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Sports

Why Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley should have thought about moving to Gold Coast Suns

Why Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley should have thought about moving to Gold Coast Suns

Surely, now would have been the ideal occasion for the two parties to shake hands and accept that one decade had seen Hinkley lift Port Adelaide out of the mire back to respectability despite having failed to help deliver the ultimate.

Particularly when Koch chose this week to again publicly threaten Hinkley’s job and his off-field football team, in a clumsy attempt to appease his supporter base which appears to have increasingly turned on Hinkley from the start of the season.

No one is suggesting Koch has no right to criticize his team’s performance. Port might have lost seven games for less than two goals this season, but the side has under-delivered in what could prove the team’s worst finish under Hinkley. But to suggest Hinkley and his team he must turn things around in a fortnight or else came over as a hollow threat.

Just as the club backflipped after one season on Hinkley’s dual captaincy strategy due to supporter backlash, the coach has been undermined again to satisfy one of the most demanding fan bases in football. This was not a show of strength by Koch and, in fact, by the end of the week his resolve looked positively flimsy.

Hinkley took a pay cut when his contract was extended for two years at the start of 2021 and as a result refused to entertain the prospect of any performance clauses. The club cannot afford to pay him out, and he has a watertight deal until the end of next season.

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Koch backtracked on Thursday but still pointed out that Hinkley had failed to coach Port to a grand finale. Back in early 2016 when Richmond backed Damien Hardwick with a contract extension, president Peggy O’Neal’s blunt assessment was that the club looked around and saw no one better than the incumbent, and when the Tigers’ season capitulated her firm decision to back Hardwick has become a template for situations like Port’s current predicament.

What is surprising is that no club has put out the feelers for Hinkley in recent days despite his winning record. North Melbourne have thrown their entire weight behind Alastair Clarkson and will look no further unless that bid fails, while GWS have stuck to a process in which Clarkson remains their preferred target. The Giants have said they will not approach a contracted coach, but surely Koch’s comments on Monday opened the door.

So, barring a late play, Hinkley stays at Port with the most likely movement at Alberton to see assistant coach Brett Montgomery replaced. Football boss Davies has refused to entertain offers, including one from North, and has maintained his faith in Hinkley and their program.

But this is not the ideal starting point upon which to build season 2023. An uneasy president, a coach under pressure to deliver from round one or else suffer the ignominy of the weekly sacking debate, and a playing group and football department that knows it.

In another country, in a different football competition, Ken Hinkley would be seen as a winning coach. In Australia and in the town of Adelaide he is a coach under pressure. Nothing will change in that department unless he can deliver a top-four finish next season.

No disrespect to Dew or the superb Port team which had the misfortune to come up against one-last-shot champion Richmond in the preliminary final of 2020, but perhaps Hinkley should have walked away at the end of 2017 and coached the Suns.

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Technology

Free-to-play games aren’t necessarily zero cost

Free-to-play games aren't necessarily zero cost

This Week in Games is a weekly column where Vikki Blake pulls apart the biggest stories in gaming each week. This week, she wants to remind you that even though something is “free”, that doesn’t mean it won’t cost you anything…

Yyou know the old saying, right? “If you don’t pay for a product, you are the product”. It started circulating back when we were stupid and naive and downloaded any old shit onto our devices without reading the small print. Were we wary of viruses back then? You bet we were: malware was nothing new. Were we wary about where our data was ending up? Were we fuck.

That’s why EA’s recent decision to turn its fan-favorite skating franchise, skateboarding, into a free-to-play title should raise eyebrows as well as expectations. In a bid to appeal to “Gen Z and Gen Alpha players”, the company announced at its last earnings call that it was switching from a “premium plus live service” to a free-to-play (F2P) model to better match, ahem, “how they consume content”.

Beyond the grimly obvious – each generation of UK kids grow up to be UK adults with less money than the one before it, with increasingly less disposal income with which to indulge hobbies like games and music – it’s an indicator not just about EA’s shifting marketing priorities , but also perhaps how game makers as a whole think about monetisation. After all, F2P titles no longer sit at the edge of the industry, but at the very heart of it.

skateboarding
Pre-Pre-Alpha footage of ‘Skate’. CREDIT: YouTube

Take a peek at Steam Charts’ biggest games right now. Of the titles with the most people playing – CS:GO, dota 2, apex legends, PUBG: Battlegroundsand GTA 5 respectively – all but one (GTA, the last-last-gen blockbuster that refuses to die) are free-to-play. It’s not hard to see why the people in suits are clamoring to ensure games with their logos are listed amongst them, is it?

