An Australian brand is celebrating record sales after landing a huge partnership with one of the UK’s most popular reality shows.
More than five million Brits tuned in to watch Love Island this year – the show’s biggest audience since its launch in 2015.
It’s since become a global phenomenon, with audiences around the world including Aussies and Americans, becoming obsessed with the bikini-clad dating show.
It’s because of this, sunglasses brand Quay Australia, decided to collaborate with the culturally iconic series – designing a range worn by the “islanders” during the eight-week show.
And after seeing how girls and guys in the villa rocked the sunglasses, shoppers were quick to snap them up, the brand’s CEO Jodi Bricker told news.com.au.
“Since the show has begun, we’ve seen a lot of excitement from our customers on the partnership, globally,” she said.
“In the UK, we’ve seen a spike in traffic each night the show airs and double-digit growth in traffic since last month.
“The styles the islanders have been loving are also influencing our customer’s choices – the top five selling styles in the UK in June have all been worn on the show.”
It’s a huge result for a brand born from humble beginnings in Melbourne in 2004 and comes after it was sold by the original founders, Linda and Allen Hammond and their son Zak, to Boston-based private equity firm Summit Partners in April last year.
As a result, the Quay team wanted to push the brand to new heights, choosing to sponsor the show to increase its brand awareness outside of Australia.
“Sunglasses are a staple on Love Island and Quay sunnies have been worn nonstop by islanders every season,” Jodi explained.
“We know our community loves the show and has been influenced by islanders such as Amber Gill, Cartier Surjan and Caroline Viehweg, who all wore Quays on previous seasons. “As we advanced our marketing strategy this year, we knew we wanted to test a new approach to collaborations with an integrated broadcast partnership, while giving our fans the best specs of their lives with a fun new collaboration collection.”
More than 25 different designs were proudly worn on-screen, including several polarized sunnies, priced between $85 and $120 – and the brand’s current bestsellers, the $85 “High Key” aviator style frames.
“We launched the Quay x Love Island collection with 16 styles that our product team designed and curated with the islanders, location and show as their muse,” Jodi said.
“Once casting was underway, the islanders were given a wide selection of sunnies to choose from – bestsellers, polarized staples, and new summer drops with vibrant pops of colour, including our official collection.
“They have all been styling themselves as they enter the villa, and we love what they’ve been wearing.
“We also get the heads up from the ITV team on special requests from islanders or events they are planning, such as the blue party, and regularly send new options to the villa for the islanders to try.”
One of the things Jodi said the brand had enjoyed so much about the partnership was seeing how the islanders wear the products, revealing there’s been several surprises during this season.
“We’ve certainly been entertained by Davide rocking his Quay sunnies over his prescription glasses,” she said.
“We offer prescription glasses and sunnies in the US, so the team is dying to get their hands on his prescription to help him solve that problem.
“We also love seeing the islanders pop sunnies on in bed, as the first step in their daily morning routine.”
While the UK season has just concluded, with Davide and Ekin-Su winning the crown, Quay is also sponsoring the US version which has just kicked off and is airing on Channel 9.
“New styles are being added to the collection each week as they appear on air, so be sure to check back regularly,” she said.
World No.2 Cameron Smith kept his cool amid a growing storm about his potential defection to Saudi-backed LIV Golf and declared he was ready to “cop some heat” for pre-tournament denials.
The Telegraph this week reported Smith had inked $140 million (AUD) to join the Greg Norman-run league with fellow Aussie Marc Leishman.
Smith was pressed on the report ahead of the start of the FedEex Cup Playoffs and refused to be drawn on it.
“You know, my goal here is to win the FedExCup Playoffs,” Smith said.
“That’s all I’m here for. I’m a man of my word and whenever you guys need to know anything, it’ll be said by me.”
But after carding an opening round three-under at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the world No.2 said he understood the line of questioning.
“I’m ready to cop some heat. I understand that’s what I’ve said,” Smith told Sky Sports having declared any news on a move would come from him.
