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A League of Their Own TV reboot is both the same and vastly different

The streaming reboot to Penny Marshall’s beloved 1992 film A League of Their Own is both the same and vastly different.

It is that special sauce of reboots in which it keeps the vibe of the original alive while updating it for a modern audience – and it actually has something to say.

That’s a hard balance to straddle and most reboots and revivals fall over because they tilt too much in either direction, and usually by clinging on to something that no longer works outside of its original context.

A League of Their Ownthe new version, is a sharp and delightful series, which takes the defiant spirit of Marshall’s film and elevates it by expanding its universe to tell more inclusive stories about sexuality and race in 1940s America.

Set during World War II, the series is about the establishment of the women’s professional baseball league while the men are serving in Europe and the Pacific. The league is the brainchild of the confectionary tycoon who needs to fill the stands of his stadiums.

Recruited from around the US and Canada, the women are told to fit into a standard of what constitutes being a lady while copping horrendous sexism from all quarters, including their own supposed fans.

In those elements, the TV reboot and the movie version are similar. They share the same DNA and hit many of the same story beats.

But when it comes to the characters, the series created by Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham sprints away from the confines of the original film.

Rosie O’Donnell, who played Doris Murphy in the 1992 movie, famously said she played her character as a lesbian, even when Marshall explicitly told her she wasn’t. Jacobson and Graham doesn’t just correct the exclusion of queer characters from the story but made them the stars.

There are two leads in the 2022 series, Jacobson as Carson Shaw and Chante Adams as Max Chapman – two characters whose narratives could not have been centered 30 years ago.

Carson is a married woman who joins the team because she wants to play ball. Ella’s husband Charlie (J. Patrick Adams) is serving overseas so she sees this as her shot from her. After meeting the vivacious Greta (D’Arcy Carden), a seductive dance reveals that Carson’s desires for her are more than just athletic success.

Carson’s discovery of her queerness is both wonderful and full of risk. The judgment and repression of the era is a constant threat.

What’s great about Carson’s side of A League of Their Own is that it’s not a case of, “And here’s the token queer girl, we’ve checked that box”, but a commitment to exploring many queer characters and their experiences.

And it’s not just about their sexualities. It’s one facet of each character, they’re not defined by it. They really also, really love baseball. The series intersects all the different aspects of their lives and ambitions for fuller portrayals.

For her part, O’Donnell returns for an emotionally resonant guest role in a later episode in the season in which she plays the owner of an underground gay bar.

The other story strand follows Max, a young black woman who is denied even a tryout despite her indisputably superior throw.

Max is champing to play baseball however she can and contrives a job at the screw factory just for a chance to be considered for the company team. Max’s raw and unappealing appetite for her butts up against the “realities” of the day, which includes her mother for her who expects her to take over the family business. That her mother de ella boasts the first black-owned business in the neighbors does n’t mean nothing.

Max is a richly textured character whose experience intersects race and queerness, contextualized in a vividly drawn side of Rockford that takes place in black spaces.

If there’s any quibble, it’s that the series takes its time to weave the two plotlines together and sometimes the intercutting between the two can drag the pace.

It’s a small thing in a series that is pumped full of fantastic performances from Jacobson, Adams and Carden but also the likes of Dale Dickey as the team’s empathetic chaperone, Gbemisola Ikumelo as Max’s friend Clance, and Rockford Peaches Melanie Field, Kate Berlant, Molly Ephraim, Kelly McCormack and Roberta Colindrez.

Marshall’s film will always have a place in cinema history – and deservedly so – but it’s stirring that a movie which couldn’t include other stories is now the launchpad for a fresh, terrific and inclusive series. It really is a league of their own.

A League of Their Own is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video

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Sports

Tennis news 2022: Nick Kyrgios comes crashing back to earth vs Hubert Hurkacz

Nick Kyrgios confessed that he had little more to give physically as his nine-match win streak came to an end in the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Friday.

The Wimbledon runner-up lost 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 to Polish powerhouse Hubert Hurkacz after coming to the court with 15 victories from his past 16 matches.

