to get it made.

This was 2016 and, once back in the UK, I wrote the pilot through the spring and summer in a one-room flat I rented on Brixton Hill, south London, walking across Brockwell Park each morning, listening to podcasts and reading news about the Brexit referendum. Scotland had recently voted by a narrow majority to stay inside the UK and the abiding sense right before the Brexit vote was, yeah, change looms, it glistens, menacingly, promisingly, but it doesn’t happen. Not really. Really, everything stays the same.

But then it did happen. And across the Atlantic, the Trump campaign was igniting – even if initially his candidacy felt like a slightly amusing, slightly too-vivid flash in the pan. Into early autumn, in fact, all serious people were still explaining to one another that Trump couldn’t happen. Although I suppose, looking back, there was a notable lack of detail in terms of the mechanism by which he would be stopped.

I think a lot of the better films and TV shows I’ve been involved with have at their heart a quite simple impulse around which the more subtle layers are spun. In the Loop’s spark was anger at the Iraq war. Chris Morris’s Four Lions I think was driven by his gut feeling that something was very wrong with the way we understood jihadi terrorism in the UK. Peep Show was about oddball male friendship, perhaps even “masculinity”.

I guess the simple things at the heart of Succession ended up being Brexit and Trump. The way the UK press had primed the EU debate for decades. The way the US media’s conservative outriders prepared the way for Trump, hovered at the brink of support and then dived in. The British press of Rothermere, Maxwell, Murdoch and the Barclay brothers, and the US news environment of Fox and Breitbart.

The Sun doesn’t run the UK, nor does Fox entirely set the media agenda in the US, but it was hard not to feel, at the time the show was coming together, the particular impact of one man, of one family, on the lives of so many. Rightwing populism was on the march across the globe. But in the fine margins of the Brexit vote and Trump’s eventual electoral college victory, one couldn’t help but think about the influence of the years of anti-EU stories and comment in the UK press, the years of Fox dancing with its audience, sometimes leading, sometimes following, as the wine got stronger, the music madder. It was politically alarming and creatively appealing: to imagine the mixture of business imperatives and political instinct that exist within a media operation; to consider what happens when something as important as the flow of information in a democracy hits the reductive brutality of the profit calculation inside such a company. How those elements might rebound emotionally and psychologically inside a family as it considered the question of corporate succession.

For Logan Roy, Murdoch, Redstone and Maxwell were my holy trinity of models. But Conrad Black, Brian L Roberts of Comcast, Robert Mercer of Breitbart, Julian Sinclair Smith of Sinclair, Tiny Rowland, Rothermere, Beaverbrook and Hearst all fed in. The three central models were wildly different, of course: the self-made refugee Maxwell and the already-rich Murdoch, a scion of Australian journalistic royalty, both so different from the tough Boston lawyer Redstone who started with a couple of his father’s drive-in cinemas.

But they were connected by a strong interest in a few things: a refusal to think about mortality (Redstone and Murdoch both used to make the same joke about their succession plan: not dying); desire for control; manic deal-making energy; love of gossip and power-connection; a certain ruthlessness about hirings and firings. And most of all, an instinct for forward motion, with a notable lack of introspection.

Perhaps the best part of Redstone’s autobiography for a casual reader is the opening, where he recounts clinging by one hand to a hotel balcony through a fire. Despite suffering third-degree burns over half his body, years of rehabilitation, excruciatingly painful skin grafts, he says this event, after which he made all his biggest business plays, had no impact whatsoever on the trajectory of his life.

Whether due to all this grist, or the aligning of the political planets (in)auspiciously, the pilot came unnervingly easily. Getting names in a script to feel real can be hard for me – they’re a tell-tale sign of whether I’m living inside it. Kendall, Shiv, Roman, Connor. They all felt right straight off the bat. Their inspirations, I suppose, were the children of these magnates: three of the Maxwell kids, the ones closest to the business (the boys, Ian and Kevin) and to their father (Ghislaine). Brent and Shari Redstone, with whom Sumner played a tough and complicated game of bait-and-switch over CBS-Paramount succession. And the Murdoch children, Prudence, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, Chloe and Grace.

But getting those names for the Roy children made them feel like their own individuals to me. It allowed me to pour in just what I wanted from the real world, fill each with all the faults they might have inherited, while giving me room to add some extra, just for them.

Greg and Tom came fast, too. Tom from two roots. One was thinking about the sort of lunks I’ve occasionally seen powerful women choose as partners. Plausible, manly men with big watches and a soothing affable manner. That mixed with the deadly courtier, a more 18th-century figure, minutely attuned to shifts in power and influence, an invisible deadly gas that occurs in certain confined places and rises to kill anyone unwise enough not to take precautions. A hanger-on sustained by some Fitzgeraldian illusions about the world, a sense that perhaps the rich really are different from us and a romantic ambition to make it in New York City.

Greg, I guess, was a distant relative of the sort of political adviser I had myself briefly been. Gormless, clueless, out of place and gauche. But not without an eye for a deal. And, I hope, a little more wheedling and insinuating than I ever was.

The scenes flowed. I put all research aside and followed my nose and wrote pretty much exactly what I wanted

The charge between these two semi-outsiders struck me from the start as toxic and comic. Tom, the interloper, is like an organism that has found a precarious but rewarding perch above some deep oceanic vent and adapted itself to conditions perfectly. He is not pleased at all to see a similar creature scuttling along hoping to share the same cramped evolutionary niche. That first half-bullying, half-provocative exchange they share in the outfield at a softball game in the pilot landed them right in the middle of a stew they’ve been cooking in ever since.

The scenes flowed. I had eaten a very large amount of research, but once I was writing I put it all aside and followed my nose and wrote pretty much exactly what I wanted. It felt funny but odd and broken-ended, fragmentary, abrupt, oblique and slightly brutal. When I emailed it off, I had the familiar feeling that Adam, Frank and HBO might email back to say not only was it not good, it wasn’t even actually, technically, a script. But their response was frighteningly positive. Almost as though the script was finished, after what was, I thought, a quick first draft. I think every other episode of Succession has gone to at least 30 drafts – usually 50. The pilot barely hit 15.

We had our read-through in New York on US election day 2016. Before we started, I made the sort of joke lots of people made that day, assuming the polls were right and Hillary Clinton was going to squeeze it. That night we gathered in Adam McKay’s apartment to watch the results roll in. Much later, I walked a long walk back from Soho to where I was staying near the United Nations looking at the electoral college numbers projected on to the Empire State Building.

We started filming the next day.

I still wonder whether Succession would have landed in the same way without the mad bum-rush of news and sensation Trump’s chaotic presidency provided. Trump wasn’t the firebombing of German civilians, and nor is Succession Slaughterhouse-Five, but I do sometimes think about Vonnegut saying no one in the world profited from the firebombing of Dresden, except himself.

This is an edited extract from Succession: The Complete Scripts – Seasons One, Two and Three (Faber & Faber), out now at £20 each. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copies for £17.60 each from guardianbookshop.com.

The final episode of Succession airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic/Now on Monday. Jesse Armstrong donated the fee for this article to the Writers Guild of America strike assistance fund.

News

LIV Golf announces new pay-per-view option - 26th May 2023

"The hope for LIV is to grow off the success first seen on YouTube in 2022, where the league attracted tournament audiences of several hundred-thousand views in the U.S. and abroad."

Going forward, LIV Golf Series events will be available via a pay-per-view option on YouTube.

The new deal was detailed by James Colgan of Golf.com.

“Less than six months after signing a media rights agreement with the CW, LIV announced Friday that it has created a new, pay-per-view broadcast option to run on YouTube,” Colgan reported. “The PPV broadcast will cost $3 per tournament day, LIV said in a release announcing the decision, and will run in addition to the league’s agreement with the CW.”

