From the false reporting of the NOVA Brisbane breakfast shake-up to the Netflix v Paramount takeover battle for WBD and what it could mean for AFL and NRL rights in Australia.
In this edition of Media McKnight:
- Nikki Osborne’s confirmed departure leads to misleading media headlines
- Netflix’s $80-billion play for Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount’s hostile counter-attack
- the uncomfortable reality facing Channel 10’s sports ambitions
- How did 50 Cent get THAT vision?
- Podcast awards chaos
- A brutally honest new segment
You can watch the video edition of Media McKnight in the player below:
Let’s start with an update on a story I brought you last week.
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After the axing of top-rating host Ash Bradnam from the NOVA breakfast show he has co-hosted for 21 years, I reported on his likely replacement and the expected departure of Nikki Osborne.
As per last week’s column:
Mister Brisbane reports that Nick “Ducko” Allen-Ducat from Hit Newcastle will be stepping into the role.
And then there’s another twist at NOVA: it looks like Nikki Osborne is set to leave the breakfast show — to be replaced by the person she replaced, Susie O’Neil.
Osborne’s departure appears to be driven by logistics more than politics: she lives on the Sunshine Coast, and has been doing most shows from her home studio.
All of that has now been confirmed
But it was the headlines that made me roll my eyes.
“Nova upheaval: Nikki Osborne quits breakfast show live on air, Susie O’Neill to return” screamed the Courier Mail headline.
There’s just one issue: she didn’t ‘quit live on air’, she made the announcement live on air.
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Her departure was not a surprise to her co-hosts, producers and executives at NOVA. They knew she would be making the announcement, in fact they teased the announcement on Instagram, saying:
“Dear Brisbane, we have a MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT to make at 8.09am tomorrow morning. See you then x. Ash, Luttsy & Nikki Osbourne”.
The announcement, as expected, was her resignation from the breakfast show.
“Brisbane, I will not be returning to Brisbane breakfast next year” Osbourne started (you can see the video in the player above).
“I really tried to make it work. I really did. But the commute, the Bruce Highway’s a nightmare. Like, it’s taken me an hour 40 to get in now. And, you know, I toyed with moving to Brisbane, but my kids are so happily ensconced in school in the Sunshine Coast. I can’t move and I can’t move without them. Believe it or not, I’m a career woman, but my family always comes first”.
So, she didn’t quit ‘live on air’ as some media outlets claimed.
CAN WE PLEASE STOP USING THIS CLICKBAIT HEADLINE!
I don’t think there are many cases where someone has quit live on air. It mostly doesn’t happen.
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Meanwhile, I have two corrections to make from last week regarding my reporting.
First: The image used of Luke Bradnam was not him, despite the caption from the photo saying otherwise.
As Luke explained on Facebook in a comment on the video posting of Media McKnight:
“Haha The photo of me is actually Ashley pretending to be me. I’d won an Acra for best comedy and was doing the weather for chan 9 when the award was presented so Ashley jumped on stage pending to be me. When the CM run a story of me they’ll pull out a file photo (usually this one) and it’s Ashley not me. I love it
“Not the first time he’s done it but looking likely it will be the last as the Acras no longer exist”.
I immediately apologised to Luke who replied in his true larrikin way: “haha no worries mate, always makes me laugh”.
Secondly, when talking about a post regarding Olympia Kwitowski, I referred to Walter Williams as a ‘punter’. Walter is actually a legendary broadcaster known throughout the industry.
Yes, I’m a late-comer to radio but boy to I have egg on my face!
Sorry Walter.
COULD WBD DEAL AFFECT SPORT RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA
There’s a lot to unpack regarding the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery, including what it means for Channel 10 in Australia and the hostile takeover bid by Paramount Global.