But the Australian had little left to give as his body began to complain.

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“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week,” he said.

“I was feeling the abdominal (muscle) a little bit before the match. My knees hurt.”

Kyrgios kept the pace of the match brisk as he held his own in the first two sets before finally losing momentum in the third as Hurkacz took control.

The Aussie was annoyed as his opponent left the court for a change of clothes and bathroom break, a delay that ate into his fragile fitness.

During the broadcast, Kyrgios was overheard saying: “We’re not f***ing machines, bro. We can’t just go and stop, go and stop, go and stop.”

He later told reporters: “Obviously when you’re playing and you stop for like five to 10 minutes, it doesn’t help your body.

“My body was so stiff after that, I couldn’t move properly.

“I mean, it’s within the rules. I’m not going to complain. I completely stiffened up.”

World No. 37 Kyrgios, whose performance this week will send him into a seeded US Open spot, added: “I’m not a machine. I’m a human.”

Kyrgios won his first ATP title in three years last week at Washington and shared the doubles crown with Jack Sock, the first man in the event’s 53-year history to take both crowns in the same year.

“My knees were sore, my back was sore… I was trying to stay moving, but I just stiffened up,” Kyrgios said.

“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week.”

Kyrgios said he needs a pause before returning to the fray next week at Cincinnati in the last major tuneup for the US Open, which begins August 29.

“I feel good, but the US Open is still two and a half weeks away. I have Cincinnati next week. That’s all I’m focusing on,” he said.

“I’m focusing on today, tonight, recovery, food, then just resting, then Cincinnati. That’s where my mind is at.”

Hurkacz overcame 53 winners from Kyrgios to halt the Australian’s nine-match winning streak. The No. 8 seed managed 43 winners of his own in a rapid-fire triumph that put him into his fourth semi-final at the Masters level.

Hurkacz will next face Norway’s fourth-seeded Casper Ruud, who crushed home-nation player Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-2, in 74 minutes.

– AFP

Read related topics:Nick Kyrgios

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Sports

Former boxing world champion David Lemieux retires days after dad murdered at bus stop shooting spree

Boxer David Lemieux is retiring following the tragic murder of his father during a shooting spree in Canada.

A man suspected of killing three people in Montreal on August 2 was later shot and killed by police, The Sun reported.

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Former IBF middleweight champion Lemieux is only 33 but has clearly been left heartbroken by his father’s senseless and brutal killing.

“I’ve accomplished a lot in the course of my career,” Lemieux told Boxing News 24.

“I achieved my dream of becoming world champion, I’ve given the fans rousing fights by accepting every challenge that came my way.

“I devoted my life to training, to boxing, and now I want to cherish every minute with my family.

“I accomplished a lot, but I didn’t do it alone. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the fans who supported and encouraged me throughout my career.”

Lemiueux’s father was shot dead during a 24-hour shooting spree in Canada last week where three people were killed.

One of the men killed was identified as Andre Fernand Lemieux, 64, which David confirmed by uploading a post on his Instagram with a picture of his father accompanied by the caption “RIP dad.”

“To learn that your father died by being shot while waiting for the bus is quite a shock. Everyone in the family is shaken,” he told Le Journal de Montreal.

Lemieux lost his IBF title in a thrilling fight with legend Gennady Golovkin at Madison Square Garden in 2015.

He was also defeated by Brit Billy Joe Saunders in Quebec in 2017.

Lemieux said just after his father’s death: “To learn that your father died by being shot while waiting for the bus is quite a shock. Everyone in the family is shaken.”

Lemieux lost his last fight to David Benavidez in May this year.

His pro career began in 2007 and his overall record is 43 wins and five losses. But many boxers change their minds about retirement, with Tyson Fury performing another U-turn this week.

This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

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Categories
Entertainment

Princess Diana’s bodyguard Lee Sansum claims she would still be alive if he had been on duty

He is the bodyguard who Princess Diana nicknamed “Rambo” and with whom she had several heart-to-hearts revealing her biggest fears and future plans.