Colgan also detailed that “A LIV source indicated that the CW is aware of the decision to introduce a pay-per-view model, and that the decision does not violate any of the league’s preexisting broadcast agreements.”

“The hope for LIV is to grow off the success first seen on YouTube in 2022, where the league attracted tournament audiences of several hundred-thousand views in the U.S. and abroad. The league already has its own direct-to-consumer subscription platform, LIV Golf Plus, which the PPV channel will run counter to. LIV broadcasts will continue to be streamed for free on the CW app.”

This announcement comes less than two weeks after a rather embarrassing moment for the tour. One week before LIV’s Brooks Koepka triumphed at the PGA Championship, the Saudi-backed golf series was in Tulsa.

On one hand, it was a perfect showcase event for LIV. Two of its most high-profile players, Dustin Johnson and Cam Smith, went to a three-way playoff (along with Branden Grace). But most of the people watching did not get to see Johnson’s eventual triumph.

The CW, the league’s primary broadcast partner, went away from coverage in the vast majority of its markets, showing “regularly scheduled programming.” Jim Nantz was quick to make a joke at LIV’s expense on the matter at the PGA Championship. The CW also announced a change, saying that all events will be shown to their conclusions going forward.

[Golf.com]

News

WWE Night Of Champions Reportedly Earned Highest Viewership Of Any Saudi Arabia Show - 31st May 2023

According to a report from Fightful Select, Saturday's Night of Champions PLE scored WWE the highest viewership out of any of the company's Saudi Arabia events since the partnership between the two began in 2013. The report states that Night of Champions brought in an 18% increase in viewership compared to last year's Crown Jewel event, and the company is reportedly quite happy with its holiday weekend results.

Night of Champions was headlined by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline, with a major angle taking place on the show that saw The Usos turn on Reigns after more than a year of build-up and tension.This marks the second time a tag team match has served as the main event of a major WWE show in recent months. Additional matches on the show included Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles to decide the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a singles match between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, and a Backlash rematch pitting Brock Lesnar against Cody Rhodes, among others.

To date, WWE has held nine PPVs and PLEs in Saudi Arabia, along with three house shows. Back in 2019, WWE announced that they had "expanded their partnership" with Saudi Arabia, and that they would be hosting two major events per year in the Middle Eastern nation through at least 2027. Though it hasn't been announced yet, WWE will likely return to Saudi Arabia for another Crown Jewel event later this year.

News

Pat McAfee Comments On Empty Seats At AEW Double Or Nothing - 31st May 2023

All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing pay-per-view took place this past weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the event, Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston tweeted images of empty seats inside the venue. Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez also posted a photo from his ringside position, which showed many unoccupied places behind Orange Cassidy after he retained the AEW International Championship in a Blackjack Battle Royal. Former "WWE SmackDown" commentator Pat McAfee has weighed in with his thoughts.

"Anytime you get a shot away from hard cam, you know what I mean, you can really see a lot of things," McAfee said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "AEW found out this weekend or whatever at one of their events, it's like three quarters of an arena completely empty. They don't want that photo out anywhere."

Ahead of the pay-per-view going live on Sunday night, WrestleTix revealed 10,229 tickets had been distributed for an 11,641 setup inside the T-Mobile Arena, leaving 1,412 tickets available. An Anarchy in the Arena match headlined the show, with Blackpool Combat Club's Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, reigning ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta picking up the win in that bout against The Elite's Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and "Hangman" Adam Page.

AEW's next major standalone show, All In, which will take place on August 27 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, has currently sold over 65,000 tickets and has a gate of over $8 million. No matches have been announced for AEW's first event across the pond as of this writing. Ticket sales for All In have slowed following an initial surge.

News

WWE-UFC merged company to be called ‘TKO Group Holdings’ - 16th May 2023

A name has emerged for the group.

Coming out of WrestleMania, it was announced by Endeavor that an agreement had been reached with WWE and the company would be merging with UFC to form a new sports and entertainment company.

The deal has not been formally finalized but a name for the merged group has been revealed. CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Mike Calia published a story and an Endeavor spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the new group is going to be called ‘TKO Group Holdings’.

It will trade under the New York Stock Exchange as ‘TKO’.

The merger between WWE and UFC is being valued at $20 billion. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will be the CEO of TKO Group and Vince McMahon is going to serve as Executive Chairman.

News

Nick Khan Says WWE In Talks With International Cities For 2024 PLEs

It sounds as though WWE will continue expanding its PLEs into international markets next year. Speaking at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference, WWE CEO Nick Khan stated that the company was discussing the potential for additional overseas shows in 2024.

"We're in conversations now with a lot of international cities about doing 2024 shows there," Khan said. "Also, part of the intent is to match those up with our media rights, even if they're not up to over-deliver for incumbent partners who can then invite their partners in the international city to the event, and host them. It's good for our overall business." Khan's comments came as part of a conversation about countries offering subsidies to WWE for bringing shows there, as the company brings a great deal of revenue to the city for major events. Khan cited recent events in Puerto Rico as well as the Dallas, Texas area as examples.

Previous rumors pointed toward Australia as a potential location for a future international WWE PLE. However, it's unknown if negotiations with the country have progressed in the months since.

WWE has steadily ramped up its major international shows over the last five years, with the company holding several yearly events in Saudi Arabia, as well as last year's Clash at the Castle and the upcoming Money in the Bank both being held in the United Kingdom. It seems fans around the world should stay on the lookout for upcoming announcements regarding WWE's international schedule in 2024.

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“We Let People Go”: Months After $21.4 Billion UFC-WWE Deal, Endeavor CEO Recalls “Horrible” Time for Organization - 2nd June 2023

The year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges for individuals and organizations alike, and the UFC was no exception. The promotional frontman Dana White has reflected on those uncertain times and shared the struggles the organization faced in keeping things going. Despite the pandemic, White was determined to keep the show running and provide entertainment for fight fans worldwide. While the rest of the world was shut down, the UFC managed to organize consistent events, albeit on a smaller scale. However, this arduous journey was not without its fair share of hardships.

Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC and William Morris Endeavor talent agency, revealed the significant challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Endeavor recently secured a massive $21.4 billion deal to acquire the WWE, during the COVID-19 days, the company found itself at rock bottom struggling to stay afloat.

When Covid-19 posed a threat to the UFC

In an interview on the “Freakonomics Radio” podcast, Emanuel shared how the pandemic affected the company financially. During the interview, podcast host Stephen Dubner asked Emanuel, “Did you think COVID might kill Endeavor?”. Reflecting on this, the 62-year-old CEO replied, “It was bad,” He continued, “I’d never had to fire that many people.”

Emanuel mentioned that the continuation of UFC fights during the pandemic played a crucial role in saving the company, accounting for approximately 70% of their revenue that year. Further talking about the struggles to keep the organization alive during the pandemic, the Endeavor CEO stated, “We had our ESPN deal. We then started making deals for writers. So we stored all the cash. We didn’t let anything out. We let people go, which was horrible, or furloughed them.”

Through the storm, Endeavor’s leadership team, led by Emanuel, proved to be the lighthouse that guided them to safer shores. The UFC’s resilience and the implementation of innovative strategies, such as the ‘Fight Island’ events, not only salvaged the company but also became a beacon of hope for other professional sports leagues.

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“Very, Very Easy for Jon Jones”: Ex-UFC Star Ruthlessly Shuts Down Tyson Fury Days After Boxer’s Callout of UFC Champ in Ugly Public Feud - 1st June 2023

The claim made by Joe Rogan that Tyson Fury would stand no chance against Jon Jones has sparked an intense and never-ending debate. Recently, another prominent figure from the UFC, the world of mixed martial arts, has jumped into this heated discussion. However, ‘The Gypsy King’ himself strongly opposed the take of the UFC commentator and didn’t hold back in expressing his views. In fact, he went as far as bashing Rogan and proudly proclaimed himself to be ‘the baddest man on the planet’.

