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Best advertising quotes from industry rulers.

The futuristic philosopher Alvin Toffler once wrote, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” This is the theory on which whole scenario of advertising and rest of the industry is based. For filling a vessel, you must empty it first. The same goes with learning new things; and advertising is based on this principle. To go hand in hand with the changing scenario, people in advertising must unlearn old, to be in sync with the new. Great advertising agencies have emerged as big enterprises following the same principle. People belonging from such advertising agencies had the will to learn new things.

A successful mind is the one that is always hungry for learning. While each human being is born with a passion to learn, somewhere, by the passage of time, we lose excitement and passion for learning. The pressure to excel in any arena, be it advertising too, robs the people of the willingness to learn. People those who stick to the basics and stick to what they know from previous endeavors, can never excel in advertising. They fail to take risks and advertising and marketing is all about risk. These kinds of people always try to fix the creativity to their mental evolvement. For excelling in the arena of advertising, one must be motivated to take risks, learn, unlearn and then to relearn. This principle not only helps in the industry, but also helps in one’s personal growth.

So let us have a look on advertising quotes and try to learn something from them.

Advertising quotes based on the use of right words:

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” – Mark Twain

“The real fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.” – Howard Luck Gossage

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” – David Ogilvy

“Every time a message seems to grab us, and we think, ‘I just might try it,’ we are at the nexus of choice and persuasion that is advertising.” – Andrew Hacker

“What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.” – David Ogilvy

“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.” – David Ogilvy

“I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.” – Leo Burnett

 “Creativity about life, in all aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett

“An ad is finished only when you no longer can find a single element to remove.” – Robert Fleege

“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your own family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by. If you tell lies about a product, you will be found out…” – David Ogilvy

“Great content is the best sales tool in the world” – Marcus Sheridan

“I don’t know the rules of grammar. If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language.” – David Ogilvy

“Brands should think of themselves not as storytellers but story builders. We plant seeds of content and let our community build on it.” – Amy Pascal

Advertising quotes based on creativity:

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art.’ Creative with strategy is called ‘advertising.” – Jef I. Richards

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” – George Kneller

“Be creative while inventing ideas, but be disciplined while implementing them.” – Amit Kalantri

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein

“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.” – David Ogilvy

“In our factory, we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope.” – Peter Nivio Zarlenga

“A good ad should be like a good sermon: It must not only comfort the afflicted, it also must afflict the comfortable.” – Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

“Curiosity about life, in all its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett

“Creativity may well be the last legal unfair competitive advantage we can take to run over the competition.” – Dave Trott

“Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret . . . to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.” – Leo Burnett

“Creativity is like washing a pig. It’s messy. It has no rules. No clear beginning, middle or end. It’s kind of a pain in the ass, and when you’re done, you’re not sure if the pig is really clean or even why you were washing a pig in the first place.” – Luke Sullivan

“Nothing comes from nothing. You must continuously feed the inner beast that sparks and inspires.” – George Lois

“Creativity and innovation are about finding unexpected solutions to obvious problems, or finding obvious solutions to unexpected problems.” – Rei Inamoto

“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” – David Ogilvy

“There are a lot of great technicians in advertising. And unfortunately, they talk the best game. They know all the rules … but there’s one little rub. They forget that advertising is persuasion, and persuasion is not a science, but an art. Advertising is the art of persuasion.” – William Bernbach

“Advertising, as a single entity is capable of creating vast changes in our social structure, simply does not exist. Its impact is too diffuse, too omnidirectional.” – William Hesse

“Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.” – David Ogilvy

“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.” – David Ogilvy

“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” – Bill Bernbach

“There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same. And so are the cake mixes and the detergents, and the margarines… The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit.” – David Ogilvy

Advertising quotes based on truth and reality:

“There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.” – Jerry Della Femina

“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.” – Bill Bernbach

“Advertising is legalized lying.” – H. G. Wells

“Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.” – Seth Godin

“Facts are irrelevant. What matters is what the consumer believes.” – Seth Godin

“I am one who believes that one of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that of boring them to death.” – Leo Burnett

“Telling lies does not work in advertising.” – Tim Bell

“That’s the kind of ad I like, facts, facts, facts.” – Samuel Goldwyn

“Our job is to bring the dead facts to life.” – Bill Bernbach

“The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself.” – Leo Burnett

“The worst thing for a brand is to have a kind of false part of who they are exposed out there.” – Lee Clow

“Certainly, it seems true enough that there’s a good deal of irony in the world… I mean, if you live in a world full of politicians and advertising, there’s obviously a lot of deception.” – Kenneth Koch

“The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper.” – Thomas Jefferson

“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.” – Craig Davis

“Don’t tell me how good you make it; tell me how good it makes me when I use it.” – Leo Burnett

“The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague.” – Bill Cosby

“Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things.” – David Ogilvy

Advertising quotes on importance of advertising

“Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” – Henry Ford

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does” – Steuart Henderson Britt

“Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better.” – George Santayana

“One ad is worth more to a paper than forty editorials.” – Will Rogers

“Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless.” – Sinclair Lewis

“Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.” – S Leacoc

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”-Mark Twain

“In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal” – Bill Bernbach

“There’s an ad for every vice. That’s advice.” – Brian Spellman

Advertising quotes reflecting simplicity:

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at” – Leo Burnett

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it well enough yourself” – Albert Einsteen

“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

Advertising quotes based on finding the right audience:

“If you want to understand how a lion hunts, don’t go to the zoo. Go to the jungle.” – Jim Stengel

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.” – Scott Cook

 “Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs

Advertising quotes on brand building:

“Transforming a brand into a socially responsible leader doesn’t happen overnight by simply writing new marketing and advertising strategies. It takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find credible and aligned with their values.” – Simon Mainwaring

“Because advertising and marketing is an art, the solution to each new problem or challenge should begin with a blank canvas and an open mind, not with the nervous borrowings of other people’s mediocrities. That’s precisely what ‘trends’ are – a search for something ‘safe’ – and why a reliance on them leads to oblivion.” – George Lois

“Advertising is the price you pay for having unremarkable product or service” – John Edson

“Building a profitable personal brand online is not a sprint, and something that happens over night. Don’t aim for perfection early on. Instead allow your brand to evolve naturally over time and focus on providing massive value and over deliver to your target audience. Then you will get more clear over your message and brand as well. Always remember that!” – Navid Moazzez

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos

These are some of the advertising quotes, which revolve around the advertising industry to learn and inspire. You may be tempted to think that as these quotes are a bit old, they may no longer be applicable. But if you notice, these have been revised, re- read and re- created with changing times and tides. But un-arguable fact stands at – “Good work is good work, period.”

October 2023

Pro Wrestling News

“You’re damn right. It’s a war. I said it was a war. I said it. I’ve always said it was a war, not a but it’s a friendly war. I think. I don’t think about the scrimmage. I don’t think it’s a war. You know, people are going to be getting taken out to the woodshed or that. But I think it’s one of those wars where we want to push you guys. We want to push you guys as hard as we can. We can push you and vice versa. I just think that’s the way it is as far as. Guys are jumping ship. Got to take a break here In a second. I said this was something that was going to happen. It’s going to be something that was going to be happening frequently because now you got some whales to go. That’s just human nature. I don’t care if you were working at FedEx. You lose your job there, you’re going to be looking for somewhere. I’m a writer. You’re going to be looking for somewhere else to go.” - Booker T @BookerT5x 

Reality Of Wrestling YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/RealityOfWrestling

#BookerT #quote #realityofwrestling #ROW #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #wrestlingpromotions #wrestlingpromoters #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #wrestlingwar #war #biz #media 

Formula One

Oscar Piastri wins Qatar Sprint race, Max Verstappen claims third world title

Australian Formula 1 superstar Oscar Piastri has achieved a feat not seen from a rookie in 15-years as he recorded his first ever win.

Max Verstappen has claimed his third straight Formula 1 world title on Sunday morning after a truly chaotic Qatar Grand Prix Sprint race.

While the Red Bull superstar wrapped up yet another crown, it was Australian rookie Oscar Piastri who reigned supreme after the 19-lap race.

It was a fine maiden Formula One victory for the 22-year-old Australian, but his feat was overshadowed by Verstappen’s achievement, the Dutchman having required only three points to take the title.

His only title rival and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was involved in a collision and retired, making him the first “Saturday champion” since Nelson Piquet, father of his girlfriend Kelly, in South Africa in 1983.

Piastri’s win was McLaren’s first since Daniel Ricciardo triumphed for them at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix and it was only the second time this season that Red Bull had been defeated.

Verstappen won the title with six races remaining the season, the greatest margin since 2002 when Michael Schumacher was champion for Ferrari.

His title win enabled him to join a rare club for three-time champions alongside Jack Brabham, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Jackie Stewart – and an even more elite group of those to have won three in a row, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

“I can’t thank you all enough,” Verstappen told his team.

“This has been a fantastic feeling and it has been a fantastic year. We have had some great races and I am super-proud of the team job and it is so enjoyable to be a part of this group of people. To win three times is incredible.” He added that he had no records in sight as targets, but wanted to continue racing and winning.

“We’ll keep on pushing and doing the best we can.” Verstappen, who will start Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix from pole position, has an unassailable 184-point lead with six races left in the season.

Piastri said: “I am very happy but that was a stressful race. We did a great job.”

His McLaren teammate Lando Norris came home third ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Hamilton with the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc sixth and seventh.

Alex Albon of Williams was eighth, two-time champion Fernando Alsono of Aston Martin ninth and Pierre Gasly of Alpine 10th.

After a sweltering day, the sprint race started in warm conditions under floodlights at the Lusail International Circuit, Piastri making an excellent start to pull clear as teammate Norris was engaged by a cluster of skirmishes behind him.

Norris dropped from second to sixth while Russell went through to second ahead of the two Ferraris with Verstappen fifth before Liam Lawson ran off-track in a cloud of dust, prompting a Safety Car intervention On restart, a fiery Alonso pressurised Norris in a wheel-to-wheel battle while Piastri ran wide and allowed Russell through to lead. Logan Sargeant then spun off in his Williams to bring another Safety Car interval.

Piastri had chosen medium compound tyres while Russell, Sainz and Leclerc were all on softs, giving them an early advantage in grip.

Verstappen, in fifth as the Safety Car led into lap six of the 19-lap race, was comfortable in the knowledge that he was on course to clinch his third title by finishing in the top six.

As lap seven began and the Saftey Car went in, Russell stormed into a 1.4 seconds lead ahead of Piastri, who was fending off attacks from Sainz, hoping that his medium tyres would prove more durable in the closing stages.

Perez and Verstappen then began to show Red Bull’s speed, the Mexican moving up to 10th by passing Pierre Gasly and the Dutchman sweeping past both Ferraris in succession on the straight to take third.

On lap 10, Piastri regained the lead, blasting past Russell on the straight while Norris overtook Leclerc for fifth as Perez was entangled in a collision with Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg, the Mexican spinning across the gravel and out of the race.

Perez was unable to score points and effectively ended his last mathematical hopes for the title, as another Safety Car intervention began, Verstappen being assured of his third crown.

As the racing restarted, on lap 16, it was clear the Dutchman had no intention of taking a third title without a win as he passed Russell down the inside of Turn One to take second and begin his pursuit of Piastri.

#Formula1 #F1 #OscarPiastri #MaxVerstappen #redbullracing #redbull #motorsport #sportsnews #sportsmarketing #sportsbiz #sportsmedia #entertainment #popculture #trend #trending #buzz #media 

Combat Sports Dream Match May Happen

Jake Paul vs Matt Riddle; Boxing, MMA or both?! 

Early discussions of a match have occured.

Sometimes dream matches do actually happen!

Jake Paul @jakepaul has developed into a major PPV draw, as has his brother Logan Paul @LoganPaul 

Matt Riddle @SuperKingofBros is still yet to fully prove his drawing ability on a global scale, at least suggests his ex boss at the UFC, Dana White. With Riddle's recent release from the WWE "The Bro's" name has been hitting the news more frequently that usual and he's standing out from the pack.

Recent developments may be an opportunity to Riddle to prove the naysayers wrong! 

#JakePaul #MattRiddle #LoganPaul #boxing #MMA #dreamatch #dreammatches #fantasybooking #dsf #dailyfantasy #promotion #promotions #sportsbiz #combatsports #PPV #payperview #entertainment #popculture #trend #buzz #media 

WWE @WWE Fastlane Betting Odds

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins @WWERollins (-500 favorite) defends against Shinsuke Nakamura @ShinsukeN - Last Man Standing match

John Cena @JohnCena and LA Knight @RealLAKnight 

(-5000 favorites) vs. Jimmy Uso @WWEUsos & Solo Sikoa @WWESoloSikoa 

WWE YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/wwe

WWE Fastlane Kickoff - October 7, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDhvIXmysA8&ab_channel=WWE

#WWEFastlane #Fastlane #WWE #wwebetting #wweodds #odds #wrestling #prowrestling #JohnCena #LAKnight #TheBloodline #TheRock #PaulHeyman #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #sportsnews #combatsports #PLE #PPV #payperview #trend #trending #buzz #media

Combat Sports

UFC @UFC Vegas 80 Results

Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Grant Dawson vs Bobby Green

Joe Pyfer vs Abdul Razak Alhassan

Alex Morono vs Joaquin Buckley

Drew Dober vs Ricky Glenn

Alexander Hernandez vs Bill Algeo

Prelims (ESPN+ live)

Philipe Lins vs Ion Cutelaba

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Diana Belbita

Nate Maness vs Mateus Mendonca

Vanessa Demopoulos def Kanako Murata via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Aoriqileng def Johnny Munoz via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

JJ Aldrich def Montana De La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

#UFCVegas80 #UFCVegas #UFC #ESPN #MMA #combatsports #sportsbiz #sportsnews #sportsmdia #entertainment #popculture #trends #trending #buzz #media

Sports Business

Formula One upgraded to buy at Citi, says sports rights concerns are 'overblown'

Formula One Group shares were upgraded to buy at Citi, as the investment firm said any concerns about sports rights renewals are "overblown."

Analyst Jason Bazinet raised his rating on Formula One Group (FWONA) shares to buy from neutral and said that concerns over Vegas Grand Prix media rights and the recent renewal for WWE @WWE rights with NBCUniversal have raised investor concern about U.S. sports rights, but those appear to be unfounded.

WWE, which is owned by TKO Group Holdings (TKO) @TKOGrp signed a five-year domestic rights deal with NBCUniversal to bring Friday Night SmackDown back to the USA Network @USANetwork , starting in October 2024.

It was reported that the agreement has similar rates as the old deal, at roughly $1.5B.

In addition, starting in the 2024/25 season, WWE will produce four primetime specials per year which will air on NBC, marking the first time WWE will air on the network in primetime.

Bazinet also said there is "upside" in Formula One Group (FWONA) shares if Apple (AAPL) were to secure global media rights. Earlier this week, it was reported that Apple was considering a multi-billion dollar offer for Formula One's global rights, perhaps to the tune of $2B a year.

Formula One Group (FWONA) shares were little changed in pre-market trading on Friday.

Analysts are largely cautious on Formula One Group (FWONA). It has a HOLD rating from Seeking Alpha authors, while Wall Street analysts rate it a BUY. Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates FWONA a HOLD.

Sources: Seeking Alpha, Google Finance, Wires)

#F1 #Formula1 #WWE #NBC #TKO #TKOGroup #USANetwork #USA #Apple #FOX #NYSE #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #mediarights #broadcast #broadcasting #sportsmarketing #sportsmedia #sportsnews #markets #WallStreet #combatsports #entertainment #entertainmentnews #rights #primtime #streaming #ratings #biz #biznews #buzz #media 

Private Credit Expected to Play a Larger Role in Sports Financing - October 2023

Goldman Sachs is reportedly creating a ‘sports franchise’ unit inside of its investment banking division. The group will provide wealthy clients with streamlined access to investment opportunities within the sports industry.

Goldman has a long history of working with major sports properties as an investment bank on ownership tractions, and in helping club owners to secure equity and debt financing for capital intensive projects like new venue construction.

It makes sense that the multinational investment bank and financial services company would look to capitalize on growing interest in sports as an asset class. Professional franchises are in relatively short supply relative to other investment opportunities and Goldman has access to deals. 

But there are other ways for wealthy individuals to invest in pro teams, and they can gain exposure to multiple franchises by becoming limited partners in a sports focused fund (think: Dyal Homecourt, Arctos Partners) or multi-club ownership group (think: Fenway Sports Group, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment). 

It seems more likely that Goldman could be leaning into a growing market for private credit.

Private credit financing, typically considered non-bank lending, has surged in popularity over the last year (largely outside of sports). In fact, we are said to be in a ‘golden moment’ for the $1.5 trillion industry given the capital flowing into the investment vehicle (see: 10% CAGR).

One primary reason is the return structure. Private credit can generate higher yields and more consistent returns, while having seniority in repayment over equity investments. This makes it an attractive alternative asset relative to more traditional classes with relatively low, but certainly not zero, risk. 

Private credit is expected to find a place in sports as club owners increasingly look to leverage real estate to keep franchise valuations rising.

“There is now a much greater willingness by ownership groups to invest [additional] capital in real estate and infrastructure.” Tim Katt (managing director, sports & entertainment, Transwestern) said. “This direct investment approach allows for the ability to unlock new revenue streams both in premium experiences and mixed-use development.”

Multiple clubs are in the process of, or exploring, new stadium construction. Several projects include more than just the playing venue.

The Battery surrounding Truist Park in Atlanta is frequently cited as the roadmap for clubs to follow. The Minnesota Vikings have demonstrated how teams can leverage their headquarters and training facilities to anchor larger development projects.

“The beauty of real estate is that it has the ability to create a 365 day per year connection with fans while sitting completely outside of the league revenue sharing model,” Katt said. “Real estate is the biggest opportunity today in sports and entertainment.”

One consistent challenge sports owners face, however, is the lack of public financing available for stadium related projects. Government entities at the state, regional, county, and municipal level have become weary of using public funds on sporting venues.

That should create opportunities for new allocators–including private credit lenders.

Stadium infrastructure projects fit the profile successful private credit investors look for as sports organizations maintain consistent revenue streams for loan repayments.

Greg Carey and Dave Dase will lead Goldman’s new sports franchise unit. Carey secured the financing for recent stadium/arena projects in New York (Yankees), the Bay Area (49ers), and Los Angeles (Clippers).

Goldman, particularly through Carey’s work, should be able to provide sports franchise clients with unique access to these types of opportunities (and collect commissions in the process).

It is important to note that Goldman has not yet confirmed the exact types of opportunities it plans make available through its new unit. There is also not always a clear delineation between equity and debt. Private debt deals often convert into preferred equity with payment-in-kind (PIK) interest that is only paid out on a sale of all, or a portion of, the team’s equity or assets.

It would make sense, however, for Goldman to provide access to private credit transactions. It would be a meaningful differentiator from other sports banks, and a novel way to potentially provide clients with outsized returns inside a business with skyrocketing valuations. 

“Investment into sports is maturing in the same way other alternative asset classes grew in the 2000s and 2010s.” Katt said. “Private real estate finance is [one example] of a unique way to participate in the growth of professional sports value creation without the barriers to entry or lack of control in passive team ownership.”

(John Wall Street)

WWE @WWE Fastlane: Potential X Factors for fans

Not spoilers, potential X factors! Speculation only!

Grayson Waller and The Grayson Waller Effect

The Rock

Jade Cargill

Brian Pillman

Samoan Family Dynasty, cousins etc

Old rivals from NXT @WWENXT 

#WWEFastlane #Fastlane #WWE #TheBloodline #JohnCena #LAKnight #TheRock #SoloSikoa #PaulHeyman #GraysonWaller #GWEffect #JadeCargiill #BrianPillman #WWENXT #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingwar #wrestlingpromotion #superstars #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #showbiz #xfactor #trends #trending #buzz #hype #PPV #X #media 

WWE @WWE Fastlane Press Conference: October 7, 2023

"So, it exceeded my expectations because the energy and the talent in the WWE locker room is incredible. I say this is truly the golden age of sports entertainment. I don't think there's ever been a better time to be in the sports entertainment business and in saying that I don't think there's ever been a better time to be in WWE. We can always romanticize about the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression Era. There's never been more opportunity to be a WWE Superstar than right now and if there's ever an example if someone gives you an inch you make it a friggin mile it's the person to my left right here, LA Knight @RealLAKnight and I don't know if that happens in any other era just because of how few spots there were. So I'm overwhelmed of where the state of the union is at. But at the same time selfishly this trip back has been a gauge for me to kinda test where I'm at and what the future holds for me, and, ah, some of you all watched the match. I was in the thing tonight. I've got some work to do. And I gotta realize that I've got some figuring out to do to function at the leveI I'm used to. To be able to perform at a level that is worthy of what I'm familiar with and what the audience is familiar with. And that's selfishly what this episode in the WWE is for me. To kind of take stock in myself where I feel physically.. I'm 46, I've told everybody that ain't the last one but the last one is on the horizon so I'm just kinda taking stock of where I'm at and I've always promised that I don't ever want to offend the WWE Universe of the effort I put out there and I'm still trying to give it all I've got but I've got to work some some tweaks and find the mojo somewhere. So I'm grateful for my partner for picking up the slack tonight. Fire away" - John Cena @JohnCena

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czb5Yzd0Pb8&t=2124s&ab_channel=WWE

#WWEFastlane #fastllane #JohnCena #LAKnight #Yeah #wwemedia #wwepress #pressconference #wrestling #wrestlingnews #wwenews #trends #trending #media

Media Man Blog

PR, SEO and SEM Powers Business And Online Business Exposure via Internet Matrix Of Things Says Media Man

Boost online visibility and improve search engine rankings by integrating public relations and SEO strategies.

Summery, Key Points and Keywords

Digital technology has transformed how brands connect with their audiences.

To connect successfully, brands need to take an integrated approach.

Combining the strengths of PR and SEO is one aspect that delivers benefits across a brand's entire marketing strategy.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When talking about how digital technology transformed brands and marketing, most marketers are quick to point out the arrival of new digital marketing channels and the influence of social media. But what about public relations (PR) and search engine optimization (SEO)?

Traditionally, most brand teams would have considered PR and SEO separately or even left SEO to their website teams. As the two disciplines come closer together, brands are starting to see the benefits of integrating PR and SEO.

Understanding the relationship of PR and SEO in digital marketing

The Public Relations Society of America defines PR as a "strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics." Just a few decades ago, PR professionals relied mainly on newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets to spread their messages. Today, they have a far wider choice of channels, most of them digital.

SEO, on the other hand, is firmly linked to the digital age. The term describes how teams increase their brand's visibility and ranking on search engine results pages. As Google puts it, SEO is about "helping search engines understand and present content."

Both PR and SEO rely on understanding the brand's audiences and taking a strategic approach to reaching those audiences. While they have traditionally pursued that goal separately, brand teams and company leadership teams are starting to realize that combining their efforts can create previously unknown synergies.

The best marketing strategies have a few things in common. They are built on a central message or a set of messages woven through the entire campaign. They also use the combined power of a variety of different (digital) marketing channels, making sure that their core messages are recognizable across all of them. Lastly, they are based on a solid strategy and clear objectives. Both of those ensure each strategic element contributes toward achieving the objectives.

Use the same principles to integrate PR and SEO and take advantage of the power of public relations to support search engine rankings. Here are four ways PR supports SEO.

Backlinks

Backlinks from high-ranking, influential websites can transform your rankings. So, how can you convince other websites to link to yours? Enter PR. Compelling storytelling is the strength of PR. Use that strength to craft content others would like to share on their platforms.

Consider blog posts, case studies, or high-quality video content to attract the attention of your target brands. Don't be afraid to send direct links to their brand teams or tag relevant brands if you share social media content.

In most cases, you will spend some time building a relationship before others backlink to you. Stay the course, and you will reap the rewards in the long term.

Related: Why Combining Public Relations and SEO Will Propel Your Business in Today's Digital Landscape

Keyword research

You don't need to be an SEO expert to understand the importance of keyword research. Knowing how potential customers search for you and optimizing your website accordingly are cornerstones of successful search engine marketing.

To be effective, keyword research needs to include the actual words your audience is looking for and the search intent. Once both are clear, your SEO team needs to share them with your PO professionals. Applying keyword research results only to your website would mean missing out on a large part of the opportunity.

Integrating SEO and content marketing

So-called keyword stuffing no longer works for successful SEO. Search engines are looking for well-organized content that adds value to the person who initiated the search. However, that does not mean that you should remove SEO keywords from your PR content.

The opposite is the case: Skilled PR professionals can utilize target keywords without compromising their storytelling. Think about thought leadership articles, social media posts, and even press releases – all of these forms of content can contribute toward higher rankings.

Monitoring and measuring performance

Measuring the performance and effectiveness of your efforts is critical to understanding what is working and what needs to be adapted. Start by establishing clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to allow you to benchmark successes and understand where improvement is needed.

Most search engines offer a range of analytics tools to help you understand your performance. Make sure those are set up and ready to monitor your activity right from the start.

Best practices

Both PR and SEO require mid- to long-term commitment. Over time, their impact builds up and grows stronger. That is why some of the brands reaping the most noticeable results started their integration a few years ago.

Airbnb, for example, developed relationships with leading influencers and thought leaders as early as 2015 to create content that helped users experience key cities and drove traffic to the accommodation platform. The content created by those influencers contributed to Airbnb's search engine rankings.

Inbound marketing and sales platform Hubspot is another example of a brand integrating PR and SEO successfully. The company realized in 2017 that previous approaches to SEO were no longer as effective. To maximize the potential of their content for search engine rankings, the team not only integrated its own approach but even built a tool customers could use to validate the potential effectiveness of content before creating it.

News

SEO Tips For A Small Business

In the digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any small business. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in improving your website’s visibility on search engines like Google, which can drive more organic traffic and potential customers to your site. While SEO can be a complex and ongoing process, there are several quick and effective strategies that small businesses can implement to boost their online presence. In this article, we’ll explore some simple and quick SEO strategies tailored to small businesses.

Optimize Your Website’s On-Page Elements

One of the fundamental aspects of SEO is on-page optimization. This involves optimizing various elements on your website to make it more search engine-friendly:

a. Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers are likely to search for. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find valuable keywords for your niche.

b. Title Tags: Create unique, descriptive, and keyword-rich title tags for each page on your website. These tags appear as the clickable headline in search engine results and should accurately represent the content of the page.

c. Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling meta descriptions that provide a concise summary of your page’s content. Include relevant keywords and a call to action to encourage clicks.

d. Header Tags: Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content and make it more readable for both users and search engines. Include keywords naturally in your headers.

e. Image Optimization: Compress and optimize images on your website to improve page load speed. Add descriptive alt text to your images for accessibility and SEO benefits.

Create High-Quality, Relevant Content

Content is king in the world of SEO. Producing high-quality, informative, and engaging content is essential for attracting and retaining visitors. Consider the following tips:

a. Blogging: Start a blog on your website and regularly publish articles related to your industry, products, or services. Share valuable insights, tips, and solutions to common problems.

b. Keyword Integration: Incorporate your target keywords naturally into your content. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your SEO efforts.

c. Visual Content: Use a mix of text, images, videos, and infographics to make your content more engaging and shareable.

d. Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and up to date. Outdated information can negatively impact your search rankings.

e. Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve user navigation and help search engines understand your site’s structure.

Mobile Optimization

With the majority of internet users browsing on mobile devices, mobile optimization is no longer optional. Google considers mobile-friendliness a significant ranking factor. Ensure your website is responsive, loads quickly on mobile devices, and offers a seamless user experience.

Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Local SEO is essential for small businesses that serve specific geographic areas. Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to manage your business listing on Google. Here’s what you should do:

a. Claim Your Listing: Claim and verify your business on GMB to appear in local search results and on Google Maps.

b. Accurate Information: Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation are accurate and consistent across all online platforms.

c. Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing. Respond to reviews, both positive and negative, to engage with customers and improve your online reputation.

d. Posts and Updates: Use GMB to post updates, promotions, events, and other relevant information to attract local customers.

Build Quality Backlinks

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are a vital ranking factor in SEO. However, it’s essential to focus on quality over quantity. Here’s how to build quality backlinks:

a. Guest Blogging: Contribute guest posts to reputable websites in your industry. Ensure the content is valuable and relevant to the host site’s audience.

b. Local Directories: List your business on local directories, industry-specific directories, and review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

c. Social Media: Share your content on social media platforms to increase its visibility and potentially earn natural backlinks when others link to your content.

d. Influencer Outreach: Collaborate with influencers or experts in your niche who can link to your website or mention your products/services.

Conclusion

SEO is a powerful tool for small businesses looking to compete in the digital marketplace. While SEO is an ongoing process, these quick strategies can help you get started and see noticeable improvements in your website’s search engine visibility. Remember that SEO requires patience, monitoring, and adaptation to stay ahead in the competitive online landscape. By consistently implementing these strategies, your small business can establish a stronger online presence and attract more potential customers.

Local SEO Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia

In today's digital age, 97% of consumers go online to find local services, and 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a local business. If you're not optimizing for local search, you're missing out on a significant chunk of potential customers right in your vicinity.

The web is a bustling hub of business opportunities. If you're a local enterprise looking to stand out, our tailored Local SEO strategies can position you at the forefront of your industry. Our skilled team of Local SEO experts has a proven track record of delivering results for businesses on the east coast of Australia.

We understand the Australian market, its nuances, and what the local audience is searching for. Our strategies have helped numerous businesses rank on the first page of search results.

Our Local SEO packages are designed to be budget-friendly, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes. Our team is just a call away to address any of your concerns or to provide updates.

Our deep understanding of the Aussie market, combined with our expertise in local SEO, has allowed numerous businesses to achieve and maintain a strong online presence in the region. We pride ourselves on our commitment to delivering tangible results and our dedication to our clientele.

SEO Sydney

Media Man Australia (Digital), a leading expert SEO marketing company in Sydney, Australia, is here to skyrocket your online visibility and drive targeted traffic to your website. With our cutting-edge strategies and proven techniques, we ensure that your business stays on top of search engine rankings, generating higher conversions and maximising your ROI. Our team of skilled professionals will work closely with you to understand your unique business needs and tailor a customised SEO strategy that delivers exceptional results. 

Don't let your competitors steal the spotlight. Get in touch with Media Man and watch your online presence soar!

Media Man Group Marketing CEO and Founder Greg Tingle sees success in SEO, storytelling and cormering niche markets such as mixed martial arts (MMA), pro wrestling (WWE, AEW etc), surf culture, online advertising agencies, MBS (Mind, Body and Spirit) and gaming, casinos and hotels).

Digital Marketing Agency 

Sydney and Brisbane

20 Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney and Brisbane

mediaman.com.au

mediamanint.com

digitaluncovered.com › best-digital-marketing20 Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydneydigitaluncovered.com › best-digital-marketing CachedPerth SEO Studio. Perth SEO Studio one of Australia’s top digital marketing agencies is based in Sydney and specializes in helping businesses enhance their online presence and achieve higher rankings in organic search results. Wonderful Digital. Wonderful Digital is an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. With their extensive range of services including SEO PPC social media marketing and website design they have established themselves as one of Australia’s best digital marketing agencies. Humaan. Humaan is a reputable digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. With a team of experienced professionals Humaan offers many services including website design and development SEO social media marketing and content creation. Due North. Due North is a renowned digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. Their extensive services encompass SEO PPC advertising social media management and content marketing.

Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney | Digital Agency …

Explore the top digital marketing agencies in Sydney. Creative and b2b digital marketing companies offering branding web design UX design eCommerce SEO content marketing PPC email marketing online marketing and social media marketing services in Sydney.

Sydney Digital Marketing Agency ™️ | Digital MarketingDone …

Ready to achieve real business growth with a comprehensive customised digital marketing strategy? Sydney Digital Marketing Agency works with business owners and marketing managers to accelerate revenue growth using Google Ads Social Media SEO Email Marketing and Marketing Automation.

Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney 2023 | Semrush

TOP Professional Digital Marketing Companies in Sydney. List of TOP 26 Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney. Discover the most skilled marketing agencies from our community to outsource your marketing to.

Top Digital Marketing Companies in Sydney – DesignRush

Readers and online entrepreneurs, that's the SEO News for the day. Tell them Media Man send you.

Good web surfing and wrestling with the web across the The Internet Matrix Of Things.

By Media Man with some modest assist from A.I!  Bard, xAI, Bing et al. Man over machine!

X (Twitter)

Here comes the son: Is Lachlan Murdoch up to the job?, By Paddy Manning  (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Excerpt

Last year, Lachlan Murdoch gave a fiery speech to launch the Centre for the Australian Way of Life, a pet project of the best friend he has in politics, the arch-climate sceptic and former prime minister Tony Abbott. Attached to right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, which Lachlan’s grandfather Keith Murdoch helped found, the event in Sydney gave Lachlan a chance to rail against the media “elites” and tech platforms that he felt censured debate on lockdowns, border closures, and mask and vaccine mandates through the pandemic. It was a rare public outing for Lachlan, who unlike his father tends to keep his views to himself. While pushing back against liberal media bias, he stayed well clear of Trump, the 2020 election or the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

#LachlanMurdoch #Murdoch #NewsCorp #SMH #TonyAbbot #news #newsmedia #newsbiz #politics #Trump #DonaldTrump #PresidentTrump #leadership #popculture #buzz #media

"I will see you at NXT @WWENXT on Tuesday" - John Cena @JohnCena , WWE @WWE wrestling legend #WWENXT #WWE #JohnCena 

WWE @WWE broadcast annoucer Corey Graves @WWEGraves takes wrestling Twitters ( X @X 's ) to school; Lighting bolt back to the basement kiddos - our satire, not Corey's. Tune into WWE for more Graves witisms and watch and listen to WWE Fastlane coverage for more intel. Graves vs The Web!  Graves for the win! #CoreyGraves #quote #WWE #wresting #prowrestling #WWEFastlane #WWERaw #SmackDown #Twitter #X #wrestlingtwitter #lightningbolt #DustyRhodes #basement #kiddos #keyboardwarriors #popculture #socialmedia #satire #forthewin #trend #trends #buzz #media 

Pro Wrestling insider info

WWE @WWE SmackDown match producers list from the St. Louis"go-home" event

Not spoilers. Inside information for last SmackDown before Fastlane

Michael Hayes produced LA Knight’s promo

Kenny Dykstra & Molly Holly produced Charlotte Flair & Asuka vs Bayley & Iyo Sky

Jason Jordan produced Rey Mysterio vs obby Lashley

Jamie Noble produced Austin Theory vs Dragon Lee

Michael Hayes produced LA Knight vs Jimmy Uso

Adam Pearce produced Michin & Shotzi vs Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn (Dark Match)

#WWESmackDown #SmackDown #WWE #WWEFastlane #wweproducers #producers #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainment #entertainmentnews #sportsnews #popculture #showbiz #BehindTheScenes #scoops #buzz #biz #media 

Combat Sports News

'Dog Day Afternoon' still plays on Stickland's Mind; "Guy needs some help"...

UFC @UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland questions Adesanya's well-being

“It was so awkward,” Strickland said. “So, you guys don’t know this, like after fights, there’s a lot of showmanship in fighting, you know, ‘go *uck, *uck you, *uck.’ Usually, after fights — win or lose — there is this slight ‘Come to Jesus’ moment where, like, dude, it could have been me, but it wasn’t. Here’s a handshake onto the next one. Maybe we get a rematch … whatever.

“Anyway, he says, ‘you talked about my family. I would never do that. I would never do that.’ He looks at me, and he’s like, ‘I would never make fun of your family.’ And I’m like, ‘Izzy, I don’t know your family, bro.’ I don’t know if you have siblings. I don’t know *uck about you. This is after the fight. He starts pointing at his neck, and he’s like my *ucking dog man, my dog.’

“Bottom line, Izzy, dude, I think the guy needs some help…. With Izzy, it’s starting not to be funny anymore because as I’m starting to understand Izzy and his love of his dog, peanut butter and all, I’m starting to realize that he could have some form of mental retardation like there’s something *ucking wrong with this guy. You know, so now it’s just like I kind of feel bad like I’m picking on the *etard kid at school that eats his boogers. It’s not funny anymore. It’s still a little funny,” Strickland proclaims.

#UFC293 #SeanStrickland #Tarzan #quote #Adesanya #izzy #stylebender #UFC #dogdayafternoon #dogfight #MMA #promotion #AndNew #sportsbiz #sportsnews #MMAnews #combatsports #showmanship #showbiz #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #trend #buzz #media 

"Good journalism is good business practice; good business supports great journalism.” - Lachlan Murdoch, News Corp #LachlanMurdoch #Murdoch #quote #newscorp #journalism #business #newsbiz #mediabiz #greatjournalism #newspapers #newspaperbiz #publishing #newsmedia #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling

"They have a great thing in CM Punk that they don't have in Jade Cargill, and just like they have a great thing in Cody. They have a past together, so the story tells itself. He could join Cody as part of the thing from AEW, he could go back to getting in Hunter's [Triple H] face again, like he did before. He already has a history there." - Konnan @Konnan5150 K100 w/ Konnan & Disco #Konnan #quote #CMPunk #JadeCargill #CodyRhodes #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingnews #wrestlingwar #wrestlingwars #wrestlingpromotions #entertainment #combatsports #popculture #buzz #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Fastlane Press Conference

"You don't want to put somebody in a position that they are sort of ready for it. You wanna make damn sure they are ready for it. So, no matter what happens, she's going to knock it out of the park. So when is that [Jade's debut]? Not sure. Where she's gonna go? Not sure."

"I can tell you this: there are a lot of people internally here that are in charge of each brand. Everyone wants her, everyone is chomping at the bit to work with her, and I think that is going to create some incredible programming, but I think when she's ready, she's gonna be huge." - Triple H @TripleH 

Video

WWE Fastlane Press Conference: October 7, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czb5Yzd0Pb8&t=2127s&ab_channel=WWE

Triple H thanks John Cena: WWE Fastlane 2023 Press Conference highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yttLeRV58-s&ab_channel=WWE

Jade Cargill makes first WWE appearance at WWE Fastlane: WWE Fastlane 2023 highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwDArfCKX84&ab_channel=WWE

#TripleH #quote #WWEFastlane #Fastlane #JadeCargill #JohnCena #wrestling #prowrestling #pressconference #highlights #womenswrestling #wwewomen #entertainment #popculture #combatsports #showbiz #trend #trends #buzz #video #videos #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Fastlane Press Conference

"You don't want to put somebody in a position that they are sort of ready for it. You wanna make damn sure they are ready for it. So, no matter what happens, she's going to knock it out of the park. So when is that [Jade's debut]? Not sure. Where she's gonna go? Not sure."

"I can tell you this: there are a lot of people internally here that are in charge of each brand. Everyone wants her, everyone is chomping at the bit to work with her, and I think that is going to create some incredible programming, but I think when she's ready, she's gonna be huge." - Triple H @TripleH 

Video

WWE Fastlane Press Conference: October 7, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czb5Yzd0Pb8&t=2127s&ab_channel=WWE

Triple H thanks John Cena: WWE Fastlane 2023 Press Conference highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yttLeRV58-s&ab_channel=WWE

Jade Cargill makes first WWE appearance at WWE Fastlane: WWE Fastlane 2023 highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwDArfCKX84&ab_channel=WWE

#TripleH #quote #WWEFastlane #Fastlane #JadeCargill #JohnCena #wrestling #prowrestling #pressconference #highlights #womenswrestling #wwewomen #entertainment #popculture #combatsports #showbiz #trend #trends #buzz #video #videos #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Raw: October 9, 2023

Nia Jax @LinaFanene vs Raquel Rodriguez @RaquelWWE

#prowrestling #WWERaw #WWE #wwewomen #womenswrestling #wrestling #femmes #femmefatale #femmefatales #combatsports #sportsbiz #entertainment #EntertainmentNews #popculture #USA #USANetwork #TV #broadcast #trend #trending #buzz #media 

The Bible of SEO (search engine optimization) that some didn't know they needed! The best and brightest minds in and around the industry. SEJ brainstrust #SEJ #SearchEngineJournal #StateOfSEO #SEO #SEM #media 

"Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks" - Stephen Hawking #StephenHawking #quote #success #AI #ArtificialInteligence #event #history #risk #risks #tech #world #media 

“To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to either spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever. If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” - Bruce Lee @brucelee #BruceLee #quote #time #life #love #mbs #world #media 

"I often tell my students not to be misled by the name 'artificial intelligence' - there is nothing artificial about it. AI is made by humans, intended to behave by humans, and, ultimately, to impact humans' lives and human society" - Fei-Fei Li #FeiFeiLi #quote #AI #ArtificialInteligence #students #humans #tech #world #media 

MMA News

UFC @UFC top brass Dana White has confirmed that Conor McGregor isn’t quite back to being tested, but that the process should resume soon.