However, there’s nothing inherently wrong with F2P games. Whilst arguably more insidious on mobile (I briefly worked as a copywriter for a Very Well-Known Company and the amount of shovelware I had to write about almost broke me; no, I didn’t last long there), when done right, F2P titles have every right to sit shoulder to shoulder against premium ones. EA’s own apex legends is just one such example. Though not without its issues, it’s still one of my favorite shooters, and a fabulous example of how an F2P model can not just exceed but excel.

Its monetization strategy is a little less fabulous, sure, but I’m not even against that – at least, not in theory, anyways. Apex you have given me many, many hours of unbridled enjoyment, all for the princely outlay of zero pounds and zero pence. I bought the first battle pass not because I particularly wanted it, but because I wanted to support Respawn. I wanted to ensure these servers stay live for a long time to come. Buying a battle pass a couple of times a year seems more than fair reward for a game that’s given me and my pals so many good times.

apex legends
Apex Legends. Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Multi Versus – also free-to-play – seems to be making waves for all the right reasons, too. Sure, we’ve learned the hard way that some publishers sneakily hold back some games’ monetization strategies until they’re out of beta and fully launched, but we’ve spent some time with it, and reckon “the marketplace and in-game transactions are fair, balanced, and nothing you buy with ‘real’ money will enhance your current performance”. Our preview also revealed that “everyone get[s] a fair shot at unlocking the characters they’ve got their hearts set on without parting with their cash, if they don’t want to”. Don’t quibble here, then.

The issue with these cosmetic microtransactions is not a discussion of balance, rather a separate issue – players who find it very hard to ignore the flashing store banners and irresistible pull of completing collections, even if they are “just cosmetic”. That rings doubly true when studies have found links between gambling and gaming – at the end of the day, there is absolutely a subset of players that will struggle to play games for zero cost.

Multiversus Garnet and Jake the Dog
Multiverse. Credit: Player First Games.

In today’s world, a spiraling cost of living crisis means that an increasing amount of gamers will struggle to pay full price for the latest title – and if a game being free means more people can access it, it’s hard to argue with that. However, the issue with microtransactions – really – comes down to what they offer. Gamers quite rightly refuse to accept that those who can afford them should get a competitive advantage against those who cannot, which means for now, these additional costs are chiefly locked to “cosmetic” items. That doesn’t mean we’re not seeing our tolerance tested, though, with those premium mobile “timesaver” shortcuts slowly making their way onto console and PC gaming.

Maybe the idea of ​​paying for “extras” when a game is F2P is more palatable? I know I often think that way, especially as we navigate a gaming world heaving with expansions and DLC and battle passes and premium editions, all of which are designed to get us to part with more of our hard-earned cash even after we’ve paid top whack for the latest game. A freebie can be brilliant for gaming on a budget, but be cautious: just because a game is free-to-play doesn’t mean it won’t cost you in the end.

What else?

  • A brand new Splatoon card game spin-off was announced during the recent Splatoon 3 Direct for the game, and it’s based on the multiplayer Turf War game mode.
  • Xbox has announced plans for Gamescom 2022, and it includes five first-party titles available to play at its booth this year: Age Of Empires 4, Grounded, Microsoft Flight Sim, Pentiment, and Sea Of Thieves. There will also be nine third-party titles available at the booth, too.
  • Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has revealed there have been “quite a few attempts” at making a video game set within the Breaking Bad universe and while he’s “not much” of a gamer, he’d asked a couple of people “who owns Grand Theft Auto?” with the intention of working together on a project.

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Sports

World Series Cricket almost un-balled by Reserve Bank

World Series Cricket almost un-balled by Reserve Bank

The victorious team included Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and David Hookes. They, and others, would next represent Packer’s WSC Australia at the old VFL Park in Melbourne in December that year.

Kitto wanted approval from the bank under then-existing federal regulations to move money out of Australia. In a formal letter on March 28, he said the aim was to pay “talent” overseas, but he divulged nothing about what the talent would do.

Dennis Lillee bowls to the West Indies' Andy Roberts at one of the early SuperTests of World Series Cricket.

Dennis Lillee bowls to the West Indies’ Andy Roberts at one of the early SuperTests of World Series Cricket.Credit:Fairfax Photography

“One of its functions is to engage the services of persons who are resident abroad and who have talents capable of exploitation in Australia and elsewhere. Our interest in those activities lies in arrangements for coverage for television programming,” he wrote.