As the back and forth continued between Fury and Rogan, UFC president Dana White has stepped in, proposing a potential fight between Fury and Jones. However, the WBC heavyweight champion firmly refused to step into the octagon, dismissing the idea altogether. This decision faced an immediate backlash from fans who had eagerly anticipated the materialization of this debate inside the fighting arena.

Despite the disappointment felt by fans, it becomes evident that the 34-year-old boxer has no intention of venturing into the octagon. On the contrary, a former UFC welterweight challenger believes that Fury would fare well in the realm of mixed martial arts. However, he warns that there may be unforeseen challenges along the way.

Tyson Fury will have a Jon Jones threat in MMA

During a recent interview, the former UFC fighter Dan Hardy shared his reflections on the latest happenings in the combat sports world, ranging from boxing to MMA. However, it was the Tyson Fury-Jon Jones debate that took center stage.

The 41-year-old Hardy began by heaping praise on ‘The Gypsy King’ for his potential in MMA, stating, “Tyson Fury doesn’t come from a boxing background. He comes from a fighting man background. Tyson Fury sees himself as a fighter first that boxes, and I think he looks at mixed martial arts and sees lots of ways he can capitalize on the changing of the rules.”

Continuing his analysis, Hardy mentioned Fury’s collaboration with Tom Aspinall and how he has showcased proficient elbows and knees in the videos shared with him. ‘The Outlaw’ confidently stated, “I feel like Tyson Fury would be really good if he crossed over to mixed martial arts. Of course, there’d be a lot for him to learn. The main issue would be, he’d be very, very easy for Jon Jones to take down. And I think that’s something that Tyson has not experienced and has not and has not really quite comprehended.”

Meanwhile, Jon Jones recently made a strong statement in his heavyweight debut, securing a first-round victory against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 after returning from a three-year-long hiatus.

This certainly explains Dan Hardy’s warning to Tyson Fury. How do you think ‘The Gypsy King’ would fare in MMA?

News

Dwayne Johnson to Return as Luke Hobbs in New ‘Fast and Furious’ Standalone Film - 7th June 2023

Dwayne Johnson is returning to the “Fast and Furious” universe with a new standalone film, reprising his franchise role as Luke Hobbs.

Universal Pictures announced the project on Thursday. Longtime “Fast and Furious” collaborator Chris Morgan wrote the untitled film’s script. Plot details were not available, though individuals familiar with the deal said the new movie will bridge between the events of the just-released “Fast X” and the upcoming “Fast X: Part II,” which is expected in 2025. Johnson just appeared as Hobbs, a diplomatic security service agent, in a credits scene for “Fast X.”

Johnson will produce the film with Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia for their Seven Bucks Productions, along with Vin Diesel and Samantha Vincent via their One Race Films. Additional producers include Chris Morgan for his Chris Morgan Productions, Jeff Kirschenbaum for Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and Neal Moritz for Original Film.

Screenwriter Morgan wrote and produced “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” and “The Fate of the Furious.” He’s also scripted and executive produced the fifth, sixth and seventh entries in the franchise. Directed by Louis Leterrier, “Fast X” opened at No. 1 around the world in May with $320 million and became the second-biggest global opening of 2023.

Johnson announced Hobbs’ return with a video posted to social media with the caption: “Your reactions around the world to Hobbs’ return in ‘Fast X’ have blown us away. The next ‘Fast & Furious’ film you’ll see the legendary lawman in will be the Hobbs movie that will serve as a fresh, new chapter & set up for ‘Fast X: Part II.'”

“Last summer Vin Diesel and I put all the past behind us,” Johnson added. “We’ll lead with brotherhood and resolve – and always take care of the franchise, characters & fans that we love. I’ve built my career on an ‘audience first’ mentality and that will always serve as my north star.”

Johnson is repped by WME, lawyers Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. and The Lede Company.

Seven Bucks has co-produced films like Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” and the DC Studios entires “Black Adam” and “DC League of Super-Pets.” Original series include NBC’s “Young Rock” and “The Titan Games.” Johnson will next produce and star in “Red One” at Amazon Studios and Disney’s live-action “Moana.”

News

13 States Comment On Possibility Of Allowing Gambling On WWE Matches

In March 2023, CNBC reported that WWE was working toward legalizing gambling on wrestling matches, enlisting the services of accounting firm Ernst & Young, with Michigan, Colorado, and Indiana mentioned as the initial targets. As of now, betting on WWE matches is only available at offshore sportsbooks like BetOnline.ag, based out of Antigua, and Bovada, based out of Latvia. Betting on matches in America would open up new streams of revenue for WWE and add some mainstream legitimacy to the sports entertainment powerhouse.

Since that report broke, however, it's been nothing bad news for WWE in the gambling department. Dave Meltzer has reported that WWE's efforts aren't going well — Colorado denied talking to WWE and said that "By statute, wagers on events with fixed or predicted outcomes ... are strictly prohibited in Colorado." Indiana told Casino.org that it had "no interest in approving wagering on scripted events," and Michigan also denied any recent talks with WWE, while New Hampshire Lottery Commission executive director Charlie McIntyre deemed it "very unlikely" betting on WWE gets approved in New Hampshire.

In light of this, Wrestling Inc. reached out to multiple states about the possibility of legalized betting on WWE matches. Each gambling commission was asked 1) how likely WWE would be to succeed if they pitched gambling on matches to them, and 2) if there were any regulations, laws, or statutes that barred betting on something with predetermined outcomes. 13 states -– Arizona, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington -– responded. While their responses varied slightly, overall, they paint a picture of increasingly fewer opportunities, and increasingly more obstacles, for legal gambling on WWE matches to get approved.

At least three states say they wouldn't allow gambling on WWE as a matter of policy, even if there are no explicit laws against it.

Kerry Hemphill, Manager of Sports Betting Product at the Oregon Lottery, made it clear that gambling on WWE wouldn't be allowed as a matter of policy in the Beaver State: "Although there is no law or statute that forbids it, Oregon Lottery sports betting policy is to not accept wagers on scripted events with predicted outcomes."

Seth Elkin, Assistant Director of Communications for Public Affairs for Maryland Lottery and Gaming, also told us his state had made a determination on the matter. "Maryland's sports wagering law and regulations prohibit forms of wagering that are contrary to public policy or unfair to bettors," he said. "We've determined that it is unfair to bettors, and therefore not in the public's interest, to accept wagers on sports entertainment events that have predetermined outcomes, like professional wrestling."

Meanwhile, a representative from the South Dakota Department of Revenue simply said, "WWE wrestling matches would not be eligible for sports wagering in South Dakota."

Iowa and Ohio say no to betting on predetermined events

Two more states said that predetermined events weren't permitted, but made a point to highlight policy and procedure. Brian J. Ohorilko, Administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, also shot down gambling on wrestling for the time being.

"Predetermined events are not permitted in the State of Iowa," he told Wrestling Inc. "Iowa law defines and permits professional sporting events and sports-related events; however, fixed or predetermined outcomes are not explicitly permitted. As such, and for other integrity concerns, the commission has not permitted predetermined events in any of the approved wagering markets."

Ohorilko also brought up the process that would be required for any kind of legalization: "From a practical standpoint, any request would need to come with a legal opinion as to how this would be permitted under Iowa law," he said. "It would need to go through legal review with consultation from the AG office. If legal review passes, the commission would still need to review policy and integrity concerns with respect to the activity having predetermined outcomes. Approval would be needed before this type of wagering activity could take place."