“No,” White said at the UFC Vegas 80 post-fight press conference when quizzed if "Notorious" McGregor was in the USADA testing pool. 

“He is not officially in the USADA testing pool. He submitted the paperwork, probably by Monday he’ll be submitted. Again, don’t hold me to that, but the paperwork is submitted, next week sometime.”

“I literally have nothing planned for Conor McGregor right now,” White said. “The paperwork is being submitted. We’ll play it by ear, see how things work out, there’s still a lot of things that have to happen as far as fights go and then we’ll decide where he’s going to land.”

Videos

UFC Vegas 80: Post-Fight Press Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wYh7AuZ8Gs&t=73s&ab_channel=UFC

Dana White's Contender Series Post-Fight Press Conference | Season 7 - WEEK 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US_ysdNyNfM&ab_channel=UFC

#UFC #DanaWhite #quote #ConorMcGregor #MMA #mixedmartialarts #UFCNews #ufcmedia #mmanews #mmamedia #pressconference #mediaconference #combatsports #sportsbiz #sportsnews #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #video #videos #trends #buzz #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE RAW

Internet buzz on upcoming matches!

Ricochet vs Bronson Reed vs Chad Gable

Drew McIntyre vs JD McDonagh

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

#WWERaw #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #sportsbiz #combatsports #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #trend #trending #buzz #USANetwork #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Crown Jewel. November 4, 2023. 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match Confirmed: 

Seth Rollins @WWERollins vs Drew McIntyre @DMcIntyreWWE 

"You don't have to worry about The Judgement Day. You see, they couldn't take this title from me, and neither can you" - Seth Rollins

Video

Drew McIntyre tells Seth “Freakin” Rollins to worry about him: Raw highlights, Oct. 9, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rkFsn942fQ&ab_channel=WWE

#WWERAW #WWE #WWECrownJewel #SethRollins #DrewMcintyre #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #TV #buzz #hype #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE NXT @WWENXT October 10, 2023

Carmelo Hayes @Carmelo_WWE with John Cena @JohnCena vs Bron Breakker with Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle

Asuka @WWEAsuka (WWE @WWE ) vs Roxanne Perez @roxanne_wwe (NXT)

Tyler Bate & The Brawling Brutes vs Gallus. Pub Rules Match

Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes to make a big announcement!

Rumors of The Undertaker @undertaker as per bell toll heard on numerous WWE broadcasts

Tune in for pro wrestling wars!

#WWENXT #NXT #WWE #JohnCena #CarmeloHayes #BronBreakker #PaulHeyman #Asuka #RoxannePerez #Asuka #CodyRhodes #Undertaker #TheUndertaker #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingnews #wrestlingwar #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #USANetwork #USA #trends #trending #buzz #hype #broadcast #broadcasting #ratings #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling News

"I may even go more than a half an hour," Khan said. "We're just going to have a good time. TBS has been very cool. It's going to be a great night of wrestling. I really appreciate you guys having me on, giving me a chance to plug that we're on Tuesday night tonight on TBS."

Khan credited the trust and partnership between AEW and TBS as a big reason for why AEW would be able to go commercial-free this evening. When probed later how much further past a half hour AEW would push the commercial-free timeframe, Khan declined to give a firm answer, but did say he would try to keep it going as long as possible. "I'm going to try and push it," Khan said. "I'm going to try and go a bit over 30 minutes. I'll go as far as they're going to let me go." - Tony Khan, All Elite Wrestling @AEW 

Video

The Rated R Superstar Makes His In-Ring Debut! | AEW Control Center: Title Tuesday, 10/10/23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W370-RHbwN8&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

"Get ready for Title Tuesday" - Tony Schiavone

#AEW #AllEliteWrestling #TonyKhan #quote #TitleTuesday #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #video #wrestlingwar #trends #trending #buzz #TBS #TV #broadcast #broadcasting #hype #buzz #media

Pro Wrestling

"Wrestling is doing really well right now. It’s a great time for the business and a great time to be a wrestling fan, which is what we wanted when we started in AEW @AEW . It’s worked. Now, for us in AEW, normally we would do the show on Wednesday, they moved us to tonight, it’s a rare thing, and everybody has really taken the spirit of it and everyone is up for a big fight. That’s what wrestling is all about. Our fans have really rallied around AEW. We’re on the best run of major events in the history of the company and we’re going to keep it going" - Tony Khan, All Elite Wrestling #TonyKhan #quote #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #TBS #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #broadcasting #TV #media  

Pro Wrestling 

"January 4, 2024 at Tokyo Dome City Hall, Stardom @wwr_stardom will run a big show before Wrestle Kingdom," Stardom wrote. 

"Belltime is noon, so you can go to Stardom and Wrestle Kingdom without missing a thing!"

#Stardom #wrestling #prowrestling #womenswrestling #Japan #japanesewrestling #combatsports #popculture #entertainment #sportsbiz #buzz #hype #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE NXT @WWENXT 

Video

John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Asuka and more highlight blockbuster NXT: WWE Now, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvfi_8xUdJQ&t=34s&ab_channel=WWE

"What's up guys. I'm Megan Morant for WWE Now, getting you set"...

#WWENXT #NXT #WWENow #wrestling #prowrestling #JohnCena #CodyRhodes #Asuka #PaulHeyman #TheUndertaker #CarmeloHayes #BronBreakker #legend #legends #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #wrestlingwar #buzz #video #trends #trending #hype #USANetwork #USA #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling

NXT @WWENXT

October 10, 2023

Carmelo Hayes @Carmelo_WWE with John Cena @JohnCena vs Bron Breakker @bronbreakkerwwe 

with Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle 

and numerous WWE @WWE living legends appearing!

Undertaker @undertaker bell rings!

#WWENXT #WWE #NXT #wrestling #prowrestling #CarmeloHayes #JohnCena #BronBreakker #PaulHeyman #CodyRhodes #Asuka #Undertaker #legend #legends #wrestlinglegends #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #USANetwork #USA #broadcast #broadcasting #buzz #trend #trending #TV #hype #media 

Pro Wrestling

"We’ve really begun to change it. The perception is very strong for AEW @AEW worldwide. 44 days ago, we set the all-time record for ticket sales for any wrestling show ever in the history of the planet. We’re having a very good year, our pay-per-view numbers are through the roof, and we’re going to have a great show tonight on TBS. The fans are behind what we’re doing, people are mobilized behind this lineup, I’ve seen more positive momentum and positive feedback about AEW in the last 24 hours than I have in several weeks and that’s saying a lot because we’ve had a lot of huge shows in the last several weeks" - Tony Khan, AEW #TonyKhan #quote #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #sportsbiz #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #broadcast #broadcasting #liveevents #livesport #buzz #trends #TV #media 

Australian and Global Broadcasting News

Warner Bros streaming set down under via Max

WB top brass Jean-Briac Perrette lets cat out of the bag

Warner Bros Discovery’s president of global streaming and games

“We’ll do Europe before the Olympics, which we have to get done because we have the Olympics coming in Paris next summer. And then we will get to Asia,” Mr Perrette told media executives in Bali at a summit a few weeks back.

“Asia continues to be critically important, but we have to do it in that sequence. And we will get to Asia before the end of next year with our existing markets and then roll out to new markets again, starting in 2025.”

Mr Perrette told the Media Partners Asia APOS event that Warner Bros Discovery would “probably look to launch in a market like Australia after that”. “Australia’s a critically important market for us, where again we think our content is very strong for that market.” he added.

“Our measures of success are different than some others in the industry. We have three metrics: we have profitability, we have share, and we have scale. And we always said, you know, we’d rather be profitable and in fewer households than have more households and be losing billions of dollars,” he said.

“The company lost over $2 billion last year, we’re now profitable in the first half of the year. We feel great about that ... It’s not just about scale for scale’s sake.”

“Over the next five to 10 years, you’re going to end up with three to five big global players, in addition to maybe some local champions,” he said, flagging Warner Bros Discovery would look to partner with local studios to make shows.

Streaming in Australia

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Binge, Paramount+, Kayo Sports and Apple TV

Others: Britbox, CrunchyRoll, Hayu and Optus Sport (and a few unofficial ones!). Readers, you will have to find them yourselves, and we are not talking about just YouTube!

TV Guide: 2023 Bathurst 1000 on Seven, Foxtel, and SEN - 6 October 2023

2023 is the 60th anniversary of the Great Race

The 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000 kicks into gear for 2023, with three full days of action from Mount Panorama available to watch on Seven, 7Plus, and Foxtel / Kayo Sports. SEN will have an audio broadcast.

On the 60th anniversary of the Great Race, practice laps will lead up to the major race and celebrations on Sunday.

Channel Seven and 7Plus

Seven’s broadcast of the final day at Mount Panorama starts from 7.30am AEDT Sunday.

On Seven, also celebrating a milestone this year is Sunrise’s Mark Beretta, who will suit up for his 25th Bathurst 1000 coverage alongside 7SPORT’s Mel McLaughlin, to bring Aussies every moment from the mountain over the three days.

Joining them will be Erebus Motorsport driver Jack Perkins, who will provide commentary in between competing in the Bathurst 1000 alongside co-driver Will Brown, while Emma Freedman will bring viewers all the excitement from the mountain and the campgrounds, and Mark Larkham reports live from pit lane along Chris Stubbs, Chad Neylon and Riana Crehan.

Supercars icons Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton will lead the commentary of the Supercars Championship’s premier event, while Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy will also join Seven for special insights.

Seven has also partnered with Komo Technologies and Repco to deliver a cross-platform digital experience hub to connect broadcast audiences across the Repco Bathurst 1000 weekend, and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Great Race, with customised and personalised mobile engagement.

Foxtel

Kayo Sports has introduced five live streams for the qualifying rounds, shootout, and the main race.

• Heli-Cam: a live helicopter camera brings a birds-eye view across the entire weekend

• Live Timing: Keeping track of the fastest laps, sectors and timing from all teams

• Gazoo Dipper: A live feed from the third corner of the Esses

• Camaro Channel (Race Day): A channel that will rotate across Camaro drivers throughout race day, including in key place battles

• Mustang Channel (Race Day): A channel will rotate across Mustang drivers throughout race day, including in key place battles

Fox Motorsport commentary will be led by six-time Bathurst victor, Mark Skaife, flanked by Fox Motorsport host, Jessica Yates.

SEN

The coverage begins on SEN 1170am (Sydney) with The Jimmy Smith Show broadcasting live trackside from BBQ Galore’s Steakhouse on both Thursday and Friday from 12pm to 3pm. Located at the fastest corner of the track, The steakhouse will feature some of the country’s best pitmasters cooking with Smokers, Pizza Ovens and the everyday gas grill. 

The action heats up on Saturday with a live broadcast from 4pm to 6pm, setting the stage for the big race on Sunday. SEN will provide coverage from 10am to 6pm, with the trio of Jimmy Smith, Aaron Noonan, and Paul Dumbrell at the helm.

Foxtel Media teams up with Mater Prize Home for the fifth season of Love It or List It - October 12, 2023

Foxtel Media has announced that it has teamed up with Mater Prize Home for the fifth season of Love It or List It to give clued-in real estate fans a chance to win a piece of prime Gold Coast property and a host of other prizes, including a Tesla Model Y and SeaFox 268 Commander boat.

Foxtel Lifestyle talent and residential property expert Andrew Winter, has signed on as an official brand ambassador for Mater Prize Home. The partnership featuring bespoke integration across Foxtel linear channels, BINGE, and IQ VOD streaming spans multiple campaigns, including sponsorships of Love It or List It Australia and Selling Houses Australia. It will also be amplified via Mater Prize Home assets, including social media.

A custom digital billboard featuring Winter will capture on-site content of the Helensvale, QLD home and will, for the first time, run across Foxtel’s linear and digital assets, including BINGE and Foxtel GO.

Love It or List It, produced by Beyond Productions exclusively for Foxtel, follows Winter and design guru Neale Whitaker as they are tasked with helping Australian homeowners decide whether to renovate or relocate from their property.

Laura Elliman, head of entertainment partnerships at Foxtel Media, said: “Foxtel Media is delighted to support Mater Prize Home by leveraging the popularity of Love It or List It. Real estate is a true passion point of our engaged audiences, and this partnership taps into this interest perfectly whilst also helping to drive funding to Mater, through Mater Foundation who runs Mater Prize Home. Fans will undoubtedly appreciate the opportunity to win a piece of coveted real estate, as they follow Andrew and Neale across the season.”

Fans of the popular lifestyle series can place themselves in the running to win Mater Prize Home’s biggest prize package ever through the purchase of a ticket. Each ticket sold is helping to support vital medical research, equipment and patient care, bringing hope and healing to so many in the community. 

Andrew Winter, co-host of Love It or List It, said: “With such a tight property market, I’m excited to see the Love It or List It audience be inspired by the new ideas we explore on the latest session of the show and try their luck in winning the great prize package on offer from Mater Prize Home. I’m excited to work with them on this campaign and contribute to the great healthcare initiatives that are supported through the Mater Foundation.”

Simon Jarvis, director Lotteries at Mater Foundation, said: “The choice to go with Foxtel Media, Andrew, and Love It or List It was an easy one. The Foxtel Group is known for its quality programming and premium advertising experience, so we knew that we would be able to reach exactly the right target audience through our collaboration. We can’t wait to see how Australia’s favourite property duo will transform the lives of real Australians on the newest season of the show.”

BINGE announces global news channels and 4K availability on the platform - October 5, 2023

BINGE customers will have access to global news channels, CNN International, MSNBC and Bloomberg TV

BINGE has announced that customers on standard and premium tiers will be able to stream the best of BINGE in 4K.

In addition, all BINGE customers will have access to live and breaking news with global news channels, CNN International, MSNBC and Bloomberg TV.

The streaming platform offers customers the biggest shows from around the globe, including hits like The White Lotus, Vigil and American Horror Story: Delicate plus the best Australian originals like Colin from Accounts, The Twelve and Love Me.

Alison Hurbert-Burns, executive director of BINGE, said: “We know customers love streaming entertainment in 4K, especially big production shows like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us which is why I am so pleased that we can now provide this feature.

“The addition of live news channels will help viewers stay up to date with all the latest news from around the world, offering more content and greater value to our customers.”

4K will be available on the streaming platform from late October for elected content and selected devices that are 4K TV compatible and will require a minimum broadband speed of 25Mpbs.

The announcement comes after BINGE revealed the new cast of The Real Housewives of Sydney, including Dr Kate Adams, Terry Biviano, Caroline Gaultier, Victoria Montano, Sally Obermeder, Krissy Marsh and Nicole O’Neil.

The 10-part series commissioned by BINGE, is produced by Matchbox Pictures, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, with production taking place across Sydney and one special overseas adventure.

News

Tony Abbott and the meeting of minds at Fox - October 13, 2023

Former prime minister Tony Abbott is on track to join Fox Corporation’s board of directors next month, in Lachlan Murdoch’s first major move as he looks to stamp his authority as the company’s sole chair.

The announcement to nominate Abbott to the Fox board came one day after Lachlan Murdoch’s confirmation as heir to the News and Fox empire, carrying on the Murdoch tradition of bringing notable figures from the world of politics into the family’s corporate inner sanctum.

If the move is confirmed at Fox Corp’s annual meeting in November, Abbott will join conservative US politician Paul Ryan on the board, while former US senator Kelly Ayotte and former Spanish president José María Aznar sit on the News Corp board.

Bush and Trump administration secretary Elaine Chao also sat on News Corp’s board between stints in government.

Lachlan Murdoch and Abbott are close friends, their relationship dating beyond Abbott’s ascent to the top of Australian politics, with Sarah Murdoch, Lachlan’s wife, launching Abbott’s book, Battlelines, in 2009.

“I don’t know that he’s got much media experience beyond a few years in journalism,” says The Australian’s longest-serving editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell. “I’m not sure he’d bring any particular skills to do with publishing, TV or pay TV.”

Mitchell, who has known Abbott since his days at The Australian in the 1980s, and Lachlan Murdoch “since he was a boy”, sees the two as a “meeting of minds”.

Apart from his time at The Australian, Abbott also worked at The Bulletin before being appointed press secretary to former Liberal opposition leader John Hewson in 1990.

“He didn’t have media respect,” Hewson says, noting his speech writing was usually “extremely right wing”.

Despite Abbott’s limited media experience, Fox’s board says he has the necessary skills and experience required, as noted in its AGM proxy statement.

Abbott ticks seven of the 10 boxes, according to the board, and is likely to earn anywhere between $467,000 and $543,000 depending on his extra duties, a similar return to his earning power for two years as prime minister.

After losing his electoral seat of Warringah in 2019, Abbott was appointed as a trade adviser to the UK government in 2020.

The decision to install Abbott may not be based on his relevant media qualifications, says Stephen Mayne, Crikey founder and shareholder activist, adding the Murdochs have form appointing former conservative politicians.

“It’s more than an anomaly now,” Mayne says.

If Abbott is successful, he will replace Jacques Nasser, a former CEO of Ford and chair of BHP. Mayne says Abbott replacing “Rupert’s most credible director”, having served 22 years, is telling of the direction of Fox.

Aznar serves as the best comparison to Abbott, a former senior executive in Rupert Murdoch’s team says. The former Spanish president’s appointment in 2006 to the News Corporation board is  “a kind of pat on the back” for like-mindedness, Spain’s support of America in the Gulf War and “doing right by Western democracy”.

Aznar remains on the News Corp board 17 years later.

Former senior adviser to John Howard Niki Savva, who profiled Abbott’s leadership in a highly publicised 2016 book, now calls him a “warrior for conservative causes” in Australia and overseas, referencing his “pivotal role” in the 1999 republic referendum, and similarly in the likely successful campaign against the Voice, to be determined on Saturday.

The board move confirms News and Fox are “almost as much political organisations as commercial organisations”, says Mayne, this sentiment hardening since Fox’s exit from entertainment through the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney in 2019.

An individual in Lachlan’s inner circle says political thinking can be an asset on boards, noting that Ryan, a former speaker of the House and Mitt Romney’s 2012 running mate, adds value in their directorial duties.

Long-time News Limited chair and CEO John Hartigan says, “he’s not out of place”, despite never getting the impression Abbott either had, or lacked, relevant media skills.

“Is Tony the appropriate person? Who knows,” says Hartigan, though he and Mitchell agree it is natural for a new chair to build out their own support.

Another factor behind Abbott’s nomination could be Lachlan Murdoch’s desire to shore up support in the event of the death of Rupert Murdoch, 92, who maintains considerable power through the Murdoch family trust.

Veteran ABC broadcaster Jon Faine, once referred to by Abbott as an “equal opportunity mongrel”, a badge he wears with pride, questions whether the former prime minister will look at Fox News’ role in a similar light in his new role.

“There’s great responsibility involved in these jobs, as with anyone in the media, and it will be really interesting to see which version of Tony Abbott we’re going to get on this board.”

Abbott declined to comment. Fox was approached for comment.

News

Sky Network Television taps Jarden as bid lands - October 13, 2023

Dual-listed pay-TV provider Sky Network Television has brought in its long-time adviser Jarden, after receiving a non-binding indicative offer from a mystery international bidder.

Sources said the bidder has hired Rothschild’s bankers to advise it on the tilt. Sky disclosed the approach in its exchange filings on Friday morning, citing it as the reason for the pause in its buyback.

However, Sky did not disclose the price. That’s unheard of if the company is still considering the NBIO and hasn’t rejected it yet.

It comes after Street Talk spotted at least two private equity firms kicking tyres at Sky last year.

In a research flash note mailed out to clients this morning, Forsyth Barr analysts Aaron Ibbotson and Matt Montgomerie said they expected Sky to fetch a “meaningful bid-premium”.

“SKT currently trades on a 12 month forward PE of ~6.5x, a ~-25% discount to its five year history and an EV/EBIT of ~4.5x, a ~-26% discount to its five year average; it is one of the lowest valued stocks on the NZX,” the duo wrote.

“More importantly, for a potential financial buyer we estimate that it is valued on a FY25 FCF yield of ~10% which makes it possible for a private equity buyer to offer a meaningful premium to the undisturbed price and still use leverage even in today’s high interest rate environment.”

The company has a $NZ358 million market capitalisation. Sky last traded at $2.33 a share on the ASX after gaining 10.95 per cent year to date.

More to come

(AFR)

News

The real family drama behind ‘Succession’ - October 6, 2023

From sibling squabbles to inheritance infighting, the popular television series has a rich history of familial strife on which to draw.

"I thought my family was f---ed up,” says a character in the forthcoming third series of Succession. “This is next level.” That’s an understatement: Succession seems to be the penthouse of dramas, far above ordinary means and mayhem.

Yet the Emmy-winning HBO show does not imagine what could go wrong in family empires; it plasters together what has gone wrong in case after case in real life, and applies a glorious gloss of wordplay and satire. In Succession, history really does repeat itself, the second time as farce and much more enjoyable.

The show centres on the Roys, a plutocratic media family grappling with two biological facts: the patriarch will die, and none of his children is his clone. (This article contains spoilers for seasons one and two.) In the very first episode, billionaire Logan Roy has a stroke – before naming a successor. He joins a very large club. Medieval kings were desperate to produce an heir; their modern equivalents are inclined to forget their mortality. Indian magnates Anil and Mukesh Ambani feuded after their father Dhirubhai died following a stroke, without leaving a will.

Logan’s problem is more complicated. As he lies in a coma, we discover his company has billions in hidden debt. Now we are in the annals of Robert Maxwell, whose media group was revealed by the Financial Times, the day after his death in 1991, to owe hundreds of millions of pounds more than stated. Maxwell’s sons Kevin and Ian found that their first inheritances from their father were a financial crisis and a fraud trial.

Unlike Maxwell, Succession’s Logan survives. He retakes the reins of his empire, despite being so unwell that he confuses his son’s office carpet for a urinal. It is enough to rival Sumner Redstone, who tried to remain chairman of his media conglomerates, CBS and Viacom, when he could no longer speak. Redstone communicated via an iPad loaded with audio clips of himself saying “yes”, “no” and “f--k you”.

“I have no intention of ever retiring, or of dying,” he had said, at the age of 85. He died last year, aged 97, two years after a court had declared him incapacitated.

More to the picture

But Succession never pulls too hard on one thread; there is always more to the picture. Shortly before his stroke, Logan tries to blindside his children into weakening their control of the family trust, telling them on his 80th birthday that it’s the one present he really wants.

Welcome to the life and times of Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, who warned her children that they would go bankrupt unless they agreed, within three days, to extend her control of a family trust. A judge found her legal tactics against her children had “closely approach[ed] intimidation”.

“They don’t appreciate ... the efforts I went to,” Rinehart shot back, soon afterwards.

In Succession, Logan ends up facing a boardroom coup, led by his son Kendall. That scene will not have surprised the Shin family, head of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, where the younger son convened a board meeting and removed his father. Kendall fails in his coup, so teams up with a hedge fund and a rival media group to mount a hostile takeover. The set-up recalls the case of George Strawbridge, grandson of the founder of Campbell’s Soup, who allied with activist hedge fund investor Dan Loeb to oust the entire board.

However, Kendall is troubled by addiction problems, which recall the struggles of Australian scion James Packer. He drives a car off the road into a lake, and his young companion drowns, an incident that strongly resembles Senator Ted Kennedy’s crash on Chappaquiddick Island.

Succession’s characters are constantly questioning what is real — “Is this real?” ; “Are you for real?“; “No real person involved”. The joke is that none of it is real, and yet all of it is.

The family that Succession draws most from is the Murdochs. Years ago the show’s creator, Jesse Armstrong, wrote a script (never produced) about Rupert Murdoch’s 78th birthday party. These days he and the show’s stars sometimes play down the link, and not just because Murdoch knows good libel lawyers.

The endless ingredients generate the richness, like a sort of Oedipal Ottolenghi recipe.

They cite other influences for Succession: King Lear; Roman tragedies; Ivan the Terrible, who murdered his adult son; and Andre Agassi, whose father devised a machine that would force him to hit nearly 1 million tennis balls a year. The endless ingredients generate the richness, like a sort of Oedipal Ottolenghi recipe.

But the dominant flavour is still Murdoch: a right-wing media magnate who allows three of his children to compete with each other for position; who fights off a corporate debt crisis; who indulges an extremist TV host; who denies all knowledge of criminal behaviour in his empire; who tries, with mixed success, to buy trophy media assets; and who hires a therapist to try to reconcile his family in what may be a publicity stunt.

It’s all in the Murdoch family history and it’s all in Succession. “I read everything ever written on the Murdochs,” Jeremy Strong, the actor who plays Kendall, has said. “I read that James Murdoch ties his shoelaces very tightly. That was interesting.”

The Roys and the Murdochs

In broad brush, Kendall is James Murdoch, the child who feels he has earned the top job by slaving away in the empire but who is passed over. His sister Shiv Roy is Elisabeth Murdoch – the liberal who keeps her distance but would love to take over. Roman is Lachlan Murdoch – the maverick. (Lachlan now runs much of what remains of the Murdoch empire after the family sold out lucratively to Disney.) The Roy children are not only competing for their father’s job; they are competing for his affection, which he offers just often enough to keep them interested. “For a media guy, he’s not the greatest communicator,” Kendall notes drily.

The fact that Succession is recognisable from reality makes it more compelling (see also: The Crown, The West Wing). But how recognisable is it for people who don’t travel on superyachts, who don’t spend $US15,000 on a birthday present or eat endangered songbirds for dinner, and who actually need to wear overcoats because they may not be chauffeured at every turn? How universal are its depictions of sibling rivalry, the desire for parental approval and dilemmas about family obedience?

More universal than it might seem. In his book The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama seeks to explain the “chronic restlessness” that drove him into politics. “Someone once said that every man is trying to either live up to his father’s expectations or make up for their father’s mistakes,” he writes. Obama went from hero-worshipping his father to being shocked by his failings. Unlike Succession’s Logan, Obama snr was not visible on every TV screen and every newspaper, but he still shaped his son’s outlook.

Logan doesn’t push his kids to flatter him, like Donald Trump did when he interviewed Donald jnr and Ivanka on camera. But he has fixed expectations: he wants his children to be like him. That is impossible, not least because his wealth means that they didn’t have his impoverished childhood.

Some psychotherapists use the term “reproductive narcissism” to describe parents’ tendency to favour children who resemble them. Logan forces his children to choose between two versions of themselves, one that is defined by his achievements and one that isn’t. His own narcissism comes to the fore at the end of series two, when Kendall betrays him again. Logan smiles, because finally his son is acting as ruthlessly as he would.

Sibling rivalry

A school of economics posits that sibling competition is widespread and rational, not limited to family businesses. The bestselling book SuperFreakonomics cited evidence that adult children who stood to receive a large inheritance visited an elderly parent more often if they had a sibling. Subsequent research has questioned that conclusion, suggesting siblings may not be mercenaries after all.

Psychotherapists tend to distinguish between natural sibling rivalries and desires for parental attention, and pathologies that emerge when affection is in short supply. “Some families think healthy competition is good for children. I really don’t think that is a good idea at all,” says Hannah Sherbersky, senior lecturer in psychology at Exeter university.

In Succession, the Roy children are subjected to intense, Maxwell-style bullying and belittling by their father, who refuses to appreciate whatever they give him (particularly when Roman tries to buy him his favourite Scottish football team but mistakenly buys Hearts, not Hibs). Their mother is just as bad, spending the reception before her daughter’s wedding asking guests to bet how long the marriage will last.

The show suggests that the Roys are not a family at all, just a conglomerate of unintegrated assets. “We’re eating family-style,” says Logan’s third wife, Marcia, at a get-together. “Almost like we’re a family,” quips Roman. Strong, who plays Kendall, has quoted a phrase attributed to Carl Jung: “Where love is absent, power fills the vacuum.”

But there is love in Succession. Kendall is passed over by his father to become chief executive, but still ends up singing a laudatory, cringe-inducing rap: “L to the O, G, A, N.”

Many family disputes — the Ambanis, the Murdochs — have involved siblings taking on siblings. In 1980, Charles Koch, chief executive of Koch Industries, survived a coup attempt by his younger brother Bill. He voted his brother out of the company at the next board meeting. By contrast, the Roy siblings jostle, but they haven’t actually fought directly in Succession. They recognise that they alone share the burden of being Logan’s children. And better that one of them takes control than an outsider.

Ultimately, the Roys can hire people to cook their meals, treat their psyches, and clean up their mess. But they can’t hire people to be their family (although Connor, the eldest, most delusional child, does try). When Logan’s spiteful brother, Ewan, is asked to back a no-confidence vote in him, he replies: “My brother’s an ex-Scot, an ex-Canadian, an ex-human being. But he’s still my brother.”

Family v non-family business

Family businesses have strange dynamics, particularly around the selection of an heir. At least Oedipus didn’t have to win his father’s backing as his named successor. The oldest is not always the best fit. “I’ve managed to get myself into this situation, where ‘what does my dad think?’ is my entire fucking universe,” laments Succession‘s Shiv, as she tries to overcome Logan’s resistance to favouring a woman. With your parent as your boss, you may be infantilised forever.

One tempting conclusion from the show is that you should never try to work with your family. That would be wrong. For every feuding family business, there are probably several happy ones. Eddie Hearn, the British boxing promoter who is taking over his father Barry’s business, has said of Succession: “It’s just like us!” The Hearns’ rivalries seem to be contained in a successful business that is bigger than father or son could have built alone. Succession may be a modern King Lear, but Shakespeare wrote more comedies than tragedies.

“Family businesses at their best are world-beating,” says Professor Nigel Nicholson, an evolutionary psychologist at London Business School. He recalls one British family business owner who felt confident enough to surround himself with clever people because he knew he was unsackable.

By contrast, “the level of competition and distrust in non-family businesses is seriously problematic”, says Nicholson. (Even in Succession, arguably the most duplicitous character isn’t one of the Roys but Stewy, a private equity investor and university friend of Kendall’s.)

Jonathan Knee, a former investment banker and a professor at Columbia Business School, argues that family and non-family businesses are less different than they appear. Among turbulent US banks in the early 2000s, “every single one of them had a Succession-like drama”, he says.

“There are two different lines of research that I’ve never been able to reconcile,” says Knee. “One is that family businesses do better and there are reasons that make sense for that: levels of trust, facility of communication etc. Then there’s a bunch of really interesting research that diversity really does allow you to cross-pollinate and learn things. What is the opposite of diverse? A family!”

Knee’s working hypothesis is that organisations outperform when they are “at the extremes” — with lots of family control or lots of diversity. The problems come in the middle, when organisations are too heterogeneous to have high trust and not diverse enough to cross-pollinate. “That’s most of the world!”

Perhaps the most far-fetched part of Succession is Shiv working for a Bernie Sanders-style senator intent on destroying the family empire. That has no parallel in real life. But scions are speaking out: Abigail Disney campaigned against the pay of Disney’s then chief executive, Bob Iger. Mary Trump detailed the psychological flaws of her uncle Donald (who is now suing her, accusing her of leaking his tax affairs).

James Murdoch quit News Corp’s board last year and has since taken potshots at his family’s Fox News. And the idea of Succession’s Connor Roy – a man so privileged and bored that he “hyper-decants” his wine – running for president as a libertarian has precedents: David Koch was the Libertarian party’s candidate for vice-president in 1980, and Steve Forbes, of the Forbes publishing family, ran for the Republican nomination in 1996 and 2000.

We wait to find what happens in the third season of Succession. But if the writers wanted material, they could have looked to the UK’s Sir Frederick Barclay, who was bugged by his own nephews while he smoked cigars in London’s Ritz Hotel (which the family owned at the time). And if the show wants a dark turn, there’s the fate of Robert Maxwell’s favourite daughter: Ghislaine Maxwell goes on trial next month on sex-trafficking charges, which she denies. By comparison, the Roys are not exceptional. They even start to look like us.

(Financial Times)

Rich Lister accused of encouraging ‘incredibly inappropriate’ behaviour - October 13, 2023

Ed Craven, the young Rich Lister and founder of one of the world’s biggest online casinos, Stake.com, has been accused of encouraging inappropriate behaviour towards a woman on his live-streaming platform, Kick.

Kick, which was only established in Melbourne last year, was founded by Craven and his business partner, Bijan Tehrani, and is the main competitor to Amazon’s Twitch.

Stake.com’s Ed Craven and American internet personality Paul Denino, known as “Ice Poseidon”. 

The multibillion-dollar live-streaming industry boasts of tens of millions of users worldwide who upload videos or provide commentary as they play video games and go about their daily lives. It has attracted some 20 per cent of US teens to Twitch, Kick’s rival, according to Pew Research Centre. It has also created niche celebrities with avid fan bases.

Mr Craven’s Kick has sought to boost the platform’s popularity further by sponsoring the Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Everton Football Club.

In late September, Mr Craven met streamer Paul Denino, or “Ice Poseidon”, when he visited Australia. Famous for distasteful stunts and a fan base called the “Purple Army”, Mr Denino has hundreds of thousands of subscribers on Kick and his videos clock millions of views.

The multibillion-dollar live-streaming industry boasts of tens of millions of users worldwide who upload videos or provide commentary as they play video games and go about their daily lives. It has attracted some 20 per cent of US teens to Twitch, Kick’s rival, according to Pew Research Centre. It has also created niche celebrities with avid fan bases.

Mr Craven’s Kick has sought to boost the platform’s popularity further by sponsoring the Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Everton Football Club.

In late September, Mr Craven met streamer Paul Denino, or “Ice Poseidon”, when he visited Australia. Famous for distasteful stunts and a fan base called the “Purple Army”, Mr Denino has hundreds of thousands of subscribers on Kick and his videos clock millions of views.

Mr Denino and two others live-streamed themselves on the Kick platform hiring an escort at an apartment in Brisbane in which they showed her face online. An account in Mr Craven’s name posted laughing emojis in the chat section of the stream while it took place.

Marcus Graham, a former top executive at Twitch and veteran live-streamer, described the behaviour as “incredibly inappropriate and incredibly unsafe”. “Those who can’t see what is wrong with it is the audience Kick is trying to go after,” he said.

Mr Craven was one of 26 debutants on last year’s Young Rich List, entering at age 27 with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. Stake.com is the shirt sponsor of English Premier League team Watford.

Silence condemned

Mr Denino was arrested in Thailand for inappropriate behaviour at a Bangkok restaurant prior to his arrival in Australia. He was later released after issuing an apology.

After a barrage of criticism of the video, Mr Craven responded by outlining new community guidelines, but streamers condemned his silence on his own participation.

“Ed did put out a tweet to discuss changes happening at Kick, however, has taken no accountability for his own actions during that stream, that he allowed this stream to carry on,” a live-streamer known as SailorPeach, 31, told The Australian Financial Review.

Mr Craven declined to comment.

The fast-growing streaming service has offered a 95-5 revenue split with the creators, who make money through subscriptions and donations on the platform, with the hopes of luring young talent away from larger streaming services such as Twitch.

Some streamers who had been sponsored by Stake.com decamped to Kick after Twitch began enforcing a ban on certain gambling live-streams.

The platform prominently features streamers playing games on his online casino, Stake.com, which critics say promotes gambling to children since under-18s are big users of live-streaming.

This is despite the fact Australians are technically banned from using Stake.com, which is run out of Australia. The site is geo-blocked from Australia.

“They are showcasing gambling in a very positive light to impressionable kids,” Mr Graham said. Kick asks users to confirm they are above the age of 18 when viewing certain content, including gambling.

Australian regulators say they cannot intervene. The communications watchdog can apply to the Federal Court to fine a business up to $281,700 for each advertisement that promotes prohibited interactive gambling services, such as casino-style slots.

However, the Australian Communications and Media Authority acknowledged it had limited power to rein in global platforms.

“Prohibition includes the publication of these advertisements on a website accessible by Australians, but if and only if the ACMA is satisfied that the majority of persons who access the content are physically present in Australia,” a spokesman for ACMA said.

“This potentially limits the reach of the advertising prohibition for websites that have a global audience such as Kick, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.”

Promoter

Especially: one who assumes the financial responsibilities of a sporting event (such as a boxing match) including contracting with the principals, renting the site, and collecting gate receipts.

He was a promoter of boxing, pro wrestling, martial arts and the health and well-being sector. He combined both news, journalism, advertising and various promotions in the course of business. Promotions were both traditional and online based.

More examples: 

As a promoter, the model significantly reduces costs, especially for the middle shows on a three, four or five night run.—Dave Brooks, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2023

Mike O’Malley, who was also the series showrunner, starred in the role of Charlie Gully, a rival promoter.—Joe Otterson, Variety, 25 Sep. 2023

Lam was a promoter of the crypto exchange JPEX, which was publicly admonished last week by the Hong Kong’s version of the SEC, the Securities and Futures Commission, or SFC. - Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 19 Sep. 2023

Quotes

“Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” - Bruce Lee @BruceLee #BruceLee #quote #water #bewatermyfriend #martialarts #combatsports #life #world #media 

SEJ Paid Organic LinkedIn

SEJ's Brooke with another insightful and educational feature on organic vs paid social media. Numerous valid points. In theory it would make strategic sense to balance the risk and adopt and execute both paid and organic. On my own experience as an agent and longtime online publisher I discovered with a number of our clients that one they stopped paying for paid social media results their online visibility and exposure via social media greatly diminished. Sometimes it can be better to build and ramp up at your own pace, in your own natural and organic way - and not be so reliant upon others, be it big tech platforms or other. Platforms have been known to pull the rug out from people, so a Plan A,.B.and C, as well as other safeguards and fool-proof formula is recommended. Own website/s are greatly recommended and the sites can then link to the channels. Don't put the cart before the horse as the old saying goes..I'm most greatly that I focussed on organic growth and development many moons ago. So all SEO,.SEM, social media with the.main business model, aims and objectives in mind. Build, test and improve. Success! 

WWE FASTLANE ® DELIVERS RECORDS FOR VIEWERSHIP, GATE & SPONSORSHIP   

STAMFORD, Conn., October 9, 2023 – WWE®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today announced that Fastlane, which emanated from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, became the most-watched and highest-grossing Fastlane in company history. The premium live event set new Fastlane records for viewership, gate and sponsorship.

Viewership for Fastlane was up 71 percent versus the previous record set in 2021. The sold-out show marked the largest gate ever for any Fastlane, up more than 31 percent versus the previous record set in Cleveland in 2016, and became the highest-grossing WWE event ever held in Indianapolis.

In addition, Fastlane sponsorship revenue was up 60 percent versus the previous record set in 2021.

About WWE

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), is an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, TNT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in approximately 165 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network. Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

09.21.2023

Smackdown Returns To USA Network as part of Five-Year Agreement Between WWE and NBCUniversal

WWE to Make NBC Primetime Debut with Launch of Four Network Specials

STAMFORD, Conn., Sep. 21, 2023 – WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), and NBCUniversal have agreed to a five-year domestic media rights partnership that will bring Friday Night SmackDown back to USA Network beginning October 2024. Additionally, beginning in the 2024/25 season, WWE will produce four primetime specials per year that will air on NBC, marking the first time WWE will air on the network in primetime.