And 25 years on from her death, Lee Sansum says he is adamant she would be alive today if he had been with her on the night she died alongside Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997.

In an exclusive interview with The SunSansum has told how security guards drew straws to accompany bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones in the car, and he lost.

He also reveals the fun bets he had with a young Prince and how he treasures a letter from Diana thanking him for making her final sunshine holiday in St Tropez “magical” — and her fears she may be assassinated.

“It could have been me in that car,” said Sansum, now 60.

“We drew straws to see who would be accompanying Trevor that weekend. I pulled a match and it was a long one.

“When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash I understood why they didn’t survive. That shouldn’t have happened.

“It was standard practice for the family to wear seatbelts. It was an order sent down from the boss, Dodi’s dad Mohamed Fayed. Dodi, in particular, hated wearing seatbelts and I always insisted on it.”

Through his work with Mohamed Al-Fayed — the owner of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods department store and Fulham FC — Sansum also protected Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sylvester Stallone and footballer Pele.

Burnley-born Sansum, who has covered his incredible career in personal protection in a new book, The Bodyguard: Real Stories of Close Protection from Tom Cruise to Princess Dianawas assigned to look after Dodi and Diana, then 36, when they stayed at his boss’s 30-bedroom villa in St Tropez, in the South of France, during July 1997.

Every day Diana would wake up at 7am and chat to the bodyguard.

“She had been happy on that holiday,” he said.

“But I had seen her in tears too, when she learned of the murder of her friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace. She confided in me her own fears that she might one day be assassinated.

“She asked if I thought his murder outside his home was a professional killing.

“I thought it was. Then she said something that always stayed with me — ‘Do you think they’ll do that to me?’ She was shaking and it was clear from her tone that she really thought that they might, whoever ‘they’ might be.

“I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated.”

Diana also told Sansum she wanted to live with Dodi in the States.

“I actually signed up to join Diana and Dodi in America,” he added.

“She was definitely going, and that was that. She told me she was going there.

“She didn’t want to, but that was the only place she felt people weren’t having a go at her. It was probably her way of keeping sane, to get some respite.”

Sansum took an instant shine to young princes William and Harry, who he says were down to earth and friendly, like their mother. William was 15 when Diana died and Harry 12.

Sansum believes Diana’s plan to move to the US influenced Harry’s move there with Meghan.

“This trauma happened when the building blocks for life were being formulated,” he said.

“His mother saw America as a place of sanctuary. He will be drawing on his experiences of her from then. ”

Sansum, a martial arts expert, tried to teach William and Harry how to kickbox, but they were too apprehensive.

“I rigged up a punch bag in the garage,” he said.

“One day I told the princes, ‘Come on, I’ll teach you a bit of kickboxing.’

“When I showed William and Harry how to do it though, they seemed a little bit in awe from watching me kick that bag so hard and weren’t too keen to try it themselves in front of me.”

But Harry did challenge him to jump off the top deck of Al-Fayed’s yacht for money.

When Sansum said he would do it for £200, Diana joined in the encouragement and told Sansum they had his money.

“It was a bloody big yacht and a fair drop from its highest point into the water,” he said.

“A bet’s a bet, after all, and this one was by royal command, from an actual princess.

“So I jumped off the boat, hit the water with a big splash and they were all delighted, especially Harry.”

Sansum — who has also served in the Military Police, worked undercover for the Forces in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles and in Somalia and Libya — does not believe Diana was murdered.

But he reveals the presence of intelligence services following her just weeks before the crash might have been a factor.

On a counter-surveillance drive near the Al-Fayed home in Surrey just before they all went to St Tropez, one of Sansum’s colleagues saw someone from the Special Reconnaissance Unit, working on a building site. He knew him as they had both been in the SAS.

“We were generally followed by MI5 but this was the first time we had seen a Special Forces guy,” he said.

“We thought, ‘They’ve upped their game.’

“A witness driving a car traveling in front of the Mercedes in Paris on the night of the crash told the inquest that he saw a high-powered motorbike overtake the car just seconds before the crash.

