ESPN levels up; the federal budget's impact on adland; the Gazette blow-up

26 March 2025

This week:

Two big streaming television plays, and the Australian federal budget are dominating media and marketing industry chatter at the moment.

This week, American sports channel ESPN is launching in Australia on Disney+, while on Monday, Warner Bros Discovery is rolling out its streaming service, Max. What does this mean for sporting rights, and the advertising world? Will we see Sportsbets ads at the house of the mouse?

Meanwhile, the 2025 federal budget had something for everyone — including HECS cuts, a freeze on the beer excise, and a ban on non-compete clauses for people earning less than $175K. How will the industry fare without non-compete clauses, and are they currently being misused?

To top it off, Anna Saulwick, the founder of local news startup Gazette, sat down with Hal to discuss the political accusations levelled at the news provider.

Join Hal Crawford and Nathan Jolly for a look at everything under Australia’s media and marketing umbrella.