Ohio tells a similar story. Jessica Franks, Director of Communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, pointed us towards Rule 3775-11-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code — the process for adding to Ohio's catalog of wagers and events. She said the Commission's review of such requests includes, but is not limited to, the following criteria:

The quality of the governing body's documented integrity program.

The general availability of information related to the governing body.

The professional or skill level status of athletes.

The history of integrity related to events sanctioned by the governing body.

This already puts the WWE in shaky territory, but it's seemingly locked out for good with the following consideration: "Please note that the Commission will not approve requests for wagers/events involving 'Events which are pre-recorded or in which the outcome has been otherwise previously determined.'"

Arizona and Connecticut have laws against betting on fixed outcomes

At least two states have laws in place that would ban gambling on WWE matches.

Max Hartgraves, Public Information Officer at the Arizona Department of Gaming, provided a straightforward statement: "Arizona statute prohibits gambling on fixed events."

Meanwhile, when asked how likely WWE would be to garner approval for gambling on matches, Kaitlyn Krasselt, Communications Director at Connecticut Department of Consumer Protections, said "I cannot speculate on that." That said, she did inform Wrestling Inc. about state regulations on gambling: "Connecticut law only allows wagering on sporting or athletic events. WWE is sports entertainment. The 'matches' are predetermined by the company and are scripted. There is no regulation body for professional wrestling, and WWE is one of several companies that offers this type of entertainment. With a predetermined outcome, this would not be considered a sport. It is considered entertainment. Wagering on the Oscars, for example, is also not permitted in Connecticut."

That last part is significant, since CNBC's report mentioned that WWE executives were using Oscar betting as an example for regulators.

Maine and Montana agree with most of their colleagues

Two states specifically cited the statements from Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, and New Hampshire in their responses. After hearing that four other states had expressed skepticism over betting on WWE, Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion said, "On the surface, without looking into the matter, I would concur with my colleagues. Operators will submit with their application events that they want to take wagers on, and I shall approve them."

Daniel Iverson, Content Manager for the Montana Lottery, said something similar. "Montana does not intend to add WWE markets, for the same reasons our counterparts cited," he advised, before directing any questions on state law to the Montana Department of Justice Gambling Control Division.

New Jersey and Massachusetts punted, for now

Two states we contacted declined to comment on the matter, not wanting to address issues that haven't come before them yet. Thomas Mills, Communications Division Chief of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said, "I appreciate your question, but am unable to speculate on a hypothetical action the Commission may or may not take."

Dan Prochilo, Public Information Officer at the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, responded that "The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) cannot comment on any hypothetical discussion with an operator or league about future sports betting opportunities." He added that "In New Jersey, an entity seeking permission for a contest to be authorized for wagering on a sports event is required to submit its proposal to DGE for evaluation and approval pursuant to state law and regulations."

Prochilo also provided the state's legal definition of a "sports event" for the purposes of gambling. Notably, it includes the phrase "A 'sports event' shall include any live competition or talent contest, including awards competitions[.]"

New Jersey and Massachusetts are two of the only states that allow betting on the Oscars, with New Jersey okaying it in 2019 (the first state to do so) and Massachusetts greenlighting it in 2023. It's unknown if WWE will approach either state or how each state would respond, but at bare minimum, WWE's argument to treat wrestling like the Oscars for betting purposes might carry some weight.

Washington and New Mexico illustrate the challenges of Tribal gaming

Washington is unique among the states who responded to us, in that sports wagering is only available on Tribal lands yet still regulated by the state. Sports wagering was legalized, subject to terms of Tribal/State Compacts, on Tribal lands in 2020. All wagering, even online betting, must take place on Tribal lands, and each casino decides bets within certain limitations. The Angel of the Winds Casino and Resort and the ilani Casino Resort, for example, don't 100% overlap on sports offered for betting.

But WWE, or any wrestling, won't be joining those offering under current rules and regulations. Dan Wegenast, Agent In Charge for the Tribal Gaming Unit of the Washington State Gambling Commission, pointed Wrestling Inc. towards the Tribal/State Compacts for sports wagering. He also stated that "Washington State law and the Tribal/State Compacts for sports wagering ... prohibit wagers on events with known outcomes."

To further illustrate the complications of garnering approval for gaming on Tribal lands, a representative from the New Mexican Gaming Control Board told Wrestling Inc. that sports betting is illegal in their state, but legal with some Tribes. That said, New Mexico does not regulate Tribal gaming, meaning that approval would likely have to be worked out with each Tribe individually.

There are other obstacles, too

It's worth noting that gambling laws are constantly changing. Many states without gambling –- such as North Carolina -– have spent years hammering out legislation that would approve gambling off Tribal lands. Additionally, for states with legalized gambling, internal policies are not inherently laws, and can be subject to change under the right circumstances.

That said, even if WWE manages to get gambling on matches approved anywhere, that's only one part of the battle: They still need casinos and/or sportsbooks to be willing to accept wagers at all, and there's resistance in this field, as well, as demonstrated in subsequent coverage from CNBC. FanDuel deems it unlikely that they'd ever accept bets on WWE, noting that the Academy Awards –- which held once per year -– are vastly different than dealing with WWE's weekly programming. Additionally, when BetCEO Adam Greenblatt was asked if he had any interesting in accepting bets on WWE, he responded "NFW."

Between the overwhelming majority opinions of the 13 states who responded to Wrestling Inc., the states that have already responded, and the reluctance of sportsbooks to include anything that looks less than credible, WWE faces an increasingly uphill battle if they want to make betting on wrestling matches legal anywhere in the United States.

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Australian Media Wars: Warburton Most Wanted, by Greg Tingle - 8th April 2011

G'day media watchers, news media movers n shakers, punters, sports nuts, legal eagles, one and all. Today we probe the fun and games relating to James Warburton's early departure from Channel Seven, with the intention of starting at Network Ten, which has seen JW a regular in Australian court and talk of the Australian media landscape. Media Man with the Warburton media war special...

AFL Rights Raised Via Warburton Stoush; Day 2 In Court Update...

Channel Seven's commercial director advised the process for awarding the Australian Football League's next sports broadcasting contract still had some way to run, the NSW Supreme Court heard on day 2 of the court hearing. Bruce McWilliam was giving evidence during the second day of Channel Seven's legal bid to postpone its former chief sales and digital officer James Warburton starting his new job as chief executive of Channel Ten. The current AFL broadcast deal, involving Seven, Ten and pay television operator, Foxtel, is in its final year. The AFL is understood to be seeking $1 billion in rights fees for the next 5-year deal. Quizzed by the super legal eagle - barrister for Warburton, John West, QC, whether the result of negotiations between the AFL and broadcasters would be known very soon, McWilliam said, "There's no end in sight in the current process in my mind." McWilliam then went on to say initial expectations were that the negotiations would be concluded at about the time of last year's AFL grand final but these kept being delayed. Channel's Seven and Ten made a preliminary presentation to the AFL recently, McWilliam told the court. He also said additional meetings would likely take place. "It just depends what the AFL requires and how they wish to conduct the process," McWilliam said. Ten announced Warburton's appointment as chief executive on March 2, with a commencement date of July 14 this year. Channel Seven states that conditions in Warburton's employment contract and participation in a management equity plan, dictate that Warburton has to wait until October 2012 before commencing work with any other media firm. That's quite a wait. Warburton's legal team says it believes the proposed transaction that will have Seven's media assets transferred to West Australian Newspapers Holdings, via a series of complex transactions, will cause the management equity plan to cease to exist. With that would disappear some of the restraints included in the plan on Warburton working for another media company. McWilliam said the proposed deal, due to be voted on by WAN shareholders later this month, would not dissolve the management equity plan. "'The scheme most definitely continues," McWilliam said. The case continues.