“Another witness traveling in the opposite direction saw a second motorbike swerve to avoid smoke and wreckage then carry on out of the tunnel without stopping. The riders of those bikes were never found — and that is no coincidence.

“I believe that security officers following Diana, possibly British or a combined British – French team, may have either inadvertently caused the crash or were in proximity to the car when it happened.

“If it was known that MI6 operatives were right by the Mercedes at the critical moment, a lot of people would have blamed them for it, and that would have been a huge scandal.”

Sansum will never know the truth. But he will always treasure the letter he received from the princess 25 years ago.

“I received a lovely letter from Diana that was signed by her and both of the young princes,” he said.

“She told me she wanted to thank me for taking such good care of them all in St Tropez. I was blown away by that. She assured me that she and her boys de ella had a ‘magical’ time there and that this would not have been possible without my help.

“I couldn’t believe that a woman as famous and in-demand as Diana had taken the time to write to me in that way.

“It showed the empathy she was rightly famous for.

“Diana was almost always able to put herself in someone else’s shoes, it is one of the reasons why she was so highly regarded.

“She signed off with her warmest possible thanks. I still have that letter and will always treasure it.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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Categories
Sports

Serena William’s retirement from tennis is proof women can’t have it all

Earlier this week one of the most successful and celebrated athletes of all time – 23-time Grand Slam winner – Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis.

While the news was most definitely headline generating, the reason behind it was far from a shock.

The 41-year-old’s decision, explored in an ‘as told to’ article in Vogue, outlined that she was retiring, partly, in order to expand her family.

“Something’s got to give,” she said. And unfortunately, as sexist, unfair and outdated as this may be, she’s right.

“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote.

“I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.

“These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter.”

In response to this, some have criticized Williams for using motherhood as an excuse, as if retirement is some sort of cop-out for not being a good enough tennis player.

I read comparisons between her and past female tennis players who competed after having children, putting them up on nonsensical pedestals because they didn’t use being a mum as an excuse for ‘giving up.’

While no, Williams has not won a Grand Slam Singles title since the Australian Open in 2017 (while pregnant with her daughter, a feat in its own right), not many other female players of the Open Era have either. In fact, there are only three – Kim Clijsters, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

The majority have found motherhood and professional tennis an unworkable combination.

Despite the challenges that arose, Williams still persevered and still succeeded, coming Runner Up in four Singles Grand Slams finals (yep, mum and all).

“I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression,” she said.

The biological inequality of being a woman is so difficult that it’s leading some professional tennis players with a desire to have it all (both career and family) to explore fertility options early in their careers.

Former Australian tennis player, Rennae Stubbs told ABC Radio National Breakfast: “I know players that want to have children, that want to have a family, have [frozen] their eggs, because they want to play until their mid-30s or 40s.

“So, they freeze eggs so they can have kids later on in life. But think about Tom Brady or Roger Federer or Rafa [Nadal] now; you can have children and keep playing because you’re not the one birthing it and taking nine months to have the child and then the recovery after the child.”

But it’s not just professional tennis players facing these challenges, elite athletes of all disciplines often struggle to find a workable way forward because there is a certain level of commitment that is expected, and this often means sacrificing other aspects of their life.

There is often also a peak performance window, usually in their 20s and 30s which coincides with fertility.

While yes, arguably it is possible to do both, there is no doubt that there would be additional costs, extra work and huge obstacles to overcome, including these fertility treatments, and for some, these just aren’t worth it.

In Williams’ case, this would have meant postponing having a second child in order to keep playing. Given she is 41, this may have meant giving up on extending her family for good.

“I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out,” she said.

While Williams says the choice is clear, the reality is, for her and many women it isn’t really a choice, and it is definitely not fair.

Regardless of what industry women work in, this situation, of having to choose between career or family, is prevalent and it’s not just a biological inequality but something more entrenched in our society and culture – you only need to look at paid parental leave to see Este.