“I’m here to win the FedEx Cup playoffs, that’s my number one goal. Whatever happens after that will come from me.”
The comments will likely be interpreted by some as strengthening of the case that he has flawed to the rebel tour which has already signed up the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia.
But while Smith remains in focus Jason Day, who withdrew from last week’s PGA Tour event with illness, carded a bogey-free round of 65 to sit just off the pace in a share of fifth late in the opening round at the $21m St Jude Classic, three shots behind the leaders.
Only the top 70 finishers will progress to the next event and remain in the hunt for the biggest payday in golf, outside of signing a LIV deal.
Day, who hasn’t won since 2018 and has slipped to 147th on the world rankings, said he wasn’t getting lost in thinking too far ahead.
“You’re always just trying like to just blend everything together and hopefully it will click,” Day said.
“I’m not getting too excited about anything right now, just got to stay patient as much as I can because the more and more I start thinking about outcomes and being able to get into next week, it just does nothing for me, or at least anything positive for me.
Cameron Smith had an up-and-down round. Picture: Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“It actually gives you more anxiety and a lot of other stuff that comes along with it.
“I feel pretty good about the opening round and looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Adam Scott was the next best Aussie at four-under, a score that could have been better if not for a double-bogey five on the par three 14th hole when his tee shot found the water.
Smith, who could assume the world No.1 ranking with a victory in Memphis, depending on where current world No.1 Scottie Scheffler finishes, carded an up-and-down opening round 67, which included an eagle and two bogeys, to be five off the lead.
There’s more than one fashion plate in this famous family.
While appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” music and style icon Madonna revealed her son David Banda, 16, is already out-dressing her, The NY Post reported.
“He can put on any outfit and look swag as you know what,” she told Fallon on Wednesday night.
“It’s really irritating. He wears my clothes and looks better in them. He can even wear a dress and look butch.”
The “Material Girl” wasn’t joking. Back in May, the mother-son duo matched in Adidas outfits at the WBA World Lightweight Championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Banda, who’s known for his gender-fluid fashion choices, stole the show in a bright red three-stripe dress from Adidas’ collaboration with Gucci. The teen paired the eye-catching look with a pair of yellow sunglasses, layered silver jewelery and black sneakers.
But David inherited more from his mother than just her fashion sense.
The “Like a Virgin” singer went on to tell Fallon that her son, whom she adopted in 2006, is working on music of his own.
“He’s going to end up being one of your guests,” the 63-year-old gushed about Banda, saying he has “everything” needed to be a star.
Fallon agreed with the Queen of Pop, saying, “He’s got ‘it.’ He’s got magic. He’s funny, he’s charming, he’s athletic, he’s a good-looking dude.” During the same interview, the hit maker revealed the moment she believed her career was “over with” after accidentally flashing the crowd during her performance of “Like a Virgin” at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.
According to Madge, after her stiletto slipped off onstage, she dived to grab it — accidentally flipping up her dress and exposing her backside to the audience.
“Those were the days when you shouldn’t show your butt to have a career,” the singer joked. “Now it’s the opposite.”
Although her reps thought her career would crash after the incident, the superstar went on to become one of the best-selling female artists of all time.
This article was originally published by The NY Post and was reproduced here with permission.
Lisa Kudrow has weighed in on the lack of diversity in Friends and claimed the show’s creators had “no business writing stories about people of colour”.
The actress, who played Phoebe Buffay for 10 seasons, said David Crane and Marta Kauffman likely wrote the series about their own lives and therefore did not have the experiences of being a person of color.
Lisa has previously admitted the series lacked representation, stating that if the hit show was made today, it would include a more diverse cast.
“I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college. And for shows especially, when it’s going to be a comedy that’s character-driven, you write what you know,” Kudrow, 59, told the Daily Beast.
“They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of colour. I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, ‘Where’s the apprenticeship?””
Show creator Marta Kauffman has also publicly expressed the “embarrassment” of how she “didn’t know better” about diversity 25 years ago.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman said in an interview with The Los Angeles Times.
“Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.”
“It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism.
“I’ve been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman’s perspective.”
Kauffman has since pledged $4 million to support African American students in the US.
The Marta F. Kauffman ’78 Professorship in African and African American Studies “will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora” and “assist the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers , map long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship,” the Waltham, Massachusetts-based university announced.
“It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism,” Kauffman, who is reportedly worth nearly $600 million, told Brandeis.
“I’ve been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman’s perspective.”
Kauffman told the LA Times that she has received “nothing but love” since announcing the pledge along with “people acknowledging it was long overdue.”
“In this case, I’m finally, literally putting my money where my mouth is,” Kauffman said. “I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation.”
“I have to say, after agreeing to this and when I stopped sweating, it didn’t unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in my next production, I can do it right, it isn’t over.
“I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of colour. I want to know I will act differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened.”
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
Matty Johns believes that South Sydney can “come from nowhere” to win the NRL premiership this season, but only if they address a potentially decisive part of their game.
South Sydney can move up to fifth on the ladder if they beat Parramatta in a crunch clash at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Both teams will be looking to keep their top four hopes alive with a win in the blockbuster, while the loser could risk dropping down the ladder.
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The Rabbitohs began their impressive run of form against Parramatta early last month, recording the first of four consecutive wins.
After wins over the struggling Newcastle Knights and Bulldogs, Souths made a statement with a 12-point win over the Melbourne Storm.
While they lost in golden point the week after against the Sharks, they bounced back with an emphatic win over the Warriors on the Sunshine Coast.
But not everyone is sold on their recent successes, with Matty Johns comparing the team to a “nice Sunday drive.”
“South Sydney, their recent performances remind me of someone taking a nice Sunday drive, and I mean that both in praise and criticism,” Johns said on SEN’s Morning Glory.
“Watching South Sydney, and I think it’s a bad practice, it’s something they’ve got to be really careful of, they’re lifting the intensity only when they think they need to.
“That’s a concern because intensity and focus and poise under pressure is not something you just reach for out of the kit bag and say ‘alright we’re gonna do it now’.
“Last week I was expecting a real statement game against the Warriors, and they delivered in the first-half. Their intent and their blueprint (on) how they played their best football was the evidence.
Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell has been in some sensational form for the Rabbitohs since returning from injury. (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“But the second-half there was just no intensity in the contest… and I’m probably knit-picking a little bit because I do like to see coaches showing a range of emotions, but in that second-half when they were really wiping the floor with the Warriors, whenever they cut up to the coaches box the whole coaching staff were really pissing themselves laughing.
“That’s almost a little bit symbolic of where Souths are. It’s got to start tonight, they’ve got to start to lift and they’ve got to start to play with finals intensity football.”
Latrell Mitchell has been in sensational form for the Rabbitohs, after returning from an almost three month absence against the Eels.
Mitchell has had nine try assists since returning just over one month ago, as well as 33 tackle breaks and four tries.
While the Rabbitohs have largely reaped the rewards since he returned, although Johns issued the team with a warning.
“Latrell plays his best football when he’s relaxed. He’s come back from the States really relaxed, and his touch from him, the way he’s playing is just superb, but it does n’t mean that the rest of the side play their best relaxed, ”he added.
“At the moment there’s a reliance on ‘Trell will get it done’. When you’ve got players like Latrell Mitchell in your football side, they are the icing on the cake. They’re the one who can actually get it done for you.
“But you can’t rely on them. Even with Andrew Johns in our side, our forwards were tearing heads off, hitting the line that hard… If suddenly we went out there and say ‘Joey will get us home’, it just doesn’t happen.”
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Despite a tough run home, in which they play the Eels, Panthers, Cowboys and Roosters, Johns believes they can go all the way.
“The way they’re playing, that relaxed style, and the fact they’re playing within themselves and winning, well done to you boys. But they’re in a position, in my opinion, they can win this competition.
“They can come from nowhere and win this competition but they will not win it with the way they’re playing at the moment.