“It is not possible to say with whom the contracts are likely to be made or on what terms of conditions.”

The only indication where the money might head was a reference to the West Indies.

The suspicions of the RBA about the proposal were immediately aroused.

In a diary note written the day after Kitto’s letter, senior Reserve Bank staff expressed concern about the lack of information about the entire endeavor. Kitto, it was noted, was “most vague” about the proposal.

“He was unable (or felt unable) to give any details of the sort of contracts these people were to enter into or to give any indication of how much in total might be involved,” the note recorded.

“What Mr Kitto was asking was virtually an authority against a blank check and that his letter was inadequate.”

A phone call that day from Kitto shed a little more light on the situation. He revealed “with some reluctance” that his company was drafting three-year contracts for “persons yet to be named” to “perform sporting or other activities to be specified on a specific number of days or parts of a year”.

Pakistan cricket great Imran Khan was one of the early international players to sign up to play World Series Cricket.

Pakistan cricket great Imran Khan was one of the early international players to sign up to play World Series Cricket.Credit:Fairfax Media

The paperwork signed by Imran Khan witnessed by Austin Robertson and Tony Greig.

The paperwork signed by Imran Khan witnessed by Austin Robertson and Tony Greig.Credit:RBA Archives ECM-A-216

The “performers” would be restricted from taking actions that may be “contrary to the interests of Channel Nine.”

The only inkling that the request was cricket-related was that up to 12 people – the number of a full team – were to be signed.

“Performers would be paid a signing-on fee at the time the contracts were negotiated overseas; and two other lump sum payments for performances while under contract and at the end of the contract period,” the note recorded.

So anxious was Kitto about the issue, that a person was sent to the RBA building in central Sydney to wait on the bank’s final decision.

Bank staff agreed to the request but in return they wanted to see the contracts signed by the various “talents”.

On April 15 – more than three weeks before news of Packer’s cricket revolution broke – the Reserve Bank received a letter saying two people had signed to provide “personal services”.

They were Anderson Roberts, better known as Andy Roberts, and Vivian Richards. Roberts took 202 Test wickets and is an ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductee. Richards, now Sir Vivian, was named one of Wisden‘s five cricketers of the century.

One of cricket's greatest players, Viv Richards, relaxes after a day's play in one of the early World Series Cricket SuperTests.

One of cricket’s greatest players, Viv Richards, relaxes after a day’s play in one of the early World Series Cricket SuperTests.Credit:Fairfax Media

Three days later, a contract for fast bowler Michael Holding was received. More would soon follow, including those signed by greats such as Zaheer Abbas, Joel Garner, Imran Khan and Alvin Kallicharran.

In many cases, the witness to the contracts was England’s Test captain Tony Greig.

Copies of the contracts held by the RBA show what Packer expected of his team members.

Players had to be available 15 minutes prior to the start, at all times “play to the best of his ability and skill” and ensure they were “physically fit at all times”.

The reputation of the teams, which came under fire from old-school cricketing greats and parts of the media as “pirates” for taking high-paid positions with Packer, was also of paramount importance.

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“At all times so conduct himself as to enhance the business and the reputation of The Promoter in promoting professional cricket in Australia and elsewhere and will not do or omit to do anything whereby the good name and reputation of the Promoter or any of its employees or of himself or of any other player taking part in a Tour will or may be likely to be brought into disrepute or ridicule,” the contracts noted.

Not only was the RBA required to facilitate the players’ pay, it was also helped pay for the promotional activities undertaken to highlight the new competition.

On July 18, the bank was contacted saying JP Sport needed to remit money to pay for filming activities in England for a program tentatively called Cricket Circus.

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“The company’s management also deems it desirable to obtain, whilst a representative is overseas, action film footage of the West Indian professional cricketers,” it was noted.

All of the documents, which until now have been held in the RBA’s vast archives, are virtually untouched. Only the exact payment to each player has been kept secret on privacy grounds.

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Business

Vauxhall Corsa in Dovecot, Liverpool plastered with angry notes for ‘selfish, idiotic parking’

The black Vauxhall Corsa, parked in Dovecot, Liverpool, was plastered with angry A4 notes calling out the 'selfish, idiotic parking'. The car is thought to have parked awkwardly blocking a skip collection which the homeowner said cost hundreds of pounds to rebook.