Media Contacts Printed Off By Warburton's Computer Prior To Resignation; Day 3 In Court...

Confidential contact details of clients, agencies and Seven Network staff were printed from James Warburton’s computer the day before he resigned from the company it has been alleged in court. On the third day of the trial brought by Seven, the NSW Supreme court also heard that Warburton’s knowledge of tech Channel Seven had acquired that allows products to be superimposed into programs had the potential to harm the business. Seven is attempting to hold back Warburton from switching to Ten to become its chief executive until October next year, claiming he is in breach of a management equity plan. Warburton wants to start at Ten in July this year. Referring to a document of good old fashioned Microsoft Outlook contacts, the network director of sales at Seven and Warburton’s former deputy, stated in an affidavit: "I note from the information at the bottom of the document that it appears to have been printed by Mr Warburton’s executive assistant… at 8.39am on 1 March 2011, being the day before Mr Warburton resigned from SMG. The contacts list includes the telephone and email contact details of numerous SMG employees and a number of SMG clients and agencies." Under a heading in his affidavit called "Virtual advertising", Burnette told how in December last year Channel Seven inked a deal with a company that provides technology which enables products to be superimposed into a program during the post production-phase. He said Warburton’s inside knowledge of a potential revenue stream it could deliver to Seven was information a competitor would value highly. Burnette also recounted a chat he had with Warburton in December last year after Seven’s direct group sales manager, David Bellamy, announced he was resigning to move to Ten. Burnette claims Warburton said: "OK. He needs to be put on gardening leave immediately and keep him from starting for the three months or whatever the maximum is." The hearing continues.

Warburton Advised Leave Channel Seven Immediately Sir...

Commercial director of Channel Seven, Bruce McWilliam, said it would have been "very impolite" for him to have told a departing executive, James Warburton, that he wouldn't be able to take up Ten's offer as chief executive for a year because of anti-competition rules within a management equity participation scheme. McWilliam advised he had requested HR staff to check the restraint period, and had been aware that a press release from Channel Ten stated Warburton would start with the network as chief executive in July. McWilliam said Warburton told him that Seven's chief executive, David Leckie, wanted him out of the building immediately. "I … wouldn't always take what is said at face value," McWilliam told the restraint of competition case brought by Seven against Warburton. He believed it was "harsh to someone who had been with the company so long". In an affidavit put forward in the court, McWilliam advised Leckie had told him he didn't want Warburton "mixing with staff and being around whatever deals are done, it is untenable". McWilliam said: "But you didn't imply he was terminated did you?", to which Leckie responded, "Of course not. I am not stupid. I said to him, "You have to go on gardening leave, or whatever it is called." The court was advised that while Warburton had run the numbers for Channel Seven's passing interest in MasterChef, and was the sole Seven executive who advised against broadcasting Wimbledon as it was a "dying tradition", Warburton could not retain so much confidential information in his head that would justify Seven restraining him from working in the television industry until October 2012. Warburton's barrister, John West, QC, rejected Seven's contention of Warburton's "total mastery". In one cheeky interlude with McWilliam, West said: "You really can't help yourself, you keep on over-egging the custard", to which McWilliam responded: "He doesn't just forward emails. If the information in the email was incorrect he would have gone back to them and corrected it …" The hearing before Justice Michael Pembroke continues.

Warburton Didn't Steal Media Documents; Day 4 (18th Apri 2011)...

SMG (Seven Media Group) has withdrawn on claims that ex executive James Warburton stole confidential information upon his sudden departure from the firm. Warburton walked on Seven in March to join competitor Ten Network as chief executive officer, a move that pissed off Seven. Warburton was to have commenced with Ten in July, but Seven has taken legal action in the NSW Supreme Court in a bid to delay him starting until October 2012. Seven contends provisions in his employment contract and participation in a management equity plan at Seven constrain him from working at another media firm. Seven had also argued in court that Warburton had snatched confidential information when he left the group, including strategy reports as well as ratings and revenue data. In the NSW Supreme Court yesterday, Tony Meagher, SC, representing Seven told the court that this claim has now been retracted. "There is no longer a threat he will use the confidential information," Meagher told the court, according to news reports. The case continues today, with Seven Media boss executive David Leckie to take the stand after the media group's HR. Australian media has been talking about the case under watercoolers and in coffee shops since it commenced, and the legal eagles are understood to be making a financial killing, as is often the case on high level legal media battles. WAR...BURTON - sure sounds like he's ready for another round on Aussie media wars. James Packer might like to see him take on Ten's gaming arm (or whatever the secret project might be). Bang!

*The writer owns shares in Network Ten

News

Australia Day Special, by Greg Tingle - 26th January 2011

G'day and Happy Australia Day everyone. Ok, we know some of you punters, journos, high rollers - casino whales, entertainment news junkies, politicians, insiders, outsiders and legal eagles are from across the globe are not Australia, nor have ever been down under, but you get the idea. Did you know that some indigenous Australia's call Australia Day 'Invasion Day'! That's because most history books show that Captain James Cook and his crew invaded Australia on this day in 1988. They are known by a new names including the First Fleet, while some aborigines will always think of them and murderous mongrels, who stole their land and pride. It's easy for many of us to get the point of the blackfellas (affectionate). Media Man and Gambling911 with a bush tucker bag full of Australian gambling, casino, poker, media and sports news. Fair winds...

Queensland Banana Bender State: Pub Pokies And Online Pokies Becoming More Popular?...

One armed bandits are maintaining their popularity in 'The Sunshine State'. It's understand that punters might have only a 1 in a million chance of winning really big, lotto - millionaire style, but they just keep coming back for more. Yep, throw another dime in the pokie baby. Queenslanders "invested" close to $2 billion last year as the punters passion for the slots maintained its fever pace. The total pokies expenditure of $1.81 billion was slightly down on the previous year, it was the third year consecutively the number exceeded $1.8 billion. We're also learned that the 2008 figure of $1.83 billion was an all-time record. Now, this is important - those numbers Do Not take into account the rabid take up and roll our of online poker or sports betting. You know, betting over the global medium - the internet. Overall, Queenslanders spent $7 million less on pokies than last year and $28 million less than in 2008, but it still works out at in excess of $150 million every month down the slots August was the year's biggest month for slot gamblers, who put close to $170 million in the throats of the one armed bandits. August was also the biggest month for gamblers in 2008, with more than $173 million lost. Pokies remain by far the most popular games for punters in Australia, bringing in most of the estimated $17 billion spent on all forms of gambling down under each year. Some insiders think that the reduction in official spending was more a sign of the increased popularity of internet and sports-based gambling. Concentrating on pokie figures, it appears Queenslanders gambled more at the height of the global financial crisis two years ago than they did throughout 2010.

Tassie 'Devil' Gambling Tycoon Devilish Quotes...

David Walsh from Tasmania was such a big hit with the readership we thought we would dig up a few more of the red hot 'The Devil's' quotes, that are too good not to share. First a refresher...Art and gambling do mix, at least that's the experience of Brits Damian Aspinall, Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell, Australian artist Gina Sinozich, Media Man (bodypaint and burlesque "fetish") and Tasmanian gambling whale - tycoon, David 'Wicked' (satire) Walsh. You will pick up on Dave's affectionate nickname by us later. We like you David, ok mate. Tasmania's most famous or infamous gambling figure, millionaire, David Walsh yesterday gave us a peak into his art exhibit...the biggest (and weirdest) private art gallery in Tasmania, if not the Asia Pacific. The $110 million Museum of Old and New Art is nestled on the banks of Hobart's Derwent River.

Quotes By The Tasmanian Devil!...

"FUCK the art, let's rock'n'roll."

"I think formal curation is a form of mental masturbation."

"I'm not really that interested in a bunch of big names. Most of the works are by people most people haven't heard of and still won't have heard of because there's no wall labels."