Over the last decade, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 95 per cent of primary carer paid parental leave was taken by mothers, despite most primary carer paid parental leave schemes being accessible to both women and men.

Professor Marian Baird told Women’s Agenda that “Paid Parental Leave Act was “a giant leap forward” when it came out in 2010, but that it has “barely changed in a decade”.

“Our research shows that opening up opportunities for fathers to take paid carer leave will make significant headway towards gender equality,” said Professor Baird. “But after almost a decade since the Act was introduced, there’s been no movement in the duration of leave that’s accessible through paid secondary carer leave provisions like Dad and Partner Pay.”

While it’s easy to criticize anyone for their choices, the facts remain, as sexist and unfair as they may be – women can’t have it all – family and career – at least not at the same time. Williams is proof of that.

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Categories
Sports

Serena William’s retirement from tennis is proof women can’t have it all

Earlier this week one of the most successful and celebrated athletes of all time – 23-time Grand Slam winner – Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis.

While the news was most definitely headline generating, the reason behind it was far from a shock.

The 41-year-old’s decision, explored in an ‘as told to’ article in Vogue, outlined that she was retiring, partly, in order to expand her family.

“Something’s got to give,” she said. And unfortunately, as sexist, unfair and outdated as this may be, she’s right.

“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote.

“I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.

“These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter.”

In response to this, some have criticized Williams for using motherhood as an excuse, as if retirement is some sort of cop-out for not being a good enough tennis player.

I read comparisons between her and past female tennis players who competed after having children, putting them up on nonsensical pedestals because they didn’t use being a mum as an excuse for ‘giving up.’

While no, Williams has not won a Grand Slam Singles title since the Australian Open in 2017 (while pregnant with her daughter, a feat in its own right), not many other female players of the Open Era have either. In fact, there are only three – Kim Clijsters, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

The majority have found motherhood and professional tennis an unworkable combination.

Despite the challenges that arose, Williams still persevered and still succeeded, coming Runner Up in four Singles Grand Slams finals (yep, mum and all).

“I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression,” she said.

The biological inequality of being a woman is so difficult that it’s leading some professional tennis players with a desire to have it all (both career and family) to explore fertility options early in their careers.

Former Australian tennis player, Rennae Stubbs told ABC Radio National Breakfast: “I know players that want to have children, that want to have a family, have [frozen] their eggs, because they want to play until their mid-30s or 40s.

“So, they freeze eggs so they can have kids later on in life. But think about Tom Brady or Roger Federer or Rafa [Nadal] now; you can have children and keep playing because you’re not the one birthing it and taking nine months to have the child and then the recovery after the child.”

But it’s not just professional tennis players facing these challenges, elite athletes of all disciplines often struggle to find a workable way forward because there is a certain level of commitment that is expected, and this often means sacrificing other aspects of their life.

There is often also a peak performance window, usually in their 20s and 30s which coincides with fertility.

While yes, arguably it is possible to do both, there is no doubt that there would be additional costs, extra work and huge obstacles to overcome, including these fertility treatments, and for some, these just aren’t worth it.

In Williams’ case, this would have meant postponing having a second child in order to keep playing. Given she is 41, this may have meant giving up on extending her family for good.

“I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out,” she said.

While Williams says the choice is clear, the reality is, for her and many women it isn’t really a choice, and it is definitely not fair.

Regardless of what industry women work in, this situation, of having to choose between career or family, is prevalent and it’s not just a biological inequality but something more entrenched in our society and culture – you only need to look at paid parental leave to see Este.

Over the last decade, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 95 per cent of primary carer paid parental leave was taken by mothers, despite most primary carer paid parental leave schemes being accessible to both women and men.

Professor Marian Baird told Women’s Agenda that “Paid Parental Leave Act was “a giant leap forward” when it came out in 2010, but that it has “barely changed in a decade”.

“Our research shows that opening up opportunities for fathers to take paid carer leave will make significant headway towards gender equality,” said Professor Baird. “But after almost a decade since the Act was introduced, there’s been no movement in the duration of leave that’s accessible through paid secondary carer leave provisions like Dad and Partner Pay.”