SmackDown will come exclusively to NBCU as one of television’s longest-running programs, regularly rating as the No. 1 show in the 18-49 advertising demographic on Friday nights and featuring many WWE Superstars including John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and Rey Mysterio.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” said WWE President Nick Khan. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

“It’s a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU’s decades-long partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network’s consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership” said Frances Berwick, Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment. “With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we’ll continue to use the power of our portfolio to super-serve this passionate fanbase.”

As part of WWE and NBCUniversal’s longstanding relationship, USA Network is currently home to WWE NXT and WWE Monday Night Raw, which is the #2 cable entertainment program in 2023 in the 18-49 demo. Demonstrating the deeply engaged WWE audience on USA, WWE NXT (+27%) and WWE Monday Night Raw (+15%) are up double-digits year-over-year in the target demographic. WWE Monday Night Raw and WWE NXT will continue to air on USA Network through September 2024.

In addition, since 2021, Peacock has been the exclusive home of WWE Network in the U.S. where Peacock subscribers can stream thousands of hours of on-demand programming from WWE including original series, groundbreaking documentaries, fan-favorite shows from the WWE archives, and premium live events like WrestleMania, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, Summer Slam, and more. WWE continues to drive high engagement on the platform, with this April’s WrestleMania 39 livestream delivering a record-breaking weekend for Peacock as its highest weekend usage to-date.

# # #

About WWE

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), is an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, TNT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in approximately 165 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network. Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

About NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our theme parks and consumer experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, USA Network, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Universal Studio Group, and have world-renowned theme parks and attractions through Universal Destinations & Experiences. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About TKO

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company that comprises UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. Together, our organizations reach more than 1 billion TV households in approximately 170 countries, and we organize more than 350 live events year-round, attracting over one million fans. TKO is majority owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), a global sports and entertainment company.

09.12.2023

Endeavor Announces Close of UFC® And WWE® Transaction to Create TKO Group Holdings, a Premier Sports and Entertainment Company

New Company to Begin Trading Today, September 12, on the New York Stock Exchange Under “TKO” Ticker Symbol

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. & STAMFORD, Conn. (September 12, 2023) – Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) (“Endeavor”) and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (previously NYSE: WWE) (“WWE”) today announced the close of their previously announced agreement and the launch of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) (“TKO”).

TKO brings together UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment, to create a new premium sports and entertainment company serving more than one billion young and diverse fans1, reaching viewers in 180 countries, and producing more than 350 annual live events. Through this combination, TKO will leverage Endeavor’s expertise in areas including domestic and international media rights, ticket sales and yield optimization, event operations, global partnerships, licensing, and premium hospitality to drive revenue growth.

“The creation of TKO marks an exciting new chapter for UFC and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor and TKO. “Given their continued connectivity to the Endeavor network, we are confident in our ability to accelerate their respective growth and unlock long-term sustainable value for shareholders. With UFC and WWE under one roof, we will provide unrivaled experiences for more than a billion passionate fans worldwide.”

“This is the culmination of a decades-long partnership between Endeavor and WWE across strategic initiatives including talent representation and media rights. Given our collaborative, trusted relationship and Endeavor’s incredible track record of success growing UFC, we believe WWE is optimally positioned for future growth and success as part of TKO,” said Vince McMahon, Executive Chairman of TKO. “Our focus remains on delivering for our fans across the globe as we take the business to the next level alongside UFC and Endeavor.”

TKO will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TKO,” with Endeavor holding a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders holding a 49% interest in the new company, on a fully diluted basis.

Leadership Team

As previously announced, TKO is led by:

Ariel Emanuel, Chief Executive Officer, who continues as Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor;

Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, who continues as President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor;

Andrew Schleimer, Chief Financial Officer; and

Seth Krauss, Chief Legal Officer, who continues as Chief Legal Officer of Endeavor.

Dana White is now Chief Executive Officer of UFC and Lawrence Epstein remains Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UFC. Nick Khan continues at WWE in the role of President.

The Board of Directors of TKO is led by Vince McMahon as Executive Chairman of the Board and consists of 11 members, including Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Shapiro, and Mr. Khan, in addition to the following directors:

Peter C.B. Bynoe, Senior Advisor at DLA Piper LLP;

Egon P. Durban, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Silver Lake;

Steven R. Koonin, Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Hawks, LLC;

Jonathan A. Kraft, President of the Kraft Group LLC;

Sonya E. Medina, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reach Resilience;

Nancy R. Tellem, Executive Chairperson and Chief Media Officer of Eko; and

Carrie Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Opendoor Technologies Inc.

Advisors

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors to Endeavor, Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Endeavor, and Alvarez & Marsal served as integration advisor to Endeavor. The Raine Group served as lead financial advisor to WWE. J.P. Morgan and Moelis & Company LLC served as financial advisors to WWE. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal advisor to WWE, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to WWE’s controlling stockholder, McMahon.

# # #

About Endeavor

Endeavor (NYSE: EDR) is a global sports and entertainment company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and engaging storytellers, brands, live events and experiences. The company is comprised of industry leaders including entertainment agency WME; and sports, fashion, events and media company IMG. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation, sports operations & advisory, event & experiences management, media production & distribution, experiential marketing and brand licensing.

About TKO

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company that comprises UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. Together, our organizations reach more than 1 billion TV households in approximately 180 countries, and we organize more than 350 live events year-round, attracting over one million fans. TKO is majority owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), a global sports and entertainment company.

About UFC®

UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 228 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.

About WWE®

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), is an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, TNT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network. Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

Pro Wrestling News

Former two-time NXT Champion Karrion Kross was asked who he thought was the GOAT during a recent interview with Chris Van Vilet. Kross explained that it was the Rattlesnake who not only took pro-wrestling to the next level, but saved WWE during its Monday Night War against WCW.

Well, I think to me, the GOAT is the guy that did the most for the business. Not necessarily, had to be the best wrestler. But the guy that did meant the most to our business, and the guy that saved [it] in my eyes, saved the WWE. Steve Austin. Yeah, I mean, what Steve did, and then to be injured and retire at 39. I mean, I keep forgetting this and until people remind me, well, I don’t see Steve as much as I used to. But he quit. He had to quit because of a broken neck at 39. Yeah, he got back in and out. But I mean, think about that. I mean. And he took a couple of swings. They put one label on him, but when he found that niche, him and Vince The Attitude Era, but it was Stone Cold, Shawn, Mike Tyson. And we were arguing about the NWO who’s gonna win a match? And can we go with three minutes instead of 10? I mean, it’s just bullsh*t. But that’s, that’s when all of a sudden where Bischoff didn’t know how to run a company. Then he put himself into it, which made it worse.

Pro Wrestling News

Ric Flair on wrestling, Vince McMahon - Octobere 12, 2023

On Vince McMahon selling WWE:

To be honest with you, I was surprised. I never thought he would ever walk away from it but I think he probably felt the time was there and sold it for, you know, he actually put a price on it that he thought no one would ever pay and then along came somebody and paid the price. And I think he put 3 billion more than anybody ever estimated. And that’s just what I’ve been told and what I’ve read, doesn’t mean it’s true, but I think he thought nobody would ever buy it. And then they came along and bought it. The stock has held high and they continue to forge forward and they continue to be, in my opinion, the most entertaining product. Well, I think wrestling’s more entertaining period than any others for me. I think Tony’s done a great job with AEW too. The fact that Tony’s picking up more programming. The people at Turner aren’t dumb, they realized that the program is important and it’s keeping the ratings up and you know as an example last night, they loaded up the NXT show last night, did you notice? They’re really trying to beat Tony’s Wednesday night show. So that remains to be seen but I don’t think The Undertaker and everyone will be there every Tuesday night but it’s interesting to see the chess match between the two.

Clarifies that he doesn’t want to wrestle again:

No, that was completely taken out of context. No, I have no desire to wrestle again. I said I could, because I feel great. And if I did, I could be better because I would learn from the mistakes I made getting ready last time, which was not hydrating. I weighed 218 and I didn’t drink any water that day, a combination of nerves and everything else. We really had worked out what you would have thought, Mike, as a decent match, not great by any means. But when I mentioned that I didn’t feel good, everybody thought I was having a heart attack and that was a blatant error on my part but no, I feel great. I’m so damn…I’m probably the only guy in the business that doesn’t have a knee replacement or hip replacement or anything. I feel great.”

Pro Wrestling News

Eric Bischoff Points Out Jade Cargill As An 'Interesting' Exception For WWE

Jade Cargill's arrival to WWE has attracted a lot of buzz, which was heightened when the former AEW TBS Champion made a special appearance on the WWE Fastlane pre-show alongside WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque. While many were expecting the company to change her ring name, WWE's newest signee was introduced with the same moniker she had assumed in AEW — her real name, Jade Cargill. 

Speaking on the "83 Weeks" podcast, former WCW President Eric Bischoff pointed out the rarity of a WWE Superstar performing under their real name, especially one that was previously used in a promotion outside of WWE.

"There's no gimmick attorney Mike Dockins, trademark or copyright issues. But [the] point is, typically WWE wants to own that name, they want to merchandise that name," said Cargill. "So, they're basically doing a licensing deal with her as opposed to her showing up and being a talent, and they own the license or they own the trademarks. I think that's very interesting, and it does definitely break the paradigm. That is not what WWE normally does, over the decades. Fascinating to me."

Shortly after her signing was announced, Cargill told "The Ringer Wrestling Show" that keeping the Jade Cargill name was highly important to her when she considered joining WWE. "I built equity into it, and I've done outside PR. I put life into my name, so that's something that I didn't want to let go [of]," Cargill said.

Pro Wrestling News

Paul Heyman Says WWE NXT Star Could One Day Be 'Leading The Industry'

Bruno Sammartino. Hulk Hogan. Bret Hart. Steve Austin. The Rock. John Cena. Roman Reigns. Tiffany Stratton? Could a woman be the next face of WWE? According to Paul Heyman — who boasts a strong track record of forecasting the future stars of the industry — Stratton has every requisite tool to lead the sports entertainment leader into the next generation.

Speaking with Fox Sports, Heyman put Stratton in the same group as some of the other physical specimens who've dominated the WWE's women's division over the past few years, warning some of those main roster stars to brace for the inevitable storm coming their way. "Tiffany Stratton is someone that Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair and the main roster women better keep their eyes on because she's another one who, if she continues on this path, is going to be a significant player in the future of this industry and leading the industry into the future," Heyman said.

While Stratton has been wowing "WWE NXT" audiences for the past 18 months or so, main roster fans only recently got a glimpse of the "Blockbuster Blonde" during her feud with Becky Lynch. Heyman believes the feud with "The Man" — which included a brutal Extreme Rules Match — was a litmus test for Stratton that she passed with flying colors. "Tiffany held her own in a very tense situation with Becky Lynch and looked great doing it," Heyman said. "And it wasn't because Becky Lynch knew how to carry her through the segment. It was because Tiffany knew how to present herself, and she did it quite well – very impressive." Stratton — who began pro wrestling training in August 2021 — has been widely praised for learning the business so quickly, to the point where many believe she's ready for a main roster run. 

Pro Wrestling News

Dave Meltzer Explains Primary Difference Between WWE And AEW Press Conferences

During a recent interview with "McGuire on Wrestling," Dave Meltzer was asked to weigh in on the differences between WWE and AEW press conferences.

"It's so different at a WWE press conference compared to an AEW press conference," Meltzer said. "The talent isn't that much different, but the Paul Levesque versus the Tony Khan is so different. Tony Khan, you ask him real business questions. Paul Levesque, you don't. It's just very different. WWE, they don't like to talk about business. When people have asked business questions to Paul Levesque, he tries to joke and whatever."

Meltzer added, "Tony Khan will give you a 20-minute answer. Sometimes he won't answer and still go 20 minutes talking about other things. But you can read a lot into it. With Levesque, I watch his answers to questions and I don't really read anything into it because it's not that serious. Even when Tony's not answering a question, I can read into a lot of his thoughts because he hints around about a lot of stuff without directly answering it."

Khan has been known to give long-winded answers during AEW's post-pay-per-view media scrums over the years. Of course, fans will always remember the All Out 2022 media scrum where CM Punk's comments on Colt Cabana and The Elite preceded a backstage altercation.

As of late, WWE has routinely put on press conferences featuring WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H and several top talent. The most recent one following WWE Fastlane stood out thanks to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso partaking in celebratory drinks on a bus prior to their scheduled appearance.

Pro Wrestling News

Nick Aldis Explains Balancing Part-Time WWE Producer Role With Indie Commitments

Earlier this year, Nick Aldis finished his latest run with Impact Wrestling and it seemed as though he was bound for WWE. However, rather than appearing as a wrestler, Aldis has started working for the company part-time as a producer. Appearing on the "McGuire On Wrestling" podcast, Aldis opened up about his WWE role and balancing it with wrestling in the independent scene.

"I think it's safe to say I'm working with WWE, yes," Aldis said. "That's the way I look at it — I'm working with them at the moment. At least from my point of view, I feel like it's been very positive, and I've enjoyed it. And it's been rewarding, and I'm very obviously flattered that they would want my input and expertise, ... especially with helping some of the younger talent that are coming up from NXT."

Aldis shared that he's learning from the job just as much as he is passing on his knowledge to others, but his status as a full WWE producer is "still pending." As for his in-ring career, the former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion is still active outside of WWE and has to consider the schedule of his wife, former WWE star Mickie James.

"Fortunately, WWE [has] been very understanding of [my schedule]," Aldis said. "There have been times where I've been unable to make certain shows because of my independent commitments, and also because of Mickie's commitments. ... Fitting it all in is a challenge, but certainly fun. ... Basically, I'm currently attending 'Raw' and 'SmackDown' whenever I can."

Describing the environment backstage at WWE, Aldis said that it's a complicated production with many moving parts. The former Impact star stated that he simply tries to contribute while still learning as much as he can from the experience.

UFC/MMA News

Dana’s stunning Volk reward revealed as Aussie rockets up UFC rich list - October 12, 2023

Alexander Volkanovski’s decision to fight for the UFC lightweight title on 11 days notice has seen him rewarded with a huge new contract deal which, his agent says, now makes him one the highest paid fighters not named Conor McGregor.

Already regarded by many as the No.1 fighter on the UFC roster, Volkanovski has again gone and confirmed his greatness by agreeing to rematch lightweight king Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 on Sunday week.

Should the Wollongong fighter win in his second attempt to become a two-division champion, it can be revealed he will continue to fight in the lightweight division, defending that strap ahead of his UFC featherweight crown.

Boxing: Tszyu vs Mendoza SUN 15th OCT 12PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, Volkanovski’s manager Ash Belcastro also revealed the Aussie superstar had this week become one the highest paid fighters in the UFC – having signed off on a bumper new contract after accepting the Abu Dhabi showdown.

The decision also means Australian sports fans have now been gifted one of the biggest fight weeks in the nation’s history – with Volkanovski and undefeated Australian boxer Tim Tszyu set to headline world title blockbusters within days of one another.

Tszyu defends his WBO super welterweight strap against American Brian Mendoza on the Gold Coast this Sunday.

Then just seven days later, Volk will fight for ‘champ champ’ status against Makhachev.

While initially expecting to be out of action until next January, the Aussie superstar has been parachuted in to save UFC 294 as a late replacement for Brazilian Charles Oliveira, who was ruled out after being seriously cut during a sparring session.

UFC president Dana White revealed on Wednesday that Oliveira had split his eyebrow “wide open” during a training mishap and, after being forced to withdraw from the title fight, had been replaced by Volkanovski -- who needed only one phone call to step in.

All of which means the UFC featherweight champ has now been given a second shot at becoming a two-division king, having previously faced Makhachev at UFC 284 in Perth, back in February.

On that occasion, The Great suffered a narrow, and contentious, decision loss.

Yet when called this week, the fighter agreed almost immediately to the rematch, despite having only returned home from a family holiday two days earlier.

Volkanovski is also only recently recovered from elbow surgery, but will now jet out for Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

As a result, UFC boss White has signed the superstar to an exciting new contract that, according to his management team, now puts him up among the highest paid fighters in the company.

Yet just as importantly, a win over Makhachev on such short notice now gives The Great a chance to confirm his legacy, indefinitely.

“Because if Volk gets off the couch and puts Makhachev away,” Belcastro said, “well, you have to ask ‘how good is he?’.”

And as for the new UFC deal earned by his willingness to throw down?

“Alex has been very well compensated,” Belcastro told Fox Sports Australia shortly after the deal was signed off.

“We’ve signed a great new agreement – not just for this fight but beyond -- and Volk is now at the top echelon of UFC athletes (in terms of pay).

“It’s not just money, either. There is a whole lot more around it and he has been given some really good guarantees.

“Typically in fight sports, the heavier you are the more you get paid.

“But with Alex, as a featherweight … he’s doing really well.

“As far as featherweights are concerned, he was already the highest paid fighter ever outside Conor McGregor.

“But this new deal, it puts him in a great position to look after his family and even beyond that.”

Asked what happens if Volkanovski owns both the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles after Sunday week, Belcastro said: “If we fight and win we stay at lightweight”.

When announcing the fight on Wednesday, White heaped praised on not only the fight readiness of Volkanovski but his entire team – which includes the likes of Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France.

“And (staying ready) has been a recipe for success for us as a team,” Belcastro agreed.

“We tell our athletes to stay consistent, always fight.

“With the beast of the UFC and their PR, the momentum they get … athletes have the opportunity to grow with that and build a brand.

“Which is what we’ve done.

“There is no better way to be relevant than stay in the gym and keep fighting.

“Everything else seems to follow consistency.”

Asked about Volkanovski’s decision to fight, his manager continued: “He’s a gamer.

“Straight away, Volk was excited.

“He just loves it.

“And the older he gets, the wiser he is getting about how to train and how to understand the sport.

“I think that’s his point of difference.

“He has a great team around him too but he’s just so grounded and focused on what he wants to achieve.

“He’s the ultimate competitor and that really shines through.

“Obviously though, we still had to sort through some facts around what was being presented to us.

“But as soon as he looked at the opportunity everything instantly clicked into gear.”

Within the hour, the fighter had taken advice from a range of members inside Team Volkanovski, including his manager, coach, dietitian, physiotherapist, and head trainer.

He will now fly out for Abu Dhabi this Sunday.

“Volk will still have to cut weight, but fighting at lightweight definitely makes things easier,” Belcastro said.

“Already, he’s in a good spot physically.

“Of course, he isn’t coming into this after a camp of 12 weeks.

“So we are behind the eight ball there.

“But he’s such an ultimate professional, he really is always fit and ready to go.

“So while he has been away enjoying the school holidays with his family, his idea of being on the couch isn’t like me and you.”

Belcastro also confirmed that, only recently, Volkanovski had verbally agreed to defend his UFC featherweight strap against Ilia Topuira next January.

“Initially, we were wanting to fight again this year, fight November or December,” he said.

“But the earliest date the UFC had was January so we said ‘OK, we’ll take it’.

“So that fight was verbally agreed.

“Volk was going to kick camp off at the end of this month.”

Logan Paul Claims Dillon Danis Fight Still On Despite Bloody Microphone Attack - 13th October 2023

Paul says the Danis fight will go on.

WWE superstar Logan Paul says the boxing match against Dillon Danis will take place as advertised.

Things took quite a turn during the pre-fight press conference for Paul vs. Danis. While the two will co-headline a card that will see KSI and Tommy Fury serve as the main event, there's no doubt that the lion's share of attention is on Paul and Danis. At the end of their time during the press conference, Logan Paul threw an object at the legs of Danis. "El Jefe" responded by hitting his opponent over the head with a microphone, bloodying him in the process.

After the physical encounter, many wondered if Paul would be medically cleared to fight Danis this Saturday (October 14). The question became even more pronounced after Danis and backup fighter Mike Perry went face-to-face for a staredown.

It appears the social media star has answered the question of whether or not the fight against Danis will happen, taking to his X account to claim the following:

Dillon can’t escape me. The fight is very much happening, the stakes just got higher," Paul wrote.

It'll be interesting to see if Logan Paul's words hold true. One of the fears was that if the cut was deep enough to where it required stitches, the fight could be ruled out.

KSI told media members backstage that Paul is still ready to go and he's "very angry." He claimed the injury was just a "little bump." KSI insists it won't be enough to cancel the fight and that Logan Paul will be fine.

MMA News

UFC Announces Partnership With New Drug Testing Provider, Legal Action Against USADA Possible

UFC is moving on from USADA with this new provider.

There's a new anti-doping partner for the UFC.

The relationship between the UFC and USADA has gone sour. On October 11, USADA CEO Travis Tygart issued a statement announcing that effective January 2024, the drug testing agency would no longer be in business with the UFC.

The statement didn't go over too smoothly with the UFC brass, as Tygart said the partnership had become "untenable." Tygart mentioned issues with Conor McGregor re-entering the testing pool and Joe Rogan bashing USADA on his podcast.

During a media scrum, it was announced by the UFC that replacing USADA will be Drug Free Sport International. Hunter Campbell, UFC's Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, told reporters that a legal letter has been sent to USADA, demanding an apology and retraction of its initial statement. Campbell also remarked that what USADA has done to Conor McGregor is "disgusting," and the agency could be legally liable (via Aaron Bronsteter).

UFC Senior Vice President of Athlete Health & Performance, Jeff Novitzky, also chimed in, calling USADA's statement "garbage." He also claimed that fighters were frustrated with the USADA system due to the way its whereabouts policy was handled.

Novitzky promised that the UFC and Drug Free Sport would have "smarter, more efficient, more effective technology" with the new system being implemented. He also said it will be far more convenient for the fighters.

Time will tell how Drug Free Sport International meshes with the UFC and its athletes. As far as USADA is concerned, things have gotten ugly quickly, and it could lead to a battle in court with the UFC's legal team.

SEJ Google Core Update 3

SEJ's Matt on the upcoming and third Google Core Update this year. We're conditioned to the freqent Google updates by now. One thing constant is change right. Just another day in the office in paradise. Business as per usual. No changes to report here. If anything, search results may be up a bit. The more we focus on an area and do online publishing about it, the more the rankings go up for us on that niche. Logical. Back to the webcode. 

AEW Facebook

AEW's 'Rated R Superstar'. Adam, Adam, Adam. Rated R for ratings? We will know for sure soon enough. 

Pro Wrestling

“Roman Reigns, who is now celebrating day number 1,133 as the Undisputed Champion, he hasn’t been around since SummerSlam. And if you look at Paul Heyman, Paul looks like he’s aged 20 years since Roman Reigns hasn’t been around.” - Michael Cole @MichaelCole during WWE @WWE Fastlane broadcast #MichaelCole #quote #WWEFastlane #Fastlane #WWE #RomanReigns #PaulHeyman #TheBloodline #SmackDown #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainment #popculture #combatsports #PLE #PPV #legend #legends #broadcast #broadcaster #broadcasting #buzz #media 

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life.” - Marcus Aurelius #MarcusAurelius #quote #life #stars #self #think #elements #dust #mind #mbs #universe #world #media 

Nikola Tesla

Tesla was a man who came to know the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Tesla was a man ahead of his time, but his further groundbreaking discoveries were not something investors were interested in anymore. They just didn’t share his vision like they used to, which caused plenty of frustration and depressive feelings for the Croatian genius.

The invention of radio communication was attributed to him only post-mortem, which is quite sad considering that he actively fought for the patent throughout his life. Moreover, he was struggling to live a decent life as he ran out of money, while others were getting rich off of his inventions.

Lastly, he was exposed to living for free in Waldorf Astoria and his dream projects were demolished. He stuck with his vision, still writing about his projects till the very end. Tesla spent his days with a white pigeon that followed him everywhere. He also gave some interviews where he predicted future technologies.

His last years weren’t as we would’ve hoped. Modern technology was a disgrace, he said. He was honored during his 75th birthday by Einstein and other Nobel laureates. After his death, his writing was confiscated and never revealed. It is rumored that his discovery would’ve ended the war and that they were too revolutionary.

#NikolaTesla #Tesla #invention #invention #innovation #Genius #future #futurist #history #disruptor #tech #biz #media 

“Mind Control is Dependent on Routine” - How 2020 Paved the Way for RFK

Roseanne Barr joins Patrick Bet-David, Adam Sosnick, and Vincent Oshana to discuss RFK running as an Independent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7CUkw0D5Sc&t=102s&ab_channel=Valuetainment

Valuetainment YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@ValuetainmentTV 

#Valuetainment #RFK #DonaldTrump #politics #world #worldnews #video #news #media

Boxing News

“It bums me out that 3 weeks ago I DM’d you Nina’s lawsuit details because of your ignorance & your response was “Oh Jesus. Did not know that. Not cool.” … Then you come on here talking about fight club rules like you’re the referee. This twisted ‘promotion’ has gone FAR beyond the fight game & you know that. Plus, I’m not the one suing him" - Logan Paul @LoganPaul 

“He picked a fight with an innocent woman who is standing up for herself the only way she can: by holding a predator legally accountable for breaking the law — any person who doesn’t understand that is a delusional twat. The lawsuit is HER choice, and I fully support her. Now I get to break his face in front of millions of people & ruin his entire life. Win win” - Logan Paul

Video

Impaulsive YouTube

Logan & Jake Paul Face Off, Address Steroid Accusations, Expose Dillon Danis - IMPAULSIVE 394

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNTxRuLiJ40&t=223s&ab_channel=IMPAULSIVE

Video

Logan Paul YouTube

My Boxing Return

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwNpwbpszxA&t=7s&ab_channel=LoganPaul

DAZN YouTube

OFFICIAL FIGHT DOCUMENTARY | KSI vs. Tommy Fury & Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymh7ri2O3Mg&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

#boxing #boxingnews #LoganPaul #DillonDavis #PaulDavis #Misfits #Misfitsboxing  #sportsnews #entertainment #popculture #promotion #boxingpromotion #sportspromotion #broadcast #broadcasting #PPV #PayPerView #video #videos #trends #buzz #hype #media

Pro Wrestling

WWE NXT @WWENXT October 10, 2023

Asuka def Roxanne Perez

The Brawling Brutes with Tyler Bate def Gallus - Pub Rules Match

Ilja Dragunov def "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio

Lola Vice def Dani Palmer - NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament

Carmelo Hayes with John Cena def Bron Breakker with Paul Heyman

Introductions/Features included:

Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes opened the show

John Cena @JohnCena 

The Undertaker @undertaker 

Jade Cargill @Jade_Cargill with Shawn Michaels @ShawnMichaels 

Brian Pillman Jr @FlyinBrianJr is now Lexis King

Baron Corbin @BaronCorbinWWE 

The Family talk business with Cody Rhodes

Video Highlights via WWE Official YouTube

Cody Rhodes makes THREE major announcements on NXT: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64jUV1EPR-I&ab_channel=WWE

The Undertaker, John Cena, Cody Rhodes & more on the biggest NXT ever: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9LyM9e0DLg&t=168s&ab_channel=WWE

FULL MATCH — Carmelo Hayes with John Cena vs. Bron Breakker with Paul Heyman: NXT, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Yioy7mWrU&ab_channel=WWE

John Cena helps Carmelo Hayes beat Bron Breakker: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XGYU5TVq_Y&ab_channel=WWE

John Cena imparts wisdom on Bron Breakker: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOPj2PYpFLs&ab_channel=WWE

Is Bron Breakker a "Paul Heyman Guy?": NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLK6LrMXh2g&t=7s&ab_channel=WWE

A Pillman becomes a King on NXT: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr1AdSWa0V8&t=6s&ab_channel=WWE

Jade Cargill rolls into NXT with Shawn Michaels: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv58I5xhZPY&ab_channel=WWE

Cody Rhodes announces the Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfAFyxcULS0&ab_channel=WWE

Media Man: Says likely the greatest episode of NXT ever. Massive thumbs up.

#WWENXT #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling 

#CodyRhodes #JohnCena #PaulHeyman #Asuka #DirtyDom #JudgementDay #IljaDragunov #JadeCargill #ShawnMichaels #Undertaker #LAKnight #BrianPillman #TheFamily #BronBreakker #CarmeloHayes #BaronCorbin #combatsports #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #USANetwork #USA #broadcasting #trends #trending #buzz #hype #ratings #TV #media

Wrestling

"Here is your winner. The Rated R Supestar, Adam Copeland". 

"..All you want Christian Cage. You got plenty of trouble coming up on Saturday night on Collision" Tony Schiavone

#AEWDynamite #TitleTuesday 

Pro Wrestling 

ROH World+NJPW Strong Openweight Titles: Eddie Kingston vs Minoru Suzuki | 10/10/23 Dynamite Buy In

All Elite Wrestling YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/AEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u5H53SpjOc&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Title Tuesday Buy In" - Renee Paquette

#AEWDynamite #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #TitleTNT #TitleTuesday #ROH #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #TBS #video #broadcast #broadcasting #trend #trending #TV #media 

Quotes

"Anybody wants to call me the Triple H of Ring of Honor, I think that's hilarious. I would prefer to call Triple H the CM Punk of the WWE" - CM Punk #CMPunk #quote #wrestling #prowresting #ROH #WWE #TripleH #media 

"When people show loyalty to you, you take care of those who are with you. It's how it goes with everything. If you have a small circle of friends, and one of those friends doesn't stay loyal to you, they don't stay your friend for very long" - John Cena @JohnCena #JohnCena #quote #loyalty #friends #life #mindset #world #mbs #media 

"You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way" - Johnny Cash #JohnnyCash #quote #limitations #life #music #legend #media 

"Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent People Ignore" - Albert Einstein #AlbertEinstein #Einstein #quote #strong #life #mindset #mbs #world #media 

"Have more than you show, Speak less than you know" - William Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Shakespeare #quote #know #legend #wisdom #mindset #mbs #media 

"The laws of nature are written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics" - Galileo Galilei 

#GalileoGalilei #Galileo #quote #nature #god #language #Mathematics #world #universe #mbs #media 

"Even if the character is something that seems ridiculous on paper, there's a human element to everything. Otherwise, we don't connect with it" -

Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes , WWE @WWE pro wrestling legend #CodyRhodes #Rhodes #quote #character #human #elment #connect #connection #wrestling #prowrestling #WWE #legend #media 

"Obviously, people are going to think what they think, and I've never had any problems proving people wrong. I do what I do" - Chris Jericho @IAmJericho #ChrisJericho #quote #people #wrestling #prowrestling #mindset #mbs #world #legend #media 

"There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how you use them" - Friedrich Nietzsche #FriedrichNietzsche #Nietzsche #quote #rocks #road #blocks #stones #mindset #attitude #world #mbs #media 

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" - Thomas A. Edison #ThomasEdison #Edison #quote #failed #success #mindset #attitude #mbs #world #media 

"Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind" - Leo Burnett #LeoBurnett #Burnett #quote #products #factory #brands #brand #ads #creative #creaticity #mind #mindset #biz #media #mediaman 

"When you look across the ring at me, and you look into my eyes, you are not immmortal, you are not an icon; you are just like everybody else. You are an obstacle, and I will run you over. And that is not a threat, that is not a warning; that is just a fact! Because brother, I am THE GAME...and I AM THAT...DAMN...GOOD!" - Triple H @TripleH #TripleH #quote #wrestling #prowrestling #fact #game #thegame #combatsports #entertainment #legend #media 

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution: - Abraham Lincoln #AbrahamLincoln #Lincoln #quote #wethepeople #prople #constitution #USA #media 

"The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves" - Niccolo Machiavelli #Machiavelli #quote #lion #traps #fox #wolves #mindset #mbs #world #media 

"A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something" - Plato #plato #wise #mindset #mbs #world #media 

"There are no excuses in fighting. You can be playing a team sport and have a good game, and you can lose. In fighting, it's all on me. If I go out there and lose, then it's my fault. I like that" - Alexander Volkanovski, UFC @UFC legend #AlexanderVolkanovski #Volk #UFC #MMA 

"The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows" - Aristotle Onassis 

#AristotleOnassis #Aristotle #quote #secret #business #biz #wisdom #work #world #mbs #media 

“Don’t tell me how good you make it; tell me how good it makes me when I use it.” – Leo Burnett #LeoBurnett #quote #good #ad #ads #advertising #creativity #biz #adbiz #media #mediaman 

No matter how niche or mainstream your market is, great content remains a significant focus for SEO #niche #mainstream #market #content #creation #creator #contentcreator #contentcreation #seo #sem #SearchEngineOptimization #serps #focus #authority #expert #digital #pr #exposure #creativity #nichenews #nichemedia #niche #media #mediaman

Pro Wrestling

AEW @AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday

Buy  In:

Eddie Kingston def Minoru Suzuki to retain the ROH World & NJPW Strong Openweight Titles

Bryan Danielson def Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) to become #1 Contender for the TNT Title

Powerhouse Hobbs (w/Don Callis) def Chris Jericho

Orange Cassidy def Rey Fenix (w/Alex Abrahantes) to win the AEW International Title

Wardlow def Matt Sydal

Switchblade Jay White (w/Bullet Club Gold) def Hangman Adam Page

Hikaru Shida def Saraya to win the AEW Women’s Title

Adam Copeland def Luchasaurus (w/Nick Wayne)

Media Man says: Big thumbs up. Happy Birthday Tony Khan.

Video

Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland makes his in-ring debut against Luchasaurus! | 10/9/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2A8-uKBmio&t=22s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

What did Christian Cage say before Adam Copeland's AEW in-ring debut? | 10/10/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvXJ_H5VnCA&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Former champ Hikaru Shida challenges Saraya for the AEW Women’s World Title! | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hriiEbo4ZHY&t=5s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White takes on Hangman Adam Page in a first for AEW! | 10/9/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO-Wj-ViQAU&t=13s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Did Chris Jericho feel the power of Don Callis’ new recruit Powerhouse Hobbs? | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=992vksqH7nk&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

For the first time EVER! Danielson vs Strickland for a shot at the TNT Title! | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoV7KNa-A7c&t=22s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

#AEWDynamite #TitleTuesday #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #legends #TBS #broadcast #trend #trending #buzz #hype #results #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #media 

Quotes

"I have certain things that I stand for, certain things that I believe in, and if you don't like it and you tell me to go to hell, I think that's your God-given right as a fan. It's one of those deals where I'm that one guy who is outside of that realm of good guy, bad guy. I'm just me, and it elicits a response both positive and negative" -John Cena @JohnCena #JohnCena #quote #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlinglegend #legend #goodguy #badguy #positive #life #mindset #world #mbs #media 

"The fear of death is far greater than the death itself. But the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all!" -

The Undertaker @undertaker , WWE @WWE wrestling legend #Undertaker #TheUndertaker #quote #fear #death #unknown #world #legend #media 

"We are slowed down sound and light waves, a walking bundle of frequencies tuned into the cosmos. We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music" - Albert Einstein #AlbertEinstein #Einstein #quote #sound #light #waves #frequencies #frequency #cosmos #souls #music #world #universe #mbs #media 

“When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don’t know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me . . . and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness—nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation.” - Marcus Aurelius #MarcusAurelius #quote #morning #life #mindset #beauty #mbs #world #media 

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty" - Mahatma Gandhi 

#MahatmaGandhi #Gandhi #quote #faith #humanity #ocean #world #universe #life #mbs #media 

Pro Wrestling

AEW @AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday

Buy  In:

Eddie Kingston def Minoru Suzuki to retain the ROH World & NJPW Strong Openweight Titles

Bryan Danielson def Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) to become #1 Contender for the TNT Title

Powerhouse Hobbs (w/Don Callis) def Chris Jericho

Orange Cassidy def Rey Fenix (w/Alex Abrahantes) to win the AEW International Title

Wardlow def Matt Sydal

Switchblade Jay White (w/Bullet Club Gold) def Hangman Adam Page

Hikaru Shida def Saraya to win the AEW Women’s Title

Adam Copeland def Luchasaurus (w/Nick Wayne)

Media Man says: Big thumbs up. Happy Birthday Tony Khan.

Video

Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland makes his in-ring debut against Luchasaurus! | 10/9/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2A8-uKBmio&t=22s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

What did Christian Cage say before Adam Copeland's AEW in-ring debut? | 10/10/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvXJ_H5VnCA&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Former champ Hikaru Shida challenges Saraya for the AEW Women’s World Title! | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hriiEbo4ZHY&t=5s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White takes on Hangman Adam Page in a first for AEW! | 10/9/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO-Wj-ViQAU&t=13s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Did Chris Jericho feel the power of Don Callis’ new recruit Powerhouse Hobbs? | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=992vksqH7nk&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

For the first time EVER! Danielson vs Strickland for a shot at the TNT Title! | 10/9/23 AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoV7KNa-A7c&t=22s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Pro Wrestling News

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 13, 2023

Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns to return to SmackDown.

You just know something big is about to go down with 'The Bloodline'. Promotions, terminations, shuffles, good blood, bad blood and more! Expect the unexpected, or expected!

Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle forecast to do some very fast talking. Puppet Master Mania is here.

John Cena @JohnCena will be seen again.

WWE has to mention the tremendous and history making WWE NXT @WWENXT show we witnesses this past Tuesday.

Femme Fatales. Some of the world's most beautiful and dangerous women continue to charm and terrorize the WWE Universe.

Join Michael Cole @MichaelCole and the broadcasting table for the call of the action in a few short hours!

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #RomanReigns #TheBloodline #PaulHeyman #JimmyUso #JeyUso #SoloSikoa #JohnCena #WWENXT #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingwar #legends #champions #GOAT #entertainment #popculture #FOX #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trend #trending #hype #buzz #media 

Pro Wrestling News  WWE @WWE

SmackDown. October 13, 2023  

Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns to return to SmackDown! Shake-ups in The Bloodline?

Triple H @TripleH to make his return to the blue brand. 

A massive episode of SmackDown. Appointment viewing!

Buzz: Most wrestling fans have heard of the NWA. The National Wrestling Alliance. No spoilers. Just tune in!

Join Michael Cole @MichaelCole and the broadcasting table for the call of the action in a few short hours!  

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #RomanReigns #TheBloodline #PaulHeyman #JimmyUso #JeyUso #SoloSikoa #JohnCena #TripleH #WWENXT #NWA #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingwar #legends #champions #GOAT #entertainment #popculture #FOX #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trend #trending #hype #buzz #media

Casino industry spurs $329 billion in U.S. economic activity

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. 

The casino gambling industry in the U.S. generates nearly $329 billion a year in economic activity, according to a new study by the industry’s national trade association.

The American Gaming Association released a study Monday showing the industry’s economic impact in 2022 was up 26% from 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Commercial and tribal casinos support 1.8 million jobs, including 700,000 jobs at casinos themselves or related businesses, about the same as in 2017. Those jobs generated $104 billion in wages across the country, up 40% from 2017, according to the study.

The industry paid $52.7 billion last year in taxes to federal, state and local governments, up 29% since 2017, the report said.

The report was the first such study released by the association since 2018, which presented 2017 data.

Bill Miller, president and CEO of the association, said the numbers show the casino industry’s “resiliency and continued strength” since the pandemic first hit.

“Think back to where we were a few years ago with nearly 1,000 casinos, almost all of them closed,” he said. “Today, we’re seeing record revenue in the industry.”

Miller said the association will use numbers from the survey to press its case to lawmakers in favor of gambling industry goals, including a government crackdown on unlicensed gambling operations.

The U.S. casino industry is having its best year ever this year in terms of the amount of money won from gamblers. It is on a pace to exceed the $60 billion it won from gamblers last year.

“I think it speaks to the continuing popularity of casino gambling in the United States,” said David Schwartz, a gambling historian at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. “Despite some economic headwinds, casinos remain powerful drivers of economic activity.”

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at New Jersey’s Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling industry, said money won by casinos is just part of their overall contribution to the nation’s economy.

“Casinos are often the largest employers in a region, with major commitments in terms of wages and benefits,” she said. “People employed by casinos use those wages and benefits to purchase additional goods and services, generating secondary economic impact.”

