Media For Good Blog
"We have to come together, worldwide, and 'think.' We have a tool - the internet - to let us do that. Let's use it wisely" - Jimmy Wales
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Friday, December 16, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws - Plato
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. - Plato
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Friday, November 04, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Murdoch's News Corp-Fox reunion gambit comes as sports betting valuations tank
Murdoch's News Corp-Fox reunion gambit comes as sports betting valuations tank
Nov 2 - Rupert Murdoch’s proposal to recombine News Corp (NWSA.O) and Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and capitalize on sports betting has yet to convince Wall Street as the valuations in the once red-hot gambling market crumble, according to former employees, financial analysts and sports media experts.
While some former employees see the move as driven by the 91-year-old Murdoch's succession planning to consolidate power behind his son Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp, people familiar with the Murdochs' thinking say they are serious about the sports betting opportunity.
"The proposal is 100% based on business rationale," a spokesman for Rupert Murdoch told Reuters. "Any commentary that implies it has to do with succession planning is absurd and comes from sources with no knowledge of the strategy."
There are other factors motivating the merger including a bid to achieve greater scale in news, live sports and information, sources said. Lachlan Murdoch did not discuss the potential deal on Tuesday's earnings call, but talked up the value of scale, "particularly (in) the next couple of years, when opportunities in the marketplace will emerge."
As recently as August, Lachlan Murdoch described sports betting as "a huge opportunity" for Fox Sports, telling Wall Street it would fuel viewer engagement. Combining live game broadcasts with News Corp's sports coverage would create a more compelling sports package, and strengthen the company's hand when it comes to sports betting, according to people familiar with the deal's logic.
But Wall Street's enthusiasm for sports betting has cooled since early 2021, as investors prioritize profitability over spending aggressively to acquire new customers. Thirty-six U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, though the pace has slowed.
"The thing about the sports betting opportunity is it started off like a house on fire, with all the states approving it," said Huber Research Inc analyst Douglas Arthur. "But I'm not hearing as much excitement about it right now as I did nine months ago. If that's the rationale (for the merger), it's a pretty weak one.”
Since the start of 2022, the stock prices of 11 major publicly traded sports betting companies, including DraftKings Inc (DKNG.O) and Barstool Sportsbook's Penn Entertainment Inc (PENN.O), have tumbled by an average of 35%, according to Refinitiv data.
That does not necessarily mean the pace of legalized sports betting is slowing. Total wagers are expected to reach $390 billion globally this year, according to researcher H2 Gambling Capital. Kantar Sports analyst Ryan McConnell said the market is flooded with new entrants and consolidation appears likely.
Casualties are starting to build up. Streaming service FuboTV shuttered its sports betting service in October, and Churchill Downs announced in February that it would abandon online sports.
"It's a highly competitive market," said gaming industry analyst Steve Ruddock. "It's difficult for companies that aren't fully invested in that as their primary business to compete."
SLOW START
Since selling their movie assets to the Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) in 2019, the Murdochs laid a new course for a slimmed-down Fox, based on sports betting. The company soon paid $236 million for a 5% stake in Toronto online bookmaker the Stars Group which helped launch Fox Bet and owns the app.
Combining Fox with News Corp could bring a larger audience to sports betting, potentially increasing the financial rewards for attracting new gamblers and gaining more lucrative sponsorships from sportsbooks eager to promote their apps, said one media executive.
The Murdochs' early foray has been slow-going. The sports betting app Fox Bet is available in four states, with just 0.2% share of the U.S. market, according to researcher Vixio. A free version called Fox Bet Super 6 has attracted some 6 million users whom Fox hopes to eventually convert to gamblers.
The growth of Fox Bet has stagnated since market-leading FanDuel's owner, Flutter Entertainment Plc (FLTRF.L), acquired Stars Group in 2020. The companies have been locked in a dispute over the price Fox would pay to exercise its option to buy 18.6% of FanDuel. The matter is the subject of an arbitration case and Lachlan Murdoch told investors a decision is expected imminently.
News Corp has previously stumbled in sports betting. Last month, News' first direct investment in Australian bookmaking, Betr, went live ahead of the country's most-watched horse race, the Melbourne Cup. Within two days, an ad that ran in News Corp's tabloid newspapers triggered a regulator inquiry into whether the ads breached laws prohibiting inducement to gamble. Betr says it is cooperating with the regulator.
Matt Davey, chairman of Las Vegas sports betting investment firm Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp , which co-invested with News Corp in Betr, said News had seized on its media reach in Australia, where it sells more than half of all newspapers and runs sports-heavy cable TV channel Foxtel, to create a "pretty powerful combination" of media and betting.
At least one investor is waiting to be convinced that approach will work in the United States.
"Fox has got a far-reaching audience so it does make sense, if you're going to launch (sports betting) into the U.S., that you have that Fox network, distribution and partnership," said John Ayoub, a portfolio manager at Sydney-based Wilson Asset Management, which owns News Corp's Australian-listed shares. "But we'll probably need a little bit more detail."
Monday, October 31, 2022
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Monday, September 05, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Interviews via Media Man Australia: Malcolm Turnbull (Google Users Conference), Craig Newmark (Craig's List), Quentin Dempster (ABC), Lee Holmes (Supercharged Food), Dean Foley (Barayamal) and more
Interviews via Media Man Australia: Malcolm Turnbull (Google Users Conference), Craig Newmark (Craig's List), Quentin Dempster (ABC), Lee Holmes (Supercharged Food), Dean Foley (Barayamal) and more
Sunday, September 04, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Coach John Wooden on Succeeding with Integrity (Success Magazine)
Coach John Wooden on Succeeding with Integrity (Success Magazine)
You are standing at a critical crossroads in history.