“It’s nothing about talent or anything like that, they’ve just got to develop, in the next few weeks, a really hard edge, and tonight’s a perfect opportunity.”
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has made an awkward gaffe while posting a tweet announcing a state memorial service for Olivia Newton-John that missed her name.
The iconic Australian singer, who starred in the hit musical Grease, died aged 73 at her home in southern California on Monday, after a long battle with breast cancer.
Ms Newton-John’s death triggered an outpouring of heartfelt condolences from celebrities and fans all over the world and prompted Mr Andrews to offer her family a state memorial service for the star.
“I’m so pleased that Olivia Newton-John’s family have accepted our offer of a State Memorial Service,” Mr Andrews’ official account tweeted.
The spelling error, in which an extra “w” was added to “Newton”, was quickly pointed out by followers who accused the premier of making the service about himself instead of honoring Ms Newton-John.
“It’s Newton NOT Newtown. With the amount we pay for your PR team they could get the spelling right,” one person wrote.
“Her name was Olivia NEWTON John. You’re absolutely embarrassing,” another posted.
Several Twitter users claimed that the error was disrespectful because it allegedly showed a lack of attention to detail.
“At least have the respect to spell her name correctly,” one wrote.
Olivia Newton-John. With respect Premier, please be mindful of the correct spelling,” another advised.
And: “You can’t even get her name right. So much for respect.”
Earlier, Mr Andrews said he spoke to Ms Newton-John’s niece, former Neighbors star, Tottie Goldsmith to discuss plans.
“I can update that I’ve spoken with Tottie Goldsmith this morning and she, on behalf of the family, have accepted my offer of a state service,” he said.
“This will be much more of a concert than a funeral, I think it will be a celebration of such a rich and generous life.
“As I said the other day, Olivia Newton-John was a very special person and to take her cancer journey and to turn that into more research, better treatment, better care and this focus on wellness, is such an amazing legacy and that’s why I think we all feel the pain of her passing.”
Mr Andrews said the family was touched by the Australian public’s outpouring of grief following Ms Newton-John’s death.
“There will be further discussions, those discussions have started today, but there will be further discussions in my department and the family about what’s appropriate,” he said.
“I think giving Melburnians and Victorians and indeed people who travel from other parts of the country and maybe even the world to be here to celebrate such an important, rich and generous life — that was the right thing to do.”
“And I must say, it’s very clear to me the family were quite touched by the prospect of Victorians being able to come together and celebrate Olivia’s life.”
The British-born actor and singer, who moved to Melbourne aged six, identified as Australian and became a devoted advocate for cancer research.
Her family will hold a private funeral for Ms Newton-John in the US – where she has lived for decades.
She is survived by husband John Easterling and daughter Chloe Lattanzi.
Things got ugly for Ben Simmons in Philadelphia and if Kevin Durant is not careful, he could be heading down a similar path in Brooklyn — if he is not already.
But could that be all part of the Nets superstar’s master plan?
Well, Durant certainly got the NBA world talking earlier in the week then he issued an ultimatum that left Nets owner Joseph Tsai in a tricky situation.
Durant, who requested a trade in June, reportedly told Tsai he needs to choose between the 12-time All-Star and the pairing of head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks.
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A subsequent report from The New York Post laid out Durant’s specific grievances with the team, including a lack of consultation over the Nets’ firing of assistant coach and director of player development Adam Harrington.
But not everyone in the NBA world seems to think that Durant actually wants Nash or Marks fired from the organization.
That is certainly the opinion of Fox Sports’ Nick Wright, who said on ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd that Durant’s ultimatum is all about achieving one “single goal”.
“I don’t think Kevin Durant actually wants those guys fired,” Wright said.
“I think he just wants to be traded. I think if he wanted Sean Marks and Steve Nash fired, he would have gone to Joe Tsai a month ago when he did the trade demand and quietly and privately said: ‘Listen, if you don’t fire these guys, I’m going to demand a trade’.