Bokunewicz said casinos spend significant sums on operating costs, including purchases of goods and services like food, linen, hotel room amenities, laundry services, and building maintenance. They also hire local builders and vendors for construction and ongoing capital improvements.

The survey examined money won from gamblers or spent at non-gambling casino businesses like restaurants and stores, including traditional casino games, sports betting and online gambling. Also surveyed was capital investment, including the building and opening of new casinos or renovations to existing ones, and spending by manufacturers of gambling devices including slot machines.

It included supply chain spending by casinos, and spending by casino workers on non-gambling items. And it also included $13.5 billion in so-called catalytic spending by casino patrons outside casinos, on things like transportation to and from a casino resort, and money spent at restaurants that are not part of casinos.

Commercial casinos employed almost 332,000 workers last year, who earned $16.3 billion in wages and benefits, and tribal casinos employed almost 265,000 workers, who earned $8 billion in wages and benefits. There also were almost 89,000 jobs at businesses serving casino patrons during trips or in casino construction and renovations, and more than 23,000 jobs at gambling equipment manufacturers.

Non-gambling revenue accounted for nearly 17% of casino revenue last year, including money from food and beverage sales, hotel rooms and other items.

‘Mr. Bitcoin Is About to Go Down Big’: Jim Cramer Expects Lower Prices - October 12, 2023

Former hedge fund manager and host of CNBC’s Mad Money, Jim Cramer Tuesday evening continued with his recent bearish stance on crypto, a stark contrast to what another hedge funder said earlier that day on CNBC.

“I can’t go out with gold because gold is not good; I can’t go out with bitcoin [BTC] because I can’t be in something where Mr. Bitcoin is about to go down big,” said Cramer.

It’s unclear if “Mr. Bitcoin” was in reference to the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, or to bitcoin in general, but Cramer’s bearishness was evident.

Although bitcoin is far off its all-time high of $68,000 reached in 2021’s bull market, the cryptocurrency is still trading up 68% since the start of the year.

Cramer had previously stated in June 2021 that he had sold most of his bitcoin holdings following China’s crackdown on crypto miners. He also said during the same time period that bitcoin had structural issues and its price would likely fall further.

Appearing on CNBC earlier on Tuesday, billionaire hedge fund giant Paul Tudor Jones said he’s a fan of both bitcoin and gold due to the combination of extensive geopolitical risk and rising U.S. government debt levels.

SBF's ex-girlfriend: He 'directed me' to steal billions from FTX - October 11, 2023

Caroline Ellison was one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s top deputies and his onetime romantic partner. On Tuesday she testified that Bankman-Fried "directed me" to steal billions from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange.

Ellison ran day-to-day operations for Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm also controlled by Bankman-Fried. She said Alameda took "around $14 billion" from FTX customers to repay debts Alameda had accumulated.

She said she also sent information to Alameda's lenders "from Sam" that made Alameda's balance look better than it was.

The crimes she said she committed at Alameda weren't done on her own. "They were committed with Sam. ... He directed me to commit these crimes."

The testimony from the 29-year-old Ellison marked her first public comments about what transpired as the FTX cryptocurrency exchange imploded last November, an unraveling that led to the arrest and indictment of the 31-year-old Bankman-Fried.

Prosecutors are arguing that Bankman-Fried embezzled billions in FTX customer funds while also defrauding investors and lenders.

Ellison, their star witness, corroborated earlier testimony from FTX and Alameda co-founder Gary Wang, who said Alameda had essentially unlimited access to FTX customer funds.

Bankman-Fried "was the one who set up these systems," Ellison said of Alameda's ability to tap into FTX customer deposits.

Ellison is one of several members of Bankman Fried's inner circle who pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to testify against Bankman-Fried, including Wang and chief engineer Nishad Singh.

She appeared in court Tuesday wearing glasses, a reddish-orange dress with black tights, and a black blazer. When asked to identify Bankman-Fried, she stood up and struggled to find him in the sea of people filling the courtroom.

Bankman-Fried’s team could try to pin some blame on Ellison too. His defense attorney argued last week that when Bankman-Fried became concerned about crypto prices going down, he urged Ellison to put on a hedge. Yet she didn’t do it, according to the attorney.

Bankman-Fried made a similar claim in a series of his unsent Twitter posts and writings that Bankman-Fried shared with crypto blogger Tiffany Fong while on house arrest.

"She continually avoided talking about risk management — dodging my suggestions — until it was too late," Bankman-Fried wrote, according to the New York Times.

The US district court judge overseeing his case, Lewis Kaplan, concluded Bankman-Fried engaged in witness tampering by leaking those diary-like writings to the New York Times. In August, he ordered Bankman-Fried to await trial at a Brooklyn administrative prison known for grueling conditions.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his defense attorney has said he didn't steal money from FTX because he believed in "good faith" that Alameda could use funds on deposit with his cryptocurrency exchange.

'The auditors aren’t going to look at that'

Ellison and Bankman-Fried first met at a New York trading firm called Jane Street Capital, where she worked as a quantitative trader.

After Bankman-Fried co-founded Alameda, a hedge fund firm that specialized in quantitative crypto trading, he eventually hired Ellison in 2018. He named her as co-CEO in 2021 and sole CEO in 2022. She was paid $200,000 in salary per year and received two bonuses of $20 million and $100,000.

She said she didn’t feel particularly equipped for the CEO position but Bankman-Fried said it made sense and there wasn’t anyone better for the job.

Ellison testified that she and Bankman-Fried would have regular conversations about Alameda and FTX. It was a "big priority" for Bankman-Fried to increase Alameda’s borrowing capabilities so that the company could make more trades, investments, and acquisitions.

“Sam was directing us to borrow as much money as we could,” Ellison said.

Early on in her time at Alameda, Ellison said, the company would take loans from third-party lenders, and by 2021 the amount was $10 billion-15 billion. Those loans, however, were open-term loans that if recalled would need to be paid back immediately.

For that reason, she said, she was asked by Bankman-Fried to create spreadsheets showing various scenarios that would impact Alameda’s ability to continue taking out loans, as well as repay them. Ellison said Bankman-Fried told her at one point that FTX funds would be a "good source of capital" for Alameda.

FTX cryptocurrency assets were the first types of assets Alameda used from the cryptocurrency exchange, she said. Later on, she said, Alameda began to tap FTX’s fiat currency deposits. The reason to use the funds, she said, was so that Alameda could make investments and execute arbitrage trades in various cryptocurrencies.

Ellison testified she first raised concerns about using FTX customer funds during an audit of FTX.

"No don’t worry. The auditors aren’t going to look at that,” she said Bankman-Fried told her. 

'I didn't feel good about it'

Ellison said she also learned that FTX had made multimillion-dollar loans to FTX executives, including Bankman-Fried, some of which she signed on behalf of Alameda. The purpose of the loans, she said, was so Alameda could invest in a gambling startup and so political donations could be made.

Ellison said the illiquid nature of Alameda’s long-term investments and debt made her concerned about Alameda’s ability to pay the open-term loans if they were called.

“I didn’t feel good about it,” Ellison said.

In the fall of 2021 Ellison began sharing analyses for worst-case and bad-case scenarios in the event that Alameda’s loans needed to be repaid — selling cryptocurrencies, raising more capital, adding more loans — all of which showed significant risk for Alameda.

She was asked Tuesday while testifying how she would repay the loans if they were called.

"I assumed we would use customer funds."

Crypto FTX co-founder admits ‘we did it’ - October 6, 2023

New York | FTX co-founder Gary Wang took the stand at Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial on Thursday (Friday AEDT) and admitted he and his former MIT roommate committed a multibillion-dollar fraud by secretly shifting customer funds to trading company Alameda Research.

Mr Wang, who was also FTX’s chief technology officer, told the federal court that Mr Bankman-Fried directed him to alter the cryptocurrency exchange’s code so that Alameda was able to draw a $US65 billion ($102 billion) line of credit.

“When customers deposited money on FTX, the money went to Alameda instead,” Mr Wang said, adding that Alameda “withdrew so much that FTX was not able to pay customers who tried to withdraw”.

Mr Wang is testifying as a government witness against his onetime friend. Prosecutors claim Mr Bankman-Fried committed fraud and conspiracy after the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded went bankrupt last year, owing its 50 biggest creditors almost $US3.1 billion ($4.6 billion).

His hotly anticipated trial started this week, with Mr Wang one of the key witnesses after he pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to co-operate against his former house-mate. Prosecutors promised, before the trial started, to use testimony from Mr Bankman-Fried’s “trusted inner circle” to prove he intentionally stole from customers and investors and then lied about it.

In contrast, defence lawyers told the court this week that Mr Bankman-Fried had no criminal intent as he took actions to try to save his businesses after the cryptocurrency market collapsed.

Bankman-Fried visibly shaking

Mr Wang, 30, said Mr Bankman-Fried instructed him to sign documents allowing up to $US300 million in funds from FTX customer accounts to be transferred to Alameda to trade cryptocurrencies, sometimes at an unfair advantage to other FTX customers.

Asked by the prosecution whether he and other FTX executives committed fraud, Mr Wang immediately answered “yes” and said the crimes were “wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud”. He then pointed out Mr Bankman-Fried who was sitting in the courtroom visibly shaking.

He said Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former chief executive and Mr Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend, and Nishad Singh, the former engineering director at FTX, were also involved in the fraud.

Mr Wang’s testimony potentially undercuts Mr Bankman-Fried’s contention that he was not closely involved with the running of Alameda and relied instead on ex-girlfriend Ms Ellison.

Mr Wang said FTX gave special privileges to Alameda, allowing the “withdrawal of unlimited funds for the platform, and we hid that from the public”.

He said Alameda was allowed to take any position it wanted “without any limit” and had the “ability to place orders on the platform slightly faster than other customers”.

Mr Wang, who was once a billionaire with 10 per cent ownership of Alameda Research and a 17 per cent equity stake in FTX, was asked about the genesis of the name of the affiliated hedge fund.

He said the word research was important because it “sounded prestigious”.

“It’s also better if the name didn’t include cryptocurrency because that would make it easier to get office leases and things like that,” Mr Wang said.

A video was played of Mr Bankman-Fried talking about the evolution of the names and how calling the company “Shit Coin Day Trader” would not have helped it get loans from a bank.

Prosecutors are expected to hear testimony from Ms Ellison on how he orchestrated a conspiracy to use $US10 billion of FTX’s customers funds for uses that were kept secret.

Also giving evidence was Matt Huang, co-founder of crypto investment firm Paradigm, who told of his company’s $US278 million in investments in FTX and FTX US. He said he did not know FTX was using customer funds to lend out to Alameda to trade cryptocurrencies and that he “would have wanted to know more”.

Mr Huang also said he did not know Alameda had been made exempt from a special FTX feature known as the “liquidation engine” which prevented FTX customers from not being able to cover any losses. The exemption, which was written into FTX code, allowed Alameda to continually increase its line of credit until it grew to about $US8 billion.

Earlier in the day, Adam Yedidia, another Massachusetts Institute of Technology classmate who went to work at FTX, testified that Mr Bankman-Fried was aware and concerned about a huge potential shortfall at FTX from loans to Alameda five months before both companies collapsed. Mr Yedidia told jurors he was testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecution.

Fred Schebesta’s Finder claims its crypto product wasn’t money - October 9, 2023

Lawyers for Fred Schebesta’s Finder.com have laid out why the comparison website’s now-defunct crypto savings product was not caught by existing laws, arguing digital assets count as property rather than money.

The corporate regulator sued a subsidiary of Finder.com last year, alleging the comparison website provided unlawful financial advice and put customers at risk by offering its Finder Earn product without a proper licence.

The lawsuit is one of three the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has brought against local crypto businesses experimenting with new product types built using blockchain technology.

Sydney-based Block Earner and Gold Coast-based BPS Financial are also defending the release of their crypto-based products against similar litigation from ASIC.

The trio of cases will test the regulator’s power to oversee crypto products, mirroring a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission against the listed token exchange Coinbase.

Finder, which is currently seeking fresh funding, argues it did not need a financial services licence to offer its Finder Earn product, which paid out investors a “guaranteed” 4 per cent interest rate in return for deposits.

ASIC argues the product was a debenture, which is a long-term security that yields a fixed interest rate and is often used by companies to borrow money.

But Finder disagrees, noting that ASIC itself has maintained its overarching position is that digital assets are property rather than money. ASIC says the process by which Finder Earn operates interacts with fiat currency.

“Although cryptocurrencies share features in common with money in that they can be stores of value and are fungible, they are not money, they are property,” Finder’s lawyers told Justice Bridgette Markovic in the Federal Court last Wednesday.

“This is important because a fundamental part of a debenture is the depositing or lending of money.”

Finder Earn customers deposited Australian dollars into a Finder Wallet, which was then converted to a stablecoin called TrueAUD, which the company said was backed by Australian dollars.

The Finder Earn product was shuttered before the lawsuit began, but it was marketed across morning television shows and in slick digital campaigns targeting young “savers”.

Its launch was the result of an explosion of interest in decentralised finance, or DeFi, where investors were often paid high-interest rates to “lock up” their capital in various systems that mimic banking functions.

These products contributed to the crypto market crash in 2022, when the companies took the customer deposits and lost them in risky trades designed to generate the “guaranteed” interests.

In the absence of any new federal legislation, ASIC has cracked down on crypto businesses using existing financial markets regulation over the past 12 months.

Although Finder is licensed to provide financial services as a representative of Centra Wealth, a disclaimer on the Finder website explained that its Earn product was not offered under that or any other licence.

Regulators brought a similar action against Block Earner, which also offered a high-yield crypto-based product, for allegedly offering unlicensed financial services.

ASIC sued Gold Coast-based BPS Financial over a crypto product known as Qoin in October, alleging unlicensed conduct and the misleading promotion of crypto asset.

The judgment for ASIC’s case against Finder Wallet is expected in the coming months. Mr Schebesta stepped down as Finder chief executive last December but remains executive chair.

Bitcoin Mining Industry Is at a ‘Crucible Moment,’ JPMorgan Says - October 2023

The bitcoin (BTC) mining industry is at a crucible moment, as the approval of a spot BTC exchange-traded-fund (ETF) could catalyze a rally against a backdrop of record hashrates and the impending block reward halving that threaten the industry's revenues and profitability, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Wednesday.

The bank favors mining operators that offer the best relative value in light of their “existing hashrate, operational efficiency, power contracts, funded growth plans and liquidity,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.

JPMorgan initiates coverage of CleanSpark (CLSK) with an overweight rating and a price target of $5.50; Marathon Digital (MARA) at underweight with a $5 target; Riot Platforms (RIOT) at underweight with a $6.50 target, and Cipher Mining (CIFR) at neutral. The bank also upgraded Iris Energy (IREN) to overweight from neutral.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on whether or not to approve a spot bitcoin ETF until this month. The crypto market is hopeful that any approval will trigger a flood of mainstream money into the sector.

CleanSpark is the bank’s top pick, offering the best balance of “scale, growth potential, power costs and relative value.”

The analysts said that Marathon is the largest mining operator but has the highest energy costs and lowest margins. Meanwhile, Riot has relatively low power costs and liquidity but is the most expensive stock in their coverage universe.

Among the peers, Cipher Mining has the lowest power costs but is “growth constrained,” the report noted.

The bank estimates the four-year block reward opportunity at around $20 billion at current bitcoin prices. However, the looming block reward halving, expected in the second quarter of 2024, could impact profitability. It estimates that as much as 20% of the network hashrate is at risk from halving as less efficient mining computers are decommissioned.

Gaming and FinTech News

Calvin's Corner: 'Ya...Nothing to See Here' Calvin Quips in Regard to Slew of Crypto Murders - September 2023

These are the latest tweets and news from Web influencer and billionaire Calvin Ayre, a proponent of the BSV blockchain, an environmentally friendly, fast, and robust choice for enterprise-grade applications.

Billionaire investor and BSV influencer Calvin Ayre is the latest to chime in on a series of high profile murders that have recently taken place in the world of cryptocurrencies.

And the deaths have been nothing short of gruesome.

"Stuffed down toilets, dismembered in suitcases — crypto has been the common denominator for several gruesome murders and mysterious deaths this year," blares the headline from Coin Telegraph Magazine.

Plumbers in Bulgaria discovered the decomposing remains of 41-year-old United States crypto mogul Christian Peev — suspected to have been battered to death with a dumbbell by a friend out of jealousy.

In Buenos Aries, crypto millionaire Fernando Pérez Algaba's body was discovered chopped up in a suitcase near a river bank by a group of children.

It doesn't end there. 

Others involved in the world of cryptocurrencies have been killed in a helicopter crash in France and a fatal stabbing in the U.S.  There was also a suspected suicide in South Korea.

Since November of 2022 we've seen ten suspicious deaths of those in the cryptocurrency community, and these are just the cases we know of.

Ken Gamble, the co-founder and executive chairman of financial crime intelligence firm IFW Global, tells the magazine he believes most of these deaths are linked to organized crime making its way into the world of digital currencies.

“What’s happening is that these organized crime groups, particularly the Chinese, have suddenly come into masses of money. They have had more money now than they’ve ever had traditionally,” said Gamble.

“They’re making so much money that it’s become extremely dangerous now […] they have to now reach out to more groups and more people to try and move the money — broadening their money laundering capabilities,” he added. 

May be time to beef up the security and might want to avoid pissing off the wrong person as to not end up floating around inside the pipes of someone's toilet.

Calvin Announces New BSV Site and Encourages Consumers to Become Better Educated (September 12, 2023)

"BSVBlockchain.org has a new site up that is the best place in the world to go to learn about this amazing tech now. Still more stuff coming but the Association has done a great job on this already."

The new site can be found here.

The BSV Blockchain is billed as "Reliable open source software, providing the fundamental requirements for enterprise grade blockchain applications."

It focuses on the following three pillars:

Unified Compliance Approach

Explore our unified approach to regulatory compliance, recognizing that existing laws apply to all tokens on blockchain platforms. At BSV, we prioritize adherence to the comprehensive legal framework.

Streamlined Legal Compliance

Learn how BSV integrates legal compliance seamlessly into its blockchain ecosystem. We ensure that all transactions and interactions on our platform adhere to existing property, security, and criminal laws.

Transparent Regulatory Measures

Discover the transparency in our regulatory measures. We provide clear visibility into how we enforce compliance and uphold existing regulations to create a secure and trusted environment for our users.

BSV About to Change the World? (August 31, 2023)

Julian Goddard (the technical product lead at @nChainGlobal) nChain has been working on CBDC solutions for several months, with Goddard playing a part in the company’s projects since last year, he revealed.

One of the company’s guiding principles is flexibility, aware that governments will only integrate blockchain technology if it fits into their existing systems.

“We’re always trying to meet our customers’ requirements first, and where they don’t know [about blockchain nitty-gritty], we try to build our products as flexible as possible.”

As the technical product lead, Goddard is at the forefront of exploring new products that nChain develops. He says the company is currently working on “a new product that’s very exciting and is going to help change the world. It will make a difference to the way things work in the world.”

CoinDesk Compromised?  (August 28, 2023)

Calvin on Monday retweeted a question concerning whether the popular crypto news site CoinDesk may be compromised. 

Bitfinex'ed made the original tweet, noting the site appears to be removing a number of negative articles of late.

Anti Crypto Revolution offered this suggestion:

"Need UK's new FCA rules on crypto media and marketing here in the USA asap. Crypto shillers/media must pay for billions of losses and Americans' savings being hacked to fund NK's nukes. Egregious."

Binance Seeks Protective Order....Against SEC? (August 15, 2023)

If you follow our good friend Calvin Ayre regularly as we do here at Gambling911.com, you'll realize pretty quickly there is no love lost between him and the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

"Binance is bad news—is anyone still surprised?," he tweeted back in January. 

At the time Ayre's popular website CoinGeek reported that  a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Daniel M. Sirmons, claimed under sworn deposition that "according to his knowledge, training, and experience, ransomware attackers frequently use digital currency exchanges like Binance to launder or obfuscate their ill-gotten gains."

Ayre's site was the first to report on the skullduggery taking place at the FTX Exchange a good year plus before they went into free fall this past December.

The billionaire investor was quick to tweet out how Binance on Tuesday filed for a protective order against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saying the regulator's requests for information were "over broad" and "unduly burdensome".

Binance is claiming that the SEC is demanding it produce all communications dating back to November 2022 for “dozens of topics — many of which have nothing to do with customer assets.”

Stay tuned.

Calvin's Corner: Billionaire Launches New Site to 'More Accurately Explain What My Multinational Business Group Does' (August 10, 2023)

On Thursday, online gambling and blockchain pioneer Calvin Ayre announced his new website that he described as more accurately demonstrating what his investment firm encompasses.

Ayre Group was launched just days after his global investment group purchased nChain, the global leader in blockchain and Web3 technology.

Ayre Group invests in building ventures in real estate, blockchain technology, media, publishing, health & wellness and travel & leisure.

The new site proclaims: "Led by entrepreneur and philanthropist Calvin Ayre, Ayre Group is a multi-faceted global operation funding real estate projects, businesses and technologies that break down barriers to entry, democratize opportunity and positively enhance peoples’ lives."

Suits Can (Will) Be Brought in Regard to Micropayment Technology (August 2, 2023)

We've had an opportunity to speak with those closely associated with the BSV Blockchain and one thing is abundantly clear, Web3 and micropayments are the future.

Calvin tweeted (or X'd) on Tuesday that he believed this article to be fair.

And it appears that Ayre's investment firm's announcement it has taken a majority stake in nChain (announced Tuesday) will make as a priority the aggressive legal pursuit of those who violate nChain's patents pertaining to micropayment technology.  Of note is that this technology will become the future of iGaming, in particular sports wagering.

In response, someone tweeted:

"He (Calvin) is bullish that the BSV chain is the blockchain to unite all blockchains. He points to the scaling technology solutions offered by BSV to be its superpower and the nano transactions possible putting the token firmly in the utility section and not as a security.

The scaling and rate of transactions on BSV according to Ayre are so substantial as to make the Proof of Work (POW) blockchain green."

And then there is this tweet:

“There isn’t a single blockchain or Web3 project out there that isn’t standing on the shoulders of nChain’s patent library—the earliest, largest, and highest quality collection in this space.”

'Crypto Scammers Running Around Asking for Clarity' (August 1, 2023)

Responding to an article featured on Fortune: "Coinbase boss Brian Armstrong: SEC suggested change that would have triggered the end of the crypto industry in America".

"These crypto scammers are so funny...they run around asking for Clarity...they were clarified and then they just refuse to accept it. They don't want clarity in the law, they want exception from existing law."

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong told the Financial Times that the SEC made recommendations to halt trading in all cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin before launching legal action against the Nasdaq-listed company last month for failing to register as a broker.

From the Financial Times article:

The SEC’s case identified 13 mostly lightly traded cryptocurrencies on Coinbase’s platform as securities, asserting that by offering them to customers the exchange fell under the regulator’s remit.

SEC charges HEX founder Richard Heart with fraud (August 1, 2023)

Hex founder Richard Heart’s luck finally ran out after America’s securities regulator slapped fraud charges on the bling-loving conman.

CoinGeek's Steven Stradbrooke reports on these developments.

On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought civil charges against Heart, aka Richard Schueler, and his Hex, PulseChain and PulseX entities for offering unregistered securities that raised over $1 billion from customers.

The SEC is also alleging Heart committed fraud by “misappropriating at least $12 million” of the funds raised to buy luxury goods, apparently to perpetuate the illusion of wealth that his marks might one day enjoy. The SEC wants Heart to forfeit all his ill-gotten gains and to be permanently enjoined from ever taking part in any future digital asset scams.

Stradbrooke writes that customers were urged to buy HEX with ETH and stake their HEX—as a ‘Blockchain Certificate of Deposit’—with the expectation that they’d receive even more HEX down the road, by which time the value of each HEX would have soared. Allegedly.

Ayre: 'Everything But BSV is a Security Including BTC', CoinBase Ordered to Only Trade Bitcoin (July 31, 2023)

One of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges was told by the SEC to stop trading in everything except for Bitcoin, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

This is viewed as a sign of the agency's intent to assert regulatory authority over a broader slice of the market, according to Scott Chipolina of the Financial Times, which broke the story.

The SEC sued Coinbase soon afterwards.

“They came back to us, and they said . . . we believe every asset other than bitcoin is a security,” Armstrong revealed. “And, we said, well how are you coming to that conclusion, because that’s not our interpretation of the law. And they said, we’re not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other than bitcoin.”

Armstrong claimed any such action would signal the end of the cryptocurrency industry as we know it.

Calvin Ayre, who is a proponent of the BSV Blockchain, offered his assessment of the situation.

"Everything but BSV is a security including BTC," he asserted.

Almost twice as many students using AI than employees: report - September 2023

Experts warn AI will “rapidly and significantly” disrupt more than $600 billion of economic activity.

More than a quarter of the Australian economy will be significantly disrupted by AI technologies, experts have warned, as businesses and workers remain hesitant of new advancements.

The report by consultancy firm Deloitte Australia found about $600 billion in economic activity stands be to be “rapidly and significantly” disrupted by new generative AI technology.

More than 2500 students and employees from 18 industries were surveyed on their use of AI as part of the report, including from the IT, media, education, and wholesale trade sectors.

Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick said business leaders needed to accept their role in “harnessing and guiding the responsible application of generative AI”, rather than turning a blind eye.

“We need to rapidly educate ourselves on the potential of AI in our settings, and actively encourage adoption, innovation and the sharing of ideas and concepts across our organisations,” he said.

The report also revealed the generational gap between large business, of which less than 10 per cent have officially adopted AI, and the 58 per cent of students already using it.

Students were almost twice as likely to use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT than employees, with only 1.4 per cent of all Australian businesses currently utilising AI officially.

Deloitte Australia Lead Strategy and Business Design Partner and AI Institute Lead Dr Kellie Nuttall said individuals naturally embrace advancements in tech faster than businesses.

“But, generative AI has seen this happen faster than ever before, broadening the gap between a business and its workforce,” Mr Nuttal said ahead of the reports release on Sunday.

“Yes, this leads to a disruptive threat; but it leads to an even bigger opportunity. Let’s not forget businesses are made up of lots of individuals, each with the power to disrupt.”

For many, the rapid advancement of AI technologies has presented concern about its place in the workforce, sparking protests such as the current SAG-AFTRA strike in the US.

The actors and screen writers guilds in the United States voted to strike earlier this year over pay issues and fears that AI technology could subsume or reduce workplace jobs.

The Deloitte report – titled “Generation AI: Ready or not, here we come!” – found about 75 per cent of employees were concerned about AI’s use, including with personal data.

Just over 30 per cent said they already used some form of generative AI for work purposes, of which about two thirds stating they believed their managers did not know about it.

Big crackdown on gambling in video games - September 2023

Video games which offer in-game gambling will be restricted as part of big changes to the industry, the Albanese government has announced.

Video games which offer simulated gambling will be branded adults-only under big changes to the industry announced by the Albanese government.

After a meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General on Friday, all states agreed to reforms which will see new age restrictions placed on games which offer gambling-like content.

The states agreed to updated guidelines, which will come into effect in September next year, giving the industry time to adjust.

Under the changes, computer games which simulate gambling, such as virtual casinos, will receive an adults-only R18+ classification.

Games which offer in-game purchases which involve elements of chance, such as paid loot boxes, will be classified as M and not recommended for children under 15.

he government said it was responding to potential harm caused by children being exposed to gambling-like content in video games.

It pointed to research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which found young people who were exposed to simulated gambling in video games were 40 per cent more likely to gamble later in life.

“The Albanese Government is determined to protect vulnerable Australians from gambling harms — including children who may be exposed to gambling through video games,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.

“Research shows that children exposed to gambling-like content may be more vulnerable to gambling harm later in life – and we are determined to intervene early to keep children safe.”

Call of Duty rolls out AI-powered voice chat monitoring to crack down on hate speech

One of the world’s most popular video games has taken a drastic step to crack down on hate speech and other “toxic” behaviour.

Call of Duty players will have their in-game voice chat monitored by artificial intelligence in real-time as part of a major crackdown on hate speech and other harmful behaviour.

Activision announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it had partnered with tech firm Modulate to roll out its AI-powered voice chat moderation tool ToxMod, to “identify in real-time and enforce against toxic speech — including hate speech, discriminatory language, harassment and more”.

An initial beta rollout of the new system began on Wednesday to North American players of the popular online shooter series, which includes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone.

The AI tool will be released worldwide — excluding Asia — on November 10, coinciding with the launch of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on November 10.

Support will begin in English with additional languages to follow at a later date.

“This new development will bolster the ongoing moderation systems led by the Call of Duty anti-toxicity team, which includes text-based filtering across 14 languages for in-game text (chat and usernames) as well as a robust in-game player reporting system,” Activision said.

“Since the launch of Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty’s existing anti-toxicity moderation has restricted voice and/or text chat to over one million accounts detected to have violated the Call of Duty Code of Conduct. Consistently updated text and username filtering technology has established better real-time rejection of harmful language.”

Activision said data showed 20 per cent of players “did not reoffend after receiving a first warning”.

“Those who did reoffend were met with account penalties, which include but are not limited to feature restrictions (such as voice and text chat bans) and temporary account restrictions,” it said.

“This positive impact aligns with our strategy to work with players in providing clear feedback for their behaviour. Teams across Call of Duty are dedicated to combating toxicity within our games. Utilising new technology, developing critical partnerships, and evolving our methodologies is key in this ongoing commitment. As always, we look forward to working with our community to continue to make Call of Duty fair and fun for all.”

In a question-and-answer section, Activision said in-game voice chat was monitored and recorded “for the express purpose of moderation”.

“Call of Duty’s voice chat moderation system is focused on detecting harm within voice chat versus specific keywords,” it said.

“Players that do not wish to have their voice moderated can disable in-game voice chat in the settings menu.”

While the AI tool detects and flags toxic language in real-time “categorised by its type of behaviour and a rated level of severity based on an evolving model”, Activision will still be responsible for enforcement decisions.

“Detected violations of the Code of Conduct may require additional reviews of associated recordings to identify context before enforcement is determined,” it said.

“Therefore, actions taken will not be instantaneous. As the system grows, our processes and response times will evolve.”

The gaming giant clarified that “trash talk” was not banned.

“The system helps enforce the existing Code of Conduct, which allows for ‘trash-talk’ and friendly banter,” it said. “Hate speech, discrimination, sexism, and other types of harmful language, as outlined in the Code of Conduct, will not be tolerated.”

Activision chief technology officer Michael Vance said in a statement that there was “no place for disruptive behaviour or harassment in games ever”. “Tackling disruptive voice chat particularly has long been an extraordinary challenge across gaming,” he said.

“With this collaboration, we are now bringing Modulate’s state of the art machine learning technology that can scale in real-time for a global level of enforcement. This is a critical step forward to creating and maintaining a fun, fair and welcoming experience for all players.”

Mike Pappas, chief executive of Modulate, said the company was “enormously excited to team with Activision to push forward the cutting edge of trust and safety”.

“This is a big step forward in supporting a player community the size and scale of Call of Duty, and further reinforces Activision’s ongoing commitment to lead in this effort.”

According to Modulate, ToxMod does not just detect flagged words but “analyses the tone, context, and perceived intention of those filtered conversations using its advanced machine learning processes”.

“ToxMod’s powerful toxicity analysis assesses the tone, timbre, emotion, and context of a conversation to determine the type and severity of toxic behaviour,” it says on its website.

“ToxMod is the only voice moderation tool built on advanced machine learning models that go beyond keyword matching to provide true understanding of each instance of toxicity. ToxMod’s machine learning technology can understand emotion and nuance cues to help differentiate between friendly banter and genuine bad behaviour.”

ToxMod’s ethics policy states that it may also take into account the race, gender identity, sexuality or other demographics of the speaker to determine whether certain behaviour is acceptable.

“We do occasionally consider an individual’s demographics when determining the severity of a harm,” it says.

“We … recognise that certain behaviours may be fundamentally different depending on the demographics of the participants.”

For example, “while the n-word is typically considered a vile slur, many players who identify as black or brown have reclaimed it and use it positively within their communities”.

“While Modulate does not detect or identify the ethnicity of individual speakers, it will listen to conversational cues to determine how others in the conversation are reacting to the use of such terms,” it says.

“If someone says the n-word and clearly offends others in the chat, that will be rated much more severely than what appears to be reclaimed usage that is incorporated naturally into a conversation.”

Star witness at US crypto trial says Bankman-Fried ordered fraud - October 11, 2023

Disgraced crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was the mastermind behind a scheme to defraud FTX clients of billions of dollars, the star witness in his US trial testified on Tuesday.

Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's former business partner and girlfriend, said that they had stolen "around $14 billion" from clients of the cryptocurrency trading platform before it collapsed into bankruptcy late last year.

The 31-year-old Bankman-Fried, co-founder and former CEO of FTX, has been charged with seven counts of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy, and if convicted could face a de facto life sentence of more than 100 years in prison.

In November 2022, the platform imploded, unable to cope with massive withdrawal requests from customers panicked to learn that some of FTX's funds had been committed to risky operations by Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's personal hedge fund.

Ellison, a Stanford University mathematics graduate, was appointed by Bankman-Fried in 2021 to head Alameda, whose activities were largely financed by money from customers of FTX -- without their knowledge.

She has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution as have two other close associates of Bankman-Fried.

After taking a good 10 seconds to identify her former romantic partner in the courtroom, Ellison said he was "the owner of Alameda and he directed me to commit those crimes."

Bankman-Fried "was the one who set up the system" that saw Alameda take the client money from FTX and use it "for investments and to pay back debts," she said.

"For major decisions, I ran it by Sam. He was the person I officially reported to. He was the owner of Alameda. He could have fired me if he wanted to," she said.

- 'Awkward situations' -

A former analyst who developed mathematical models for market finance, Ellison said she expressed her reservations about the relationship between FTX and Alameda.

"I was somewhat concerned because it was something that customers weren't aware of and they wouldn't be happy if they'd learned about it," she said.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers are expected to argue against this depiction, saying that their client had little handle on the inner workings of Alameda's business and placing the blame at Ellison for the alleged fraud.

In the court on Tuesday, Ellison said that she and Bankman-Fried "dated for a couple years." 

"He was also my boss, which created a lot of awkward situations," she said.

The on and off again couple and other FTX executives lived in a luxury apartment complex in the Bahamas until Bankman-Fried was arrested and extradited to the United States late last year.

Zixiao "Gary" Wang, another associate of Bankman-Fried, on Friday described the FTX co-founder as willing to break the law and lie to enable the company and Alameda to post strong growth.

Pro Wrestling

Wrestling Legend Booker T @BookerT5x Of Reality Of Wrestling @theofficialrow and WWE NXT @WWENXT broadcast team speaks on CM Punk potential return to company

“So my thing is like you say, investing in young talent is where I see the company thriving. As well as, you know, we could talk about the locker room and the attitudes in the locker room, and how the karma in the locker room and the Zen of the locker room. Does it really, really mean anything? Oh, hell, yeah. It means a whole lot. I say it all the time, just say for instance at Reality of Wrestling, my small little wrestling company. When there’s one loose link in the chain, we take that link out and we get rid of it every time, and we just keep rolling. And the show doesn’t stop, not one bit. It doesn’t even slow down at all. And that’s the problem I think, you know, bringing in someone like Punk. Can we mend those fences? Of course, we can. But do we want to go through having to try in those fences? And why?”

“Just because there’s no love lost there between CM Punk and the WWE. And then to just make it go away by saying, ‘Hey, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that stuff I said about all the things that I said. I didn’t mean any of that. And it’s over. Let’s start over, and everything will be fine. Let’s just start over and let’s just be friends again and forget about everything that went down.’ Some of the relationships that was broken with CM Punk when he left that company, it’s literally unspeakable. I can’t even sit here and talk to you about them, because they’re just so unbelievably out there. It’s like alien-like out there, you know what I’m saying? Where you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, I can’t believe that. I didn’t see that, that didn’t happen.’ That kind of stuff, you know? So for me, I don’t. I don’t see it happening. If it does happen, quote me as being one that was just wrong on this one. That’s the only thing I can say about that. But I truly cannot see that happening anytime soon.”

Video

Hall of Fame Podcast: Booker T on WWE Fastlane, NXT vs. AEW Showdown, CM Punk Rumors & More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l71EH17JbvM&t=136s&ab_channel=RealityOfWrestling

#RealityOfWrestling #BookerT #quote #wrestling #prowrestling #WWE #CMPunk #wrestlingwar #entertainment #popculture #ratings #broadcasting #audience #viewership #showbiz #stars #TV #podcast #biz #mediabiz #media

Combat Sports

UFC @UFC and USADA deal and partnership to be terminated

McGregor Re-Enters the USADA Testing Pool and UFC and USADA End Anti-Doping Program Agreement

Statement / October 11, 2023

Statement from USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart (USADA)

“We can confirm that Conor McGregor has re-entered the USADA testing pool as of Sunday, October 8, 2023. We have been clear and firm with the UFC that there should be no exception given by the UFC for McGregor to fight until he has returned two negative tests and been in the pool for at least six months. The rules also allow USADA to keep someone in the testing pool longer before competing based on their declarations upon entry in the pool and testing results.

Unfortunately, we do not currently know whether the UFC will ultimately honor the six-month or longer requirement because, as of January 1, 2024, USADA will no longer be involved with the UFC Anti-Doping Program. Despite a positive and productive meeting about a contract renewal in May 2023, the UFC did an about-face and informed USADA on Monday, October 9, that it was going in a different direction.

We are disappointed for UFC athletes, who are independent contractors who rely on our independent, gold-standard global program to protect their rights to a clean, safe, and fair Octagon. The UFC’s move imperils the immense progress made within the sport under USADA’s leadership.

The relationship between USADA and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months. One UFC commentator echoed this, recently declaring that USADA should not oversee the UFC program since we held firm to the six-month rule involving McGregor, and since we do not allow fighters without an approved medical basis to use performance-enhancing drugs like experimental, unapproved peptides or testosterone for healing or injuries simply to get back in the Octagon.

Fighters’ long-term health and safety —­ in addition to a fair and level playing field — are more important to USADA than short-term profits at the expense of clean athletes. USADA is proud of the work we’ve done over the past eight years to clean up the UFC, and we will continue to provide our unparalleled service to UFC athletes through the remainder of our current contract, which ends December 31, 2023. As always, we will continue to uphold the rights and voices of clean athletes in all sport.”

More Background and Detail:

The “UFC commentator” mentioned in the USADA statement is likely Joe Rogan, who recently said on his podcast that, “”Then there’s a six-month period USADA has to test them randomly, which I think the USADA thing’s a mistake. I really think they should do all that in-house ’cause USADA does stuff like, well they don’t do it anymore, but they were doing stuff like waking guys up at 6:30 in the morning like the day of the weigh-ins and testing them. It was - insane, for world title fights, - insane.

”There’s a real problem where they’re stopping guys from taking things like BPC-157, all that stuff does is let you heal. It’s called body protection peptide 157, body protection compound. It’s a really good peptide for healing injuries. I think athletes should be able to use everything they can, especially in a sport like MMA.” - Joe Rogan

#UFC #USADA #MMA #AntiDoping #JoeRogan #ConorMcGregor #peptide #BPC157 #rehab #sportsinjuries #drugtesting #sports #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #prosports #livesports #fighters #fighting #contract #sportscontract #sportspromotion #promoters #livesport #PPV #payperview #popculture #sportsnews #sportsmedia #media 

Pro Wrestling themed movie getting rave reviews from insiders

The Iron Claw due for release December 22

“Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed. Mum tried to protect us with God. Pop tried to protect us with wrestling,” Kevin delivers in a voiceover.