While it’s easy to criticize anyone for their choices, the facts remain, as sexist and unfair as they may be – women can’t have it all – family and career – at least not at the same time. Williams is proof of that.

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Categories
Business

Disney passes Netflix in streaming war, but there are two catches

Disney has overtaken Netflix in the global race for streaming customers. But there’s a catch. Actually, there are many catches.

The headline numbers are that Disney as an entertainment megalith now has 221.1 million subscriptions to Netflix’s 220.6 million accounts.

While that looks like Disney has surpassed Netflix in the streaming wars, that 221.1 million number is a combined figure of Disney+ customers as well as US services Hulu and ESPN. Netflix only has the one brand so it’s not a like-for-like comparison.

Of that total figure, Disney+, which launched in late-2019, has amassed 152.1 million subscribers worldwide. It increased its membership by 14.4 million subscribers, more than the 10 million that was forecast.

That’s catch number one in the Disney versus Netflix narrative.

The more revealing asterisk comes when you drill down into the numbers around average revenue per user (ARPU), as industry publication Variety you have donated

ARPU is an important measure for finance types because it reflects how much each customer is worth to a business. The higher the ARPU, the more money each customer is spending with the business.

According to Variety, Disney’s ARPU in the US and Canada was $US6.27 per customer per month compared to Netflix’s $US15.95 for the same region. Disney’s subscription price in the US and Canada is significantly lower than Netflix’s.

The difference in ARPU is even more glaring in India and Southeast Asia where Disney is only making $US1.20 per month to Netflix’s $US8.83 in APAC.

While it may seem like ARPU is something that investors and money people care about, ultimately it will affect audiences.

In a bid to increase that ARPU, there’s currently a lot of movement around pricing.

Disney has announced US prices for Disney+ will increase by 38 per cent in December, from $US7.99 to $US10.99 per month, at the same time as the introduction of an ad-supported membership tier which will be priced at $US7 .99.

Disney+ will roll out the ad-supported option globally in 2023.

In Australia, Disney+ is priced at $11.99 a month. It launched at $8.99 a month but increased the cost in February 2021 when it added the Star sub-brand to its platform.

Locally, Star houses Disney’s more adult-oriented programming and includes many of the exclusive movies and shows that are made for Hulu in the US. This has included series such as dopesick, WeCrashed and the upcoming critical sensation Bear.

Netflix will also introduce an ad-supported membership tier from 2023.

Netflix had previously eschewed introducing advertising on its platform with co-chief executive and co-founder Reed Hastings rejecting the idea.

The company did an about-face in April when it revealed it had for the first time in a decade gone backwards in its subscription numbers.

An ad-supported tier is one of two main tactics Netflix is ​​deploying to arrest its declining membership. A cheaper subscription option could be attractive to existing and potential customers feeling the pinch of global economic and inflationary pressures.

And advertising revenue from brands may increase Netflix and Disney’s ARPU.

Netflix’s other plank in boosting its subscriber numbers is to crackdown on password, a common practice which is a violation of its terms and conditions but is done by 100 million of its customers.

Netflix is ​​trialling two forms of a crackdown in smaller territories in Latin America, both of which means charging customers an extra fee for sharing their login details beyond their residence.

The American streaming market is going through a tumultuous period due to increased competition and economic conditions.

Earlier this month, Warner Bros Discovery announced it will combine its two streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+ following its merger. The Warner Bros Discovery move could signal the long-awaited consolidation many in the industry have flagged for some time.

In Australia, there are more than a dozen paid streaming platforms, ranging from broad appeal brands such as Binge*, Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime Video to niche products such as Shudder, Hayu and Shelter.

According to Roy Morgan data published in February, 74.5 per cent of Australians accessed a subscription video-on-demand platform across an average of four weeks in the three months to December 2021, an increase of 2.5 per cent.

The most popular service remains Netflix, followed by Foxtel Group*, which owns Foxtel, Binge, Kayo and Flash.