Furious homeowner plasters ‘selfish’ driver’s Vauxhall Corsa with ‘idiotic parking’ notes after ‘stupid’ motorist ‘blocks in a bulging skip that was due to be collected’

  • An raging homeowner has called out a driver’s ‘selfish idiotic parking’
  • Notes claimed car, parked in Liverpool, blocked a skip from being collected
  • Skip owner said rebooking the collection time would cost hundreds of pounds
  • At least 13 angry notes typed on A4 paper were duct-taped onto the vehicle
  • But social media users were divided over whether the action was right or wrong

By Eirian Jane Prosser For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A raging homeowner has claimed a driver blocked their ‘bulging skip’ from being collected, branding them ‘selfish’ after it cost them hundreds of pounds to book a recollection.

The black Vauxhall Corsa is thought to have parked in an awkward position preventing the skip from being picked up from a residential street in Dovecot, Liverpool.

The furious skip owner went on to plaster the car with the same angry message that warned against ‘selfish idiotic parking’.

More than 13 sheets of A4 paper with the message printed on were stuck on the car’s windscreen and windows with duct tape.

But after the incident was revealed on Twitter, users on social media were divided over whether the action was right or wrong.

The black Vauxhall Corsa, parked in Dovecot, Liverpool, was plastered with angry A4 notes calling out the 'selfish, idiotic parking'. The car is thought to have parked awkwardly blocking a skip collection which the homeowner said cost hundreds of pounds to rebook.

The black Vauxhall Corsa, parked in Dovecot, Liverpool, was plastered with angry A4 notes calling out the ‘selfish, idiotic parking’. The car is thought to have parked awkwardly blocking a skip collection which the homeowner said cost hundreds of pounds to rebook.

The angry note read: ‘Selfish idiotic parking! Parking right next to a bulging skip that’s due to be collected today has cost me a lot of time and money.

‘At 0803hrs this morning you parked in front of my property blocking an obviously bulging skip that was due to be collected today.

‘I have spent hours knocking on every house and asking in the shop about the owner.

‘It is now 1400hrs and it’s still blocking the skip; I will now have to pay extra charges because of your selfish stupidity.’

The angry note said: 'Parking right next to a bulging skip that's due to be collected today has cost me a lot of time and money.' At the bottom the skip owner warned the driver to never park in front of his home again.

The angry note said: ‘Parking right next to a bulging skip that’s due to be collected today has cost me a lot of time and money.’ At the bottom the skip owner warned the driver to never park in front of his home again.

People on social media, however, have been left divided over who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

One person wrote: ‘It’s not illegal to park in front of somebody’s property.’

Another added: ‘People who think they own the road outside their house are hilarious in fairness.’

People on social media have been divided over whether the skip owner is in the right or the wrong.

People on social media have been divided over whether the skip owner is in the right or the wrong.

Some people pointed out that the duct tape stuck on the car window and windscreen could cause damage.

One said: ‘If that tape peeled the clear coat off my car I’d be f*****g ranging.’

Another added: ‘I’d be knocking on his property informing him he needs to remove that tape … defo grounds for criminal damage if it f***s with the paint.’

Others pointed out the posters taped to the car's window and windscreen could cause damage to its coat.

Others pointed out the posters taped to the car’s window and windscreen could cause damage to its coat.

Others showed sympathy for the homeowner, agreeing that the driver should have parked in a more considerate way.

One woman said: ‘They have a point to be fair, if it is a driveway, if they’re an on-call health professional someone could be in a lot of trouble by the time they get there.’

Another man added: ‘How about don’t be ap***k and park in front of someone’s drive?’

Others felt sorry for the skip owner and said the driver was in the wrong for parking in awkward position. The homeowner said booking the skip recollection cost hundreds of pounds.

Others felt sorry for the skip owner and said the driver was in the wrong for parking in awkward position. The homeowner said booking the skip recollection cost hundreds of pounds.

Selina Flowers on Facebook said: ‘People really need to be more aware when parking their car, park where you wish as long as its legal but being aware of your surroundings is common courtesy.

‘Now they have a bill for paint work.’

Kevin Foster added: ‘Why not give the car owner the bill from the skip company for the so-called extra money it has cost the homeowner.

‘Normally it’s a pay on the collection of the skip, if the wagon can’t pick it up then it’s not the homeowners fault it’s the car owner for blocking it.’

Some called on the car owner to pay the bill for recollection of the 'bulging skip' while others said people need to be more aware of where they are parking.

Some called on the car owner to pay the bill for recollection of the ‘bulging skip’ while others said people need to be more aware of where they are parking.

Some found the situation laughable.

One woman said: ‘Nothing could make me this embarrassingly angry.’

Another man added: ‘Should’ve just put it in the skip, probably where all Corsas belong to be fair.

