Look out Australia, here comes the Oprah circus

Roll out the red carpet - the Queen is coming.

Oprah Winfrey is set to be afforded foreign dignitary status - something usually reserved for high-ranking politicians - when she visits Australia next week.

Winfrey, according to media reports, will be provided with a police escort and a government security detail when she touches down in Sydney.

Not content with mere celebrity status, the federal government has afforded Winfrey the honour of being a "formal guest of government", which comes complete with bodyguards and police escort vehicles, News Limited reported.

Security will be tight in Sydney's CBD with the prospect of road closures as Winfrey tapes her shows at the Opera House on December 14.

A spokeswoman for NSW Premier Kristina Keneally told News Limited the details of the cost to taxpayers for the trip was "yet to be finalised".

Winfrey will reportedly stay at the Intercontinental Hotel or the Shangri-La - the two highest-security hotels in Sydney.

But she's also looking for an "ordinary" Aussie family to stay with while she's here.

Her producers are said to be scouring the country to find one.

Winfrey will travel with an entourage of around 450 - including a group of specially picked loyal fans and production crew members.

Some audience members will also be taking interstate visits, including shopping in Melbourne.

The Winfrey extravaganza has an estimated price tag of $3 million, but it is likely to cost more.

Tourism NSW has contributed "between $1 million and $2 million" and Tourism Victoria is believed to have contributed in excess of $500,000. The other states have also contributed.

Ten will air the two Australian episodes - likely to be worth millions in promotion for Tourism Australia - in January.

Source http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/look-out-australia-here-comes-the-oprah-circus-20101130-18ej2.html

ITV loses Australia's Next Top Model contract over final gaffe

Sarah Murdoch making her slip-up in the Australia's Next Top Model final.

Two months ago Sarah Murdoch's embarrassment at naming the wrong winner of Australia's Next Top Model live on air became a viral hit. Now ITV's Australian production subsidiary has paid the price for the cock-up, losing the Australia's Next Top Model contract, according to a local media report.

The incident, which Murdoch – the show's presenter – said resulted from the wrong name being fed to her via an earpiece, has gone down as one of the biggest screw-ups in reality TV history.

Murdoch is the wife of Rupert Murdoch's eldest son, Lachlan. The Murdoch family part owns the show's broadcaster, Foxtel, through News Corporation.

ITV subsidiary Granada Media Australia has made the past six series of the reality TV show, but Murdoch confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald earlier today that a change in production company was being made.

"Granada produced Australia's Top Model for six years. I worked with them for two years," she said in a statement. "They are a very talented and hard-working crew. But after what happened this year I thought very hard about it and decided it was probably time for a change.''

It is not yet known which production company will take over for the seventh series, but the Sydney Morning Herald suggests that Shine, which is owned by Murdoch's sister-in-law Elisabeth Murdoch, is the favourite.

Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/24/foxtel-loses-australias-next-top-model

Free kick for Foxtel's Xbox 360 service

FOXTEL has created an exclusive sports channel, Fox Sports Play, for its new internet-delivered pay-TV service Foxtel on Xbox 360.

The service, which was developed with Microsoft and is exclusive to Xbox customers who have a subscription to the gaming console's Live online entertainment network, goes live in all Foxtel coverage areas tonight.

The starter pack of 11 channels costs $19.50 a month, on top of the monthly Live Gold subscription fee and the cost of a broadband subscription. Additional packages will offer entertainment, sports and two tiers of movie content at a cost of an extra $10 a month per package.

Foxtel product chief Patrick Delaney said the service would not be available to customers in regional areas as Foxtel's program rights did not allow it.

But the sports channel, which was created specifically for Foxtel on Xbox 360, would include most of the sports for which Foxtel has the internet rights.

"The English Premier League and the A-League (soccer) will be on there,'' Mr Delaney said. "We have paid extra to negotiate those rights. Other than the NRL and the AFL, I think Fox Sports has cleared almost all its sport to be on there.''

Telstra currently holds the internet rights rights for the NRL and AFL, which are set to be negotiated in the next year.

Xbox chief David McLean said the majority of Xbox Live's 500,000-strong customer base would be able to receive the service, which is delivered over the internet via the connection on the Xbox console.

"I estimate 85 per cent or thereabouts of our subscribers will be able to get acess from day one,'' Mr McLean said.

Mr Delaney said discussions were underway to see if the service could be rolled out, via Austar, in regional areas.

To date, no internet service providers have agreed to exempt Foxtel on Xbox 360 from counting towards a subscriber's broadband download cap, which means users may incur extra charges if they go over their limit.

Mr Delaney estimated one standard definition movie would use about 1.3Gb of data.

Subscribers can sign up for the service using their credit card on a month-by-month basis and there is no contract.

Xbox Live customers who don't sign up will still be able to pay to access the company's Foxtel On Demand pay-per-view movie and TV download service.

The service will compete with FetchTV's internet TV service, which will is expected to be available via a number of smaller ISPs for just under $30 a month after an initial establishment cost for the FetchTV box, and Telstra's T-box, which costs $299.

FetchTV's partner ISPs and Telstra's Big Pond will exempt their respective IPTV services from download charges.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/free-kick-for-foxtels-xbox-360-service/story-e6frg996-1225951340929