“I read this differently than most. I read this as Kevin Durant asking for something he knew he would not get in order to make it untenable for them to bring him back because he was starting to get concerned they were actually going to bring him back.
“This was him upping the ante to a level that is pretty unprecedented. It’s why I think Durant understood Joe Tsai is not going to do it and they also, I don’t believe, can ask Steve Nash to now coach Kevin Durant. I think it was a really smart move if his single goal is to be traded and I think that is his single goal.
Could Kevin Durant be heading down a similar path to Ben Simmons? (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
You see, it is not like Durant has much leverage in this situation, as NBA front office insider John Hollinger explained in a recent article for The Athletic.
Hollinger pointed towards two numbers in particular to prove that point — 34 and four — Durant’s age and how many years he has left on his contract.
“Throwing both his coach and GM under the bus — in many cases for moves that came with a wink and nod from Durant’s camp — certainly makes it less likely the Nets will find it tenable to reunite everyone in the fall,” Hollinger wrote.
“Of course, this gambit offers no guarantees. The trade offers in front of the Nets today aren’t any different from the ones they rejected yesterday, and it’s not clear how or if Durant’s latest demand will compel action.”
What it could do though is lead to a similar situation to the one Simmons found himself in Philadelphia last year, although there are a few key differences as Hollinger also pointed out.
“Seemingly the sharpest arrow left in Durant’s quiver is pure hardball: a holdout, one that would cost him a chunk of his $44 million 2022-23 salary for every day he sat out,” he wrote.
“It would, ironically, be a near carbon-copy of the situation a year ago in Philadelphia with Durant’s occasional teammate Ben Simmons.
“Here’s the thing: The Nets are working on a different timeline than the Sixers were.”
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Hollinger is right. Philadelphia had to move relatively fast to capitalize on Joel Embiid’s prime and as such was more inclined to reach a swift resolution in the Simmons drama.
The same cannot be said for the Nets though, as Hollinger argued.
“If anything, they would seem to have the opposite motivation,” he wrote.
“Yes, Brooklyn’s first choice would be to run it back with Durant, Simmons and Kyrie Irving (or a suitable replacement). But in the absence of Durant, wouldn’t the Nets’ second choice be to tank the season and try again in 2024? And wouldn’t a Durant holdout do anything more than accelerate the Nets toward that endgame?
“Brooklyn’s best-case scenario may be waiting until midseason, when this summer’s free agents are eligible to be dealt with. It seems less likely they’d let a year of Durant’s contract wither on the vine at his age and wait until next offseason… but it ca n’t totally be ruled out either given the tanking incentive.
Durant has told Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai that he must choose between keeping Durant or head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, The Athletic reported on August 8, 2022. (Photo by ELSA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)Source: AFP
What was consistent among a host of voices in the NBA media landscape was a sense of uncertainty, not knowing what exactly was coming next, again similar to the Simmons saga.
“The whole situation is a mess, but the kind of mess Brooklyn might happily sweep under a rug and ignore, if only it could,” The Ringers Rob Mahoney wrote.
“It’s impossible to replace Kevin Durant. Hell, it’s hard enough just to set a fair return for Durant in a trade, much less one suitors can realistically meet. Every ask sounds ridiculous because Durant is a genuinely ridiculous player.
“That might be the only reason he’s still a Net some six weeks after requesting a trade—and maybe the real reason KD is stirring the pot with this ultimatum in the first place. Does he really want Marks and Nash gone? Or is he just looking to send a shock through the Nets’ system?”
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The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer, meanwhile, pointed towards Durant’s strong endorsement of Marks after the Brooklyn’s four-game sweep at the hands of Boston as proof of just how confusing it all is.
“If Durant wanted Nash out but didn’t feel like putting him on blast to the media 10 minutes after the season ended, he could have discussed Nash’s future with an ‘I don’t know’ or ‘Now’s not the time for that’ . But he didn’t,” Schiffer wrote.
Schiffer agreed one “plausible explanation” is that this is Durant trying to force Brooklyn’s hand, to make the situation so untenable that the Nets back down.