‘I’m mildly disappointed he didn’t run out of toner in the printer and then subsequently printed off more to tell the person they now owe them for the toner and fuel to go to the shop and buy it.’

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Best Galaxy Buds 2 Pro features: Improved ANC, Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi, and more

Best Galaxy Buds 2 Pro features: Improved ANC, Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi, and more

Today, Samsung unveiled its latest flagship wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. These earbuds are the successors of the Galaxy Buds Pro that were launched back in early 2021. They bring an improved design, better audio quality, a more stable wireless connection, and brand-new audio codecs.

If you are interested in the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, here are some of its best features that you should be looking at.

Best Galaxy Buds 2 Pro features

1. Bluetooth 5.3 chip with Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is Samsung’s first set of truly wireless earbuds that use a Bluetooth 5.3 chip. They are also the company’s first earbuds to support Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi, the South Korean firm’s near-lossless audio codec. They support 24-bit wireless audio transmission, so if you have access to Hi-Res Audio tracks, you can listen to them in near-lossless quality. However, this feature only works when the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is paired with a Galaxy device running One UI 4.0 (or newer).

They also support AAC and SBC codecs, similar to previous Galaxy Buds. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also supports Auto Switching. This feature switches the connection of the earbuds between Galaxy devices (such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, or smartwatches), depending on which device you are actively using.

2. Dual-driver setup and improved ANC performance

Samsung’s newest wireless earbuds use a set of two drivers (woofer + tweeter) for rich audio quality. Although it might seem similar to the Galaxy Buds+, Galaxy Buds Pro, and the Galaxy Buds 2, Samsung says that it has optimized those drivers and their size for even better audio quality.

The South Korean firm has also improved the performance of ANC (Active Noise Cancellation), so the outside noise will be filtered with even higher accuracy. Plus, when you want to talk to someone, the Voice Pickup unit detects that you’re talking and switches the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to the Ambient Mode.

3. 360 Audio with Direct Multi-Channel

The Galaxy Buds Pro was the first Samsung product with 360 Audio. It is a head-tracking feature that simulates the direction of audio when you move your head so that you know where the audio is coming from. With the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the company has added support for 5.1-channel, 7.1-channel, and Dolby Atmos for even better spatial audio performance.

4. IPX7 rating for water resistance

Compared to the Galaxy Buds 2, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer better protection against water and sweat. The new set of earbuds has an IPX7 rating for water resistance, which means you can use them in the rain or during workouts without any worries.

Samsung has also equipped the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with features often found on high-end truly wireless earbuds, including automatic wear detection, touch controls, audio and control customizations through a companion smartphone app, a USB Type-C port for charging, and Qi wireless charging. The earbuds also feature Bixby and SmartThings Find.

Picture of Galaxy Buds Pro 2

SamsungGalaxy Buds Pro 2

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Sports

Richmond “coming hard” for Taranto as the two genuine contenders emerge

Richmond “coming hard” for Taranto as the two genuine contenders emerge

Richmond is right in the mix for Tim Taranto, reports SEN’s Sam Edmond.

The 2016 No.2 pick is widely tipped to leave the Giants at the conclusion of the 2022 season, with the club reportedly believing they can cover his loss and are against paying a hefty contract for him.

He was drafted out of the Sandringham Dragons and is all but certain to return home to Victoria should he seek a trade. Collingwood was the original front-runner, but Edmund believes the Tigers are “coming hard”.

Geelong is the other club understood to be in the mix.

“Tim Taranto is a really interesting watch at the moment,” he said on SEN’s Crunch Time.

“Richmond are right in the mix here. I know he’s been linked heavily with Collingwood, but Richmond (is) coming hard for Tim Taranto as well.

“So the Pies have a dog in the fight here, Geelong to some extent as well, even though the Cats like the idea of ​​Jacob Hopper in the hoops next year.”

The Tigers’ interest makes sense given Dion Prestia’s and Dustin Martin’s injury troubles this season, while Kane Lambert has retired and Shane Edwards’ best footy is behind him.

Taranto, Hopper, Tanner Bruhn and Bobby Hill are seen as the four Giants set to leave the club in the upcoming trade period.

Taranto and Hopper have both featured as two of the club’s primary on-ballers in recent years and could become elite midfielders of the competition as they enter their prime.

“So they’re slightly different, neither have reached free agent status, Taranto is 24, Hopper is 25, but Taranto is out of contract and Hopper is not,” Edmund continued.

“So logically speaking Jacob Hopper will be harder to acquire, but that’s the path the Cats want to go down.