“He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, nothing could ever hurt us. I believed him; we all did.” Kevin Von Erich (portrayed by Zac Efron)

The first trailer for “The Iron Claw” debuted Wednesday, featuring Efron and White as wrestlers Kevin Von Erich and Kerry Von Erich, respectively. The biopic cast also includes Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, and Holt McCallany (“Mindhunter”) as their father, Fritz Von Erich, a 23-time world champion who pioneered the “Iron Claw” wrestling move.

“Based on a true story, the film follows the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day,” the official synopsis from A24 says.

According to D Magazine, Jack Adkisson was a football star at Southern Methodist University who briefly played for the then-Dallas Texans of the National Football League. In the 1950s, he started wrestling as a Nazi villain character named “Fritz Von Erich,” and came up with Iron Claw, spreading his hand over an opponent’s face and then squeezing. As his popularity grew, he switched from a heel to a “face,” or a good guy in the ring, while keeping the name.

But the family still struggled financially, living in a trailer park in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where two of their six children were born. Their youngest, Jackie, died at age 7 when he touched a live wire while playing in the trailer park; he was electrocuted, fell face-first in a puddle of melting snow, and drowned. Fritz was away on a wrestling trip at the time.

Jackie’s death was the beginning of what became known as the “Von Erich Family Curse.” The family moved back to Texas and all five of Fritz’s other sons eventually went into wrestling, adopting the Von Erich name. Four of them died under their own tragic circumstances.

Video

The Iron Claw | Official Trailer HD | A24

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8KVsaoveTbw&ab_channel=A24

From writer/director Sean Durkin and starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, with Holt McCallany and Lily James. THE IRON CLAW – In Theaters Everywhere December 22.  RELEASE DATE: December 22 DIRECTOR: Sean Durkin CAST: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Lily James

#TheIronClaw #VonErich #VonErichFamily #movienews #ZacEfron #SeanDurkin #popculture #wrestling #wrestlinglegends #entertainment #entertainmentnews #movietrailer #video #hype #buzz #media

Combat Sports: Boxing meets Mixed Martial Arts meets Showbiz + + +

UFC Icon Demetrious Johnson picks Dillon Danis @dillondanis To Best Logan Paul on October 14

“We’re so invested, because Dillon is one of me,” Johnson explained. “He is a mixed martial artist, he comes from that background...Logan Paul, he is an entertainer. He’s an amazing wrestler. I love watching him do WWE @WWE , and he’s also transitioned into that YouTube boxing. But at the end of the day, I am rooting for Dillon Danis, just because he comes from the same lineage of Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts and I always wanna see the MMA guys succeed in making a lot of money.”

Media: Misfits @MisfitsBoxing or not, this upcoming fight is fuelled with emotion. The time to back up them fighting words is fast approaching. Fans, you know what to do!

Videos

Mighty Gaming YouTube

Why I'm ROOTING For DANIS TO WIN vs LOGAN PAUL! | MIGHTYcast EP5!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQtYBCFums&ab_channel=MightyGaming

Misfits Boxing YouTube

Misfits Prime Card Vlog Series: Episode 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDNmolXnR74&t=5s&ab_channel=MisfitsBoxing

Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis - Official Prime Card Fight Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdP-J1MdldY&ab_channel=MisfitsBoxing

Dillon Danis with the Swanton Bomb! | Prime Card Media Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jxiZJatoxM&ab_channel=MisfitsBoxing

Logan Paul throws one punch then grapples | Prime Card Media Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjfbIbOdpsM&t=4s&ab_channel=MisfitsBoxing

Demetrious Johnson in Action! Via ONE Championship

ONE Championship YouTube

Rodtang vs. Demetrious Johnson | ONE Championship Full Fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dG_lg2g-sQ&ab_channel=ONEChampionship

Impaulsive YouTube

Logan & Jake Paul Face Off, Address Steroid Accusations, Expose Dillon Danis - IMPAULSIVE 394

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNTxRuLiJ40&t=188s&ab_channel=IMPAULSIVE

#DillonDanis #LoganPaul #DemetriousJohnson #Misfitsboxing #Misfits #boxing #YouTubeBoxing #PPV #payperview #combatsports #MMA #WWE #sports #sportsbiz #sportsnews #sportsmedia #quotes #video #hype #trends #trending #buzz #media 

The Art Of War

1. LAYING PLANS

1

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

2

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. 

3

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. 

4

These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

5. 6

The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

7

HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

8

EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

9

The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.

10

By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

#TheArtOfWar #SunTzu #war #military #strategy #militarystrategist #field #battle #world #media 

World leading podcaster Joe Rogan wisdom gems

“What do you mean this happens at the end of every civilization's reign? And I think this happened with the Greeks and it happened with the Romans. It's one of the things that Douglas Murray, when I had him on my podcast, was discussing, he said one of the things that happens at the end of civilizations is they become obsessed with gender. It's a thing that happens where men start becoming women, women start becoming men, and it becomes like a big focus, like cross dressing and all this stuff becomes a big point of focus. And I was like, well, why is that?"

"It seems to be that they're dissolving all boundaries and all norms and all societal structure. And that's a part of it, is like gender roles."

#JoeRogan #quote #podcast #civilization #civilizations #society #world #podcast #podcaster #media

“It’s not creative unless it sells.” - David Ogilvy 

#DavidOgilvy #Ogilvy #quote #creative #sells #creativity #advertising #adman #legend #agency #creativeadvertising #ads #adbiz #advertisingbiz #advertisingindustry #marketing #marketingbiz #media #mediaman 

SEL Share Of Search

SEL's Andrew on the Share Of Search metric..So many webby's competing for their slice of pie and piece of the action. There's almost infinity SEO's at the table and still quite a few hungry customers mind you. Many former big eaters of SEO are learning how to do and bake it up themselves - as good on them. The power of niche SEO, niche sector PR and specialized services starting in one or more sectors can come into play here..For example for us: Combat Sports including pro wrestling and MMA, Beach Culture, Health and Well-being and online games, casino news and sports betting, and then spring offs such as development and education, and local listings just for good measure. Compliments being a Google Local Guide for cafe news, reviews and other. Put it all together..like baking a cake. As world renown tech tycoon says, "It's like baking a cake. You have to have all the right ingredients". Now, get cooking. There's more hungry customers to feed. What makes your SEO cake the right one for Mr and Mrs Customer? Out of the frying pan and oven and into the fire. Go get your slice of the action. Gonzo with mainstream elements to feed an army.

Google Search Generative Experience

SEL's Barry on the Google AI SGE image search generator. So, I guess we will not need to hire or secure another contractor for graphic art after all. Google has it sorted. Google AI takes away another job from a human being and local (in this case Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia) artist and illustrator. But there's one or much more likely more AI type workers at Google or at least on some type of Al Alphabet Google financial retainer, who invented and rolled out this tech. Like a hand crafted vintage or collectable Rolls-Royce, or the family dinner with a fine wine, some things are best.made by humans - for humans..Is humanity losing its way or is this AI just about part of the human evolution? Elements of both? Subjective of course, as per the ability of the human mind to possess critical skills including for the tech, sustainability and news media sector. What a Pandora's Box AI has opened up for The Internet Matrix Of Things and beyond.."Ok Google, make me black and themed robot images for my website" says media human. 

Google Employeers Raise Doubts About Bard - October 2023

SEJ"s Matt on the leaks er deep throats and watercolour whispers in and around the Google Bard project in and around the Search AI space. The leakers to press and search engine news media has better exercise caution and risk management on a few fronts. If Google upper management and ultimate powers that be get wind of the massive gravity of this situation a few things may happen.. Alphabet management may scrap the project (unlikely, as it would be a really bad look and signal) or the management may "So an Elon Musk", ans opt for mass terminations in the region of 80 percent ala Twitter now X. Pure speculation of course. From today's report the situation doesn't appear sustainable. Other AI firms/brands talk about "Woke AI" and "Non-Woke/truthful AI).. What is truth can be subjective, opinion based (as per Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla), and a legal and ethical minefield to boot. Shall we send in "The One", 'Agent Smith' or perhaps the Sentinels from 'The Matrix' to investigate? Time for mediation and a resolution and ultimate solution from Alphabet's Bard chapter. Can humans co-exist with the AI machines or is this the sign of an internal information war brewing? Stay tuned to Search Engine Journal for the sequel! 

Pro Wrestling: Ratings news and overview

WWE NXT @WWENXT bests AEW Dynamite in Tuesday night friendly wrestling ratings war

Wresting fans were the big winners, and to the victor goes the spoils and bragging rights.

The loaded up NXT episode averaged 921,000 viewers.

WWE NXT was a strong victor over AEW Dynamite.

NXT averaged 921,000 viewers across the USA Network, up 7.5% from last weeks episode. It's the biggest audience total for the show since September 25, 2019, which was the second week that NXT aired via the USA Network.

AEW Dynamite averaged 609,000 viewers on TBS (formally Turner Broadcasting Systems). Down 23.9% from last week and is the lowest viewership total the show has done since June 18, 2021. That episode was moved to Saturday due to NBA playoff coverage. This is the lowest viewership Dynamite has ever done when airing head-to-head against NXT.

NXT drew a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 36.4% from last week. It's the 4th-highest rating in the history of the show, trailing only the first three weeks that NXT aired on USA.

Dynamite did a 0.26 rating in 18-49. That's down 7.1% from last week and is the lowest rating the show has done since June 28.

As compared to the same week in 2022, NXT was up 25 percent in overall viewers and up 100% in 18-49. Dynamite was down 38.1% in overall viewers and down 18.8% in 18-49.

Comparing to one week last year when both shows aired head-to-head on Tuesday night, NXT was up 36.2 percent overall and up 66.7 percent in 18-49. Dynamite was down 19& in overall viewers but steady in 18-49.

So that's the the head to head, current and historicial numbers.

A bigger picture the sustainability of the pro wrestling industry and the leading promotions.  The WWE has been in business for over half a century. AEW since January 1, 2019 (announced via 'Being The Elite').

Background:

AEW is the brainchild of Tony Khan who is a lifelong fan of pro wrestling and the son of one of the world's most successful and wealthy businessmen, Shahid Khan.

Shawn Michaels is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, responsible for both creative and development at NXT.

The WWE is part of the TKO Group. 

Vince McMahon is Executive chairman and Ari Emanuel is CEO. 

Nick Khan is the President of WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a publicly traded global media company.

Prior to joining WWE, Khan was the Co-Head of Television at CAA where he represented the biggest names and entities in sports media negotiating billions of dollars in media rights deals.

Khan joined WWE in 2020 and helped lead the company to record revenue and profitability in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Khan began his career as a practicing attorney.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the Chief Content Officer of WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO).

As Chief Content Officer, Levesque oversees the Company’s Creative Writing, Talent Relations, Live Events, Talent Development and Creative Services departments.

Kevin Dunn, Executive Producer & Chief, Global Television Distribution

Kevin Dunn, a fixture at WWE for more than 30 years, can trace his roots in the television industry to his early childhood. His father, Dennis Dunn, served as Executive Producer of Intermedia Productions, a program producer and syndicator first commissioned by Vince McMahon, Sr. to handle all WWE production beginning in 1972. After learning the ropes of the TV business at his father’s knee and through more formal education at Towson State University, Dunn was hired full-time by Vince McMahon, Jr. in 1984. He functioned as an associate producer of all domestic WWE programming from 1984-1987. During this period, Dunn had the rare opportunity to hone his producing and directing skills on some of the landmark telecasts in wrestling history. He was an integral part of the production team which brought a radical concept called WrestleMania from the drawing board to reality. This event not only signaled the dawn of the modern wrestling era, but it also served as a benchmark for the later development of the entire pay-per-view industry.

Andrew Schleimer serves as Chief Financial Officer, TKO since September 12, 2023. He has also served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Endeavor since February 2021. He will also continue serving as Chief Financial Officer of UFC, having served in that position since September 2016. From July 2014 to September 2016, Mr. Schleimer served as the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Digital Turbine, Inc. (Nasdaq), a provider of end-to-end solutions for mobile technology companies to enable advertising and monetization functions.

Wrestling fans and wrestlers have traditionally enjoyed wrestling wars (for ratings, talent and out of the ring excitment, while rival promoters look to lure the world's greatest talent to their promotion.

Whether the wrestling wars are a real competion depends upon who one asks. They are essentially in the same line of business.  WWE's been at in much longer and has far developed media, marketing and historicial connections and fanbase. AEW is somewhat of a challenger brand but has yet to fully capitalize on their vast resources and talent.

The wrestling war provides extra opportunities for wrestlers, wrestling management and well as more fodder for those who report and watch the unique form of sports entertainment (a phrase coined by super promoter Vince McMahon).

Fortunes can be made and lost in and around the pro wrestling industry as one time WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and short-term WWE exec Eric Bischoff can attest to. Bischoff runs a popular wrestling podcast, '83 Weeks' (83 weeks largely on top of the pro wrestling world) , where he breaks down the industry ups, downs and news bytes, drawing upon his vast experience with more than his fair share of both hits and misses. Bischoff has proclaimed he wants to see both promotions do well, as well as see the industry thrive as a whole.

Some fans of wrestling engage in tribalism, which sees them sometime engage in unhealthy and sometimes disrespectful interactions, be it with other fans or even wrestlers and promoters. Some fans and others around the industry can attract nicknames such as "marks" - not understanding the industry very well. When fans, wrestlers and industry players make too many serious mistakes that can attract "heat", meaning they become not well liked or thought of. In exteme cases wrestlers can be "black-balled from working for the larger promotions.

Wrestling in the U.S exploaded in popularity after the 1861–1865 Civil War, with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they often struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so the wrestlers quietly began "faking" their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or who needed to share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked the stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury as a general rule, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked.

Not a real sport, it is widely understand that most pro wrestlers at an elite level are in fact some of the world's greatest athlete, along with their cousins, mixed martial artists, who compete in promotions such as the UFC, ONE Championship and PLF. Some wrestlers enjoy careers in both disciplines, but that would account to a very small percentage of performers.

The WWE's Vince McMahon is widely regarded as the most successful pro wrestling promoter of all time.

#WWENXT #WWE #AEW #wrestling #prowrestling 

#ShawnMichaels #TripleH #VinceMcMahon #TonyKhan #wrestlingwar #ratings #wrestlingratings #wrestlingpromotioins #wrestlingpromoters #sports #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #biz #broadcast #broadcastings #newsmedia #media 

World

Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible causes of a societal collapse include natural catastrophe, war, pestilence, famine, economic collapse, population decline or overshoot, mass migration, and sabotage by rival civilizations. A collapsed society may revert to a more primitive state, be absorbed into a stronger society, or completely disappear.

Virtually all civilizations have suffered such a fate, regardless of their size or complexity, but some of them later revived and transformed, such as China, India, and Egypt. However, others never recovered, such as the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the Maya civilization, and the Easter Island civilization. Societal collapse is generally quick but rarely abrupt. 

(Wikipedia). Please support the good folks at Wikipedia as we have done over the decades.

#society #societalcollapse #civilization #collapse #government #politics #failed #corruption #culture #identity #war #migration #economic #Biden #Washington #USA #history #world #media 

The Final Speech from The Great Dictator

Charlie Chaplin

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor

That's not my business

I don't want to rule or conquer anyone

I should like to help everyone if possible

Jew, Gentile, Black Man, White

We all want to help one another, human beings are like that

We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery

We don't want to hate and despise one another

And this world has room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich and can provide for everyone

The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way

Greed has posioned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed

We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want

Our knowledge has made us cynincal

Our cleverness, hard and unkind

We think too much, and feel too little

More than machinery, we need humanity

More that cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness

Without these qualities life will be violent, and all will be lost

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together

The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all

Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people

To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress

The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people

And so long as men die, liberty will never perish

Soldiers!

Don't give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel!

Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!

You are not machines!

You are not cattle!

You are men!

You have the love of humanity in your hearts!

You don't hate!

Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!

Soldiers!

Don't fight for slavery!

Fight for liberty!

In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: "the Kingdom of God is within man" - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men!

In you!

You, the people have the power - the power to create machines

The power to create happiness!

You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure

Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite

Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security

By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power

But they lie!

They do not fulfil that promise

They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!

Now let us fight to fulfil that promise!

Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance

Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness

Soldiers!

In the name of democracy, let us all unite

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GY1Xg6X20&ab_channel=CharlieChaplin

#CharlieChaplin #TheGreatDictator #TheFinalSpeech #world #history #popculture #poltiics #dictator #dictators #power #machine #machines #people #unite #free #freedom #legend #media 

"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future." #wisdom #knowledge #future #world #media 

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up" - Thomas A. Edison #ThomasEdison #quote #life #failure #success #mindset #wisdom #work #mbs #world #media 

"My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements, and OPERATE THE DEVICE ENTIRELY IN MY MIND" – Nikola Tesla #NikolaTesla #Tesla #quote #method #work #imagination #construction #operate #mind #inventor #legend #media 

"If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance" - Orville Wright #OrvillWright #quote #true #truth #flight #mindset #world #media 

"I mean astronomically, that one doesn't even make sense. Because if you shoot for the moon, you're not going to land on the stars. The moon is closer than all of the stars" - Logan Paul @LoganPaul #LoganPaul #quote #shoot #moon #stars #socialmedia #Influencer #boxing #media 

"Don't focus on the negativity. Focus on the positivity and the people that want you to do well; then, do it for them and for yourself. Sometimes I do things for myself. Sometimes I do things for my family. Sometimes I do things for my friends" Roman Reigns, WWE wrestling legend #RomanReigns #quote #focus #positivity #people #wrestling #WWE #mindset #mbs #world #media 

Pro Wrestling

“The subtle message, whether it’s intentional or not. Is. Going to WWE is a step up. Going to AEW is a step-down. It just is what it is. It’s just perception is reality. It is. And what is that? What is that message? First of all, who does that message land on the most? Who’s most affected by that message, and guys like MJF? Not everybody that’s in has the potential of ever seeing the inside of a WWE arena unless they buy a ticket to go watch. Some. Okay. Some. MJF is one of them. There are probably others. Sammy Guevara. Perhaps Ricky Starks. Perhaps. and there may be others, but of the 178 people on that roster, you’re talking about a handful of people that really have the potential of going there. Many of them have already been there and spent decades of their career there. So it’s just what it is. It may hurt to hear it for some people, but it’s true. That’s the message that matters the most. So when Ricky Starks or an MJF their deals are coming up, and they look at what happened to Cody. They look at what happened with Jade. Assuming it goes well, and I’m pretty sure it will. That’s when that message matters. The rest of it doesn’t go to so much of the talent. It really won’t matter because they’re not going to be in that position. But the people who are or will be or think they will be are going to hear that message loud and clear.” - Eric Bischoff via 83 Weeks @83Weeks podcast #EricBischoff #quote #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #podcast #promotion #wrestlers #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE Tag Champs Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso pumped for WWE @WWE SmackDown 13 October.

This week, a great RAW, a historic NXT…And no better way to close out the week than with a visit for the season premiere of #SmackDown Open challenge… What say you @WWEUsos?

Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes 

Jey Uso @WWEUsos 

GahDam YEEET!!! -jey

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #WWETag #CodyRhodes #JeyUso #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #FOX #TV #trend #trending #buzz #media

Pro Wrestling News

NWA @NWA top brass Billy Corgan signs new broadcasting deals

“YouTube is a terrible partner for wrestling,” Corgan pulling no punches.

“I’m just going to say that flat out. Lately, because who knows how these AI systems work, they’ve been squeezing all the wrestling content creators. No one can figure it out, but everyone’s numbers are down.

“That’s across the board. No one knows what YouTube is doing, but it is mercurial. We can’t even put ads on YouTube because they keep labeling…any ad, even if it’s just Jim Mitchell saying, ‘Come watch Sanheim on pay-per-view,’ it gets banned for being offensive. We can’t find anybody to talk to telling us why we can’t put an ad on there.

“Even when we’re trying to spend money to get people to watch our programming, we can’t. Five years ago, YouTube was a good place to start, and it helped us build the brand. It started with the debut of Powerrr, which we just passed our four-year anniversary; thanks to people like The Rock putting us over, it kind of put us on the map. It’s been an effective way.

“I can now say, for the first time, and I have to be a little vague because there are political aspects to this, but I can say that we have signed not just one, but two television details. The announcement as far as where and who will be coming soon. We finally, now, will be able to move off YouTube.

“Not exclusively, because we still want to be able to do stuff on YouTube, but we’ll be moving with a network partner. I have to be vague. I can’t say who, but I can say it’s a top 20 network. I’ve been working on this for over a year. Not just one, but two. Two totally different wrestling-related products we’ll be offering. 2024 is looking very bright.”

#BillyCorgan #quote #NWA #NationalWrestlingAlliance  #NWAPowerrr

#wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #sports #sportsnews #sportsmedia #broadcast #broadcasting #network #networkbroadcast #sportsbusiness #mediabiz #biz #media 

Quotes

"What one man calls God, another calls the laws of physics." - Nikola Tesla

#NikolaTesla #Tesla #god #physics #world #universe #media 

"There's always something that you can learn and something you can teach" - Roman Reigns, WWE @WWE wrestling legend #RomanReigns #quote #WWE #learn #teach #SmackDown #WWESmackDown #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #legend #media 

“The reality of SEO is the reality of any successful endeavor: It will take strategic, consistent, and sufficient efforts to rank well” #seo #SearchEngineOptimization #searchengines #authority #expert #rank #pagerank #Algorithm #success #strategy #web #webtips #niche #popculture #sportsbiz #biz #trends #buzz #mediabiz #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling Fantasy Booking: Dream Match

Karrion Kross @realKILLERkross vs John Cena @JohnCena 

Must been seen to be believed! Kross Cult and Cena fans urge WWE @WWE powers that be to make match!

"During the lockdowns, fans were fantasy booking tons of stuff; they started fantasy booking me vs John Cena — that blew my mind," he said. "I was still in 'NXT.' I was expecting ideas and concepts like that would come at a later time one day when I'm on main roster. They were already saying, 'I want to see that.'"

Kross quizzed Cena about the post in question.

"I said, 'Was that you, or was that your media team?' He goes, 'It was on Instagram,' I go, 'Yeah,' he goes, 'That was me,'" Kross confirmed, confirming Cena was the man who sent it.

What's next on the timeline? Will this dream match be seen? Will Kross and/or Cena keep encouring the powers that be? Is this finally the right time? So many questions. The dust ain't settled. Fans to whip up a storm.

Stayed turned to the WWE (and the Kross and Cena Instagrams)! 

#dreammatch #dreammatches #JohnCena #KarrionKross #KrossCult #Doomsday #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #fantasybooking #DFS #DailyFantasy #booker #combatsports #instagram #Meta #legends #socialmedia #socialmedianews #socialmediabuzz #entertainment #popculture #trends #hype #buzz #timeline #time #X #media 

WWE management and powers that be shake-ups on the horizon says combat sports and media insiders! An NWA connection?! No spoilers. #SmackDown #GM 

Boxing News

Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis. "Watch me knock out Dillion Danis @dillondanis at a cinema near you".."Dillon, I'm coming for you buddy". Logan Paul @LoganPaul #LoganPaul #quote #PaulDanis #boxing #misfits #Misfitsboxing #DAZN #combatsports #sportsnews #sportsmedia #PPV #PayPerView #media 

Search Engines, Online Publishing and Content

Only a user-centered strategy is future-oriented. That is exactly what search engines want: Get the user the best search results. If it is useless for the user, it is useless for your business. Instead of trying to be smarter than the algorithm: Focus even more on creating awesome and useful content for your customers. Give the people what they want be it SEO tips, pop culture, combat sports, internet scoops, future trends or whatever. #searchengines #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #onlinepublishing #content #creative #creativity #strategy #algorithm #seotips #popculture #combatsports #scoops #customers #performance #authority #entertainmentnews #trends #buzz #biz #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 13, 2023

Pretty Deadly vs Brawling Brutes in first match since Elton Prince’s injury! Elton Strong! Hello Boys! Receipt?! 

What commentary gems and puns will the likes of Michael Cole @MichaelCole and Wade Barrett @StuBennett 

Let's give them a head start fans..

"Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears" - Marcus Aurelius

"Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared" - Niccolo Machiavel

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #PrettyDeadly #EltonStrong #HelloBoys #BrawlingBrutes #wrestling #prowrestling #injury #rehab #MarcusAurelius #Machiavel #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #quotes #wwemedia #wwenews #wrestlingnews #trend #trending #buzz #hype #FOX #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 13, 2023   

LA Knight @reallaknight vs Solo Sikoa @WWESoloSikoa 

"Solo, across to the corner. Trying to gain a bit of seperation" Kevin Patrick

"Solo is in trouble" Michael Cole

"My god. What power from LA Night" Corey Graves

"What a win for the defiant LA Knight" Corey Graves

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #TheBloodline #PaulHeyman #JimmyUso #JeyUso #SoloSikoa #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingwar #legends #champions #GOAT #entertainment #popculture #FOX #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trend #trending #hype #buzz #media

"Who continues to ride the wave"..."Roman Reigns reminds the world - this is my house" MC. "LA Knight may rue the day he got in the face of the Tribal Chief" Michael Cole @MichaelCole on LA Knight .  "I'm a legend in this ring. Your an overnight success". Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns #SmackDown 

SEO News and Tips

The beauty of SEO is that, instead of pushing a marketing message onto folks who don’t want to hear what you have to say, you can reverse-engineer the process to discover exactly what people are looking for, create the right content for it, and appear before them at exactly the moment they are looking for it. It’s pull vs push. #seo #SearchEngineOptimization #sem #searchenginemarketing #searchengine #Google #audience #seotips #seonews #marketing #onlinemarketing #search #digitalbusiness #digitalbiz #biz #web #algorithm #technews #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling

WWE 

@WWE

 SmackDown

"Tonight is big so I gotta do this right" John Cena 

@JohnCena

 

The Bloodline music hits. Roman Reigns 

@WWERomanReigns

 Paul Heyman 

@HeymanHustle

 and Solo Sikoa 

@WWESoloSikoa

 approach ring

"John boy, Hollywood...you better do it the right way" RR

"The man only showed up because I took my leave"

"Let's be honest John. You already know who the Goat is"...

*Leave or we go make you leave"

"Lot of energy in here tonight..Lot of anticipation" JC

"1138 days you're held that championship" JC

"Because I haven't earned it but I do know someone who has" JC

LA Knight 

@RealLAKnight

 music. In the ring.

"You pissing your pants yet"? LA Knight 

"Right now you're a man standing in my way" LA

"They say your name now" RR

"Hammer him" Reigns to Solo

"For all.of you who don't speak moron" LA

"What a start" Kevin Patrick 

@kev_egan

 

"This right night" Corey Graves 

@WWEGraves

 

#SmackDown #WWE #RomanReigns #JohnCena #TheBloodline  #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #FOX #trends #trending #TV #media

Boxing News

Logan Paul @LoganPaul def Dillon Danis @dillondanis 

Paul via DQ by DQ!

Video

Logan Paul's PASSIONATE Victory Speech After Defeating Dillon Danis | THE PRIME CARD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5blnxKpUJI&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

"What's happening? Let's go!  He's supposed to be good at Jui-Jitusu. What happend bro? Stopped the takedown. Tried that.  Tried to do a guillotine. I'm sorry I missed that hammer fist. Oh, that would have been good. But I'm sorry it ended that way. Dillon Danis truely is a coward. Just a dirty, dirty human-being. But regardless, thankyou all for coming out tonight"... - Logan Paul

Video

LOGAN PAUL RING WALK | THE PRIME CARD (DAZN Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs1Q6vXTlAU&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Tommy Fury def KSI

Video

TOMMY FURY GETS THE WIN OVER KSI | THE PRIME CARD (DAZN Boxing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaz321ZC2kE&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Video

KSI vs. Tommy Fury, Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis: Who Won The Presser? | The DAZN Boxing Show (DAZN Boxing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCMbD_RObug&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

KSI, LOGAN PAUL, TOMMY FURY & DILLON DANIS ARRIVE AT THE PRIME CARD (Misfits Boxing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_QH0dZRyVk&ab_channel=MisfitsBoxing

#Misfits #Misfitsboxing #boxing #LoganPaul #DillonDanis #PaulDanis #JakePaul #KSI #combatsports #fighter #fighting #interview #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #sportsmedia #sportsnews #WWE #wrestling #entertainment #popculture #PPV #payperview #trend #trends #trending #win #winwinwin #media 

Combat Sports: Boxing/Pro Wrestling

"I'm a WWE Superstar so I'm moving back in the WWE. There are some championships that I want to get".. "I got my eye on something. I got my eye on someone. I'm an American boy and I want that U.S. Title. Rey Mysterio, I already beat you once brother, and I'm coming for that U.S. Championship. Let's go!" - Logan Paul @LoganPaul 

Video

Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis | Fight Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrNuyQwEdMI&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Logan Paul's PASSIONATE Victory Speech After Defeating Dillon Danis | THE PRIME CARD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5blnxKpUJI&t=6s&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Rey Mysterio was quick to respond via X @X (Formally Twitter)

Rey Mysterio

@reymysterio

Did @loganpaul just call me out? I’m not hard to find homie. Every Friday Night on SmackDown.

#Misfits #Misfitsboxing #boxing #LoganPaul #DillonDanis #ReyMysterio #JakePaul #KSI #SmackDown #WWESmackDown #combatsports #fighter #fighting #interview #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #sportsmedia #sportsnews #WWE #wrestling #entertainment #popculture #PPV #payperview #trend #trends #trending #win #winwinwin #media

Pro Wrestling News

WWE @WWE powers that be and fanbase happy with Nick Aldis (former NWA @NWA Champion) appointment as GM of SmackDown

Long time fans and some insiders had been hoping for more NWA connection to the world's leading wrestling promotion

Keep building upon this says Media. Massive thumbs up.

Video

Triple H appoints Nick Aldis new General Manager of SmackDown: SmackDown highlights, Oct 13, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiTbN8Un3FM&ab_channel=WWE

Nick Aldis

@RealNickAldis

The opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you

@TripleH

@WWE

Onwards and upwards for the blue brand!

#SmackDown #NickAldis #TripleH #WWE #NWA #WWEGM #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #sportsnews #entertainmentnews #popculture #buzz #trends #FOX #TV #broadcast #media 

**************************

"Be loyal to those who are loyal to you. And respect everyone, even your enemies and competition" - John Cena @JohnCena #JohnCena #quote #loyal #loyality #respect #competition #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainmnt #sports #business #life #mindset #mbs #world #media 

"The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick" -P. T. Barnum #PTBarnum #quote #foundation #success #life #health #fortune #happiness #life #business #mbs #mindset #world #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE RAW. October 16, 2023

Jey Uso @WWEUsos and Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes vs 'The Judgment Day' (Damian Priest @ArcherOfInfamy and Finn Balor @FinnBalor ) - WWE Tag Team Title #WWERaw #WWE #WWETag #TagTitle #JeyUso #CodyRhodes #JudgementDay #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #sportsbiz #USANetwork #USA #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trend #trending #TV #buzz #media 

“All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed—only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle.” - Nikola Tesla #NikolaTesla #Tesla #quote #great #combated #suppressed #power #triumph #struggle #inventor #invention #innovation #history #world #unvierse #media 

“Where the world ceases to be the scene of our personal hopes and wishes, where we face it as free beings admiring, asking, observing, there we enter the realm of art and science.” - Albert Einstein #AlbertEinstein #Einstein #quote #world #hopes #wishes #free #asking #observing #art #science #world #universe #mbs #media 

Pro Wrestling

“One of the best things about AEW, when we started, was it gave an alternative for not just the fans, but the guys and girls that are wrestling as well because it’s always good to have an option”.

“It’s kind of like being in a band or being on a hit sitcom where somebody leaves. One of the cast members leaves or one of the guys in the band leaves and you just have to continue forward.”

“I think that’s what kind of makes AEW so special and so beneficial to the business is you have a place to go if you feel you’ve run your course at the other place, and it works both ways.”

“When I left WWE at the time, I was like, ‘I will never work for anybody other than Vince McMahon in wrestling.'”

“And then the idea for Kenny Omega vs. Jericho at the Tokyo Dome came up and it was a pretty exciting concept and pretty cool idea, so I actually asked Vince if it was cool if I go do it. He was like, ‘You gotta go do it, it’s awesome.'”

“Then you realize there’s other places where you can go and realize maybe here in WWE I’ve reached a certain peak, that maybe you have done everything you can do in that environment.”

“So to know New Japan or AEW existed, it just made options available.” - Chris Jericho @IAmJericho , AEW @AEW pro wrestling + + + 

#ChrisJericho #quote #AEW #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #promotions #TV #options #legend #buzz #win #winwinwin #media 

Pro Wrestling

Wrestling legend Booker T @BookerT5x covers the business via ROW / Hall of Fame podcast

"NXT @WWENXT versus AEW, and I must say, NXT went out there and did the damn thing, man. They went out there and did the damn thing. 921K views and AEW did 609K. That's a vast difference, man. That's a huge difference, 300,00 people. People can say what they want to say. You know, the one person I've always tried to stay off of, you know, I try not to dig at Tony Khan or anything like that, just because he's got to try to run a business, but at the same time, I got to take a dig at this last comment that he made about the NXT rating. He said that it was the first time that John Cena and The Undertaker appeared in front of less than a million people for WWE, and the thing is, he's got Edge. He's got Christian over there. He's got all those guys and they've never performed in front of 600,000. So it's like, when you say stuff like that, you might want to think about it before you say stuff like that, you know, because Edge was in the main event. Edge was in the main event of that show, and they drew 609K. The thing is, I'm sure Tony Khan thought that there was going to be a bigger number. I can't be positive on this, but I would imagine that Tony could would have imagined that AEW Dynamite probably would have got a bigger number, and the thing is, I'm sure Tony Khan would have been gloating, basking in it as far as, you know, if the numbers would have been flipped, just say for instance. I'm sure Tony Khan would have been, It would have been a party.  It would have been a celebration if they would have actually won. So it's just like, I don't know what Tony Khan's modus operandi is. I don't know what his fixation is on WWE."

Reality Of Wrestling YouTube Channel / Hall of Fame

AEW vs. NXT Recap with Booker T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpNkyKgjwD4&ab_channel=RealityOfWrestling

#wrestling #prowrestling #BookerT #quote #WWENXT #WWE #RealityOfWrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #ratings #showbiz #broadcasting #podcast #wrestlingpodcast #TV #buzz #media 

Boxing/Combat Sports News

Logan Paul @LoganPaul bests Dillon Danis, Wins Fight via DQ, Close to riot scenes in and around the ring

Many fans and news media recal Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Mr. T fight from WrestleMania 2!

Writes its own script?! Satisfies the Misfit in all of us!

It was LP's first boxing match since he faced Floyd Mayweather @FloydMayweather  in June 2021 ... an exhibition bout without a winner!

Danis goes for a failed leg takedown in the 6th. Security charges the ring. Almost a flashback of sorts to WrestleMania 2 with Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Mr. T.

Paul calls out fellow @WWE superstar wrestler, Rey Mysterio @reymysterio in the post-match interview.

Mysterio answers via X @X 

"Did @loganpaul just call me out? I’m not hard to find homie. Every Friday Night on SmackDown.

Almost like Mysterio may have been expecting the barb! Who knows what goes on in and around a WWE office meetings with bookers, let alone 'Gorilla Position'!

Video

Logan Paul's PASSIONATE Victory Speech After Defeating Dillon Danis | THE PRIME CARD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5blnxKpUJI&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Video

Flashback via WWE Official YouTube

Mr. T vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper: WrestleMania 2 - Boxing Match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfTm_q5NMLg&ab_channel=WWE

It's understood that WWE executives and some fellow wrestlers are fired up for Paul and the potential real life dream match possibilities. WWE's Nick Khan and Triple H @TripleH (Creative head) are likely seeing very big $ opportunities right now - actually, they were already due to the Logan Paul star power and ability. The stakes have just got higher.  It's a win-win-win (depending upon who you ask), but some boxing "purists" may not be mega impressd - but they may not be the target audience.

Seems WrestleMania Season may have hit early. Logan Paul and fans for the win! Let's Go!  Can't wait for the next episode of Impaulsive @impaulsive . Us either!

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE RAW. October 16, 2023

Cody Rhodes @CodyRhodes and Jey Uso @WWEUsos vs The Judgment Day in a WWE Fastlane rematch

Gunther @Gunther_AUT vs “Big” Bronson Reed @BRONSONISHERE - Intercontinental Title

Shinsuke Nakamura @ShinsukeN vs Ricochet @KingRicochet - Falls Count Anywhere!

Rhea Ripley @RheaRipley_WWE vs Shayna Baszler @QoSBaszler - Non-Title. Why is that?!

RAW top brass Adam Pearce @ScrapDaddyAP will have his hands full with this one, as will announcers including Michael Cole @MichaelCole and Wade Barrett @StuBennett 

World class pro wrestling, technical wrestling, high drama, sports entertainment, storylines, art reflecting life, behind the scenes, blur between reality and fantasy, faction friction, Shakespeare meets fighting, soap opera and legit bad *sses! Appointment TV. Booked!

*Image credit: WWE

#WWERaw #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #wwewomen #womenswrestling #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #soapopera #sportsbiz #USANetwork #USA #TV #broadcasting #trend #trends #buzz #hype #win #winwinwin #media 

Web, SEO and Digtal Publishing Tips and Ideas

Good SEO is paying attention to all the details that most bloggers ignore. From using the Yoast plug-in, to writing for people, to creating thorough resources linking out to trusted sites and linking into evergreen, relevant content. Do what others refuse to do to rank for semi-competitive and even competitive keywords. Spend an extra 1-3 hours to publish an SEO-optimized post. The returns from a targeted traffic, community and brand-building perspective are astounding.

#SEO #searchengineoptimization #SEM #searchenginemarketing #Google #Alphabet #blog #blogs #bloggers #blogging #onlinepublishing #creative #creativity #linking #links #textlinks #evergreen #evergreencontent #content #contentcreating #webrank #top10 #keywords #keyword #niche #nichemedia #nichenews #popculture #showbiz #AO #trends #buzz #media #mediaman 

Quotes

“I’m sure in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about staying healthy and being injury-free. But then, I think I’ve always tried to be smart and save the risky stuff or save the big bumps or whatever for when it’s important or when it’s financially viable. I think anyone who is somewhat successful in the business has to sort of think that way a little bit.” - Nick Aldis, pro wrestler and wrestling creative #NickAldis #wrestling #prowrestling #health #success #business #combatsports #sportsbusiness #entertainment #popculture #media 

Pro Wrestling

“The Judgment Day, we run Raw so, if Jade wants to come to my brand, then I would love to step in the ring with her and show her exactly why mami’s always on top.

“I have watched bits and pieces of her from her time in the other brand, in the other company and she is fantastic and she believes in herself and she is a star, she believes she’s a star which is always the most dangerous thing.

“When someone believes in themselves, they are very hard to stop. But, I’m also mami. So, I’m waiting for that day that I do get to step in the ring with her.

“I think it’s gonna be a very exciting match and just to have someone that’s so physically impressive across the ring from me, it excites me.

“I love a good challenge and I’m waiting for that day.” - Rhea Ripley, wrestler - WWE @WWE Women's Champion

*Image: WWE

#RheaRipley #quote #JadeCargill #WWE #WWERaw #JudgementDay #wrestling #prowrestling #womenswrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #star #showbiz #trends #buzz #media 

No matter how niche or mainstream your market is, great content remains a significant focus for SEO. #niche #nichemedia #nichemarketing #mainstream #market #content #creative #creativity #SEO #searchengineoptimization #biz #mediabiz #webbiz #popculture #showbiz #combatsports #buzz #win #AI #media #mediaman 

News Corp quietly sold out of Betr after four months, despite $70m investment - October 2023

News Corp quietly sold its shares in Betr, the wagering start-up run by wealthy bookmaker Matthew Tripp, just four months after it launched despite injecting more than $70 million into the company.

Betr chairman Matthew Tripp told The Australian Financial Review on Thursday he was grateful for News Corp’s “initial and ongoing support”, but said the publishing and broadcast giant was no longer an investor.