Scroll through any news app and you’ll find slander, dishonesty and filth coming from the mouths of our current and future leaders. Take a look at the role models your children look up to and you’ll quickly notice patterns of loose standards, unrealistic expectations and unworthy pursuits. When your co-worker does something that violates your personal code of right versus wrong, you feel compelled to remain silent because of the pressure of office politics.
All this leaves you asking: Is success even possible in today’s world without sacrificing integrity or morals?
Yes. But you have to decide to take the path less traveled, and that can be tough. It’s rare to see those who develop and demonstrate integrity, self-discipline, loyalty and character because these qualities go against the crumbling decay of our current societal landscape.
Have you ever felt the pressure of knowing what was right but felt unable to stand up for what you believe? Have you ever had the desire to discover a better, more wholesome approach to success without having to sacrifice your integrity to do it? Have you ever wanted a mentor who could guide you along a more humble path to personal and professional achievement? Coach John Wooden, who led the UCLA men’s basketball team to 10 national championships, had answers to all of these quandaries.
Discover a framework responsible for building championship journeys—not just on the basketball court, where Wooden and his teams set numerous records, but in the game of life.
Sports legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bobby Bowden, Joe Torre, Bill Walton, Dick Vitale and others called Wooden their teacher, mentor and friend. But even they knew his legacy as a teacher wasn’t limited to basketball or athletics.
Wooden taught what he called the Pyramid of Success, a road map for individual and team excellence you can use to set goals, take action, overcome obstacles and achieve more in life. The Pyramid of Success was the core of the framework and success philosophy Wooden taught for more than 50 years.
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Greg Tingle
A brilliant and fascinated read about a great man.. Coach Wooden. There's a few expressions that come to find for me... Integrity is everything, and If you want to know the truth worth of a man look at his character and integrity. To that effect. I also say in my business endeavors, Media For Good (one of our business arms) and business as a force for good. Success meets inspiration, perspiration and integrity. He scores, K.O or Touchdown! ...or whatever your favorite sporting code for good sports.
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Lachlan Murdoch sues Australian website alleging it claimed he was complicit in Jan 6 riots - 24th August 2022
Lachlan Murdoch sues Australian website alleging it claimed he was complicit in Jan 6 riots - 24th August 2022
Crikey’s original article was removed when Murdoch’s lawyer wrote to the news outlet in June but was republished last week.
Rupert Murdoch’s son is suing an Australian website for defamation in a Sydney court over an opinion piece about last year’s Jan 6 Jan insurrection in the US Capitol building.
Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch accused Crikey of defamation after the website, he said, accused him of being complicit in the riots last year.
Meanwhile, Crikey publisher Private Media on Wednesday “welcomed” Federal Court proceedings filed this week by Mr Murdoch.
Mr Murdoch’s lawyers claim Crikey published an article in June this year that implied he “illegally conspired with Donald Trump to incite an armed mob to march on the Capitol to physically prevent confirmation of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election”.
In the article that ran on 29 June, lawyers claimed it described Mr Murdoch as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the effort by Trump supporters to overturn his 2020 election loss to president Joe Biden, stated the lawsuit.
“Murdoch has been gravely injured in his character, his personal reputation, and his professional reputation,” the lawsuit added.
Crikey’s editor Peter Fray, and Eric Beecher, the chairman of its publisher Private Media, said, “we are determined to fight for the integrity and importance of diverse independent media in Australian democracy”.
This week, Crikey’s Murdoch letters series revealed how media power works in the country. Private Media chief Will Hayward said: “We welcome Lachlan Murdoch’s writ. We believe that coverage of the events of 6 January at the US Capitol, and the role of Fox News in those events, is absolutely legitimate.”
Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mr Hayward as saying that “the best way to support our case is to subscribe to Crikey”.
He posted a series of tweets with a link to subscribe and said: “Here in Australia, if we lose the case in court, the cost to Crikey could be millions in damages and legal costs.”
Crikey’s original article was removed from the website along with a Facebook post and tweet when Mr Murdoch’s lawyer John Churchill wrote to the news outlet in June. Local media reported it was republished last week, triggering moves to file proceedings.
Monday, August 29, 2022
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Media For Good Blog: Tim Ferriss wins Media Man 'MBS Podcast Of The Month' award: When to Quit – Lessons from World-Class Entrepreneurs, Investors, Authors, and More (#254) and Why (and How) Creative People Need to Say "No"
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Why (and How) Creative People Need to Say "No"
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Greg Tingle
Absolute gold as usual from you Tim. As a concept, I'm not into quitting, but I do believe in pausing, assessing, regroup, adjust, and continue to move forward. I'm interested to learn what you and your readership thinks of my approach! "It's impossible to beat a man who never gives up" - Greg Tingle, Media Man.
Why (and How) Creative People Need to Say "No"
Greg Tingle
This is gold. Having been in and around media for over two years one big thing I learned is that the more I said "no" to so many things, the more successful and less stressed I was. Decision on what to focus on, sticking to the plan, and still finding time to smell the roses. Doing what you love and you will never work a day in your live, as the universe days.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2022
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