Roy Morgan estimated Australians use on average 2.7 subscription video-on-demand services, up from 1.8 a year earlier.

*Foxtel Group is majority owned by News Corp, publisher of this website

Read related topics:Netflix

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Sports

Nick Kyrgios ATP rankings soar, Canada Open, video, highlights, US Open favorite

Eight months after scoffing at the ATP world rankings, Nick Kyrgios has moved up 100 places — and he might not be done yet.

It was back in January, Kyrgios, 27, started the year in the 93rd spot. Soon after he dropped outside the top 100 and slid as far down as 137th in March.

All along though the outspoken Australian never feared about his slide down the rankings.

“Honestly, if I’m ranked 1000 or 10 in the world I know what I’m capable of and everyone knows what I’m capable of on Tour,” he said in January.

“I’m not a player that hasn’t come from themselves – I talk a lot but I also have beaten a lot of players and I’ve won a lot of tournaments so that’s not something I’m focusing on,” he said.

“I just want to go out there have fun and I want to put on a good performance.

“It’s the Australian summer and people expect me to put on a good show and I think that I’m still capable of doing that.

“I won Acapulco unseeded and I beat four top-10 players … I think the level of tennis has never been this deep, everyone can play, everyone’s capable of doing very, very well.”

Despite his runner-up finish at the All England Courts not counting towards his ATP ranking because of Wimbledon’s decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players because of the war in Ukraine, Kyrgios has now moved inside the top 30 with his round of 16 win over Alex by Minaur on Friday.

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Demon no match for King Kyrgios | 02:16

After starting the tournament ranked 37, Kyrgios has moved to No.27 in the world after his two-set clinical showing at the ATP Montreal Masters

He will climb as high as No.21 should he prevail over eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals on Saturday and could move inside the top 15 should he win the tournament. He has now won 15 of his past 16 single matches, including his past nine straight.

Nick Kyrgios was in sublime form against Alex de Minaur during Day 6 of the National Bank Open on August 11, 2022 in Montreal, Canada.  Photo: Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios was in sublime form against Alex de Minaur during Day 6 of the National Bank Open on August 11, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

In a boost to his US Open hopes, Kyrgios’ victory over de Minaur means the volatile Australian will be seeded at the grand slam event.

“It was a goal, more so that I don’t get one of the big titans or gods the first-round, I can actually work my way through the draw, if the draw is kind,” he said.

“I always feel as if my game is right there. I feel like no matter who I play, today I felt amazing, and let’s keep it going.”

The Tennis world was blown away by Kyrgios’ clinical showing in Canada.

De Minaur had few answers against his Davis Cup teammate, who came to the net early and reeled off 22 winners and just nine unforced errors in the 62 minute demolition.

It was the type of tennis that saw Kyrgios progress through his maiden Slam final, where he ultimately went down to Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic.

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Tennis news 2022: Nick Kyrgios defeats compatriot Alex de Minaur in straight sets

Nick Kyrgios’ stunning purple patch has continued, with the Wimbledon runner-up comprehensively defeating compatriot Alex de Minaur in the Montreal Masters on Friday morning (AEST).

The Australian, currently sitting at No. 37 on the ATP rankings, topped his Davis Cup teammate in straight sets 6-2 6-3, securing victory in just 62 minutes.

Kyrgios was at his absolute best during the entertaining round of 16 contest, registering 22 winners and only nine unforced errors in front of a packed-out stadium.

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However, he carried on with constant backchat towards his players box, giving almost a running commentary of his state of mind on the court in a display that seems second nature to him.

Minaur’s World No. 21 hardly won a point in the opening four games, fighting back in the second set by breaking Kyrgios twice, but struggling to hold serve himself.

It was the first time Kyrgios and de Minaur had met in an ATP event.

“After yesterday’s big high, today was really hard mentally for me to go out and play Alex,” Kyrgios said.

“We’re such good friends, he’s been having such a good career and carrying the Australian flag for so long. It was just tough mentally, it’s never easy to play a friend like that especially if they’re an Australian so I just got out here and got the job done.