The relationship ended in February, sources close to Betr said, but filings with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission were not updated on Thursday morning. An ASIC document filed late on Thursday confirmed the change in ownership.

A News Corp spokesman declined to comment.

Mr Tripp, in a statement, confirmed Betr had paid more than $40 million in winnings to customers who backed the Penrith Panthers to win their third consecutive NRL grand final and Collingwood to take the AFL premiership. “We have finalised all the $100-1 markets and now have a clean balance sheet heading into spring,” Mr Tripp said on Thursday.

“While they’re no longer on our register, we’re appreciative of News’ initial and ongoing support of Betr, and they remain an important partner of ours going forward,” he added. “We’re now in a position where we are focused on growth and getting to scale – with our eyes fixed firmly on M&A opportunities in a market that is becoming more challenging.”

Betr launched last October after more than four years of on-and-off discussions between Mr Tripp and News Corp Australia. It was unrelated to a decision by News Corp chairman and Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch, to explore the betting market in the United States.

But multiple media and wagering sources, who required anonymity to speak freely, said the relationship between the two parties had soured quickly.

Gambling insiders took comments by News Corp’s chief financial officer Susan Panuccio in February – that she did not expect the multimillion-dollar equity loss caused by Betr to be “the run rate going forward” – as a sign of its view on the start-up. The industry has speculated since then that News Corp had walked away from the business.

Selling Betr to BetMakers an option

News Corp has remained silent on the matter despite repeated questioning and the exit of two senior executives – Peter Blunden and Mark Reinke – from the Betr board in March. Sources close to the two parties said the decision was a directive from News Corp’s headquarters in New York.

Documents filed with ASIC earlier this year show the only change to the share structure of Betr was an injection from Mr Tripp’s company, TGW, in February, which diluted News Corp’s 47 per cent stake.

The structure changed after Tekkorp, part of the consortium that launched Betr almost one year ago, walked away from the start-up two months after the launch. According to a Betr source, Tekkorp “was not allowed to remain in the consortium after being unable to fund their launch obligations”.

After News Corp sold out, Betr attempted to secure alternative funding to acquire the Australian business of rival wagering group PointsBet. When it was unable to secure funding, Betr looked at other options – new investors and the prospect of a sale.

One of the potential options was the sale of Betr to its technology provider, BetMakers, but those discussions ended more than a month ago. BetMakers’ executive chairman is Matt Davey, who is also the owner of Tekkorp.

Mr Tripp said in an interview last month that he still had plans to take part in mergers and acquisitions in the sector, claiming he had conducted a capital raise that allows Betr to “stay the course”.

Betr declined to provide details about who forms the consortium known as the Tripp Group or how much money was raised. It is unclear from the filings how much News Corp received for its shares.

Over $40m in payments finalised

News Corp, which owns The Australian and The Daily Telegraph, will continue its relationship with Betr as an advertising partner. As part of the launch, Betr received discounted rates to promote its platform on Foxtel.

The formal end of the relationship with News Corp means it will not provide more financing to Betr or assist it in meeting its obligations to customers.

Betr has finalised more than $40 million in payments to its customers, who took part in a 100-1 promotion last year and backed Panthers to win their third consecutive NRL Premiership last weekend.

The promotion, which led to a $210,000 fine from Liquor and Gaming NSW, put financial pressure on the wagering business. Betr last month attempted to reduce liabilities by offering Penrith backers the chance to take a $400 or $500 payout. The maximum payout on the bet was $1000.

“The $100-1 markets have given us strong momentum all year and provide a big boost for customers heading into spring,” Mr Tripp said, claiming the business is profitable. It is the largest payout in sports gambling history.

Nathan Cleary’s second half heroics means online bookmaker Betr needs to process more than $40 million in winnings - the largest payout in the history of sports gambling.

USA Gaming and Gambling News

G2E: Financing available for forthcoming casino projects, though at a premium

Wall Street investors continue to be interested in investing in quality casino-resort projects despite tight capital markets, but operators will pay a premium in markets like New York City, where there will be a lot of competition for customers. New York has authorized three casino licenses for the downstate region centered on New York City, for which 11 applicants are vying, including Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International, and Las Vegas Sands. “A U.S. Treasury is a risk-free investment at 5% and if I’m thinking about investing in a brand-new New York greenfield project that costs $5 billion, that’s going to require a pretty big premium above 5% for me to get excited,” said Howard Wang, managing director at Ares Management during a panel session at the Global Gaming Expo.

Workers picket Harrah’s Philadelphia for first time since casino opened

Amidst the banging of drums and shaking of bells in front of the Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack parking garage, approximately 150 members of three unions shouted, “No contract, no peace.” “It’s the first time we’ve ever taken public action at this property since it opened,” Ben Albert, secretary/treasurer of Unite Here Local 54, said. “The wages lag way behind the rest of the industry and are not where they should be based on how the company is doing”… Members of Unite Here 54, Laborers Local 413 and Teamsters Local 107 picketed in front of the facility Friday.

The Sphere wasn’t built for sports. The biggest players want in anyway

After just one U2 concert at Las Vegas’ new $2.3 billion Sphere, UFC president Dana White described himself as “obsessed” with the venue and the prospect of getting the mixed-martial arts property there as soon as possible. “The Sphere is a whole other level,” White said. “I don’t run the Sphere, and it’s not my company, but it’s so good that for at least the first year, they should do nothing but incredible experiences. … I will put on the greatest live combat sports event anybody has ever seen at the Sphere. I’m so in on this, it’s not even funny. The first live transmission from there should be us.”

Caesars’ Virginia revenue dips slightly in September, but ahead of Hard Rock in Bristol; Rivers Portsmouth leads state

Gaming revenue for the Danville Casino dipped slightly again last month, but remained well above its counterpart in Bristol. The temporary facility brought in about $19.14 million in September, down from the $19.63 million posted in August. The Virginia Lottery released the figures Friday. The casino in Bristol — another temporary site with more slots and tables — brought in $12.71 million.

Arizona: DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale to open this week

It’s only a matter of days until the DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale has its grand opening. The sportsbook will open its doors on Oct. 20, according to a Monday press release. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will commence at 1 p.m. with PGA Tour and DraftKings executives. Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald will place the ceremonial first bet. The DraftKings Sportsbook, which sits across the street from the TPC Scottsdale Champions Course clubhouse, was developed under a first-of-its-kind agreement with the PGA Tour.

High roller offers $500K reward, says he was drugged while gambling at MGM Grand

A California real estate executive and sports agent who has high-roller status with MGM Resorts International has sued the company after he says he was drugged with a substance used by veterinarians to sedate animals while playing blackjack in the MGM Grand’s private gambling salon. Dwight Manley, 57, who filed the amended complaint in July, on Thursday offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for drugging him.

NCAA’s attitude toward sports betting takes dramatic shift, more focused on athlete protections than punishments

A few years ago, the NCAA’s stance on sports wagering was clear: Don’t bet. The organization didn’t want players and coaches wagering, and the NCAA also wasn’t thrilled about having any relationship with regulated sports betting. That attitude seems to be shifting, as NCAA officials are aware of the increased fan engagement legalized betting brings. A changing attitude toward sports betting doesn’t just include a growing appreciation for the external benefits of sports wagering, such as increasing fan interest.

Disney goes all in on sports betting with ESPN Bet

In early 2019, an analyst asked Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger if sports betting could coexist with the House of Mouse’s brand. He said he didn’t see the company facilitating gambling in any way. Just four years later, the world’s most beloved name in family entertainment is going all-in on sports betting. In August, the company struck a 10-year deal with sports-betting company Penn Entertainment to bring gambling to Disney’s ESPN sports network. Sports fans will be able to wager on games on their phones through a new app called ESPN Bet that accepts bets through Penn’s sportsbook.

‘Creepy’ feeling around Atlantic City casinos in wake of cyberattacks

The eerie calm that has washed over Atlantic City casinos the last few weeks has nothing to do with Halloween or the changing of the seasons. It is not even because most of the gambling industry is gathered in Las Vegas this week for the Global Gaming Expo (G2E). The recent cyberattacks on two of the largest US casino operators have noticeably impacted Atlantic City casinos. Or at least that is the general feeling in town lately. New Jersey gambling regulators will publish September’s revenue results for the AC casino industry on Oct. 16.

After cyberattacks crippled casino companies, how vulnerable is Las Vegas?

Las Vegas has always prided itself on its economy of leisure. In the span of a weekend, visitors can dine at the finest restaurants, witness world-class entertainment and sporting events and shop at top luxury brands without leaving the Strip—sometimes, without leaving their hotel. All that came to a standstill last month as two casino giants fell prey to revenue-crippling cyberattacks that have left us wondering: How vulnerable is Vegas, really? Casino-goers attempting to use mobile check-in, digital keys, credit cards, ATMs, slot machines and other services at some MGM Resorts properties were shocked to find widespread outages on September 11.

Mets owner seeking to construct casino outside Citi Field

New York (New York City) - Chantz Martin, Fox News - Steve Cohen spent a record amount on the New York Mets payroll heading into the 2023 regular season. Now, the billionaire who purchased the franchise ahead of the 2021 season hopes to build attractions around the team's home ballpark in Queens. Cohen suggested that a casino would give fans options before and after games. "The fans want something to do before the game, after the game," Cohen said.

Champagne, private shopping, $1.5M in jewel, luxury retailers prepare for F1

Nevada (Las Vegas) - McKenna Ross, Review-Journal - The Regis Galerie has long marketed itself as the spot on the Strip for top Italian art, Spanish porcelain and worldly fine jewelry – even legendary pop star Michael Jackson shopped at the boutique in The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes. But Ike Dweck, vice president of the art gallery, is kicking it into overdrive to cash in on the immense activity expected in November… Dweck’s place — and hundreds of other luxury retailers on the Strip — are preparing for an influx of high net-worth shoppers in Las Vegas during the Formula One Grand Prix on Nov. 16 to 18, which is projected to bring 120,000 visitors to the region.

iGaming Ontario releases Q2 market- performance report

Canada (Ontario/igaming) - Mark Keast, CDC Gaming Reports - The regulated Ontario igaming market continues to experience growth, according to a quarter-two fiscal-year 2023-24 (July 1 through September 30). Ontario reached $14.2 billion in total wagers in Q2, not including promotional wagers (bonuses). That’s up from $14 billion in Q1 (April 1 to June 30, 2023). Ontario saw $540 million in total gaming revenue in Q2, down from $545 million in Q1.

Best Bookies ceases Price Pty Ltd service following ACMA warning

Oceania (Australia) - Jessie Sale, SBC News - Best Bookies’ Price Pty Ltd has been issued a formal warning from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (AMCA) for operating an unlicensed online wagering service. The group is described as an ‘internet site allowing punters to securely bet with a range of independent licensed Australian bookmakers using a single betting account’. However, it has been found that the service allowed customers to compare betting odds across licensed wagering operators and placed bets with those operators on their behalf…Best Bookies’ Price Pty Ltd has now ceased providing this service.

Amy Howe, Jason Robins examine growth of sports betting

Nevada (Las Vegas/G2E) - Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports - A conversation that touched on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, pickleball, Formula 1 racing, and a flurry of field goals in the National Football League seems like it could have taken place in one of the coffee shops, bars, or hallways at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Instead, those topics were broached, some in depth, others lightly, during the Wednesday keynote session “The Playmakers” moderated by CNBC’s Contessa Brewer and featuring the CEOs Amy Howe of FanDuel and Jason Robins of DraftKings.

Indigenous women defy odds in Tribal leadership

Nevada (Las Vegas/G2E) - Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports - Monday was Indigenous People’s Day and Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Steven wanted to make sure it was celebrated correctly. At the Global Gaming Expo education session “Shattering Ceilings: Women Leaders in Tribal Gaming,” Stevens introduced three tribal women who could “tell people who we are, tell people our true history,” he said. Holly Cook Macarro, an expert on political matters focused on tribal legislative and policy and principal at The Angle; Porch Band of Creek Indians Tribal Chair Stephanie Bryan; and Melanie Benjamin, the Chief Executive/Chairwoman of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, told stories of how they came to become tribal leaders, despite odds often stacked against them.

Female slot players a growing demographic

Nevada (Las Vegas/G2E) - Buck Wargo, CDC Gaming Reports - The number of female slot players continues to grow in the U.S., but game designers shouldn’t try to appeal to them by use of the color pink or flowers. Instead, they should make games that are fun for everyone to play. That was the message from a Global Gaming Expo educational session, “How Female Designers Are Influencing Game Design,” moderated by Carolyn Tomcyzyk, senior director of art design at Konami Gaming. Francine Maric, better known as “Lady Luck HQ” on social media, said that her followers online look for games that are simple and have vitality. “They want to see action. They want to see jackpots,” Maric said.

Las Vegas Grand Prix to begin at 10 p.m.

Nevada (Las Vegas) - Mick Akers, Review-Journal - The Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled to be contested on the third-longest circuit on Formula One’s 2023 schedule, will begin as expected at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, race organizers confirmed. The late start is to allow the race to feature the renowned lights of the Las Vegas Strip. The circuit will be brightly lit via lighting trusses that are already being installed on the Strip and other areas of the track.

Gambler ups the ante with federal lawsuit against Resorts World

Nevada (Las Vegas) - John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports - A gambler’s protracted battle with Resorts World Las Vegas reached a new level Monday with a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that accuses the Strip casino-resort company and its former president of negligence and the infliction of emotional distress for failing to prevent known fraudsters and persons convicted of gambling-related crimes from playing in the casino. The lawsuit filed by attorneys Marshall Cole and David Merrill on behalf of California resident Robert J. Cipriani, who goes by the moniker “Robin Hood 702” on social media, comes following the ouster of Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella for a violation of company policy amid press reports of an ongoing investigation by IRS Criminal Investigations and U.S. Homeland Security agents of Las Vegas hotels, including Resorts World.

Odesza at Zouk, Disco Kiss Mondays at Cathédrale and more

Nevada (Las Vegas) - The Weekly Staff - Las Vegas nightlife scion and rising star Dustin Drai has been promoted to president of Drai’s Management Group. He will now oversee the marketing and entertainment efforts and initiatives of Drai’s Beachclub, Nightclub and After Hours at the Cromwell, as well as the company’s expansion to Texas with Drai’s Dallas, set to open in late 2024. Electronic music duo Odesza’s first-ever nightclub performance will be part of New Year’s Eve weekend at Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World.

MGM sends special offers in wake of September cyberattack

National (cyberattack) - McKenna Ross, Review-Journal - MGM Resorts International has begun sending out loyalty rewards to customers affected by the September cyberattack on the company. A promotion shared by a popular social media blogger shows an offer for a complimentary stay for that MGM Rewards loyalty member.

Rise of mobile betting increases revenue, more problem gambling

New York (igaming) - Connor Smith, Spectrum News - Taxes on mobile sports betting in New York generated $727.4 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year and have continued to grow in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The rise of mobile sports betting, though, also led to a 26% rise in problem gambling-related calls to the Office of the Addiction Services and Supports from 2021-2022, according to the New York State Gaming Commission. This, DiNapoli said, should lead to more attention on the impacts of mobile sports betting — particularly on younger people.

Atlantic City Dave & Buster's expected to open in December

New Jersey (Atlantic City) - Selena Vazquez, The Press - The opening of the Dave & Buster's entertainment center at the former site of rapper Jay-Z's 40/40 Club has been pushed back to December, city officials said. "According to our Director of Licensing and Inspection Dale Finch, we are looking at an anticipated opening date of early December," said Alexxus Young, a spokesperson for the city, adding the license that Dave & Buster's is requesting requires City Council approval. The North American chain of combination arcade, sports bar, restaurant and entertainment complexes has 155 locations in the United States, according to the company.

122-year-old Atlantic City property turning into apartments

New Jersey (Atlantic City) - Selena Vazquez, The Press - For the past decade, the former Morris Guards Armory at 10 S. New York Ave. has been vacant, but that is set to change over the next couple of months. John Longacre and his real estate development company, LPMG Companies, expect to put about 32 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units, along with other retail spaces, on the real estate market by the end of the year. The building was constructed in 1901 and was used as an armory for the city's independent volunteer military club, the Morris Guards, until 1983. "We're trying to get people to see Atlantic City in a different way," Longacre said.

Huge Powerball jackpot goes to lucky lottery player in California

National (lottery) - Jim Salter, Associated Press - A player in California won a $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot Wednesday night, ending a long stretch without a winner of the top prize… Before someone won the giant prize, there had been 35 consecutive drawings without a big winner, stretching back to July 19 when a player in California matched all six numbers and won $1.08 billion.

New Catawba chief rejects deal to break up with casino developer

North Carolina (Indian gaming) - Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer - The Catawba Nation’s new chief rejects the cost of a financial deal that would break most ties with a company that’s been instrumental in launching its Two Kings Casino outside Charlotte. The deal, approved by the tribe’s previous administration, would require the Catawba to pay SkyBoat, LLC a $125 million payout, Chief Brian Harris said…But it’s too much money, said Harris, who was elected chief this summer and must sign the agreement for it to be finalized.

New coalition forms to weigh in on gaming compact negotiations

New York (Indian gaming) - Ryan Whalen, Spectrum News - Existing non-native casinos and racinos in the Finger Lakes and Western New York and unions representing their employees are formally launching a coalition to have a voice in the ongoing negotiations for a new gaming compact between the state and the Seneca Nation of Indians. The Fair Compact for All Coalition includes representatives from del Lago Resort and Casino, Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack, Hamburg Gaming and Batavia Downs. They want to ensure any new Seneca gaming compact t protects the future of their operations and the communities they say have come to depend on their success.

The Shoshone-Bannock Casino announces hunting packages

Idaho (Indian gaming) - Idaho State Journal - The Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel, in conjunction with the Tribes’ Fish & Game, invites hunting enthusiasts to join in on some of the best waterfowl and pheasant hunting in Idaho on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation now through December. Hunters can choose from one-day and two-day packages, allowing them to immerse themselves in the natural beauty and wildlife of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation while also enjoying comfortable accommodations in the hotel and delectable dining options.

State Confronts Indian Boarding School Past with New Committee

Washington (Indian Country) - Jenna Kunze, Native News - Washington State’s Attorney General’s office has formed a Truth & Reconciliation Tribal Advisory Committee to collect oral testimonies and recommend how the state can address present-day harms caused by Indian boarding school policies. Washington, a state home to 29 federally recognized tribes, hosted 17 of the nation’s more than 500 Indian Boarding Schools, according to an up-to-date list from the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. The institutions operated from the 1800s through 1970 with the aim to forcibly assimilate Native children into white society.

Osage Casinos Celebrate Grand Opening of New Casino Hotel in Pawhuska

Oklahoma (Indian gaming) - Indian Gaming Magazine - Osage Casinos recently celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art casino and hotel in Pawhuska. This long-awaited property has been under construction since 2021 and is now open to the public following a ribbon-cutting celebration…On the day the new casino officially opened, the existing location closed. With a transformation from a 8,335 sq. ft. venue to this expansive new facility, the Pawhuska community is excited for the update. A

Casino News Media

Why Knowledge is Power: Navigating the World of Regulated Online Gambling

Every top casino search will feature an online casino's bonus offerings, payment methods and at least a blurb as to what differentiates their product from the rest of what's out there.  We know Slotland, Mansion and Mr. Green are reputable per their longevity in the realm of online gambling. But what about those sites that do not appear on such listings?

Online Casino Complaints

The fact is, the longer a casino has been around, the more likely you'll be able to find a handful of complaints about said casino.  Even a site like Mansion there are bound to be dissatisfied customers.  There is no avoiding this fact.

But when one stumbles upon multiple complaints about a particular online casino, that becomes a problem.

There are many websites that feature forums where players share their bad experiences.  These include long established Casino Meister (older than Gambling911) and, on the poker side, TwoPlusTwo.

Additionally, conduct searches via Google and other search engines.  And remember to be careful.  Some companies, usually those that are a little on the rogue side, employ services that ensure only positive supposed "real customer" experiences appear at the top of review pages.  Scroll down or filter and you'll almost always find the real truth, one single star review listed after the other.

A Word About Regulated Online Casinos

Yes there are a few benefits to playing with a regulated casino or online sportsbook, the top being the ability to reach out to a commission or other licensing body.  This doesn't always mean they are safe.  Gambling911.com warned that 5Dimes was going to shut down.  That site claimed otherwise.  We notified their regulatory body.  They did nothing.  5Dimes closed weeks later.  The regulatory body simply removed their company from its list of licensees and players were screwed out of any futures bets.

Online Casino Pluses

Once you land on a review page, the benefits are clear and easy to compare.  Promos will be pushed the most.  Here are just some of the great promotional offers we stumbled upon.

Matching deposit bonuses

100 to 200+ free spins

Bitcoin only deposits (see below)

Free bets

Be careful.  You don't just deposit money, get free money, then request it all back.  Each casino and sportsbook implements its own rollover/play requirement.  10X is one of the best rollovers.  This means your initial $20 will need to be played through ten times before you can request the free bonus money.  If 10X is a turnoff, casino gambling might not be your thing.  Some play through requirements do not permit withdrawal during this period and this may be a legitimate turnoff to some.  Why can't you request a withdrawal on winnings while still working on your play requirement. It is important to read the Q&A section of the web casino site.  Avoid any online casino that does not feature a Q&A page or Terms and Agreement section.

You'll Need to Fund Your Online Gambling Account

Some online casino payment methods are better than others.  By better, we mean faster.

Yes, Bitcoin is among the best but it’s akin to learning how to ride a bicycle.  There is a learning curve at first but funding with Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies will become second nature by the 4th or 5th time.  Just ALWAYS check that your Bitcoin stamp matches at the start and end of the string and you should not have any problem.   Gambling sites often have no problem sending five figure amounts through Bitcoin wallets.  This payout, often received in a matter of hours seven days a week, can then be converted to your favorite currency via the Bitcoin exchange.  

Remember too that there are fees involved with all payout methods employed.  Wires and ePayments may be quick but costly.  Each site lists varying fees for the same payment method and not all are competitive.  Many online gambling sites offer “Bitcoin Only” bonuses with more lucrative incentives.  One loosely guarded secret that the online casinos won’t advertise: They hate credit card transactions.  Gamblers are notorious for charging back.   Hence the rationale for pushing Bitcoin deposits.

Google Trends - October 2023

SEJ's Roger with an interesting, insightful and educational feature on Google Trends. The best ways to plug into this realm for optimum results can depend upon the nature of the business you are engaging in. For us, news, pop culture/entertainment news, events, promotions, live sport and a range of media, advertising and technical services. So, we frequently apply a methodology that trends for Australian and global sports and entertainment events. In addition, some events, news and other are evergreen. For example, WWE 'SummerSlam' out of the USA is seasonal in name, but is also broadcast globally. WrestleMania by the same sports entertainment promotional is broadcast globally and does not focus on the weather patten or season, but happens in 'WrestleMania Season' (around early April). UFC MMA events happen all year round. Pro surfing is more seasonal, hence wetsuit or not! Snow ski-sking. Festival Of The Winds - you get the idea. Certain celebs attached to brands trends, product/service endorsements and more. Sometimes other topics such as trust or other in politics, big tech and other industries can also factor in. See what's hot and what's on the rise and ramp up online publishing. It works in the Internet Matrix Of Things.

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE NOW

Video

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso set for title rematch with The Judgment Day: WWE Now, Oct. 16, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgPHkqy92Fw&ab_channel=Keepin%27It100OFFICIAL

"Logan Paul loves being in the spotlight and grabbed it back for himself this past Saturday. After defeating MMA fighter Dillon Danis in a boxing match in London, Logan Paul shocked the WWE Universe by calling out WWE Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio. The Lo Gang has their sights set on the United States championship, and Logan Paul let Rey Mysterio know he plans on taking it from him. Is a WWE Title in Logan Paul's future? So that's the latest from around the WWE Universe, but so much more to come tonight on the season premier of Monday Night RAW. Don't miss a second of the action"... - Megan Morant

*Image credit: WWE

#WWENow #WWERaw #WWE #LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainment #popcuture #trend #buzz #media 

American Box Office

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour - $96m

The Exorcist: Believer - $11m

Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie - $7m

Saw X - $5.7m

The Creator - $4.3m

A Haunting in Venice - $2.052m

The Blind - $2.023m

The Nun II - $1.6m

The Equalizer 3 - $960,000

Dumb Money - $920,000

#boxoffice #movies #movienews #showbiz #TaylorSwift #taylorswifterastourmovie #PAWPatrol #SawX #TheCreator #ahauntinginvenice #TheBlind #TheNun2 #TheEqualizer3 #DumbMoney #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #moviebiz #trend #trending #buzz #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE RAW

Shinsuke Nakamura @ShinsukeN vs Ricochet @KingRicochet  - Falls Count Anywhere Match

"Ricochet not even waiting for the bell" Kevin Patrick @kev_egan 

"Ricochet is letting his heart rule his head" Wade Barrett @StuBennett

"He's all heart, Ricochet" - KP

"Even more effective in a match like this".. "embarrassed and humaliated for weeks" WB

"No disqualifications in this kind of match-up. It's all just a playground for Ricochet" WB

"People trying to do their jobs" KP

"Bating and setting the trap" WB

"The fight has gone into the crowd here" KP

"Insanity... and its all legal. Ricochet willing to risk it all"

"Flatended about 10 security guards in the process" WB

"You could watch that all night on a loop and not get bored" WD

"Listen to the road in Oklahoma City" KO

"Nakamura prone and in the drop zone" WB

"So close to bedtime for Ricochet" WB

"Insade acrobatic ability..figures something out and stays alive" WB

"Ricochet's splits the table" WB

"Nakamura wins in falls count anywhere"

"That cut-throad style. Dangerous, dangerous man. The entire lockerroom needs to be on guard".. WB

"That unfortunate landing through the table" WB

*Image credit: WWE

#WWERaw #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #fallcountanywhere #combatsports #entertainment #sportsbiz #popculture #USANetwork #trends #broadcast #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Raw. October 16, 2023

Bálor & Priest def Rhodes & Jey Uso - Tag Team Title

Shinsuke Nakamura def Ricochet-Falls Count Anywhere

Piper Niven def Natalya

Ludwig Kaiser def Johnny Gargano

Confrontation: Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Drew McIntyre

Rhea Ripley vs Shayna Bazle. No contest.

Gunther def Big Bronson Reed - Intercontinental Title

Video

Raw’s most explosive moments: Raw highlights, Oct. 16, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jilz1czKkNI&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Gunther vs. “Big” Bronson Reed - Intercontinental Title Match: Raw highlights, Oct. 16, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFhCrKRAr60&t=2s&ab_channel=WWE

Video

A brawl ruins Rhea Ripley’s match with Shayna Baszler: Raw highlights, Oct. 16, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHHIsDzOjIw&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso set for title rematch with The Judgment Day: WWE Now, Oct. 16, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgPHkqy92Fw&t=2s&ab_channel=WWE

Image credit: WWE

#WWERaw #WWE #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #USANetwork #broadcast #trend #trending #buzz #TV #media 

Wrestling News

Rey Mysterio @reymysterio accepts Logan Paul's @LoganPaul challenge and call out following LP victory in boxing match

Following the X @X (former Twitter_) reply to LP, Mr 619 spoke with TMZ Sports @TMZ_Sports 

"I'm looking to shut him up in a way".

"He said he has his eyesight on something and someone, it's me and the U.S. title. So let's go! I've only been doing this for 34 years. I don't think he was even born before that happened."

"I'm hoping to see [Logan] there this Friday [on SmackDown]," Mysterio told us, adding, "I don't know if it'll go down right then and there [on SmackDown], but we will plan a date."

"I have seen his growth inside the ring and he picks up very fast" .. "He's good. I'm not gonna lie. But I don't think he's better than Rey Mysterio."

Video

Best Logan Paul moments: WWE Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA7iYojBzBI&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul’s best moments: WWE Top 10, Feb. 2, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcNeCKr9X3M&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul and Ricochet's unbelievable mid-air collision: WWE Royal Rumble 2023 highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G02RnW-7aQI&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul CHALLENGES Rey Mysterio for US TITLE MATCH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK6UkrPhuhA&ab_channel=NinaDrama

Image credit: WWE

#LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #DillonDanis #WWE #WWEUS #USTitle #SmackDown #wrestling #prowrestling #dreammatch #combatsports #sportsbiz #popculture #TMZ #entertainment #legends #ratings #trend #trending #buzz #hype #PLE #win #winwinwin #media 

"The body achieves what the mind believes.” – Napoleon Hill #NapoleonHill #quote #body #mind #mindset #attitude #motivation #mbs #media 

Quotes

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease" = Voltaire #voltaire #quote #medicine #cure #disease #mbs #world #media 

"Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided" - Paracelsus #Paracelsus #quote #medicine #science #art #life #mbs #world #media 

"Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears" - Marcus Aurelius #MarcusAurelius #quote #injury #health #wellbeing #mbs #world #media 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky #WayneGretzky #quote #shorts #sport #mindset #attitude #mbs #media 

"The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell" Confucius #Confucius #quote #man #right #sell #mindset #business #world #media 

“Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” #onlinemarketing #business #onlinebiz #onlinebusiness #marketing #ads #advertising #agency #publicity #promotions #biz #media #mediaman 

Wrestling News

Rey Mysterio @reymysterio accepts Logan Paul's @LoganPaul challenge and call out following LP victory in boxing match

Following the X @X (former Twitter_) reply to LP, Mr 619 spoke with TMZ Sports @TMZ_Sports 

"I'm looking to shut him up in a way".

"He said he has his eyesight on something and someone, it's me and the U.S. title. So let's go! I've only been doing this for 34 years. I don't think he was even born before that happened."

"I'm hoping to see [Logan] there this Friday [on SmackDown]," Mysterio told us, adding, "I don't know if it'll go down right then and there [on SmackDown], but we will plan a date."

"I have seen his growth inside the ring and he picks up very fast" .. "He's good. I'm not gonna lie. But I don't think he's better than Rey Mysterio."

Video

Best Logan Paul moments: WWE Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA7iYojBzBI&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul’s best moments: WWE Top 10, Feb. 2, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcNeCKr9X3M&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul and Ricochet's unbelievable mid-air collision: WWE Royal Rumble 2023 highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G02RnW-7aQI&ab_channel=WWE

Video

Logan Paul CHALLENGES Rey Mysterio for US TITLE MATCH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK6UkrPhuhA&ab_channel=NinaDrama

Image credit: WWE

#LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #DillonDanis #WWE #WWEUS #USTitle #SmackDown #wrestling #prowrestling #dreammatch #combatsports #sportsbiz #popculture #TMZ #entertainment #legends #ratings #trend #trending #buzz #hype #PLE #win #winwinwin #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE NXT @WWENXT October 17, 2023

Carmelo Hayes vs Baron Corbin vs Dijak. Triple Threat Match to decide No. 1 Contender to NXT Title

Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal to determine No. 1 Contenders to NXT Tag Team Championship

Lyra Valkyria vs Tegan Nox

Image credit: WWE NXT

#WWENXT #wrestling #prowrestling #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #USANetwork #broadcast #buzz #TV #media  

“Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions.” – Marcus Aurelius #MarcusAurelius #quote #mind #frequency #thought #humanspirit #world #universe #mbs #media 

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it well enough yourself” - Albert Einstein #AlbertEinstein #Einstein #quote #physics #understand #mbs #world #media 

Evergreen Content

"Evergreen Content: A simple definition: Evergreen content is a publication, quote or story which does not expire in the short term. It is a collection of content, information, quotes and stories that is as relevant today, as they were when they were first published. Evergreen content can be modified over time should the publisher see the need. In many cases evergreen content can be utlized to compliment fresh/new content. Keep in mind the type of endeavours and business one is involved in when publishing content, evergreen or otherwise" - Greg Tingle, founder, Media Man Group #GregTingle #quote #evergreencontent #evergreen #content #articles #stories #information #freshcontent #freshnews #contentmarketing #contentcreation #contentnews #contenttips #biz #business #newsbiz #newsmedia #onlinenews #SEO #SEM #Algorithm #niche #nichecontent #nichenews #media #mediamangroup #mediaman #mediamanint

The beauty of SEO is that, instead of pushing a marketing message onto folks who don’t want to hear what you have to say, you can reverse-engineer the process to discover exactly what people are looking for, create the right content for it, and appear before them at exactly the moment they are looking for it. It’s pull vs. push. If you have a business on the internet that wants to make more people aware of its existence you need to be looking at Search Engine Optimization as part of the online marketing efforts. In addition, a mix of both fresh and evergreen content to help stay relevant and in the mix all year round.

#SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #marketing #onlinemarketing #evergreen #evergreencontent #fresh #freshnews #content #creativity #internet #onlinenews #PR #popculture #audience #customers #readership #buzz #socialmedia #media #mediaman

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” - Mark Twain #MarkTwain #quote #advertising #ads #author #creative #creativity #biz #media #mediaman 

Lexis King to debut at NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc

"Brian Pillman was one of those guys who had a drive  about him that told you from day one that he was going to be a star" - Dusty Rhodes

"Superstars from the past from the past would approach me and share stories about all the good times they had with my father"..

"Yeah, I loved him too. Well the reality is when your just four years old you don't know what love is. "Hell, I never knew that man. He spent more nights in a dam hotel room that he did at my home.  You expect me to love him. I am in no one's shadow".

"Halloween Havoc is the start of my career. Not the continuation of someone elses".

"I'm gonna take the first steps down my path. I'm gonna make my name bigger than his ever was, and that name is Lexis King" - Lexis King

#HalloweenHavoc #LexisKing

Starboard pushes News Corp to sell REA Group stake

Activist investor Starboard Value, which has built a position in News Corp, wants the Murdoch-family controlled media giant to separate its Australian real estate business.

News Corp is “significantly undervalued” and unloading its 61 per cent stake in REA Group could help unlock more than $US7 billion ($11 billion) for shareholders, Starboard said in an investor presentation on Tuesday.

News Corp is in a transitional phase after founder Rupert Murdoch announced plans to step down as chairman of the company and Fox Corp.

This year, the Murdochs gave up on an effort to combine their two companies after News Corp investors complained a merger might undervalue their businesses.

On Tuesday, REA rose 1.8 per cent to $159.23 on the ASX. 

(Sources: AFR, Wires, FT)

#Starboard #NewsCorp #REA #REAGroup #Murdoch #realestate #property #propertynews #biz #mediabiz #mediabusiness #news #newsmedia #media 

South Africa to probe Meta, Google competition with news publishers

South Africa's Competition Commission will investigate whether digital platforms like Meta and Google were unfairly competing with news publishers by using their content to generate ad revenue, it said on Tuesday.

The Commission will be investigating among other things market features that may distort competition for advertising revenue between news media organisations and digital platforms, and whether these are affected by imbalances in bargaining power.

The inquiry will include general search engines such as Alphabet's Google and Bing, social media platforms such as Meta and X, news aggregation platforms, video sharing platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and ad networks such as Google Ads.

It will also examine generative artificial intelligence such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and how it uses original news content in its output, the Commission added.

#Meta #Google #platforms #digitalplatforms #news #newspublishers #ads #digitalads #adnetworks #publishers #content #contentpublishing #politics #bigtech #aggregation #disrupt #distruption #disruptor #newsmedia #AI #SouthAfrica #media 

Movie News

Ocean's 11 franchise/prequel on the cards for Margot Robbie and Jay Roach

Austin Powers director Jay Roach will be behind the camera and that it will be set in 1960s Europe. Speaking on the red carpet of Saltburn at the BFI London Film Festival, gaming and pop culture news site GamesRadar+ secured some details on the project from producer Josey McNamara.

"I can’t really say much," he said, "but I think we’re just trying to do right by the franchise. I’m excited for people to experience it when it’s ready."

When GamesRadar+ quizzed him about reuniting Gosling and Robbie after their hit Barbie, McNamara says he hopes this is the start of many more collaborations between the pair. "They’re wonderful together. The more projects even outside of that we can have them do would be amazing."

The Hollywood Reporter reports that insiders say it's in active development and production is planned to begin in spring 2023. Carrie Solomon is writing the script.

The virgin of the 21st Century Ocean's Eleven movies was released in 2001 – directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, it was a loose remake of the 1960 movie of the same name. Two sequels followed in 2004 and 2007, while an all-female spin-off, titled Ocean's 8, followed with a mixed reaction in 2018, starring Sandra Bullock as the sister of Clooney's character.

Video

Ocean’s Eleven | Best of Rusty Ryan | Max

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BvE9PPK-8A&ab_channel=Max

Video

Ocean's 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qylm_PPa-bc&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies

#movieenews #oceans11 #oceans12 #oceans12 #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #MargotRobbie #JayRoach #JoseyMcNamara #casino #casinomovie #casinonews #showbiz #buzz #news #trends #media

Pop Culture

'Top Gun: The Next Generation' docuseries gives unprecedented access to one of the U.S. Navy's most demanding training and selection programs. The show follows world-class U.S. Navy student pilots as they work to join the Navy's most elite strike fighter pilots.

"For the first time ever, they will be embarking on some of the most challenging flight tests possible including landing on an aircraft carrier at sea. The elite nature of the course means that only a minority -- the very best -- will make it to the top to fly the world's most advanced jet -- the F-35C Lightning II," an official synopsis reads.

The series is inspired by the 1986 film Top Gun and its sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.

"With so many millions of fans of the film around the world, I was immediately drawn to this series -- these elite jet pilots are not only extremely accomplished and impressive, but all have very different stories to tell," National Geographic EVP of global factual and unscripted content Tom McDonald said. "With Nat Geo's exclusive unprecedented inside access, the series promises to be an exhilarating, visually jaw-dropping and fascinating journey into the intensely competitive world of elite flying."

"The intimate access we have gained to the characters and the emotional character-led story arcs that run through the series will paint a vivid, compelling narrative around the young men and women embarking on this highly stressful process. That narrative will elevate the series beyond the noise and spectacle of fighter jets to tell the tense, nuanced and poignant human stories behind the public-facing bravado. This is a unique project and we are thrilled to be bringing it to viewers," Zinc Television managing director Tanya Shaw added.

Top Gun: The Next Generation is produced for National Geographic by Rex. Karen Edwards created the series and serves as showrunner, with Shaw as executive producer.

Video

'Top Gun: The Next Generation' Docuseries Heading To Nat Geo | THR News (The Hollywood Reporter YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIGp66x0VXc&ab_channel=TheHollywoodReporter

#TopGun #docuseries #netgeo #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #streaming #streamingentertainment #streamingvideo #streamingbiz #streamingseries #TV #buzz #trend #media

MMA/UFC News

Islam Makhachev vs Alex Volkanovski - UFC @UFC 294

Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Makhachev weight cut draws additional attention

Media directive given to IM on news media day

Highly anticipated rematch with Aussie UFC legend Alex Volkanovski.

The weight limit is 155-pounds!

“Two questions. That’s it.” says Makhachev advisor.

Makhachev was awarded the victor after a somewhat controversial decision - such is the nature of the beast of pro MMA, vs Volkanovski in Perth, WA at UFC 294 back in February. A fight that had the combat sports world clued to, with YouTube come grappler and boxer Logan Paul fly over for.

MMA had a much cleaner record than pro boxing (and pro wrestling) when it comes to being a clear cut winner without any "funny business". Don't get us started on Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis in the UK re "Misfits Boxing", but also recall the UFC Noche: Grasso vs Shevchenko rematch situation. We're not going down the Conor McGregor rabbit hole today either folks, but UFC CEO Dana White has spoken on that officially, as has leading UFC commentor and world leading podcaster Joe Rogan.

"Mak" advised complications around recovering from his severe weight cut affected his performance on fight night.

“In Australia, we had many things happen in the fight,” Makhachev said. “(The weight cut) wasn’t harder, but the recovery was.

“It was what a fighter needs to recover after the official weigh-in. In Australia, they went in the early morning and you wake up, you don’t know if you can eat breakfast or not.