I’m sure most of you know what’s happened, but here’s a quick recap:
Netflix reached agreement on 5 December 2025 to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s studio and streaming assets in a deal valued at ~US$72 billion in equity, ~US$82.7 billion enterprise value. Reuters+2Financial Times+2
The deal excludes WBD’s traditional cable/linear networks, which are to be spun off into a separate entity. Los Angeles Times+1
Overnight, Paramount Global (via its Skydance/Ellison backers) launched a hostile all-cash takeover bid for WBD valued at ~US$108.4 billion, offering approx US$30 per share and targeting the whole company (including the assets Netflix excluded).
WBD’s board has acknowledged the Paramount bid but remains committed to the Netflix deal for now — meaning the process is unresolved, regulatory approval is still required, and the outcome remains uncertain.
Implications for Network 10
Well, if Paramount Global manages to win the bidding war for WBD it means there’s not really any money for 10 to make any major investments.
That’s bad news for the company which has lost almost $500,000 over the past two years.
But a winning bid would instantly turn Paramount Global into one of the most powerful entertainment companies on the planet. But that scale comes at a price. A transaction of this size would absorb extraordinary levels of capital and focus, potentially tightening the purse strings for international operations like Network 10 in the short to medium term.
On the flip side, if Paramount’s hostile bid fails — and Netflix ultimately walks away with WBD’s studio and streaming assets — Paramount avoids deploying tens of billions of dollars on the deal. That would leave its balance sheet in a materially different position.
And that is where the Australian sports rights conversation becomes interesting.
Sports rights, Network 10 and the leverage opportunity
Channel 10 has long been the underdog Australia’s major free-to-air broadcasters. The AFL and NRL has helped both Seven and Nine retain strong ratings and revenue.
10 has spent years trying to re-establish itself as a serious sports broadcaster but has only been able to secure second and third tier sports at best.
Should Paramount fail to land WBD, there is a credible argument that global capital originally earmarked for acquisition could instead be redirected into strategic growth markets, including Australia. That would theoretically place Network 10 in a far stronger position to aggressively bid for major sports rights when the next AFL and NRL negotiations roll around.
A well-funded 10 re-entering the rights battlefield would fundamentally change the competitive dynamics of Australian sport broadcasting.
However, money alone may not be enough.
Historically, Network 10 has faced reluctance from major sporting bodies when it comes to rights negotiations. Cricket Australia is a prime example. Despite Paramount and 10 submitting a substantial bid during the most recent cricket rights negotiations, CA ultimately renewed with Seven and Foxtel, leaving 10 empty-handed once again.
Concerns have repeatedly been raised within the industry about audience reach, long-term stability and 10’s ability to maximise commercial upside for sporting codes at the same level as its rivals. Those perceptions, whether fair or not, continue to shape negotiations behind closed doors.
This means that even if Paramount suddenly has additional capital available, Network 10 still faces a credibility and confidence challenge with rights holders. Re-entering the AFL or NRL bidding race would require not just funding, but a compelling long-term broadcast and digital strategy that reassures the codes they are safe partners in a fragmenting media environment.
Either way, the codes will be happy if 10 helps prop up the value of the broadcasting rights at a time when everyone wants the cost of those rights to come down.
50c TAKES HATE TO A NEW LEVEL
I think I really have to up my game when it comes to getting revenge on those who’ve done me wrong.
And there are plenty of lessons to be learned from 50c who has taken revenge to a new level with documentary series on Netflix – Sean Combs – The Reckoning.
The four-part series on Netflix is not only compelling for the stories it tells about the man known as P Diddy, or for the allegations it makes about possible murders, but producers have also included unseen footage shot by Diddy in the days leading up to his arrest.
Lawyers for Diddy have accused Netflix of using “stolen footage that was never authorized for release” in what they called a “shameful hit piece.”
They’ve even sent a cease-and-desist letter to the streaming giant.
The footage shows Combes on the phone to his lawyer strategizing (it’s unknown whether his lawyer was aware he was being recorded).
“We need to find someone who will work with us who has worked in the dirtiest of dirty businesses,” Combs says in the footage, shot by a videographer he employed to follow him.
“We are losing.”