"I don't want to lose control (or) something that ends up looking like a pale version of the National Gallery of Victoria".

"Subversive adult Disneyland".

"Please see reception if you are planning a pool party or a ritualistic orgy."

"It's the opportunity to mess with your head. I like the idea of people having a couple of beers and looking at the art, having a couple more and changing their mind."

"Just a privileged guy with a megaphone"

"It’s like a rich man’s soap box. I’m standing on my soapbox and I’m shouting my views like they mean something."

"I’ll take all the popular stuff out. And if you go to the toilet two or three times we’ll recommend a good urologist."

“My brother once said about me that I’d rather be outside a barrel pissing in than inside the barrel pissing out. I’m anti this idea that we know what we’re doing with certainty. I kinda think that most things that are good happen to people largely by accident, but then they start looking for explanations. You see the views of rich, successful people on television, and they tell you why they got rich and successful; they don’t interview all the people who went through the same process and didn’t. I think most things are complete crap. I want to show that you can be fortunate without believing that your fortune was anything other than fortune."

"There are so many things we do that we hide from. We hack open cows and eat their guts but we compartmentalise that away from our lives so we can pretend it’s not happening. And on a larger, more important scale, if each of us acted individually to say ‘OK, we f…ed up the atmosphere, it is our personal responsibility’, humanity would behave in a very different way."

"One of the things about having money is that … I feel a bit of guilt and a level of privilege, and it seems to be an obligation to do something, and since art is what I’ve been doing....but it wasn’t really like that. It was: I bought this small gallery, bought a bigger one, and gradually it became something of this scale. It’s become a lot more serious endeavour than I intended it to be. There’s a bit of thumbing my nose at the establishment and trying to bypass academia, but mainly I just wanted it to be a bit of fun. And it is. And it will be."

"The gambling is all a computer thing that is going on right now".

Website

Museum of Old and New Art

Queensland: Cairns Reef Hotel Casino Poised To Raise Big Bucks For Flood Relief On Australia Day...

Punters, let's all spare a thought for those who have been attacked by the floods on Australia Day. Numerous events are being planed around Australia, from 'Sound Relief' to and initiative from the Cairns Reef Hotel Casino 'Bring on the Sun' It will be one of the biggest events on the Australia Day calendar for the city and all funds raised will go to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal. There's a good old fashioned sausage sizzle, competitions and female performers including the Marlins’ cheer squad. "The whole idea is slanted towards the female performer," entertainment manager Bruce Stewart said. "We’ve got an eclectic blend of female artists coming to perform as well." Cazalys, El Mundo Tapas Bar and the Marlin Coast Bowls Club will also host events to raise money for flood victims. Cairns Regional Council will hold events across the region, including the ever-popular celebrations on the Esplanade. Mayor Val Schier said the council was expecting a good attendance as usual with residents keen to get outside and celebrate our sunburnt country in the green and gold. "Even last year when it poured, a huge number of people came to the Aussie breakfast; we expect the same will happen this year, rain, hail or shine. It is one of those days where people can come together as a community and help celebrate why it is great to be an Australian. We live in a fantastic country and it is good for people to get out and enjoy it." Pubs and clubs will also get into the Aussie spirit with a number of activities on offer. Paradise Palms Resort and Country Club has a patriotic, fun-filled day planned with activities that pay homage to Australia’s heritage such as the much-anticipated pie-eating competition. "Everybody is welcome to come along and have some fun while tucking into our Aussie selection of meat pies, icy beers, lamingtons and classic Australian music by DJ Danny from Millennium Sounds," director of sales and marketing Darlene Holdsworth said.

Events

Join the celebrations

Paradise Palms Resort and Country Club Australia Day celebrations
What’s on: Australian menu served from noon in Restaurant 59, pie-eating and thong-throwing competitions start at 1.30pm. Pies, icy beers, lamingtons and classic Australian music on offer at the resort.
Time: 12pm. Entry free.

Bring on the Sun at Cairns Reef Hotel Casino
What’s on: Entertainment, sausage sizzle, raffles, jumping castle and more with all proceeds going to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.
Time: 2pm. Entry free.

Shane Warne And Poker Mates Get VIP Star Treatment At Australian Open Tennis Sunday Night...

The spinner got there at 8pm hoping to get star VIP treatment for 14 of his closest mates. In the mix was was Joe Hachem, who he had earlier caught up with at the launch of the Aussie Millions Poker Tournament at Crown Casino. Warne requested an escort (no, not that type silly) when he arrived and posed mostly for photographs with his sunglasses on. He also spent time in Andy Roddick's player's box during his loss to Swissman Stanislas Wawrinka. It been a big couple of days for "poker her" for the legend, playing rendezvous with Liz Hurley in LA. He is expected to play in the second round of the poker tournament and could face off against Gary Ablett Jr and Jeff Fenech tomorrow. Blett made it through to the second round.

Australian Financial Review Goes Gaga For Lady Gaga; Gets Facts Wrong (We Think)...

It took us a few months of going through newspapers but we finally found the AFR to make a slip up, and its a doozy....An article reads "the complex will have a few upmarket bars, including one on the roof, and an events theatre to house live acts – think Lady Gaga – as well as awards nights." With Gaga's level of popularity she would require a much larger venue than Star City. Earlier this year, she - they played two concerts at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, capacity 12,000 or thereabouts. Do the math.

Australia's Kylie Minogue To Do The Colosseum At Caesars Palace Las Vegas: Aphrodite Live...

Mark is down Kylie fans the word over. She's doing Ceasers Sunday May 22, 2011 8pm

Melbourne: Aussie Joker Comedian Performs At Packer's Crown; Raises Cash For Flood Relief...

Melbourne folks at Crown Casino recently enjoyed 'The Jokers Comedy That Rocks' at Crown Casino. James Packer's casino donated all proceeds from last Friday night’s show to Queensland flood victims. Organiser William Leitch has happy with the way things went and showcased an evening with some of the city’s top stand-up artists, including Brad Oakes, Christine Basil and Greg Fleet. It's understood he got close to 150 people to come along, and he may be invited back on upcoming Friday nights.

Top 100 ASX Listed Companies Respond To Flood Cry For Help; Gambling And Gaming Industry Steps Up; Mining Firms and Banking Bastards Lead Charge...

1. BHP Billiton: $1.3 million (in addition, matching employee donations)

2. CBA: $1.35 million

3. Westpac: $1 million

4. ANZ: $1 million

5. NAB: $1 million

6. News Corp: $500,000 and Blue Ribbon campaign

7. Rio Tinto: $1 million ($700,000 to Premier Relief, $300,000 to Emerald community)

8. Wesfarmers: $7.5 million (plus $3.5 million from Coles customers)

9. Telstra Corp: up to $1 million by matching staff contributions (so far $338,000; is also supplying phones and free calls to people affected)

10. Woolside Petroleum: $122,395 (corporate + employees)

11. Woolworths: $6.9 million (matching customer donations in Woolies, Big W, Dick Smith dollar for dollar)

14. Fortescue Metals: Matching staff donations dollar for dollar

15. CSL: $250,000

16. QBE Insurance: not releasing a statement

17. Origin energy: $1 million

18. Macquarie Group: $200,000 (combined staff and company effort with fundraising activities continuing both here and overseas)

19. AXA Asia Pacific: No response

20. Santos: $500,000 plus use of helicopters and vehicles for clean up. Also $50,000 for flooding in WA

21. Coal and Allied Industries: (see Rio Tinto)

22. AMP: $250,000 + matching employee contributions to WA flood appeal up to $250,000

23. Suncorp Group: $100,000 (staff and customers have donated $1.5million)

24. Foster's Group: $500,000

25. Brambles: No response

26. Leighton Holdings: No response

27. Orica: No response

28. Oil Search: No response

29. Stockland: Donated $250,000 to the Premier's flood relief appeal, another $30,000 to the Mayoress Rockhampton regional flood appeal and are matching employee donations dollar for dollar

30. Coca. Cola Amatil: No response

31. Amcor: No response

32. Westfield Retail Trust: No response

33. IAG: No response

39. Crown: Donation tins in Crown complexes and have committed to matching all donations as well as staff contributions

52. Tabcorp Holdings: $1 million

78. Tatts Group: Going to run a dedicated lottery for the Queensland flood appeal where all profits will go to the Premier's Flood Appeal. They ran the same thing in Victoria after the Black Saturday bushfires. It will run on Wednesday 2 Feb in Queensland and is expected to raise $200,000. In addition, another donation will be made from the unclaimed prizes fund of an as. yet undecided amount

79. Fairfax Media: Matching staff donations

100. Seek: Reported it had made a donation to the Premier's Flood Appeal but chose not to disclose how much

Brisbane: Flood Relief Money Gets Spend On Pokies, Vice - Piss Up At Pubs...