“They take you to the arena. There were many things.

“They make it for US time for the pay per view, that’s why they start so early.”

On home ground this time around, Makhachev states he’ll stop Volkanovski inside the distance.

“Everybody knows Volkanovski has good striking with how he closes the distance, but I think I can fight, I can strike, wrestle and grapple,” he said.

“I beat him in the striking. I landed very good punches, hard punches. I took him down and I used my grappling on him in Australia.

“But now we have the schedule, and everything has changed I will finish him.

“I feel more comfortable here. Everything I need, I have. I just have to step to the cage and show my level.”

Like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has always faced a tough task to make weight, and questions were raised about how he rehydrated ahead of UFC 284.

In a tweet that went viral, NZ lightweight Dan Hooker called Makhachev a “cheating dog” and accused him of hiring a nurse “to give him an IV”.

Rehydrating with an intravenous drip has been illegal in the UFC since 2015.

Despite the controversy, Volkanovski – who appeared fitter and more relaxed than Makhachev this week (see the official UFC YouTube and other leaks) – wasn’t buying into any chatter around his opponent’s weight cut.

Volkanovski quotes on Makhachev:

“He always struggles, so I don’t want to look at it as weakness”.

“He’ll get through it and he’ll rock up.

“He won’t come to the fight underdone because of it. I can’t think like that.

“He’s not a real happy guy during fight week, because he does have such a big weight cut, but he’ll have time to rehydrate and he’ll be there on fight day.”

Video

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLN_ea9uJBs&t=185s&ab_channel=UFC

Video

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrOUq7eQ9bg&t=85s&ab_channel=UFC

#UFC294 #UFC #Makhachev #Volkanovski #Volk #volkmakhachev #combatsports #MMA #mixedmartialarts #sportsnews #sportsbiz #sportsmedia #PPV #PayPerView #popculture #news #buzz #trends #AbuDhabi #UAE #media

MMA/Combats Sports/UFC News

It feels like Fight Week again. There's almost a WrestleMania Week buzz in the air says our combat sports and pop culture circle.

World's leading mixed martial arts promotion UFC @UFC to hold first-ever show in Saudi Arabia

UFC is scheduled to hold its first-ever show in Saudi Arabia.

Per news release that the UFC will make its Saudi Arabia debut with a Fight Night event on March 2, 2024. The mega show, which is in partnership with the acclaimed Saudi General Sports Authority, will be part of Saudi Arabia's famous and highly regarded Riyadh Season Festival.

"As part of its thrilling activities, Riyadh Season will host a UFC Fight Night in collaboration with UFC, the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization on Saturday, March 2, 2024," per press release announcing the show reads.

"The event will feature a variety of UFC's most successful and internationally known fighters. UFC CEO Dana White will announce participating athletes in the coming months."

In 2018, Endeavor, the UFC's parent company, ceased its business deals with the Saudi government. The decision was due to the Saudi government's largely suspected role in the demise of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Endeavor finalized its acquisition of WWE last month. With the deal, WWE (world's leading professional wrestling based company/brand) and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company entitled TKO Group Holdings. Old guard WWE tycoon Vince McMahon playfully cheered on the NYSE audience at the event and was a highlight of the news and social media broadcasts.

WWE has regularly promoted major pro wrestling based events in Saudi Arabia since 2018, only missing the 2020 year, understood to have some political reasons attached it. The mega shows are part of a long-term deal between WWE and the Saudi government.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 (number 5 if you are counting) is being held in Saudi Arabia November 4 during Riyadh Season and at time of publlication Seth Rollins will defend his WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre, while social mega megastar Logan Paul akd LP or Prime Heel, will be looking to best Rey Mysterio for the U.S Chamionship, which he targeted post match Misfits Boxing interview in Machester, UK. Mysterio accepted the challenge via X (formally Twitter), as well as in person with a TMZ Sports reporter. Paul and Mysterio are due to meet this coming Friday on WWE SmackDown.

Saudi's Ramp Up Other Sports Events:

A professional boxing match between Tyson Fury and cross-over star Francis Ngannou (currently with PFL) Professional Fighters League) is also set for the festival. 'The Gypsie King' Fury vs Ngannou is booked for October 28.

LIV Golf are continuing to surge forward with promotions and events in the region and is now riding somewhat of a wave or momentium, having patched up their relationship and once legal woes with the old guard PGA.

Fans, don't forget, as has been the case for pro sports for over a century, card subject to change, but at this stage all these events and main events look fully locked in, and more exciting big event enhancements will be added.

More often than not, sport helps bring the world together even when some political types (looking squarely at the USA - White House for a start), may perhaps have it otherwise.

We praise and commend the UFC and WWE (TKO Group), all sports promoters, as well as The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Saudi General Sports Authority and all the powers that be who are helping make these sporting dreams a reality for althletes and millions of fans around the globe.

There's numerous sporting entities involved in all the exicitment, most very friendly and some more balanced, but it's fair to say that we are all part of one big sporting family - we all love sports and sports entertainment.

It's a Win-Win-Win, and of course, sports business is big business..did someone says "sports tourism", and don't we know it.

Videos (just to help further get you in the mood)

UFC Official YouTube

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrOUq7eQ9bg&t=87s&ab_channel=UFC

WWE YouTube

Logan Paul goes toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel: Raw, Dec. 26, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRTOdZZxgaM&t=5s&ab_channel=WWE

The MAC Life YouTube

Islam Makhachev: "Alex Volkanovski is only here for the money, everybody knows this"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cm2C3_lWdE&ab_channel=TheMacLife

MMA Fighting on SBN

UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 Media Day LIVE Stream | MMA Fighting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtFP61dLDAY&ab_channel=MMAFightingonSBN

LIV Golf Official YouTube

Highlights: Final Round in Two Minutes | LIV Golf Jeddah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouFUJEtpIYE&ab_channel=LIVGolf

IMPAULSIVE Podcast

Logan Paul on Beating Dillon Danis, KSI Losing vs Tommy Fury, Apologizing to Nina Agdal - EP. 395

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTwWAVC0vTg&t=45s&ab_channel=IMPAULSIVE

#UFC #UFC294 #UFCFightNight #UFCSaudi #WWE #WWECrownJewel #LIVGolf #NickKhan #DanaWhite #TripleH #LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #SethRollins #DrewMcIntypre #TysonFury #FrancisNgannou #PFL #PGA #SmackDown #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh 

#SaudiArabia #SaudiGeneralSportsAuthority #combatsports #wrestling #prowrestling #MMA #mixedmartialarts #boxing #sportstourism #sportsentertainment #sportsnews #sportsmedia #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #popculture #PLE #PPV #PayPerView #livesports #liveentertainment #prosports #festival #worldsport #worldnews #trends #trending #buzz #media 

MMA/UFC bad boy Conor McGregor no case to answer re NBA Finals game alleged incident in Miami

Nuggets vs. Heat - June 9. McGregor with a win for self thanks in part to switched on attorney of law

News broken via the good guy media at TMZ Sports

Barbara Llanes, an attorney for McGregor, made the following statement.

“After a thorough investigation, including a review of videos and interviews with eyewitnesses, the authorities have concluded that there is no case to pursue against my client, Conor McGregor,” Llanes said. “On behalf of my client, his family and his fans we are pleased this is now over.”

#mmanews #mma #UFC #ConorMcGregor #NBA #sportsnews #sportsmedia #sportbiz #TMZ #TMZSports #news #newsmedia #media 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.” - Benjamin Franklin #BenjaminFranklin #quote #write #writing #read #reading #news #newsmedia #media 

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotele #Aristotele #quote #excellence #habit #self #mindset #work #philosophy

#polymath #knowledge #wisdom #worlds  #mbs #media

“Great marketers have immense empathy for their audience. They can put themselves in their shoes, live their lives, feel what they feel, go where they go, and respond how they’d respond. That empathy comes out in content that resonates with your audience.” - Rand Fishkin #RandFishkin #quote #marketers #audience #content #searchengines #seo #digital #internet #media 

“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like, yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon. Didn’t work out.” - Elon Musk #ElonMusk #quote #ArtificialInteligence #AI #demon #holywater #tech #X #Twitter #platforms #socialmedia #society #media 

“We want to build technology that everybody loves using, and that affects everyone. We want to create beautiful, intuitive services and technologies that are so incredibly useful that people use them twice a day. Like they use a toothbrush. There aren’t that many things people use twice a day.” - Larry Page #LarryPage #quote #Google #technology #searchengine #seeaerch #intuitive #intuitiveservices #useful #media 

"A champion is someone who gets up when he can't." - Jack Dempsey #JackDempsey #quote #boxing #champion #sports #media 

“I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan #MichaelJorgan #quote #failed #succeed #basketball #sports #mindset #motivation #world #media 

UFC® NAMES NEXT-GEN IGAMING COMPANY SPRIBE AN OFFICIAL MARKETING PARTNER

SPRIBE to Activate this Week at Highly Anticipated UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi

LAS VEGAS, October 19, 2023 -- UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and SPRIBE, an acclaimed iGaming company and creator of the innovative social game Aviator, today announced a multi-year marketing partnership that provides SPRIBE with significant exposure during some of UFC’s biggest live events.

Under the terms of the agreement, SPRIBE will receive prominent branding at select UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, including high-visibility placement inside the world-famous Octagon® and branded integrations within the live telecasts.  In addition, the agreement provides for an annual Brand Ambassador fund that will bring the partnership to life through appearances, content, and creative campaigns with UFC athletes.

“We’re thrilled to welcome SPRIBE as an official UFC partner,” said Grant Norris-Jones, UFC Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships. “SPRIBE creates the kind of next-gen games that have strong appeal for UFC fans because they offer a unique experience, with exciting features, stunning graphics, and engaging gameplay.  We’re excited to help them achieve a broader reach for their brand and their games.”

Established in 2018, SPRIBE revolutionized the iGaming industry with innovative vertical - crash games. With exponential growth, SPRIBE's games are now featured across 2,000+ operators worldwide. The company flagship Aviator game gained popularity among Gen Y and Z, boasting a whopping 10+ million monthly active players. Thanks to its intuitive interface and engaging social interaction features, the revolutionary Aviator remains a №1 crash game worldwide.

"This is a significant partnership for SPRIBE and Aviator, making more players aware of the game than ever before,” said Giorgi Tsutskiridze, CCO at SPRIBE.  “Aviator is already the most-played crash game in the world with more than 10 million monthly players, but this deal with UFC will really catapult it into the stratosphere. UFC is an entertainment business at heart and knows exactly how to get people on the edge of their seats by providing fast-paced action inside the Octagon. Aviator does that also, but with players able to enjoy the thrill ride of the games from their smartphone. This is a strong and valuable marketing partnership for us that shows that Aviator really has hit the big time, transcending traditional gaming audiences to have mainstream appeal."

SPRIBE’s next activation with UFC will be this week during the highly anticipated UFC 294: MAKHACHEV VS VOLKANOVSKI 2, live from Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, October 21.  The main event will feature a rematch between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and the current featherweight champion and No. 2 pound-for-pound ranked fighter in the world, Alexander Volkanovski, while the co-main will feature the No. 4 welterweight in the world, Khamzat Chimaev, moving up to middleweight to face the No. 1 welterweight in the world, Kamaru Usman.

ENDS

About UFC®

UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

About SPRIBE

SPRIBE, an acclaimed game provider established in 2018, revolutionized the iGaming industry with innovative game vertical - crash games. With exponential growth, SPRIBE's games are now featured across 2,000+ operators worldwide. The company flagship “Aviator” game gained popularity among Gen Y and Z, boasting a whopping 10+ million monthly active players. Thanks to its intuitive interface and engaging social interaction features, the revolutionary "Aviator" remains a №1 crash game worldwide.

Quotes

“Some say Google is God. Others say Google is Satan. But if they think Google is too powerful, remember that with search engines unlike other companies, all it takes is a single click to go to another search engine.” - Sergey Brin #SergeyBrin #quote #google #searchengines #searchengine #click #SEO #SEM #SearchEngineMarketing #searchenginenews #searchenginetrends #searchnews #tech #news #newsmedia #media #mediaman 

WWE NXT @WWENXT . "For the first time ever Halloween Havoc will be a two-night spectacular"..

#WWENXT #HalloweenHavoc 

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda #TommyLasorda #quote #impossible #possible #determination #attitude #mindset #work #baseball #sport #sportsbiz #legend #mbs #media 

“Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. The ultimate search engine that would understand everything on the Web. It would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the right thing. We’re nowhere near doing that now. However, we can get incrementally closer to that, and that is basically what we work on.” - Larry Page #LarryPage #quote #Google #AI #ArtificialInteligence #searchengine #web #search #tech #bigtech #innovation #searchnews #searchmedia #searchworld  #questions #answers #news #newsmedia #media #mediaman #mediamanint 

Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to enhance its visibility on search engine results pages. This includes various techniques such as keyword research, on-page, and technical optimization, with the ultimate goal of driving organic traffic and conversions.

#SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SEM #SearchEngineMarketing #searchengine #searchengines #website #visability #results #resultpages #organic #organicresults #organicsearch #organicseo #keyword #keywords #optimization #seotips #marketingtips #seonews #technews #buzz #media #mediaman 

News Bytes Media - Legacy, Mainstream, Lamesteam, Apps, Disruptors and More!

Experts, both legit and self appointed - fear the rise of misinformation on the web may provoke further real world harm. Much of the world's population has trust issues with the news media industry, big tech and politics. Many media and tech insiders welcomed industry disruptors such as Rumble, news services and apps such as Sky News Australia and even Rebel News and Valuetainment, who often challenge official government narratives, as well as management shake-ups of platforms such as X @X (formally Twitter), which formally harboured - for lack of a better term, some tech workers who were known activists, operating under the guise of tech workers, online moderators and such. Media knows of many cases of journalists and former journalists who lost some social media accounts at an array of firms due to being pro-freedom of speech and free thinking, and who published balanced articles and stories covering the likes of the peaceful Canadian and Canberra trucker protests. Much of the population in the western world has major trust issues of government politics and mainstream (aka lamestream) news media. Governments and legacy media does not enjoy the "power" and dominance they once did thanks to the rise of the world wide web. The scribe itself may contain an element of bias, as all humans may in fact have an element of bias - such is the nature of being a human-being. In the media and poltiical space sometimes labels are given to others who share a different world view. Labels (words being weaponized) may include "far right", "far left", "alt right", "tree huggers", "loonies", "conspiracy theorists", "zombies", "bad actors", "government mules/moles", "Yes Men", and we've only just started. Many world citizens would like to see things return to the good old days when people can be peoople without so much name calling, labels being given to others, and not to mention the weaponization of the "news media" industry. Today websites of a wide array of subjects are found on the web, many in the "niche media" space. They contain detail and viewpoints that would seldom or never get a run in traditional/legacy media. We suggest that when researching particular subects, be it world affairs, pharma, mining and many other subject matters, go to between 3 to 10 different sources to research and then draw your own conclusions as to what's true, what's not, and what may be speculative or shades of gray. Remember, even some of the world's great minds such as Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla did much opinion based work. An individual can decide for themselves what is true, half true, false or otherwise. Good hunting citizen journalists and others.

#news #newsmedia #politics #mainstreamnews #mainstreammedia #niche #nichenews #authority #expert #journalism #gonzojournalism #satire 

#AlbertEinstein #NikolaTelsa #Tesla #ElonMusk #Trump #JoeRogan #RussellBrand #Rebel #SkyNews #rabbithole #therabbithole #ontherecord #www #offtherecord #wikipedia #wikileaks #wiki #bigtech #platforms #platformnews #disruptor #disruptors #society #opinion #mediabusiness #mediabiz #publishers #onlinenews #onlinemedia #search #research #sources #newsbiz #media #mediaman 

Media Man Blog: Media Man with Search News Media: SEO Unveils the Power of Content Marketing in Boosting SEO

The Role of Content Marketing in SEO for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, Australia Businesses

Sydney, Australia / Media Man SEO

Media Man SEO is one of the leading search engine optimization companies in Sydney, Australia, providing top-line services to businesses seeking to improve their online presence. It's essential for Sydney businesses to have a robust online presence in today's tech-driven world, and Media Man SEO understands this better than most. 

They discovered this more than two decades ago while making the transition from blue collar into subscriber television, then into journalism, online journalism and online news, media and sports agent endeavors, and learning, teaching, promoting SEO along the way in a staged approach. 

While optimizing technical aspects is important, content marketing is critical for attracting organic traffic and boosting visibility. Media Man SEO is excited to highlight the crucial role of content marketing in enhancing SEO for businesses.

Marketing Company in Sydney, Australia

The Importance of Content Marketing for Businesses

Content marketing focuses on creating valuable and relevant content that engages the target audience, builds trust, and establishes authority. In the realm of SEO, content marketing helps search engines understand the value of a website, ultimately leading to improved rankings and increased visibility.

Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to enhance its visibility on search engine results pages. This includes various techniques such as keyword research, on-page, and technical optimization, with the ultimate goal of driving organic traffic and conversions.

How Content Marketing Supports SEO Efforts

Keyword Optimization

Creating high-quality, keyword-rich content enables businesses to target specific keywords that their audience is actively searching for.

Link Building

Informative and valuable content increases the likelihood of other websites referencing it, leading to increased visibility and authority in the eyes of search engines.

User Engagement

Engaging and informative content keeps users on a website for longer durations, reducing bounce rates and signaling to search engines that the website offers valuable information.

Content Creation in Sydney, Australia

Best Practices for Content Creation and Optimization

To maximize the benefits of content marketing in SEO, businesses should follow these best practices:

Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant keywords with high search volumes and low competition. Incorporate these keywords naturally into the content.

Focus on creating informative, engaging, and well-researched content that provides value to the target audience. Ensure the content is unique, original, and error-free.

Pay attention to meta tags, including the title tag and meta description, to provide a concise summary of the content and include relevant keywords.

Utilize heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure the content and make it more readable for both users and search engines. Include relevant keywords in the headings.

Incorporate internal links within the content to guide users to related pages on the website. Additionally, include relevant external links to reputable sources that support the content.

Local SEO Strategies for Sydney Businesses

For businesses targeting local customers, Media Man with Search News Media SEO offers specialized local SEO strategies. These strategies focus on optimizing websites to appear in local search results when users search for businesses or services in a specific location. Key components of local SEO include Google My Business, local citations, and localized content.

Marketing Company in Sydney, Australia

Choosing the Right Keywords for SEO

Selecting the right keywords is crucial for an effective SEO strategy. Businesses in Sydney can follow these steps:

Identify the target audience's needs, preferences, and search behavior.

Utilize keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush, to identify relevant keywords with high search volumes and low competition.

Analyze competitors' websites and identify the keywords they are targeting.

Finding Reputable Search Engine Optimization Companies in Sydney, Australia

When outsourcing SEO efforts, businesses must partner with reputable and experienced search engine optimization companies in Sydney, Australia.  Media Man SEO stands out in the industry for its:

Extensive experience and expertise in search engine optimization

Transparent and ethical practices

Customized strategies tailored to each client's unique needs

For more information about Media Man SEO and its services, please visit www.mediamanint.com and www.mediaman.com.au

About Media Man SEO

Media Man SEO, one of the premier search engine optimization companies in Sydney, Australia, specializes in delivering exceptional services to businesses aiming to enhance their online presence. In today's technology-driven era, establishing a strong online presence is vital for Sydney-based enterprises, and Media Man SEO comprehends this requirement better than anyone else. While optimizing technical aspects is crucial, content marketing plays a pivotal role in attracting organic traffic and augmenting visibility. Media Man SEO is enthusiastic about highlighting the pivotal role of content marketing in advancing the search engine optimization game for businesses.

Niche Sectors include but not limited to:

Pop Culture and Streaming Entertainment

MMA/Mixed Martial Arts

Combat Sports

Pro Wrestling

Beach Lifestyle

Mind, Body and Sprit/Well-being

Gaming and Casinos

Coastal Properties and Coastal Lifestyle

Business Disruptors and Entrepreneurs

SEJ YouTube enhancements

SEJ's Matt with more YouTube enhancements on the back-end. On the front-end as of about 48 hours ago it's almost impossible to miss the new Podcast listing/feature on the interface. We've been experimenting with it. I still describe myself as semi-technical and have much more to learn. SEJ, YouTube and others helping upgrade skills I'm not going back to a classroom for..YT on top of quality control. 

John WallStreet YouTube - NFL Sunday Ticket

JWS's Adam with an insightful and educational deep dive into the moving parts of Alphabet's YouTube sizable multi-billion dollar investment into the NFL Sunday Ticket. It sounds likely that YouTube is or will be also profiting from the sports betting connection to the NFL - one way or another. It's all part of the overall sports business model, be it for the NFL league, boxing, MMA, soccer/football or something else humans can be on. Could YouTube also be selling their own products at the games? Could YouTube also be listed on one team's or more jersey? How about a YouTube 'Life After Pro Sports Education Program'? (extremely speculative by me - but for the sake of illustrating potential arms..The YouTube brand and service knows little bounds globally..OTT (over the top broadcasting is also growing area and has been cutting into traditional broadcasting networks as per infographics we've sighted from Chartr and Statista. So, Google bought YouTube about two decades ago. They are the most popular streaming platform/website in the world.Most people in the world from say age 10 (conservative) up watch something on YouTube. Advertising is everywhere. We have more than one YouTube channel and account ourselves. Broadcast globally. Win.

Pro Wrestlling

All Elite Wrestling @AEW Dynamite - October 18, 2023

Videos via AEW Official YouTube

Could Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher hang with Kenny Omega one-on-one? | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An7lVpzufCg&t=6s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal! Who will face AEW Champ MJF for his ring? | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7YT96gSsEY&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

A MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! The ICON Sting addresses his future! | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeVv8BbZIEk&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Jay White & Penta El Zero Miedo face each other for the first time! | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVtGVD3on2A&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

The MURDERHAWK MONSTER is back! Lance Archer returns to Dynamite! | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Ax2aJweyo&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

The Don Callis family & new recruit Powerhouse Hobbs address Chris Jericho! | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiONqBXsIq0&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

AEW Women’s Champ Hikaru Shida takes on her mentor in a title eliminator! | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iSjSTAqfKc&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Could Jim Ross get Nick Wayne & his mom on the same page? | 10/18/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tmaCw_4yDw&t=5s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Media Man: Says strong Thumbs Up

#AEWDynamite #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #wrestling #prowrestling #String #KennyOmega #KyleFletcher #JayWhite #ElZeroMiedo #LanceArcher #HikaruShida #NickWayne #JimRoss #sportsbiz #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #TBS #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trend #trending #buzz #videos #highlights #TV #media 

UFC Names Next-Gen iGaming Company Spribe An Official Marketing Partner

SPRIBE to Activate this Week at Highly Anticipated UFC @UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi

LAS VEGAS, October 19, 2023 -- UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and SPRIBE, an acclaimed iGaming company and creator of the innovative social game Aviator, today announced a multi-year marketing partnership that provides SPRIBE with significant exposure during some of UFC’s biggest live events.

Under the terms of the agreement, SPRIBE will receive prominent branding at select UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, including high-visibility placement inside the world-famous Octagon® and branded integrations within the live telecasts.  In addition, the agreement provides for an annual Brand Ambassador fund that will bring the partnership to life through appearances, content, and creative campaigns with UFC athletes.

“We’re thrilled to welcome SPRIBE as an official UFC partner,” said Grant Norris-Jones, UFC Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships. “SPRIBE creates the kind of next-gen games that have strong appeal for UFC fans because they offer a unique experience, with exciting features, stunning graphics, and engaging gameplay.  We’re excited to help them achieve a broader reach for their brand and their games.”

Established in 2018, SPRIBE revolutionized the iGaming industry with innovative vertical - crash games. With exponential growth, SPRIBE's games are now featured across 2,000+ operators worldwide. The company flagship Aviator game gained popularity among Gen Y and Z, boasting a whopping 10+ million monthly active players. Thanks to its intuitive interface and engaging social interaction features, the revolutionary Aviator remains a №1 crash game worldwide.

"This is a significant partnership for SPRIBE and Aviator, making more players aware of the game than ever before,” said Giorgi Tsutskiridze, CCO at SPRIBE.  “Aviator is already the most-played crash game in the world with more than 10 million monthly players, but this deal with UFC will really catapult it into the stratosphere. UFC is an entertainment business at heart and knows exactly how to get people on the edge of their seats by providing fast-paced action inside the Octagon. Aviator does that also, but with players able to enjoy the thrill ride of the games from their smartphone. This is a strong and valuable marketing partnership for us that shows that Aviator really has hit the big time, transcending traditional gaming audiences to have mainstream appeal."

SPRIBE’s next activation with UFC will be this week during the highly anticipated UFC 294: MAKHACHEV VS VOLKANOVSKI 2, live from Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, October 21.  The main event will feature a rematch between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and the current featherweight champion and No. 2 pound-for-pound ranked fighter in the world, Alexander Volkanovski, while the co-main will feature the No. 4 welterweight in the world, Khamzat Chimaev, moving up to middleweight to face the No. 1 welterweight in the world, Kamaru Usman.

#UFC #UFC294 #Spribe #Aviator #MMA #gaming #igaming #marketing #gamingnews #sportsmarketing #sportsnews #gamesbiz #PPV #PayPerView #liveevents #livesports #AbuDhabi #media 

Combat Sports

UFC @UFC 294: Pre-Fight Press Conference Highlights

"There all on my side now".. - Islam Makhachev

“Why, are you telling me him rehydrating for 30-something hours isn’t enough? He’s going to be stronger with 40 hours? Is that really what we’re relying on over here? You don’t back your skills? I don’t get it, I don’t get it, I back my skills, I really don’t get it” -Volkanovski.

“I show you everything. Be patient, be patient. I’ll show you my power and everything Saturday night” - Makhachev.

“I don’t know the world you are living in, mate. I don’t need more than 30 hours to rehydrate” - Volkanovski

“I’m a fighter, I’ll turn up and I back my skills, that’s why I’m here today. 12 days’ notice, I’m the man.”

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coDJXlH_hUY&ab_channel=UFC

#UFC294 #UFCMediaConference #UFCNews #MMA #combatsports #sportsbiz #sportsnews #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #AbuDhabi #media 

"Why ya telling me that you been hydrating for 30 something hours isn't enought. He's going to be stronger with 40 hours".. Volk #UFC294 

Media Man Int Blog:

UFC AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE AND TOURISM – ABU DHABI EXTEND PARTNERSHIP TO 2028

UAE Capital to Continue To Host UFC Championship Events With Additional Fight Night Events To Take Place Within The MENA Region

October 20, 2023

bu Dhabi, UAE – UFC, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) – today announced the continuation of their existing partnership which sees the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation bring one numbered event featuring a championship bout to the Emirate every year. The new partnership will also expand to include additional Fight Night events, which will take place across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

UFC has a longstanding relationship with Abu Dhabi, with 18 events having been held in the region since 2010. The two sides entered a formal partnership in 2019, and since then, some of the biggest names in combat sports have competed in the UAE capital, including former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defended his title multiple times in Abu Dhabi, along with former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor, former middleweight champion and No.1 contender Israel Adesanya, and many others.  Over the term of the original deal, nine title fights have taken place showcasing top-tier global talent, entertaining viewers all over the world and growing the sport of MMA across the MENA region.

“Bringing UFC to Abu Dhabi each year has proved hugely popular, with MMA fans coming to the emirate from all over the world to watch the biggest and best fights in the sport,” said HE Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi. “Over a 15-year relationship, UFC has extended its global reach and Abu Dhabi has established itself as a world capital for combat sports. Renewing our partnership with UFC allows us to continue to stage major events that thrill visitors and residents. We are excited to extend the relationship and innovate together to grow this sport in the UAE and wider region.”    

UFC CEO, Dana White commented: “Abu Dhabi is one of my favourite places in the world; the people, the restaurants, the hotels, it’s incredible. I have been so excited to be able to put on some of the biggest fights in the history of UFC in Abu Dhabi and it’s only going to get even bigger from here with additional Fight Nights coming to the region next year. I love it here.”

Since 2010, UFC events have brought thousands of fight fans to Abu Dhabi and showcased UFC and the emirate to a global TV audience within UFC’s broadcast footprint of more than 900 million homes across more than 170 countries.

That partnership was deepened further as Abu Dhabi hosted three separate series of Fight Island events during the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when sport around the world was shutting down, Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island was transformed to create a safe and secure location for international athletes to compete. The events became a global sporting phenomena and example to other sporting organisations and host cities around the world.

The announcement comes ahead of the sold-out UFC 294: MAKHACHEV VS VOLKANOVSKI 2 set to take place on Saturday, October 21, at the state-of-the-art Etihad Arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. Last year, a sold-out crowd witnessed Islam Makhachev become the lightweight champion when he defeated Charles Oliveira via second round stoppage at UFC 280. In the co-main event, fan favourite and UAE resident Khamzat Chimaev will make his middleweight debut as he faces his toughest test to date in Kamaru Usman in a bout that is guaranteed to deliver fireworks inside the Octagon.

In addition to the championship event, fans have been enjoying a week-long celebration of MMA as Abu Dhabi Showdown Week returned bigger than ever this year to take over the city, including UFC Fan Experiences, concerts, comedy shows, and much more.

Abu Dhabi has a proven track record of hosting major global sports and adrenaline-driven competitions and events. The destination provides seamless connectivity, world-leading infrastructure, and a wide range of attractions and activities which cater to visitors of all tastes. The emirate’s transformation into a global centre for sport is fully supported by Abu Dhabi Government entities in cooperation with private sector partners.

--------

About UFC

UFC is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

About the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi:

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) drives the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors, fuels economic progress and helps achieve Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions. By working in partnership with the organizations that define the Emirate’s position as a leading international destination, DCT Abu Dhabi strives to unite the ecosystem around a shared vision of the Emirate’s potential, coordinate effort and investment, deliver innovative solutions, and use the best tools, policies and systems to support the culture and tourism industries.

DCT Abu Dhabi’s vision is defined by the Emirate’s people, heritage and landscape. We work to enhance Abu Dhabi’s status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives and creative thought.

For more information about DCT Abu Dhabi and the destination, please visit tcaabudhabi.ae and visitabudhabi.ae

For Abu Dhabi Calendar, please visit inabudhabi.ae

(Source: UFC)

MMA/UFC /Combat Sports/Entertainment News

UFC 294 Press Conference

Question

"Do you think that this fight, UFC 294, is going to make better numbers and is going to be louder and better than than that Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury fight"?

"HaHaHa. Um, I would certainly hope so. I would certaily hope so. Yeah, listen. Let's be honest, without smashing anybody here. These are the best fighters in the world here, in each weight class. That's what you want to see. I mean, you want to see the best fight the best. These two right here are the best. I would say yes sir.  But I'm pretty biased". - Dana White @DanaWhite

The Competition:

Francis "The Predator" Ngannou vs reigning WBC boxing champion Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 in Riyadh.

Riyadh Season is a state-sponsored annual entertainment and sports festival, part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative held since 2019 from October to March during winter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh Season 2023

The fourth edition of Riyadh Season @RiyadhSeason will be launching on 28 October 2023 with a brand new identity, new tagline ("big time") and title sponsorship from SNB. The opener event, Battle of Baddest, featuring Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, will be held on the same day.

This year's Riyadh Season will be marked with the addition of Boulevard Hall, a 40000 capacity indoor arena with FIFA standard football pitch capable of hosting various types of events. It will be renamed to Kingdom Arena in January 2024 and serve as the new home ground of Al Hilal.

The following events will take place as part of 2023 Riyadh Season:

WWE @WWE Crown Jewel 2023 will be held in Mohammed Abdu Arena on 4 November 2023.

Riyadh Season Tennis Cup, featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka, will be held between 26-27 December 2023.

Riyadh Season Cup featuring Riyadh XI (combined Al Hilal and Al Nassr all-star team), Manchester City, Al Shabab and AS Roma, with dates to be confirmed.

2023 Supercoppa Italiana featuring Napoli, Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, with dates to be confirmed.

2023–24 Supercopa de España featuring Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Osasuna, with dates to be confirmed.

Riyadh Season has also secured front-of-shirt sponsorship with Serie A club AS Roma, worth 8 million euros per year.

Video

UFC Official YouTube

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXz83shcZQk&ab_channel=UFC

Video

UFC Official YouTube

UFC 294: Pre-Fight Press Conference Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coDJXlH_hUY&ab_channel=UFC

UFC Official YouTube

Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 - All Questions Will Be Answered | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StwKf9GcCf0&ab_channel=UFC

UFC Official YouTube

Alexander Volkanovski: 'Fighting in Someone's Territory Doesn't Mean Nothing' | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw2RJWOWiU4&t=10s&ab_channel=UFC

UFC 294: Live Weigh-In Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUwKoYPdzBU&ab_channel=UFC

Video

Alexander Volkanovski YouTube

FIGHT WEEK FACE OFF UFC 294 | Alexander Volkanovski vs Islam Makhachev II Episode2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY2ABZ_5TqQ&ab_channel=AlexanderVolkanovski

Video

Riyadh Season YouTube

FURY Vs NGANNOU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTISRmnKDz4&ab_channel=%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%7CRiyadhSeason

Top Rank Boxing Official YouTube

Tyson Fury Arrives in Riyadh Ahead of the Battle of The Baddest | Fight October 28 ESPN+ PPV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFn8VmpZkdw&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Top Rank Boxing YouTube 

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou | OFFICIAL PROMO | BATTLE OF THE BADDEST | OCT. 28 ESPN+ PPV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8n4PxcxwxQ&ab_channel=PremierBoxingChampions

WWE YouTube

WWE Crown Jewel goes big time when it returns to Riyadh on Nov. 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woHik9VX1f4&ab_channel=WWE

#UFC294 #UFC #MMA #UFC #UFCPressConference #UFCMedia #DanaWhite #TopRankBoxing #RiyadhSeason #IslamMakhachev #AlexanderVolkanovski #Volk #Makhachev #Volkanoviski #Fury #Ngannou #combatsports #boxing #PPV #PayPerView #SaudiSeasons #sportsnews #entertainment #entertainmentnews #sportsmedia #culture #popculture #festival #video #videos #Riyadh #SaudiArabia #sportstourism #sportsmedia #tourism #news #newsmedia #trend #trending #media 

Study Reveals $152 Million Spent Annually on Australian Gambling Ads

According to a recent study by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), gambling companies spent roughly $152m (AU$238m) on television and radio ads from May 2022 through April 2023.

If you live in Australia, chances are you heard a gambling ad on your drive home from work. And if you did, it was one of the million Australian gambling ads placed during a one-year period. 

According to a recent study by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), gambling companies spent roughly $152m (AU$238m) on television and radio ads from May 2022 through April 2023. The data was gathered using the media analytics company Nielsen’s Ad Intel data. 

Other than the stunning prevalence of gambling ads – more than a million during the 12-month period – much of the findings were intuitive. Australians were far more likely to hear a Metro radio gambling ad during peak commuting hours. Online gambling providers had a strong preference to advertise during the evening commute. 

Meanwhile, both Metro and Regional TV featured the vast majority of their gambling ads after dinner. The study comes at a time when Australia is confronting problems with underage gambling. And while the country tightened its gambling advertising rules as recently as 2018, Australia is considering more restrictions — including an outright ban.

Gambling Ads Get More Scrutiny Worldwide

Australia is hardly the only regulated market struggling with its gambling ad rules. For instance,  the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is proposing to ban the use of athletes and celebrities in advertising for legal sports betting and online casino gambling. But the Ontario branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) doesn’t think that goes far enough. It is calling for a total ad ban.   

CMHA Ontario CEO Camille Quenneville recently noted, “Youth and young adults are particularly vulnerable to at-risk gambling following exposure to advertisements. In Ontario, we’re seeing an alarming increase among students in Grades 7 to 12 betting money on online gambling. Gambling-related harms such as financial loss, mental health issues, substance use, and suicide ideation, can have devastating and long-lasting impact on the individual and their family.” 

Meanwhile, in a rare, voluntary, move, a major British media company recently announced it would no longer feature gambling ads across its online and print products. The publications instituting the ban include The Guardian, The Observer, and The Guadian Weekly.   

“We fully support the enjoyment of sports and respect individuals’ choices to participate in occasional gambling on football, horse racing, or any other sport,” said Anna Bateson, Chief Executive of Guardian Media Group. “Our concern lies with the pervasive nature of retargeted digital advertisements that trap a portion of sports fans in an addictive cycle.”

While it is unlikely that many media companies will voluntarily follow The Guardian’s lead, they may have little choice as regulators look to better protect underage and vulnerable gamblers. 

Media’s $100b man says the ad market has room to grow - October 2023

Christian Juhl sits atop a $100 billion-a-year budget and is one of the world’s most powerful media executives.

As the global boss of GroupM, the biggest advertising buying group in the world, he oversees the combined spending power for thousands of brands, including Ford, Colgate-Palmolive, Google, Nestlé, Unilever, Mars and Coca-Cola.

GroupM uses that scale to buy media space and sell it back to its clients. Each year, according to the best independent estimates, GroupM spends almost $US64 billion ($101 billion) of its clients’ money on ads.

At that level, a media executive can talk in sweeping, market-wide statements. Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, clear inflationary pressures, an unsteady future for commercial real estate, and higher interest rates will have tremendous impact on advertising and media markets. It just hasn’t been fully felt yet, Mr Juhl said.

Locally, the ad industry accounts for $53 billion, or 2.1 per cent of GDP, new research released on Friday found. GroupM predicted advertising revenue – how much the world’s advertisers spend – will grow 5.9 per cent in 2023 and 6 per cent in 2024.

“I certainly see all of those unknowns out there, that makes you careful about the future,” Mr Juhl said.

“But generally, I think it’s been a pretty resilient marketplace. We’ve still been able to provide growth for our clients during that time period. I’m still cautiously optimistic we can find ways of growth through this.”

Advertising is going through a resurgence, he said. Rolling lockdowns and forced isolation during COVID-19 drove huge adoption of digital channels. Meta burned billions of dollars on a metaverse then launched a Twitter clone called Threads, TikTok kept growing at breakneck speed, and Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ have all started adding advertising-subsidised tiers to their platforms.

“Advertising has always been a really important part of the economy. It was more surprising when you had [Netflix executives] Reed Hastings or Ted Sarandos saying, ‘We’ll never take advertising on Netflix’,” Mr Juhl said.

“How do you have such large valuable audiences and not open it up in a meaningful way to brands? [Now] there’s probably more inventory available than there’s been in a long time.”

The days of the massive, culture-defining 30- or 60-second ad spot are fading, Mr Juhl said, despite the drawcards of the Super Bowl and the Olympics. “But, largely, viewership on those has been on the decline for some time,” he said.

Likewise, the resurgence of advertising is happening while tech and media companies slash costs. That’s an inevitable correction, he said.

“There’s been so much stimulus put into the market, and there’s been so much growth post COVID, that there’s a natural time right now where I think a lot of companies are just [thinking], ‘Should we slow down?’ So I think that’s more of a natural cycle than sort of ‘Hey, let’s panic and run for the hills,’” Mr Juhl said.

“You have to look at that in the grand scheme of things. We’re still looking at a massive growth mountain over the last four years.”

The true impact of rapid interest rate rises is yet to be fully felt, he said. At some point, that will severely hit consumer spending. But Mr Juhl is upbeat about the future. Government interventions to rescue businesses like Silicon Valley Bank should give some confidence to the market.

“I wouldn’t underestimate governments changing positions quickly in face of all this uncertainty to provide security for those that have been over-extended,” he said. “What happened? They bailed them out. There’s reason to still be optimistic.”

UFC

KHAMZAT CHIMAEV: SMASH EVERYONE AND GET ALL THE BELTS

UFC Superstar Khamzat Chimaev’s Desire To Crush The Best In The World Continues As He Faces Former Welterweight Champion At UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2

Nothing was going to stop Khamzat Chimaev from fighting at UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2. After more than a year on the sidelines, “Borz” didn’t care who he faced or at what weight class – he just wants to fight, and he made that clear by accepting Kamaru Usman at middleweight after his bout with Paulo Costa fell through just over a week ago.