“So Tim Taranto, if you’re sitting here right now, you’re saying he’s either going to be at Punt Road or Collingwood next year.”

Taranto is averaging 25.9 disposals, 4.1 inside 50s and 3.8 clearances throughout his 15 games in 2022.





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Business

‘Stealth mode’: how Disney overtook Netflix in streaming wars | Disney+

Yot might have taken the Walt Disney company less than three years to overtake Netflix in streaming subscribers, but its road to domination started more than 15 years ago with a carefully planned $100bn (£81bn) strategy to reinvigorate its empire for 21st century viewers.

The combination of Netflix priming a global audience for the streaming era and the serendipitous launch of Disney+ at the start of the pandemic, a service populated with crown jewel franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel, transformed what had been viewed as Disney’s late move disadvantage into unprecedented breakneck growth.

Just 16 months after launch, a bargain-priced Disney+ hit 100 million subscribers – a feat Netflix took a decade to accomplish – and combined with the US streaming services Hulu and ESPN+, the company has now edged ahead with 222 million subscribers.

When it comes to winning the global streaming war, content is king. Disney, the owner of the most successful Hollywood film and TV studio in history, is the home of many of the world’s biggest and most-coveted franchises and characters thanks to a multibillion dollar buying spree that started in the noughties.

A still from the first Toy Story film in 1995.
A still from the first Toy Story film in 1995. Photograph: Walt Disney/Pixar/Sportsphoto/Allstar

In 2006, a year before Netflix made the pivot from DVDs by post to streaming that would ultimately revolutionize traditional TV viewing, Disney spent $7.4bn buying Apple founder Steve Jobs’s Pixar, the animation factory hit behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

This was followed in 2009 by the surprise $4bn purchase of Marvel Comics’ superhero universe, bringing in a multitude of characters including Iron Man and Captain America, taking Disney into new live-action territory.

The third transformational buyout came when Disney snapped up George Lucas’s Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, for $4bn in 2012. In each case the deals were criticized by City investors, but it has been Disney which has been laughing all the way to the bank.

A still form Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
A still form Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy

In 2008, just before the launch of its first Marvel film – Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr – Disney’s share price was about $15, valuing the business at $26bn. The world’s biggest entertainment company is now trading at $112 a share, giving it a market value of $205bn, almost twice that of Netflix.

“Disney has been successful in supplying a steady flow of high impact releases straight from the big screen while also expanding their franchises for streaming-only content,” said Richard Broughton, the executive director of the market research firm Ampere Analysis.

“Netflix just hasn’t had as many big franchise hits as they would have liked. Stranger Things has been the biggest, and to a lesser extent maybe The Witcher and The Crown, but they just don’t have assets the scale of Marvel, Star Wars or Pixar,” he added.

In 2018, the big players including Warner Bros and Comcast, which owns NBC Universal and Sky, began to stop licensing content to Netflix – and each other – in preparation of launching their own streaming services. Then Disney struck again, paying $71bn for Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment business 21st Century Fox.

The deal, which included the 20th Century Fox Hollywood film and TV studio and FX Network, added a plethora of crown jewel assets including Deadpool, Avatar, Titanic, The Simpsons and Modern Family.

It also included ownership of Fox’s Hotstar streaming service in India, with its tens of millions of subscribers, which flattered the growth rate of Disney+ when it launched in late 2019.

The service, which is expected to lose millions of customers as Disney loses the rights to air Indian Premier League cricket, accounts for 58.4 million of 152 million global Disney+ subscribers. However, the low-cost model means users pay on average just $1.20 a month.

The Mumbai Indians celebrate after defeating the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League final in 2019.
The Mumbai Indians celebrate after defeating the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League final in 2019. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Disney is aggressively forecasting that Disney+ itself will overtake Netflix in 2024, as it remains in high growth mode. It added 14.4 million subscribers in the second quarter, beating analysts’ expectations, while Netflix struggled this year with its first loss of subscribers in a decade.

“In essence both companies are at different phases of growth,” said Paolo Pescatore, a media and telecoms analyst at PP Foresight. “Disney is still in startup stealth mode when it comes to direct to consumer services. There are still millions of users to acquire as Disney continues to expand into new markets and rolls out new blockbuster shows.”

While Netflix is ​​already available globally, bar China, Crimea, North Korea, Russia, and Syria, Disney+ is still in the process of international rollout. It recently announced its availability in a further 60 countries and territories.

Disney maintains Disney+ is on track to hit profitability in 2024, but staying on top is an extremely expensive business.