It's been reported in a number of Queensland newspapers that the $1000 flood relief grants that went to many good folks in Granville are being used to feed slots and buy piss (beer) rather than food and necessities. Two Maryborough publicans say that in some instances the answer to that is yes, and they are disgusted. One of the publicans was so incensed by the misuse of flood relief money she telephoned Fairfax Media to complain. "A man came in bragging about how he’d got the $1000 payout because he told Centrelink he was stuck in Granville – but he was here the whole time. It makes me sick that people are openly admitting they’ve got the money for nothing, while there are people who’ve died or lost everything." She said Centrelink should have screened the applications more carefully to make sure only people who were genuinely in need received the cash. Another pub owner said his one armed bandits had not stopped buzzing since the grants became available. "We were quiet during the actual floods but this week’s been totally different. The pokies and the bottle shop have been going non-stop." Yeah, Aussie continue to love a punt, rain, hail, shine or flood!

Aussie Millions Game 8 Results...

The London based chap took down the $1,100 8 game mixed event title at Crown Casino in Melbourne adding AUD$23,800 to his almost $1.2 million in career tournament earnings. He entered the final table as the short stack, but managed to grind his way to victory and nudge away Australia's Bruno Portaro for the victory. The event marked Ashby's 8th final table appearance at the Aussie Millions that includes a side-event win back in 2005 and a seventh-place finish in the main event in 2009. Ashby also won his first WSOP bracelet this summer in the $1,500 7 Card Stud event and went well in the $10k H.O.R.S.E. for his biggest career score of $378,027. The 2011 Aussie Millions $1,100 8-Game Mixed event drew 68-players and paid the final 7.

Here are the results:
1 Richard Ashby AUD$23,800
2 Bruno Portaro AUD$16,320
3 Casey Kastle AUD$10,880
4 Daniel Ospina AUD$6,800
5 Oliver Gill AUD$4,760
6 Dane Coltman AUD$3,400
7 Paul Ravesi AUD$2,040

Aussie Main Event Day 1b: PartyPoker And Full Tilt Poker Players Feel The Pain...

PartyGaming's PartyPoker and Full Tilt Poker's powers that be likely won't be celebrating. Ok, they got news coverage and exposure, but its because their players are out. Yep, history maties. Full Tilt went well on Day 1a but Day 1b was rooted. Many of the big name pros went down for the count as locals stepped up. 209 players entered the Crown Poker room but after 7 levels of play, 80 remained. David Oppenheim, Annette Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen, David Benyamine, Andrew Feldman, Steve Yea, Andy Bloch and Gus Hansen were some of the Full Tilt players who died. Other casualties included Luke Santo, Raj Ramakrishnan, George Moussa, Michael Pedley, Graeme Putt, Martin Comer, Dennis Huntly, Jamie Pickering, Bruno Portaro, Casey Kastle, Ben Savage and Tim Marsters. 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem (tweeting he struggled with jetlag following a recent trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.) Defending champ, 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Tyron Krost (PartyGaming's PartyPoker pro went down too). A new champ will be crowned in 2011 with plenty of Aussies still in contention. The field kicked off with Jeff Rossier in the lead with 154,900, closely followed by Michael Ottobra (143,400) and Martin Drewe, After winning the Opening Event last week and going deep in another event, Drewe is now set in the chip leaders in the Main Event after getting to 136,100. Jay “SEABEAST” Kinkade did nicely with 128,700, Haibo Chu (113,900), Manny Stavropoulos (85,600), Sorel Mizzi (74,400), Michael Egan (61,100), Kent Hunter (56,400), Jeff Lisandro (55,000), Eric Assadourian (50,300), Scott Montgomery (49,200), Chris Ferguson (45,400), Lee Nelson (30,200), Neil Channing (28,800), Roland de Wolfe (26,100), Aleks Brkovic (24,600), Jackie Glazier (21,900), Grant Levy (18,300), Gary Benson (10,500) and Mel Judah (7,200) amongst those who will return on Day 2. The 3rd and final flight of the 2011 Aussie Millions Main will commence Tuesday with another strong field and a few big names expected. Even Van Marcus will front up. Van, is your Red Ferrari safe this time mate? We're looking for more good fodder to write about. How about do a publicity stunt and make world wide headlines ago. Maybe someone at Crown Casino - Crown Limited might be open to it. Stanger things have happened... like Ferrari's getting stolen on site, casino fights and a man getting stuck in the Crown Casino kitchen grease vacuum.

Aussie Millions Event #9 Day 1b: Rossiter In Front...

It was down to business with players investing AUD$10,600 to buy in all with the goal of becoming the 2011 Aussie Millions Champion. 7 seven levels of play, and the 209-player field went to 80. Jeff Rossiter is in front with 154,900. Martin Drewe, 2011 Aussie Millions Event #1 winner with 136,100 - now 3rd on the leaderboard. Australian Jay Kinkade is on 128,700, and European Poker Tour mainstay Jeff Sarwer sits 5th with 120,500. Randy "nanonoko" Lew has 110,000 and Gavin Griffin 101,700 in 9th ninth and 10th place. Sorel Mizzi, Jeffrey Lisandro, Eric Assadourian, Team Full Tilt's Chris Ferguson, Full Tilt Poker Red Pros Scott Montgomery and Roland de Wolfe, Neil Channing, and Lee Nelson have also all made it to Wednesday's Day 2, but it was touch and go for some of them, testing the skill VS luck debate. Full Tilt Poker $25,000 Shootout Invitational winner David Oppenheim, Annette Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen, Andy Bloch, David Benyamine, Andrew Feldman, Gus Hansen, Joe Hachem, and David Steicke all had to say goodnight nurse. PartyGaming's - PartyPoker Tyron Krost was eliminated in a hand VS Gavin Griffin where his Ace-Queen couldn't best Griffin's Aces. The 3rd and final Day 1 flight commences Tuesday in Melbourne, Australia at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Getting board of poker yet? If so, try your luck er skill at Baccarat or Craps. If your more into luck, check out the slots like Cleopatra, Sinatra, Rambo, Goanna Gold and The Terminator. Rumour goes PartyGaming also have, or will soon get, a World Poker Tour themed online slot game. We recommend punters open an account with PartyCasino, PartyGaming and World Poker Tour, just to have all based covered. Party appears to still be the most popular online casino brand in Australia despite big efforts by the likes of 888. Marvel slot games are forecast to be some of the most popular of this year with Captain America and Thor tipped to hit Australia cinema's this year, with Spider-Man also getting a remake. Whatever your casino game of choice, good luck, and let us know how you go guys and girls. Spin to win.