Docuseries’ director, Alexandra Stapleton, issued a statement to CNN:
“It came to us, We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights,”
“We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity confidential. One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades. We also reached out to Sean Combs’ legal team for an interview and comment multiple times, but did not hear back.”
50c (AKA Curtis Jackson) declined to reveal how he obtained the footage when asked during various interviews.
Multiple reports now suggest Coombes had not paid the videographer for their work and there was no contract in place, meaning they retained rights to the footage.
It’s understood Coombs had approached Netflix about producing his own documentary, presumably a redemption story upon his release. Netflix is reported to have gone to the videographer and bought the footage directly for the 50c produced series.
Issues between the pair go way back but came to public attention in 2006 when 50 Cent released a diss track accusing Diddy of being involved in the murder of The Notorious B.I.G..
Over the years 50 Cent has publicly stated he felt uncomfortable with Diddy’s “parties” and behaviour, saying there was “an uncomfortable energy” around them.
And, it would seem, 50c holds a grudge.
A long running feud with Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) saw 50c buy 50c buy 200 tickets to the front section of Ja Rule’s concert.
The $3,000 spent meant Ja Rule would be performing to a section of empty seats at the gig on 9 November 2018 in Texas.
The lesson?
Don’t piss of 50 cent.
ACRAS GONE BUT REPLACEMENT AWARDS DON’T COME CHEAP
It used to be radios version of the Logies – although a much looser even with no TV broadcast partner.
But now that the ACRAS are gone, there was welcome news of a replacement awards ceremony.
Mumbrella has teamed up with trad publications RadioToday and Radioinfo, along with the Radio Rubber Room Facebook group and the Game Changers Radio podcast.
What makes this an interesting collab is the inclusion of podcast awards.
With a range of categories across many genres, I thought I would take a look to see if any of my projects would be worth entering.
And then I saw the cost.
Podcast Major (which I assume means a big company), the price per entry is $300. For an independent podcaster you’ll be coughing up $200 per entry.
What independent podcaster can afford that?
So, what we’re going to see here is all the big branded podcasts walking away with the prize while smaller – perhaps better – podcasts are ignored.
It’s the same bullshit the Australian Podcast Ranker pulls. While on the surface it looks to be ranking the top 300 Aussie podcasts, it is in fact only ranking the podcasts ‘from participating publishers’.
Sorry folks, this is not the podcast awards you’re looking for.
‘Things I don’t give a shit about’.
I’m starting a new section called ‘Things I don’t give a shit about’.
- The latest Neighbours finale.
After investing in the original ending in 2022 I have no time for another finale, especially when we all knew the revived series was not going to last.
- The new Doctor Who Spinoff.
Despite The War Between The Land and the Sea rating better than any recent episode of Doctor Who, I just have no interest in this one. And that’s a good thing because viewers outside the UK won’t get to see it for quite some time. It’s like being in the ‘80s again waiting for pirated VHS tapes to be shipped over.
The Daily Mail reports the network has deliberately blocked both The Voice and Australian Idol champions from appearing at this year’s Carols By Candlelight.
So? It’s a channel 9 event and they get to decide who appears in their show.
A former Idol judge lashed out at the move saying: ‘When Idol started on Network Ten, performing at Carols was the moment these kids stopped being contestants and became artists”.
But it’s not channel 9’s job to validate artists from another network. Maybe these singing competitions should actually think about long-term investment rather than using and abusing these kids.
FROM THE ARCHIVES…
The posting of old clips continues on the the McKnight Tonight YouTube page.
This time I’ve uploaded a video Q&A which took place in 2011 with the teams from 9NEWS and A Current Affair.
Featuring Peter Hitchener, Tracy Grimashaw, Tony Jones & Livinia Nixon, this live stream event from answers questions from viewers about making news and current affairs. You’ll also get a tour of the GTV-9 facility.
If you’re a TV history buff, this one’s for you.
More videos will be uploaded over Christmas at YouTube.com/@mcknighttonight
This is the final edition of Media McKnight for the year, I hope you have a great Christmas and a fantastic New year!
Cheers, Rob
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