Durant wants out of Brooklyn. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The Heat have been heavily linked to Durant since he first requested the trade but are unlikely to have the assets to make it work, at least in a traditional two-team deal.
The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang though Durant’s ultimatum was an important point in the drama, even if it still left “plenty of questions unanswered”.
“But in the wake of The Athletic’s report that Durant doesn’t want to work with Nash or Marks, the question is: Will this force the Nets to trade Durant prior to the start of training camp in late September to avoid any awkward tension and drama between the two parties? he wrote.
“That sort of deadline could take away some of the Nets’ leverage as the window to trade Durant before training camp shrinks as each day passes.
“The Nets could also decide to take Durant into training camp if a good enough offer doesn’t present itself, which would force Durant to decide whether to skip practices as he waits to be dealt or play through it.”
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NBA insider Brian Windhorst though was not so sure it would pay off, should Durant’s ultimatum have been a ploy to try speed up a trade out of Brooklyn.
“Doing it now is a manoeuvre, a manoeuvre that I don’t think worked because as I talk to teams out there, they don’t think this increased his trade demand. They think this hurt his trade value,” Windhorst said on ‘NBA Today’.
Windhorst brought up Tsai’s tweet earlier in the week as proof of it, in which the Nets owner claimed: “Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”
“I want to point to the second half of the Joe Tsai tweet,” Windhorst said.
“I think it’s obviously important to look at the first sentence which is that he’s not going to fire Sean Marks and Steve Nash. But the second sentence is really the sentence that the league paid attention to it. And it seems benign when he says ‘We make decisions for the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.’
“But I’m going to decode that for you. What he’s basically saying is despite what Kevin Durant is trying to do here, we’re not going to change what our expectations are for a trade and if you are not traded, we expect you to be reporting to camp to continue the four years you have left on your contract.”
At this stage though, we are no closer to either party getting what they want, with Schiffer putting it best in his summation of the drama.
“During’s ultimatum,” he wrote, “opened a chest’s worth of questions while the clock to training camp continues to tick more loudly”.
Aussies are keener than ever to hop on a plane and escape what has been a pretty rough past few years.
Almost 57 per cent of Aussies are planning a getaway in the next 12 months which is up 49 per cent from December, according to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
However, travel at the moment comes with a heftier than usual price tag.
KAYAK’s data shows the average return economy international flight price in Australia based on flight searches in July (between July 1-18) was approximately $1761 – an increase of about 14 per cent compared to the same period in May (between May 1-18) .
Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) July report shows plane tickets have soared 27.7 per cent on a year-over-year (YoY) basis.
And sadly it is a tendency likely to stick around for a bit longer, according to Angus Kidman, travel expert at Finder.
“Sale fares are definitely higher than they were pre-pandemic. Tiger used to regularly offer $9 domestic fares,” Mr Kidman said.
“We won’t see that again. Jetstar has offered a handful of $22 fares this year, but only outside of peak periods and for a tiny number of seats.”
He said Virgin’s floor in sales is now generally $49, and for Qantas it’s rare to see any sub-$100 flights.
“I don’t expect we’ll see much change to that in 2022. The arrival of new competitor Bonza may create a little price pressure, but many of its routes are regional and I’m expecting that it will be charging well over $100 for a seat most of the time.”
‘On the rise’
Trivago (TRVG) CEO Axel Hefer believes “costs will continue to go up”, attributing it to staffing shortages and labor costs.
“You see a fundamental shortage of people in travel and hospitality, and the reason is that a lot of companies have actually reduced their staffing during the pandemic,” Mr Hefer told Yahoo Finance.
“[Companies] are now struggling in very tight labor markets to staff up again. So they will have to pay up, and that cost will be passed on.”
Flight cancellations
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics quantified that 88,161 flights have been canceled so far this year, with many being attributed to staffing issues.
Virgin Australia, Qantas, and Air New Zealand were all named among the global airlines with the current highest cancellation rates, while Singapore Airlines was noted as the carrier with the lowest cancellation figure.