“I played the way I had to play — he’s a hell of a player. If you play to his strengths he’s one of the best players from the back (of the court) in the game and he’s so fast, he’s going to have a hell of a career.

Kyrgios will next face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals. The pair faced off two months ago on grass, with Hurkacz the victor on that occasion.

This Montreal Masters campaign will give Kyrgios an important rankings boost ahead of the US Open, which gets underway on Monday August 29.

He is expected to climb 10 spots in the ATP rankings, and could crack the top 15 if he wins the Canadian tournament.

Fresh from winning the Citi Open title in Washington, Kyrgios came back from a set down to top world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev 6-7 6-4 6-2 on Thursday.

It’s the second time in his career he’s beaten a world No. 1 and he now boasts a 3-1 head-to-head record against Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion.

Since landing in the United States for the American hard court swing a couple of weeks ago, Kyrgios is 16-0 across singles and doubles.

He has now won 15 of his past 16 singles matches, stretching back to his run into the Wimbledon final, which he lost to 21-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic.

“It’s rewarding to beat the world No. 1,” Kyrgios told The Tennis Channel after the victory over Medvedev.

“It’s a reflection of all the hard work I’ve done in Sydney.

“After Washington I could easily come here and be content with what I did last week, but I wanted to empty the tank these two weeks.

“Obviously my ranking’s not where I want it to be, not getting those points at Wimbledon, but I’ve got to capitalize on this little window.”

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Nick Kyrgios smashes Alex de Minaur, Canadian Open round of 16, score, highlights, US Open

If there was any doubt about Nick Kyrgios’ US Open hopes, there is not now.

Fresh from his three-set victory over world No.1 Daniil Medvedev, Kyrgios demolished his Australian compatriot Alex de Minaur in straight sets (6-2, 6-3).

His clinic in Canada, which sees him move into the quarter-finals, didn’t see the volatile Australian turning on his box at times.

As late as the penultimate game, Kyrgios was blowing up at his team for their “lack of support” as he was broken.

But just as quickly he responded, winning in style a game late to progress through to the final eight.

“(Today was) incredibly tough,” he said.

“After yesterday’s big high, after playing Daniil and the crowd was amazing, it’s a day I’ll probably never forget.

“Today was really hard mentally for me to go out and play Alex, we’re such good friends and he’s been having such a good career so far and carrying the Australian flag for so long, it was tough mentally to play a friend, especially if they’re Australian.

“I just got out here and got the job done. I played the way I had to play. He’s a helluva player, if he plays to his strengths from him, he’s one of the best players from the back of the court and he’s so fast.

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Nick Kyrgios is through to the quarter-finals.  Photo: Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios is through to the quarter-finals. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

The win means more than meets the eye because it sees him move back inside the world top 30 in the ATP rankings and crucially a seeding at the US Open, which gets underway on August 29.

With his round of 16 win Kyrgios is now the new world No.27. A win in the quarter-final over Hubert Hurkacz will see him climb as high as No.21.

“It was a goal, more so that I don’t get one of the big titans or gods the first-round, I can actually work my way through the draw, if the draw is kind,” he said on court.

“I always feel as if my game is right there. I feel like no matter who I play, today I felt amazing, and let’s keep it going.”

Indeed, de Minaur appeared “shell shocked” as a “mature” Kyrgios ran riot in the opening set, where the Wimbledon runner-up claimed the opening four games.

De Minaur eventually got on the scoreboard in the fifth game as he managed to hold serve for the first time in the match.

But with his fourth ace of the opening set, Kyrgios moved to a 5-1 lead and soon after claimed the first set 6-2 in just 23 minutes

“As flawless as sets come,” it was said in commentary. “A quite ridiculous level from Nick Kyrgios.”

Alex de Minaur lost in straight sets against Nick Kyrgios. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

After being on his best behavior during the first set, Kyrgios starting firing up early in the second set.

He actions were described as “pure venting” as he turned on his box in the opening games of the second set.

Nonetheless, Kyrgios took an early break in the second set and never looked back.

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