Roundup: Upset over Telstra ad, Seven presenter cut, MrBeast
Tesla chair buys WNBL, Evan Gershkovich trial begins, Reddit update, Judith Whelan remembered, AI Olympics narration, Fam Time sitcom, Florence Hunt, and Harry Potter TV series.
Business of Media
Telstra’s ad campaign celebrates Australia. It was made in Poland
Most people who see Telstra’s new ads featuring talking animals and plants as representatives of Australia’s most remote locations are likely to respond with amusement and delight. But for the nation’s small community of stop-motion animators, the response is more like a slap in the face, delivered one painstaking frame at a time, reports Nine's Publishing's John Stensholt.
The 26 separate 15-second spots are the work of creative agency Bear Meets Eagle on Fire (BMEOF), under the auspices of Telstra’s creative team +61. They took months to plan and build, and up to four days each to film. Hundreds of ordinary Australians from around the country auditioned to provide the voices for characters meant to represent Wagga Wagga, Yowah, Rocky Cape and beyond, to sell Telstra’s message that its network offers the best coverage for Australians in far-flung places.
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm buying WNBL with Larry Kestelman
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm will become the first female majority owner of a sports league, after striking a deal to buy the Women’s National Basketball League, reports News Corp's John Stensholt.
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Denholm is joining Larry Kestelman, the owner of the men’s NBL, in buying a majority stake in the WNBL from governing body Basketball Australia in a deal that is being announced on Thursday morning.
Manny Stul hails MrBeast deal as “game changer” for Moose Toys
Billionaire Manny Stul has hailed a groundbreaking deal his Moose Toys business has struck with the world’s most popular YouTube personality MrBeast as a “game changer” for his globally successful company, reports News Corp's John Stensholt.
Melbourne-based Moose Toys is a worldwide toy sensation, now boasting annual global revenue of more than $1bn from its own hits such as Magic Mixies and Shopkins and selling a range of toys from the popular Bluey television series.
Closed-door trial of US journalist Evan Gershkovich begins in Russia
A Russian court has begun a closed-door trial of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges that he, his employer and the US government have all described as politically motivated, reports The Guardian's Andrew Roth.
Gershkovich appeared in a courtroom in Ekaterinburg on Wednesday, his head shaven by prison authorities, after being transferred from the Moscow jail where has been held since March 2023.
News Brands
Popular Seven presenter sacked in network’s mass round of redundancies
The bloodletting has begun at Channel 7, with one of the network’s most popular Queensland stars among dozens of staff to lose their jobs, reports News Corp's Jeremy Pierce.
Staff at the network’s Gold Coast News program have been summoned to meetings with executives over the past two days and told they would be let go or that their contracts would not be renewed.
Among those to be told they would not receive a new contract was popular weatherman Paul Burt, who has gained a cult following across his television career.
See also:
Seven West Media redundancies: Three of network’s top executives exit
Seven West Media reportedly making 150 roles redundant
Social Media
Reddit to update web standard to block automated website scraping
Social media platform Reddit said on Tuesday it will update a web standard used by the platform to block automated data scraping from its website, following reports that AI startups were bypassing the rule to gather content for their systems, reports Reuters.
The move comes at a time when artificial intelligence firms have been accused of plagiarizing content from publishers to create AI-generated summaries without giving credit or asking for permission.
Sports
Now Narrating the Olympics: A.I.-Al Michaels
The Olympics have ancient beginnings. Now, they will also have a dose of the latest technology, reports The New York Time's John Koblin.
This year, highlights from the Summer Olympics will be brought to you by artificial intelligence — and more specifically, the A.I.-generated narration of Al Michaels.
Television
Fam Time sitcom to (finally) screen on 7Plus
It’s the comedy the last CEO didn’t want to screen, but Seven has finally committed to screening Aussie sitcom Fam Time, after 5 years of it languishing on the programming shelf, reports TV Tonight's David Knox.
The comedy stars Michala Banas (Winners & Losers, Always Greener), Benson Jack Anthony (800 Words), Karina Banno (Barons) and Duncan Fellows (We Interrupt This Broadcast, The Let Down) and features showbiz doyenne Rhonda Burchmore (I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here).
Bridgerton star joins cast of Aussie TV show
Bridgerton star Florence Hunt has joined the cast of new BINGE original TV series, Mix Tape, reports News Corp's Jonathan Moran.
The teenager has come on board alongside Australian Teresa Palmer and Brit Jim Sturgess just over a month after filming began in Sydney.
'Harry Potter' HBO TV series to be led by 'Succession' alums
HBO announced on Wednesday that its upcoming Harry Potter television series will be led by Succession veterans Francesca Gardiner, as writer and showrunner, and Mark Mylod, as director of several episodes, reports Reuters' Danielle Broadway.