The new data, compiled by aviation analytics company Cirium, looked at flight data from 19 major airlines in the three months to July 26 which revealed Virgin Australia to have one of the highest cancellation rates at 5.9 per cent.
Air New Zealand and Qantas were also named in the top five airlines with high cancellation rates, at 3.7 and 3.3 per cent respectively.
Singapore Airlines, which remains the top international carrier in Australia, was dubbed the most reliable airline, with a 0.8 per cent cancellation rate.
Notably, of all 19 studied carriers, Virgin boasts the smallest international network, possibly skewing the data, according to Australian Aviation.
Australia’s worst month for flying
Australian airlines recorded their “worst ever” month in June for flight delays and cancellations with a total of 5.8 per cent of all flights canceled – nearly three times more than the long-term cancellation average.
There were 63 per cent of all flights arriving on time in June, with 61.9 per cent departing on schedule, the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) report found.
BITRE said these figures mark “the worst” the industry has seen since records began in November 2003.
The report looked at delays and cancellations across all major Australian airports in the month of June.
The severe disruption was fueled by staffing shortages, staff sicknesses, mid-year school holiday travel surges and severe weather events, including flash flooding throughout NSW.
Qantas recorded the highest percentage of cancellations at 8.1 per cent during the month, followed by QantasLink, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines and Rex Airlines.
Qantas recorded just over half of their airlines arrived on time in June, at 59 per cent, while Virgin achieved the highest level of on time departures among the major domestic airlines at 60 per cent.
A Qantas spokesperson told NCA NewsWire the flight delays and cancellations were not the kind of performance that they were delivering pre-Covid.
“A rise in Covid and other illnesses among airline crew as well as the tight labor market led to flight disruptions for all domestic airlines in June,” they said.
“We had rostered additional crew on standby which helped lessen the impact of Covid-related crew absences and meant 85 per cent of our domestic flights for the month departed within an hour of schedule.”
“Flight cancellations in July were lower than they were in June, call center wait times are now better than they were pre-Covid and our mishandled bag rates are close to what they were before the pandemic.”
Anne Heche’s family have released a statement following her horror car crash last week, saying she’s “not expected to survive.”
The 53-year-old US actress has been in a coma since the accident in Los Angeles last Friday.
“Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma in critical condition,” a representative said in a statement on behalf of Heche’s family, obtained by People. “She is not expected to survive.”
Heche’s rep added that the actress was being kept on life support to “determine if her organs are viable”.
“It has long been her choice to donate her organs,” Heche’s rep said.
Heche’s family went on to thank wellwishers for their support over the last few days, before talking about the star’s legacy.
“We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital,” the statement said.
“Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work — especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love.
“She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”
It comes after police confirmed earlier today that Heche tested positive for cocaine and possibly fentanyl at the time of her crash.
Los Angeles Police Department sources told TMZ that the actress’ blood test results came up positive for both substances.
However, the law enforcement insiders cautioned that fentanyl may have been administered to Heche at the hospital to help manage her pain after the accident, so they will do more testing to determine whether the fentanyl was in her system at the time of the crash, Page Six reports.
the Six Days Seven Nights actress, who dated Ellen DeGeneres in the ’90s, has been in an “extreme critical condition” at the medical center following the collision in Mar Vista, which also destroyed a house and displaced a woman and her dogs.
“She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” Heche’s rep said earlier this week.
“She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”
Meanwhile, DeGeneres gave a surprisingly curt response yesterday when asked by a photographer about her former girlfriend.
When asked on Thursday if she’d checked in on Heche since the crash, DeGeneres said simply: “No, have not. We’re not in touch with each other, so I wouldn’t know.”
When asked if she wanted to send Heche any well-wishes, DeGeneres again kept it brief. “Sure… I don’t want anyone to be hurt,” she said.
DeGeneres and Heche were arguably Hollywood’s most visible same-sex couple for the three years they were together, from 1997 to 2000.