Competition for subscribers has ignited an unsustainable content war, at the same time as stretched household budgets have forced consumers to cut back on entertainment services. Netflix will spend about $17bn making and licensing films and TV shows this year, and has a further $23bn on its balance sheet for long-term content costs, plus $14.8bn in long-term debt.

Disney is spending $30bn on content across all its TV, film and streaming services this year, which includes expensive live sports rights such as NFL for ESPN. Disney said that since launch it had lost more than $7bn funding Disney+.

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After pursuing a bargain-priced strategy to drive growth, Disney is now following Netflix in instituting significant price increases, starting in the US, as investors’ focus shifts to costs and profitability.

Both companies will launch part advertising-funded subscription options in an attempt to appeal to more cost-conscious consumers as growth in subscribers and revenues in the global streaming market slows.

For now, Netflix remains the single biggest global streaming service, with analysts at Ampere predicting a longer timeline for Disney+ to achieve global parity.

“Disney’s growth will slow in the next few years,” says Broughton. “Factors include the loss of the Indian Premier League rights and the need to raise prices – our data suggests subscribers are now canceling entertainment services to cut costs – which will contribute to a similar slowdown as we are seeing at Netflix. We think that Disney+ and Netflix will about match one another as the world’s biggest services at 240 million global subscribers in 2027.”

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Technology

Who’s Afraid of a Facebook Hack? A Lot of People, Apparently

Who's Afraid of a Facebook Hack? A Lot of People, Apparently

Are you worried about your social media accounts getting hacked? You aren’t alone. That fear seems to be growing, as a survey from NordVPN found that 76% of respondents are more concerned about the possibility than they were the previous year.

Facebook is the platform that people worry about the most, with 32% of respondents fearing their account will be hacked. This makes sense, after years of high-profile security breaches and the reality that you may never get your account back after a breach. We previously reported that millennials are more concerned about Facebook breaches than bank account hacks.

infographic covering American concerns about social media hacks

After Facebook, Americans worry about their TikTok accounts the most, with 26% of respondents concerned about a hack. Americans using other social media platforms are less concerned: only 21% of Snapchat users worry about a hack, followed by Instagram (20%), Twitter (19%), and YouTube (18%).

Think your accounts are safe? Eighty-nine percent of survey respondents know someone who has been compromised, 47% know up to five people, 27% know up to 10 people, and 15% know more than 10 people.

About 37% of Americans say they’ve been the victim of a hack themselves. The most commonly breached app is, of course, Facebook, followed by Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.

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Categories
Sports

Pre-season games, New York Jets vs Philadelphia Eagles, Quincy Williams late hit on Jalen Hurts, video, reaction, Jordan Mailata, Zach Wilson injury update

Pre-season games, New York Jets vs Philadelphia Eagles, Quincy Williams late hit on Jalen Hurts, video, reaction, Jordan Mailata, Zach Wilson injury update

Australian Jordan Mailata was fired up after an unnecessary late shot from New York’s Quincy Williams sent Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts crashing to the ground.

The Jets scored a 24-21 win over the Eagles in the pre-season game but coach Robert Saleh was left less than impressed by Williams’ cheap shot.

The incident, which happened in the first quarter, saw Hurts forced to scramble towards the sideline on a third-and-5 play for no gain.

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Williams though came charging towards Hurts, even with the Eagles quarterback clearly heading for the sideline, hitting him late and hard.

That was to the displeasure of Australian left tackle Mailata, who came running over to confront Williams, telling reporters post-game he was “seeing red” after the hit.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was also livid, with the Eagles awarded a 15-yard penalty which ultimately led to them scoring the opening touchdown of the game.

Jets coach Saleh admitted to reporters after the game that it was a bad look and something Williams needed to address.

“You know, it’s one thing to make a mistake in the game,” Saleh said, calling the hit ““egregiously awful”.

“It’s another thing to make a mistake that leads to points.”

Hurts was not injured by the shot, although the Jets will be sweating on quarterback Zach Wilson after he injured his right knee on a scramble in the first quarter.

Based on how Wilson went down, there was fear that he had torn his ACL, which would end his season.

But after the game, head coach Robert Saleh said initial tests indicated the ACL was intact, but nothing would be known with certainty until Wilson underwent an MRI exam on Saturday. Sources said the Jets had optimism that Wilson’s injury will only cause him to miss weeks and not months.

After initially being wrong on his diagnosis of tackle Mekhi Becton earlier in the week, Saleh chose his words carefully in the postgame press conference.