Take the time to research and learn games before placing down money

Media Man, Casino News Media and Gambling911 are website portals. Not casinos as such, however are recognised as world leading websites that cover the sector and act as central points to games, news, reviews and more.

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen sectors covered

Aussie Pay TV Foxtel Top Dog Highlights Piracy Concerns With Hi Tech...

Foxtel big cheese (chief executive) Kim Williams has issued a public warning that the upcoming NBN (National Broadband Network) down under in Oz could quite likely increase video piracy. Williams, along a legal eagle, has encouraged Canberra members of Parliament and media companies, big and small, to campaign against the theft of intellectual property. Maybe KW say have effective the 'Get Up' and 'Internet Blackout' days were, where driven forward using media and people power. Williams advised that a co-ordinated effort of the TV industry, the government and the NBN Co as well as new laws were badly needed to prevent greater rates of piracy in a high-speed digital world. Readers, I think we know he's telling the truth, as apposed to some of the porkies coming out of the Labor government recently. "We need an allied plan in terms of appropriate legal adjustments, otherwise you are creating the equivalent of the largest road train in the world backing up to rob the world's largest jewellery store without the police force to stop them. Copyright theft and privacy are very serious crimes. Companies like Foxtel and other media companies that are dependent on the sanctity of intellectual property need to become much more effective advocates in working with government to find appropriate remedies." News Corp leaks have been spreading the message to other small and mediums size media outlets such as Media Man, in a way an insider described as "a kind of Wikileaks way". Copyright reform is high on the must do list for many media firms A "convergence review" of broadcast media policy announced by your friend and ours (satire) Communications Minister Stephen Conroy earlier this month is set to consider copyright issues, of which there are quite a few. "I think you'd have to be short-sighted not to be concerned about piracy," said another leaker from Australian free TV. "What we have had in our favour is the large file size of a TV show or movie which makes it harder to download, but clearly as technology gets better, you reduce the complexity of piracy." Foxtel regards the NBN as an "opportunity" and has embraced online distribution, getting a deal in place to broadcast channels online through Microsoft's Xbox console and offering sub customers a comprehensive movie download service. The FTA (free to air) networks are also offering catch-up TV services such as the ABC's iView player and James Packer's Network Ten has plenty on offer too, with Bondi Rescue understood to be the most popular over the past few years. TV execs reckon that their large audiences give them the scale to outbid new internet broadcasters for quality content. "Of all the media organisations in Australia, in television and electronic media at least, we are the most adaptive and most innovative and have the longest record of investing in innovation so it's business as usual for us," Williams said. Stay tuned for more on Aussie piracy (and privacy) wars.

Channel Nine: Nine Entertainment Co Poised For A Great 2011...

A fresh Channel Nine will be the one to watch next year as everyone awaits the forecast relisting on the ASX of the television network in the first half of 2011. Private equity owner CVC Asia Pacific looks about ready to launch an estimated $5 billion initial public offer after an improved ratings performance in 2010. Even better, improved advertising conditions for free-to-air television are in swing and likely to continue for many months, if not over a year. The owners have rebranded the network as Nine Entertainment, scrapping the PBL brand that had been associated with the television station, and revamped the management team headed up by David 'Gyng' Gyngell. A Media Man insider said "The smart money says this will work out well for Nine. We are ready to buy in. Network Ten was give a fresh life with Packer, we bought shares, and will do the same with Nine in a heartbeat. The support is there, and Network Nine has the richest history in Australian TV, not to mention the highest ratings when you look at the landscape over a few decades. They didn't get the tag 'The One' for nothing". Another insider on the funds side of things said a float was an "odds on" chance in 2011. CVC currently owns 99.3% of Nine Entertainment, which holds assets including Nine, ACP Magazines, ticketing firm Ticketek and half stakes in the NineMSN and carsales website portals. Then known as PBL Media, the company was formed when James Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd split its media and gaming assets circa 2006. 'Our James' held onto the gaming assets, such as Melbourne's famous tourism landmark, Crown Casino, and formed a JV with CVC on the media assets. CVC initially held 50% of Nine Entertainment, but increased its holding to 99.3% in 2008. Nine has roughly $4 billion of debt due to mature in 2013 and 2014. Gyngell told fund managers Nine Entertainment was expected to post a 35% increase in earnings in 2010/11, according to numerous news media reports. Nine is able to consider an IPO due in large part to the strong bounce in advertising in 2010, with most media companies reversing the savage declines experienced in 2009. Free-to-air television, which was one of the main beneficiaries of the lift in advertising, also received a boost thanks to a few government decisions. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy quickly cut TV licence fees by 33% in 2010 and 50% next year. Then, an updated anti-siphoning list gave pay-television the right to bid directly for some AFL and NRL footy games, thus also permitting the free-to-air stations to broadcast certain first-run events on their digital channels instead of their main channel. The latter concession could likely be good news for Ten Network Holdings Ltd's all-sport digital channel One. Ten's share registry was raided late in 2010, resulting in 3 new board members, the "forced" departure of executive chairman Nick Falloon and left a few folks up in the air about Ten's future. Packer returned to free-to-air television alongside mate Lachlan Murdoch in October, spending $280 million to buy 18% of the company and securing 2 seats on the board. The transaction is being investigated by the competition watchdog (ACCC) because Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd, chaired by Packer, and News Corp, of which LM is a director, both hold interests in ONE rival and pay-tv station Fox Sports. Some speculate that Packer is keen to shut down One, but we hope not, as we love the wrestling and UFC, as does much of the Aussie public. Ten's latest shareholder and director, mining tycoon and Australia's most well to do woman, Gina Rinehart, has also made next to no comment about why she bought 10% of the television network in November. While the ratings of ONE are smaller than the digital offerings from the other free-to-air digital channels such as GO! and 7Mate, the all-sport is profitable and drawing in viewers and advertisers.

Aussie Pay TV Operators Foxtel And Optus Get Cosy In Bed Together; Will Boost Subs...

Optus will commence marketing Foxtel to its customers again after the two companies inked a new deal on subscribers. The smart move comes around two years since Optus stopped actively promoting Fox. Foxtel is facing up to increased competition from the new free to air digital channels and Internet-delivered TV services. The new deal will see Optus customers offered Foxtel’s HD services for the first time via the iQ HD settop box. At present, Foxtel is offering 20 HD channels...a major point of difference to free to air, which has seen the main channels available only in standard definition since the launch of the secondary digital channels. Optus will also be able for the first time to sell Foxtel via satellite where it does not have a cable network, in order to build bundled offerings to customers. Foxtel CEO Kim Williams went on record, "The audio visual entertainment market is increasingly competitive with the arrival of terrestrial multichannels and new IPTV providers, and we welcome these agreements as they provide solid incentives for Optus to offer the full suite of Foxtel subscription services into the future." Optus CEO Paul O’Sullivan was prepared to say "Foxtel has been a strategic partner and customer of Optus for many years and we’re pleased to be able to extend the breadth of Foxtel services we sell to our customers." Come February the deals will be promoted to the public.

One HD; Network Ten: Be Prepared For Games and iGaming in 2011...

With the likes of media and gambling tycoon joining a board of directors come numerous benefits and unique opportunities, and Ten is learning quickly. Have you already spotted the gaming promos being ramped up? More mentions of Crown Casino on TV? How about the coverage of The Poker Star last year, and the appearance of Packer mates Shane Warne and Joe Hachem on The 7PM Project earlier this year, and all of the gaming related fundraisers. Coincidence? No, of course not. Insides tell Media Man to expect a lot more gaming, gambling and sports betting on the network next year, and maybe even some 2 way TV stuff, along with gaming related reality TV. Stay tuned to this dial for more on this developing news story.

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Ferguson dumped as Nine scrambles for No. 1 - The Sydney Morning Herald - 12th January 2009

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