Zach Wilson walks to the locker room after an injury. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“I’m always concerned until you get the final evaluation,” Saleh said. “We’ve walked off the field with very positive thoughts and it’s been opposite. We’ve walked off the field with bad initial readings and it’s been the opposite. I’m just going to let it play out and we’ll see [Saturday].”

The injury came on the Jets’ second drive of the game.

Saleh said Wilson “100 percent” should have gone out of bounds.

“It was tough, man to see a guy like that, a guy that you’ve got so much love for not just as a player but as a person to go down like that it was tough,” wide receiver Corey Davis said. “We do n’t know the extent of his injury to him but we just hope he’s all right.”

Wilson also injured his right knee last season as a rookie. That injury, a sprained PCL suffered on Oct. 24 at New England, cost Wilson four games. ESPN reported Friday that the Jets believe the new injury also may be to Wilson’s PCL.

The Jets have high hopes for Wilson in his second season after a disappointing rookie season. The entire offseason was about surrounding Wilson with better talent.

Zach Wilson failed to finish the game. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

For a while it looked like the lowlight of Wilson’s night would be an interception by Eagles linebacker Kyzir White that ended the Jets’ first drive of the game. Wilson went 3-for-5 for 23 yards and the interception before suffering the injury.

If Wilson is ruled out, the question will become whether the Jets will stick with veteran Joe Flacco as their starter or try to make a trade for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whom San Francisco has been trying to trade for months without finding a taker. Saleh and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur were with Garoppolo for 3 ½ years in San Francisco.

“You guys know how I feel about Joe,” Saleh said of Flacco. “Everyone does, the whole world does. Joe is a phenomenal football player. He’s having a great camp and he’s got a juice left.”

—with New York Post

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Categories
Australia

Meth user who fell asleep at the wheel killing pregnant partner in Coolup crash jailed in Perth

A close up of a man and a woman posing for the camera

A driver whose pregnant partner was killed when he fell asleep at the wheel, a year before he caused another crash in Darwin that seriously injured his new partner, has been jailed in Western Australia.

Michael Dixon, 37, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of 31-year-old Mel Duffey in Coolup, about 100 kilometers south of Perth, on December 13, 2019.

The District Court was told Dixon had not slept for more than 72 hours.

Traces of methamphetamine were also found in his blood and he admitted injecting the drug two days before the crash.

Ms Duffey, who had wanted to return home from their camping trip because she was worried about her three children, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

She was six months pregnant.

A close up of a woman wearing glasses with a nose piercing and two lip piercings
Mel Duffey was killed when his partner Michael Dixon fell asleep at the wheel while driving.(Facebook: Mel Duffey)

After the crash, Dixon moved to Darwin, where a year later, in December 2020, he crashed an all terrain vehicle into a street sign, seriously injuring his new partner, former police officer Kristi Wenck.

Dixon had been drinking with friends at a party beforehand and he pleaded guilty in the Northern Territory to driving under the influence as well as dangerous driving causing harm.

Emergency vehicles are by the edge of the road where an ATV is on its side.
The aftermath of the crash in Darwin, in which Michael Dixon’s new partner received serious injuries. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)

He was given a suspended jail term, but he was later extradited to Perth to face the charge over the crash that claimed the life of Ms Duffey.

‘disastrous decision’

Judge Mara Barone accepted Dixon had made the decision to drive because Ms Duffey was concerned and anxious about her children and not because of a selfish desire to return home.

“You drove because you believed it was the right thing … it proved to be a disastrous decision,” Judge Barone told a tearful Dixon.

A dark photo of a badly damaged vehicle on a tow truck ramp.
The wreckage after Michael Dixon fell asleep at the wheel while driving in Coolup in December 2019, killing his partner Mel Duffey.(ABCNews)

She said Dixon must have been aware of the extent of his fatigue and of the risk he would fall asleep.

Judge Barone highlighted Dixon’s subsequent offenses in the Northern Territory and told him he needed to understand that he could not drive in a manner that put the safety and lives of others in danger.

She sentenced him to three years’ jail — he will have to serve 18 months before he can be released on parole.

Dixon was also disqualified from driving for five years.

Three people in face masks walk along a city street.
Mel Duffey’s mother Cindy Rogers (right), pictured with her family outside court, criticized the sentence. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)

Outside the court Ms Duffey’s mother, Cindy Rogers, fought back tears as she described the sentence as “wrong”.

“I’ve still got her children, they’re with me and they want their mum and I can’t give them their mum and it’s his fault,” she said.

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