The 29-year-old superstar told reporters in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294 media day that the whole process of switching from fighting Costa to fighting Usman was a simple one.

“My manager called me to fight Usman and I said ‘OK, let’s go’,” Chimaev said. “For me, it doesn’t matter.”

When it became clear that Costa was going to have to pull out of their middleweight bout due to an infection in his elbow, Chimaev couldn’t help but feel desperate for a fight. He wrote a message to UFC CEO Dana White begging for a fight with anyone. Ranked, unranked, veteran, or newcomer.

“I wrote Dana White and I said, ‘Brother, give me someone, I need to fight,’” Chimaev recalled. “But then my manager called so I deleted the message.”

Once the fight was announced, many fans were thrilled to find out Chimaev was going to fight Usman in a matchup between the former welterweight champion and one of the division’s top contenders.

But Chimaev moved up to middleweight following a weight miss at UFC 279 and that’s how the fight with Costa came about. Now it’s Usman, and Chimaev is just as excited as the fans to finally showcase what he can do against “The Nigerian Nightmare”.

“Since day one when I get to the UFC, everyone spoke about Khamzat and Usman and our wrestling skills and our striking – all of these things. He’s an old version, I’m new. Like iPhones come out - he’s like iPhone 5 and I’m like iPhone Pro,” Chimaev joked. “If there is gold there, of course he’s going to cut the weight, but he couldn’t take the belt so that’s why he asked [to step in]. I’m Khamzat Chimaev. That’s why he comes up to fight to fight me. The guy comes for money, and the money fight is me.”

Chimaev knows that the public applauds Usman’s decision to step in, and while that’s well deserved, he also knows that coming in on short notice could potentially give Usman the ability to point to his lack of preparation if he were to lose.

“The guy comes just to make money,” Chimaev said. “Of course, he comes to win, everyone comes to the fight to win, but he has all the excuses.”

A win over Usman – and a dominant one like we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Chimaev – would certainly skyrocket him to the top of the list for title fights at both welterweight and middleweight.

Chimaev believes his UFC career is just getting started. He’s planning on being at the top for the next ten years.

He’s confident that he’ll end up facing Costa at some point and he also has his sights on fighting with Israel Adesanya, battling middleweight champion Sean Strickland, and competing with welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

And that’s exactly what Chimaev wants. He wants to face the best in the world and beat the best in the world in a way that no one has ever seen before. If he can do that, he isn’t concerned with how long it takes him to get to a title shot.

He knows that getting belts and records is inevitable.

“I want to fight the best guys. It’s not fun to watch if I’m going to smash somebody that nobody knows. It’s not going to make UFC any money,” Chimaev said. “I’m not after just the title; I’m after all the heads in the UFC. Smash somebody, make money and be happy.

“If I smash everyone, finish everyone, they have to give me all belts.”

UFC

Dana White Announces UFC 294 Co-Main Event

KAMARU USMAN TO FACE KHAMZAT CHIMAEV IN UFC 294 CO-MAIN EVENT

Former Welterweight Champion Replaces Paulo Costa At UFC 294; Faces Rising Star Chimaev

The UFC 294 card continued it evolution Wednesday when UFC CEO Dana White took to social media to announce a major change to the co-main event.

“You know what we’ve been dealing with this week. We just got the big fight done yesterday, the highly anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi: Makhachev vs Volkanovski,” he said, referencing Tuesday evening’s announcement that Charles Oliveira was injured and would be replaced by the featherweight champion Volkanovski.

“Now you’ve been waiting for the co-main event. Costa’s hurt…we got it done. The No. 4 welterweight in the world, Khamzat Chimaev, is moving up to middleweight and he will face the No. 1 welterweight in the world: Kamaru Usman.”

Usman was one of the most dominant champions in UFC welterweight history before dropping the only two losses of his career back-to-back vs current champion Leon Edwards. He’ll look to build another run to the title, beginning on just 9 days notice vs Chimaev October 21.

Chimaev has become appointment viewing since joining the UFC roster in 2020. Undefeated in his 12 professional bout, with most of his wins coming within the first two rounds, his dynamic style remains a puzzle yet to be solved.

“No. 1 vs No. 4 at middleweight, Usman vs Chimaev,” White said excitedly. “I will see you in Abu Dhabi!”

UFC

CHARLES OLIVEIRA OUT, ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI IN AGAINST ISLAM MAKHACHEV AT UFC 294

Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski Replaces Injured Charles Oliveira For Lightweight Ttile Rematch Against Islam Makhachev

UFC CEO Dana White announced a change for the main event at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will step in against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after Charles Oliveira was forced to pull out of their scheduled rematch. The main event between Makhachev and Volkanovski is a rematch of their epic duel from February at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, where Makhachev bested “The Great” via unanimous decision. 

The previous bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski was a back-and-forth affair in front of an electric Australian crowd, who were in full voice supporting their fellow countryman at UFC’s first event in Australia since October 2019. Makhachev successfully defended his title, but some believed Volkanovski did enough to earn double-champ status that night. After the fight, the two champions shared pleasantries, and Volkanovski started pining for a rematch – even saying he was keen to fight Makhachev in Abu Dhabi. 

A few months later, Volkanovski returned to the featherweight division to defend his 145-pound belt against interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez at the end of International Fight Week at UFC 290. Makhachev, on the other hand, has not competed since their initial bout. Headlining UFC’s pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi for a second consecutive year, Makhachev hoped to also repeat his performance at UFC 280 when he submitted Oliveira in the second round to win the lightweight title his mentor and close friend Khabib Nurmagomedov once held. 

The disappointment for Oliveira, meanwhile, is understandably high. “Do Bronx” was adamant that he was too caught up in the intensity of the first fight with Makhachev, particularly after Oliveira was forced to vacate the title when he missed weight before knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in Arizona, and thusly underperformed.

Oliveira, never a stranger to bouncing back from adversity, showed he was still one of the best lightweights in the world when he ran through Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, snapping Dariush’s 8-fight win streak.

While one can assume the winner in Abu Dhabi will face Oliveira next, it does get a bit more complicated should Volkanovski win a second belt. That opens the door to a trilogy, a Volkanovski-Oliveira fight or even a situation involving Justin Gaethje, whom many believed earned a title shot with his epic knockout win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 for the BMF title. 

All that said, the Abu Dhabi fans are in for a treat with UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 on October 21.

(UFC)

UFC 294 Tale Of The Tape and Fight Card

TALE OF THE TAPE

Islam Makhachev

Age: 31

Record: 24-1

Height: 178cm

Reach: 179cm

Leg reach: 103cm

Alexander Volkanovski

Age: 35

Record: 26-2

Height: 168cm

Reach: 182cm

Leg reach: 91cm

THE BETTING ODDS?

Volkanovski is once again the underdog despite coming extremely close to pulling off an upset in his first fight against Makhachev.

Volkanovski to win — $3.10

Volkanovski win TKO/KO — $6.25

Volkanovski win via points/decision — $5.80

Volkanovski win via submission — $26

Makhachvev to win — $1.37

Makhachev win via TKO/KO — $6

Makhachev win via points/decision — $2.74

Makhachev win via submission — $4

Draw — $51

FULL UFC 294 CARD (ALL TIMES AEDT)

Main Card (from 5am AEDT)

Islam Makhachev (c) v Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC lightweight title

Kamaru Usman v Khamzat Chimaev — middleweight

Magomed Ankalaev v Johnny Walker — light heavyweight

Ikram Aliskerov v Warlley Alves — middleweight

Said Nurmagomedov v Muin Gafurov — bantamweight

Prelims (from 1am AEDT)

Tim Elliott v Muhammad Mokaev — flyweight

Mohammad Yahya v Trevor Peek — lightweight

Javid Basharat v Victor Henry — bantamweight

Abu Azaitar v Sedriques Dumas — middleweight

Mike Breeden v Anshul Jubli — lightweight

Nathaniel Wood v Muhammad Naimov — featherweight

Viktoriia Dudakova v Jinh Yu Frey — women’s strawweight

Shara Magomedov v Bruno Silva — middleweight

"155 the official weight for the champ Islam Makhachev. And with that your UFC @UFC 294 main event is official" #UFC294 

"154.5 the official weight for Alexander Volkanovski". #UFC294 

"Breaking news. The Lightweight challenger to Islam Makhachev's throne, Charles Oliveira, is out of UFC @UFC 294. The fight that was scheduled for Abu Dhabi, but, good news is, Oliveira out, Alexander Volkanovski in" - Michael Bispin @bisping 

"One phone call. He jumps in and he accepts the fight" - Dana White @danawhite , UFC CEO

#UFC294 

Mr. 619 vs Logan Paul. Confrontation that will lead to a dream match for the ages. We're rooting for the all American boy, LP. Pumped with Prime @PrimeHydrate ! #SmackDown 

"What's up guys? I'm Megan Morant for WWE Now getting you set with everything that you need to know heading into tonight's Friday Night SmackDown on FOX".. #SmackDown

Media Man blogs updated #blog #blogs #blogging #blognews #news #newsmedia #popculture #sports #entertainment #socialmedia #digital #buzz #platforms #trends #media #mediaman #mediamanint 

Wrestling News

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 20, 2023

Confrontation: Rey Mysterio @reymysterio and Logan Paul @LoganPaul , fresh off his boxing victory and challenge

Iyo Sky @Iyo_SkyWWE  vs Charlotte Flair @MsCharlotteWWE - WWE Women's Title

Santos Escobar @EscobarWWE (Latino World Order) vs Montez Ford (The Street Profits)

And no doubt one of two massive surprises. What's lurking behind the curtain, backstage and in the locker room! Don't forget Nick Aldis is the new sheriff in town in the GM position.

Combat sports meets high drama, technical wrestling, brawling, wrestling faction situations, femme fatales, art imitating life, world's greatest communicators and antagonists and more. William Shakespeare would be proud. If you can't make it to the arena book an appointment with your TV! The lock is counting..

Image credit: WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWEUS #USTitle #wrestling #prowrestling #LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #Maverick #Prime #CharlotteFlair #TheQueen #wwewomen #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #showbiz #FOX #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trends #trending #buzz #X #media 

"But you Logan. Do. I'm not going to hesitate, to whoop your ass. You say you need this. You want this. You want this title"  - Rey Mysterio

"See. So badly". - Logan Paul

"Well, you know what. I'll give you the opportunity. Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio for the United States championship at Crown Jewel" Rey Mysterio

#SmackDown #WWECrownJewel 

"Listen. It's not my responsibility what happens on Raw, It's my responsibility of what happened on SmackDown. And with that being said. you just earned yourself a $10,000 fine" Nick Aldis

"Well if your fining him fine his brother too. Fair's fair right? Adam Pearce

"I'll tell you what I'll do. Gentlemen, please escort him from the building" - NA

"Man, don't touch me" - Jey Uso

"Easy. Do you think its necessary. I'll escort him out" - AP

"You know, your right.  Please escort them both from the building" NA

"Sir"? Security

"You kicking me out of this building" AP

"Yes I am. Now please" NA

"Let the games begin. Let's go" AP 

#SmackDown

MMA/UFC /Combat Sports/Entertainment News

UFC  294 Press Conference

Question

"Do you think that this fight, UFC 294, is going to make better numbers and is going to be louder and better than than that Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury fight"?

"HaHaHa. Um, I would certainly hope so. I would certaily hope so. Yeah, listen. Let's be honest, without smashing anybody here. These are the best fighters in the world here, in each weight class. That's what you want to see. I mean, you want to see the best fight the best. These two right here are the best. I would say yes sir.  But I'm pretty biased". - Dana White 

@DanaWhite

The Competition:

Francis "The Predator" Ngannou vs reigning WBC boxing champion Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 in Riyadh.

Riyadh Season is a state-sponsored annual entertainment and sports festival, part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative held since 2019 from October to March during winter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh Season 2023

The fourth edition of Riyadh Season 

@RiyadhSeason

 will be launching on 28 October 2023 with a brand new identity, new tagline ("big time") and title sponsorship from SNB. The opener event, Battle of Baddest, featuring Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, will be held on the same day.

This year's Riyadh Season will be marked with the addition of Boulevard Hall, a 40000 capacity indoor arena with FIFA standard football pitch capable of hosting various types of events. It will be renamed to Kingdom Arena in January 2024 and serve as the new home ground of Al Hilal.

The following events will take place as part of 2023 Riyadh Season:

WWE 

@WWE

 Crown Jewel 2023 will be held in Mohammed Abdu Arena on 4 November 2023.

Riyadh Season Tennis Cup, featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka, will be held between 26-27 December 2023.

Riyadh Season Cup featuring Riyadh XI (combined Al Hilal and Al Nassr all-star team), Manchester City, Al Shabab and AS Roma, with dates to be confirmed.

2023 Supercoppa Italiana featuring Napoli, Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, with dates to be confirmed.

2023–24 Supercopa de España featuring Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Osasuna, with dates to be confirmed.

Riyadh Season has also secured front-of-shirt sponsorship with Serie A club AS Roma, worth 8 million euros per year.

Video

UFC Official YouTube

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 4

https://youtube.com/watch?v=eXz83shcZQk&ab_channel=UFC

Video

UFC Official YouTube

UFC 294: Pre-Fight Press Conference Highlights

https://youtube.com/watch?v=coDJXlH_hUY&ab_channel=UFC

UFC Official YouTube

Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 - All Questions Will Be Answered | UFC 294

https://youtube.com/watch?v=StwKf9GcCf0&ab_channel=UFC

UFC Official YouTube

Alexander Volkanovski: 'Fighting in Someone's Territory Doesn't Mean Nothing' | UFC 294

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bw2RJWOWiU4&t=10s&ab_channel=UFC

UFC 294: Live Weigh-In Show

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SUwKoYPdzBU&ab_channel=UFC

Video

Alexander Volkanovski YouTube

FIGHT WEEK FACE OFF UFC 294 | Alexander Volkanovski vs Islam Makhachev II Episode2

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bY2ABZ_5TqQ&ab_channel=AlexanderVolkanovski

Video

Riyadh Season YouTube

FURY Vs NGANNOU

https://youtube.com/watch?v=zTISRmnKDz4&ab_channel=%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%7CRiyadhSeason

Top Rank Boxing Official YouTube

Tyson Fury Arrives in Riyadh Ahead of the Battle of The Baddest | Fight October 28 ESPN+ PPV

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dFn8VmpZkdw&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Top Rank Boxing YouTube 

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou | OFFICIAL PROMO | BATTLE OF THE BADDEST | OCT. 28 ESPN+ PPV

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T8n4PxcxwxQ&ab_channel=PremierBoxingChampions

WWE YouTube

WWE Crown Jewel goes big time when it returns to Riyadh on Nov. 4

https://youtube.com/watch?v=woHik9VX1f4&ab_channel=WWE

Pro Wrestling

Video

WWE @WWE YouTube

SmackDown’s most dramatic moments: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 20, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX1TPEOdbUk&t=1s&ab_channel=WWE

Image credit: WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #PaulHeyman #LAKnight #SoloSikoa #JohnCena #LoganPaul #ReyMysterio #CharlotteFlair #GWEffect #WWECrownJewel #sportsnews #sportsmedia #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #popculture #FOX #PLE #PPV #PayPerView #livesports #liveentertainment #trends #trending #buzz #TV #media

"That will do it. And still and with style points, Islam Makhachev is the man" #UFC294 

Combat Sports/UFC News

UFC @UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2

Islam Makhachev defeats Alexander Volkanovski by KO (strikes) at 3:06 of Round 1

Khamzat Chimaev defeats Kamaru Usman by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)

Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker declared a no contest (accidental foul) at 3:13 of Round 1

Ikram Aliskerov defeats Warlley Alves by TKO (strikes) at 2:07 of Round 1

Said Nurmagomedov defeats Muin Gafurov by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:13 of Round 1

Muhammad Mokaev defeats Tim Elliott by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:03 of Round 3

Trevor Peek defeats Mohammad Yahya by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Javid Basharat and Victor Henry declared a no contest (accidental low blow) at 0:15 of Round 2

Sedriques Dumas defeats Abu Azaitar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mike Breeden defeats Anshul Jubli by KO (strikes) at 3:00 of Round 3

Muhammad Naimov defeats Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Viktoriia Dudakova defeats Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Shara Magomedov defeats Bruno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Video

UFC 294: MAKHACHEV vs VOLKANOVSKI 2 | COLD OPEN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbGyIXGYskM&ab_channel=UFC

UFC 294: Fight Day Focus - Makhachev vs Volkanovski & Usman vs Chimaev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OtMfZLsY_s&t=217s&ab_channel=UFC

UFC 294 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQLqx3XEtuo&t=19s&ab_channel=UFC

Islam Makhachev Octagon Interview | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYLJkUPNQuQ&ab_channel=UFC

Alexander Volkanovski Octagon Interview | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8dbUmQz4F8&ab_channel=UFC

Dana White Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uysztdn_PoA&t=6s&ab_channel=UFC

Alexander Volkanovski Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ5FZ0YCPZ0&t=29s&ab_channel=UFC

Islam Makhachev Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ch_EZ5DWpw&ab_channel=UFC

Image credit: UFC

#UFC294 #UFC #ufcabudhabi #ufcuae #ufcnews #ufcmedia #MMA #MakhachevVolkanovski2 #Makhachev #Volkanovski #Volk #Chimaev #Usman #combatsports #sportsnews #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #livesport #liveentertainment #sportsmedia #trends #trending #buzz #media 

Combat Sports/UFC News 

UFC @UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2

Prelim Results

Shara Magomedov def Bruno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Viktoriia Dudakova def Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Muhammad Naimov def Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mike Breeden def Anshul Jubli by KO (strikes) at 3:00 of Round 3

Sedriques Dumas def Abu Azaitar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Javid Basharat and Victor Henry declared a no contest (accidental low blow) at 0:15 of Round 2

Trevor Peek def Mohammad Yahya by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Muhammad Mokaev def Tim Elliott by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:03 of Round 3

Video

UFC Official YouTube

Dana White Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uysztdn_PoA&t=6s&ab_channel=UFC

UFC 294: MAKHACHEV vs VOLKANOVSKI 2 | COLD OPEN 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbGyIXGYskM&t=1s&ab_channel=UFC

Islam Makhachev: 'I Already Beat Him, He Has Nothing to Lose' | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrvjNqO1CXA&ab_channel=UFC

Top Finishes | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4gsFcRnP1A&ab_channel=UFC

 Image credit: UFC 

#UFC294 #UFC #ufcabudhabi #ufcuae #ufcnews #ufcmedia #MMA #MakhachevVolkanovski2 #Makhachev #Volkanovski #Volk #Chimaev #Usman #combatsports #sportsnews #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #livesport #liveentertainment #sportsmedia #trends #trending #buzz #media

Combat Sports/UFC News

Alexander Volkanovski quotes following UFC @UFC 294 defeat to Islam Makhachev

"Decisions. I could have made better decisions. You know. He's not somebody you should be taking short notice with but I needed it. Obviously a lot of people will say its for the money and all that. But, it was much more than that. You know what I mean. It is hard for athletes. Sorry. I never thought I would stuggle with it but for some reason when I wasn't fighting or in camp, *uck sorry, I'm just doing my head in. I mean, I need a fight and then this opportunity come up. I'll be honest. I wasn't training as much as I should of. But I thought I had to do it. I had to take or. Or I'm telling myself its mean't to be. Obviously, I was I stuggling a little bit not fighting. I just ask the UFC to keep me busy. ;Cause I need to be keeping busy. I need to be in camp otherwise I'm gunna do my head in".

Media

"I want to be sensative to what your saying. And I you don't have to reveal anything you don't want to. But you saying something like Tyson Fury spoken about in that past and that if I'm not fighting I get dark places and I start getting down. Or are you saying I get bored. What exactly do you mean you need to be busy before or it does your head in?

"Yeah. I dunno. It's weird. I've never believed..not believed in that stuff. Ah, I never got it. It was something.. I dunno know. Maybe the more and more I learn about myself. The more I understand. Yeah, I was different. I was a decision that I chose. I talked about us having a smile on my face. Me and my wife. Obviously my wife could see, you know, that it does get hard. I don't know. I think there was just so much going on. Obviously the surgery, then the baby. And yeah, I needed to get in camp. And then this fight like came up and I'm like, yeah, it's meant to be".. - Alexander Volkanovski

UFC Official YouTube

Alexander Volkanovski Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 294

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ5FZ0YCPZ0&t=30s&ab_channel=UFC

MMAFightingonSBN Official YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

ESPN MMA Official YouTube Channel

We found out just how GREAT Makhachev is in his rematch vs. Volkanovski - Chael Sonnen | ESPN MMA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqT72pnktvs&ab_channel=ESPNMMA

The Mac Life Official YouTube

Alexander Volkanovski reveals mental struggles with inactivity: ‘I needed this for more than money’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eubVv4utEQ&ab_channel=TheMacLife

TNT Sports Official YouTube

UFC 294: Alexander Volkanovski sends stern warning to Islam Makhachev as he eyes REVENGE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLJCpHnwZ0g&ab_channel=TNTSports

Image credit: UFC 

#UFC294 #UFC #ufcabudhabi #ufcuae #ufcnews #ufcmedia #MMA #MakhachevVolkanovski2 #Makhachev #Volkanovski #Volk #combatsports #sportsnews #sportsbiz #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #livesport #liveentertainment #sportsmedia #trends #trending #buzz #media

Pro Wrestling

Impact Wrestling @IMPACTWRESTLING  (aka TNA Wrestling)

Impact World Championship: Alex Shelley vs Josh Alexander

Impact Knockouts World Championship: Trinity vs Mickie James

Impact X-Division Championship: Chris Sabin vs KENTA

Impact World Tag Team Championship: The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) vs ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)

Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: MK Ultra (Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich) vs Tasha Steelz & Deonna Purrazzo

Monster's Ball Match: PCO vs. Rhino vs. Moose vs Steve Maclin

Will Ospreay vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

20-Person Call Your Shot Gauntlet 

Video

Impact Wrestling Official YouTube

IMPACT Hall of Fame | Countdown to Bound For Glory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEeGAlj3NmY&ab_channel=IMPACTWrestling

Mike Tenay and Don West Inducted Into the IMPACT Hall of Fame | Bound For Glory 2023 Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQOrBP1HpdE&t=3s&ab_channel=IMPACTWrestling

FULL Bound For Glory 2023 Highlights - Order the PPV Replay NOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do-RMzQGf1U&ab_channel=IMPACTWrestling

MATCH OF THE YEAR! Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey DREAM MATCH! | Bound For Glory 2023 Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJakLOQuyuI&ab_channel=IMPACTWrestling

"TNA Wrestling - We're F*****g BACK!" | TNA Returns January 13 at Hard To Kill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmqGNJ2sV_4&t=2s&ab_channel=IMPACTWrestling

#ImpactWrestling #TNA #BoundForGlory #BoundForGloryFallout #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #PPV #PayPerView #FITE #video #highlights #trends #trending #buzz #media

Pro Wrestling

AEW @AEW Collision

Ricky Starks and Big Bill vs Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta)

Bryan Danielson vs Andrade El Idolo

Eddie Kingston vs Jeff Jarrett -Memphis street fight

and much more

Video

AEW Official YouTube

Dream Match: Danielson v Andrade + Five Huge Title Matches | AEW Control Center: Memphis, 10/21/23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfEVsM9X5_M&t=3s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Only in dreams! Bryan Danielson takes on Andrade El Idolo one-on-one! | 10/21/23, AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slo4bNzz6_I&t=12s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

New AEW Tag Champs, Starks & Big Bill, take on BCC in their first defense! | 10/21/23 AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFoeiLUKzFY&t=4s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

FTR return to the ring on Collision... and so do HOUSE OF BLACK! | 10/21/23 AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHpW49P0N5A&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

ROH Champ, Eddie Kingston, takes on Jeff Jarrett in a Memphis Street Fight! | 10/21/23 AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ix_euH1Zfw&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Bullet Club Gold’s Top Shelf Gunns return to tag-team action! | 10/21/23, AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssSxQHQwNJc&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Could Action Andretti survive his encounter with "The Redeemer" Miro? | 10/21/23 AEW Collision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWErWMJhOqs&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Media Man: Strong thumbs up

#AEWCollision #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #wrestling #prowrestling #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #TNT #TNTDrama #broadcast #broadcasting #video #highlights #trends #trending #TV #buzz #media 

"Intimidation is an unusual animal: it's a lot about body language and understanding the human psyche. Knowing that usually a direct stare will crush most human souls, and that's just the basic gist of it... The soul-crushing stare, the fatherly disappointment, mixed with a little bit of hate and rage - you're on your way" - Samoa Joe #SamoaJoe #quote #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestler #intimidation #bodylanguage #psyche #combatsports #sports #popculture #legend #media 

"In our personal and professional lives, we are constantly hit with one adversity after the other, most of which we have no control over. But the four things we have total control over is how we react, how we adapt, how we breathe, and how we take action" - Diamond Dallas Page #DallasPage #quote #life #lives #living #adversity #control #mindset #motivation #mbs #world #media 

"You can't dictate to a country or a religion about how they handle things, but having said that, WWE is at the forefront of a women's evolution in the world, and what you can't do is effect change anywhere by staying away from it" Triple H, WWE @WWE executive #TripleH #quote #wrestling #prowrestling #womenswrestling #womensevolution #WWECrownJewel #sportsbiz #popculture #culture #entertainment #showbiz #PLE #PPE #broadcasting #world #worldnews #media 

SEJ Keyword Cannibilization

SEJ's Corey on an insightful and helpful feature article on keyword cannibalization re SEO and paid search campaigns. It's quite the balancing act. Clear lines of communication between management, staff and departments is critical. Make sure the technical is speaking the same language as marketing and are in harmony and working towards the same end goal - success as a team..Keep tap.of results, performance, cross-over, stats, sales, investment, true efficiency vs false efficiency, economy.of scale, and how could we forget the often changing Google algorithm. Keep your finger on the pulse and adjust the sails for changing conditions. 

Top Rank Boxing

X

"I can't believe it. Looking from there. The boy has made it" - Francis Ngannou #FuryNgannou 

Mojahed Fudailat wins Media Man 'Animation Artist Of The Month' and 'Sports Artist Of The Month' award. Based on merit alone. Bragging rights. Sports and art fans for the win! #MojahedFudailat #mmaart #ufcart #sportsart #combatsports #sportsartist #mmaartist

Search Engine Journal Show

Good stuff. At least ebooks can be updated quicker and cheaper than traditional books. That Google update algorithm! 

Lexis King to run roughshot at NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc. Ain't in anyone's shadow! Conquer self and family legacy for the win. King to cause havoc for fellow pro wrestlers. Release those demons! #HalloweenHavoc #LexisKing 

Pro Wrestling

NXT @WWE Halloween Havoc 2023. Week One 

Becky Lynch vs Lyra Valkyria - NXT Women’s Title

The Family (Tony D’Angelo & Stacks) vs Chase U - NXT Tag Team Championship

Gigi Dolin vs Blair Davenport. Lights Out Match

Roxanne Perez vs Kiana James. Devil’s Playground Match

Lexis King (not Brian Pillman Jr)! to make debut. Havoc expected and forecast!

Video

WWE Official YouTube

Lyra Valkyria to challenge Becky Lynch as Halloween Havoc begins: NXT sneak peek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQbRXXucFCU&ab_channel=WWE

#HalloweenHavoc #WWENXT #NXTHalloweenHavoc #wrestling #prowrestling #LexisKing #BeckyLynch #LyraValkyria #TheFamily #NXTTagTitle #NXTWomensTitle #entertainment #popculture #USANetwork #showbiz #broadcast #broadcasting #trends #trending #TV #buzz #media 

Top Rank Boxing

"I was 26 when I left Cameroon. Europe was the continent that you can go from Africa to Europe. Living in Paris I saw some parking garage. I went there. Just sleep on the floor in the parking garage. It was in the Spring time. It was cold, but you know - but I need to feel".. FN

Pro Wrestling

WWE NXT @NXT Halloween Havoc.

"Brian Pillman is dead. Long live Lexis King" LK

"My way. My life" - Lexis King (not Brian Pillman Jr)

#HalloweenHavoc #LexisKing 

"Now people are going to find this hard to believe but at WrestleMania 12 trying to go and take the WWE @WWE Championship off of Bret Hart was the most intimidating thing in my life. I was trying to step into the shoes of a legend like Bret Hart and I know how story so many people don't understand that, but it was very intimidating for me. Lyra Valkyria, your in the same place"... Shawn Michaels, WWE NXT @WWENXT top brass #HalloweenHavoc #NXTWomensTitle 

"Cause Chase U now champions U" Vic Joseph @VicJosephWWE #HalloweenHavoc #ChaseU #AndNew 

NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc

"Wo, Booker. Jade Cargill" Vic Joseph @VicJosephWWE 

"Shucky, Ducky, Quack Quack. Oh, Yesss man" Booker T @BookerT5x 

"Overlooking Halloween Havoc. No surprise, because all eyes on our massive main event" - VJ

#HalloweenHavoc #NXTWomensTitle 

"This is women's wrestling" - Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"She's succeding. Counter. Shoulders down. A modified".. Vic Joseph

"Man, how'd she come out of that" Booker T

"Look at Lyra staying right on top and now - talk about submissions. She's got the champion wrapped" VJ

#HalloweenHavoc #NXTWomensTitle 

Doge X

Points understood Mr Doge and Mr Lee. Wikipedia however remains much more balanced than the far majority of "mainstream media", not that lamestream set the bar that high. Spotlight on media can only help add further accountability to a much embattled sector. Always check sources, and we currently recommend 5 to 10 sources given the state of the media business says Media Man.

“We should look at currencies from an information theory standpoint. Whichever has least error & latency will win.”  - Elon Musk #ElonMusk #quote #Currencies  #informationtheory #currency #cypto #information #win #media 

Top Rank Boxing

No "over the shoulder" here folks. He is The Predator #FrancisNgannou #FuryNgannou 

Search Engine Journal. Alphabet Q3 earnings call

SEJ's Kristi Hines with a strong overview report on Alphabet's quarter 3 earnings call news and highlights. Alphabet remains in a much stronger position than most in and around the big tech sector, scandals or not. All power to them, but a range of players, AI and otherwise coming for the top spot and even a close second would be welcome. 

Media Man Blog

Cryptocurrency News

Exploring the Latest Statistics for Cryptocurrency Investors

Some of the most recent statistics that provide valuable insights for cryptocurrency investors

Cryptocurrency markets have seen remarkable growth and transformation in the past decade, with millions of investors worldwide participating in this dynamic and often volatile space. As the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to evolve, it’s essential for investors to stay informed about the latest statistics, trends, and developments in the market. In this article, we will explore some of the most recent statistics that provide valuable insights for cryptocurrency investors.

Market Capitalization

Market capitalization is a fundamental metric in the cryptocurrency space. It represents the total value of all cryptocurrencies combined. As of the most recent data, the cryptocurrency market cap exceeds $2 trillion. This number gives investors a sense of the overall size and significance of the market.

Bitcoin Dominance

Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, is the most dominant cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. It has consistently maintained a dominance percentage of around 40-50% in recent years. This metric helps investors understand Bitcoin’s relative importance within the broader cryptocurrency market.

Altcoin Popularity

While Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency, altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies) have gained popularity. Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Cardano are some of the leading altcoins. Ethereum, in particular, is known for its smart contract capabilities, and the total value locked in decentralized applications (DeFi) has surged.

Exchange Statistics

The number of cryptocurrency exchanges has grown significantly. At present, there are over 300 exchanges globally. The competition between exchanges has led to improved services, lower fees, and increased trading volumes.

Trading Volume

Daily trading volume is a critical statistic for investors. It provides insights into the liquidity and activity in the market. Recent data shows that the daily trading volume for all cryptocurrencies is well over $100 billion, indicating substantial market participation.

Wallet Growth

The number of cryptocurrency wallets continues to grow steadily. This reflects the increasing interest and adoption of digital assets by individual investors. As of the latest figures, there are over 80 million blockchain wallet users.

Institutional Involvement

Institutional participation in the cryptocurrency market has surged in recent years. Major financial institutions, hedge funds, and publicly traded companies have started investing in cryptocurrencies. This trend has contributed to the market’s overall legitimacy and growth.

Regulatory Developments

Cryptocurrency regulations are evolving worldwide. Governments and regulatory bodies are increasingly addressing the need for regulatory frameworks to govern digital assets. Investors are closely watching how these regulations may impact the market.

NFT Explosion

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become a significant trend in the cryptocurrency space. NFTs represent unique digital assets and are often used for digital art, collectibles, and in-game items. The NFT market has experienced substantial growth, with high-profile sales of digital artwork making headlines.

DeFi and Yield Farming

Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and yield farming have gained traction among investors. These platforms offer various financial services, including lending, borrowing, and liquidity provision. Total value locked in DeFi protocols has surpassed $100 billion.

Sports Business News

TECH TRENDS CONTINUE TO SHAKE SPORTS FANDOM. MAY THE BEST IDEAS WIN

In 2022, a number of new technologies offered glimpses of their promise for sports—and their drawbacks. 

An explosion of streaming services has brought more action to our fingertips, while simultaneously making it harder (and possibly more expensive) to find any one game. Meta showed off its vision of online worlds bringing us closer together, but performance issues led the company to put part of its Horizon Worlds team in a “quality lockdown” this fall.

FTX imploded, if you hadn’t heard, largely extinguishing excitement about blockchain’s potential. And that was only days after Twitter began writhing through an Elon Musk-led overhaul. 

Over the last year, the Internet writ large seemed poised to offer fans things like better access to their favorite teams, fun new ways to connect with peers, and even literal riches. But the deliverables rarely matched the hype. Instead came another reminder that “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “better” and that, with a few poor decisions, the sports fan experience has the potential to actually get worse.

During 2023, we’ll see how the following tech developments impact sports, for good or for bad.

Streaming

This year, Amazon, Apple, and Google-owned YouTube have set themselves up to apply their unique philosophies to live sports. (Netflix remains on the sidelines. For now.)

Amazon went first, with its operational focus helping it successfully set a new standard for streaming sports with Thursday Night Football. Apple, meanwhile, has always put an emphasis on top-to-bottom design, which often requires a high degree of creative input if not outright control. In a league-level partnership with Major League Soccer, they’ll get the chance to show how they think modern sports fandom should operate. 

Then there’s Google, which will lean on its decades-long history of organizing information and making it accessible as it builds a product to help fans watch the right out-of-market NFL games at the right time. YouTube made one of the biggest sports media splashes of 2022 by securing seven years worth of NFL Sunday Ticket. Now it will need to meet fans’ expectation of an improved experience—and sell a lot of subscriptions. 

So far, tech companies have mainly only changed where sports are broadcast, not what it is like to watch them. After shaking up music and TV, streamers need to give fans a reason to be excited about games making the jump to digital. AltCasts might be that reason, though right now the best one—the ManningCast—resides on ESPN2.

Social

It’s not just Twitter that’s in flux; some pundits are declaring Instagram to be “Over.” TikTok continues to face regulatory scrutiny. Numerous other platforms have recently suffered layoffs in the face of discouraging advertising projections.

Athletes and properties have turned into 365-day brands thanks to social media, and that won’t stop even if the platforms change. Instead, look for teams and leagues to build even more direct relationships with their fans—the NBA and NFL are already taking cues from social companies with new features in their own apps.

Sports is primarily a community product. Teams sell an identity and an invitation to a group. As more of life takes place on the Internet, it’s crucial fans have a digital place they’re proud to call home.  

Augmented Reality

While the Metaverse hogged more of the hype spotlight last year, AR has quickly found a home in sports. Broadcasters ranging from ESPN to Nickelodeon are incorporating virtual elements into their shows. Numerous properties are also experimenting with how phone-based tools could improve or enliven the in-person experience. 

More radical change will come when (and if) a critical mass of people decide it’s time to buy (and wear) advanced headsets. Live sports content could drive adoption, but rights holders might also be wary of being burned on the idea for a second time in 10 years.

In the meantime, VR games like NFL Pro Era and Golf+ are already demonstrating interesting use cases. We’ll see if any leagues are able to leverage advanced simulators to develop a new generation of fans. 

Artificial Intelligence

AI (called as much because we’re evidently on a nickname basis with our computers after all these years) will only intensify the speed of all those above changes. Automated cameras will soon be paired with AI-commentating to elevate the production values of more sporting events, including youth-level games. Online, AI promises even more personalized feeds and viewing recommendations, like a customized RedZone channel. Computational wizardry might also hold the keys to creating more advanced AR graphics and life-like digital spaces. 

But then come the buts, such as the potential for brand-damaging fake videos and the possibility of minimizing the human element that has made sports sports. 

There’s a lot of change on the horizon, and by now we’ve learned it won’t all be positive. It can’t be. In each of these categories, some tech will prove itself; other stuff will prove itself … to be a headache. Here’s hoping 2023 is not another rebuilding year.

May the best ideas win.

(John WallStreet)

HOW PROFITABLE IS ESPN? DISNEY BREAKS OUT FIGURES FOR FIRST TIME

Just how profitable is ESPN to The Walt Disney Co.? For the first time, per The Hollywood Reporter, there’s a clear answer, and it shows just how lucrative the sports business is for the company.

Beginning next quarter, Disney will change how it reports its quarterly financials. The move comes after CEO Bob Iger’s reorganization earlier this year to “to restore creativity to the center of our business.”

The new structure will consist of parks and experiences, entertainment and sports (which is almost entirely ESPN, with Star-branded sports channels in India comprising a small portion). Whereas before ESPN was lumped in with all of Disney’s linear TV and streaming assets in the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division, and before that was folded into its other TV assets, including ABC and the Disney cable channels, it will now occupy its own division, led by Jimmy Pitaro.

According to an SEC filing Wednesday that outlines the new financial reporting structure, ESPN delivered $16 billion in revenue in fiscal 2022 (the company’s fiscal year ended October of 2022), and had profits of $2.9 billion.

For comparison, the new “entertainment” division, which includes Disney’s other TV networks and streaming services, as well as its film and TV studios, had revenues of $39.6 billion in fiscal 2022 … but profits of only $2.1 billion, thanks to Disney’s yet-to-be-profitable streaming business.

That lucrative profit margin for ESPN underscores why the company seems intent to keep it for the time being, and why it was so eager to cut a deal with Charter Communications and end its blackout last month.

Indeed, a deeper read of the finances show that most of ESPN’s revenues came from pay TV carriage fees ($10.1 billion), compared with advertising revenue of $4.4 billion. As cord-cutting has worsened, ESPN has bore the brunt of it for Disney, thanks to its lucrative carriage deals.

It’s worth noting that before Disney began spending billions on streaming, the filing shows that its traditional entertainment business was very profitable, and the “peak losses” at Disney+ pushed them down last year.

Now Disney is looking for partners to become minority shareholders in ESPN, with sports chief Jimmy Pitaro saying earlier this year the company wants “partners that we think can make the flagship product more compelling” as it plans a streaming offering. Hearst, an early investor in ESPN, continues to own a 20 percent stake in the channel.

Sports News Media

YouTube’s NFL Bet May Be About Becoming Sports Content Filter

YouTube’s successful technical launch of NFL Sunday Ticket has turned industry observers’ attention to the business rationale behind the company’s $14 billion bet on American football.

DirecTV held the exclusive broadcast rights to the league’s out-of-market package from 1994 through the 2022 season. While the service helped to drive subscriptions, and credibility to the satellite-delivered “cable TV” service in its early years, the company is widely believed to have lost tens of millions of dollars on the quarter century plus long relationship.

DirecTV was paying $1.5 billion annually to the league over the last eight years of the relationship. Reports have stated that just 10% of company subscribers bought the football specific service.

It is challenging to make a direct business case for YouTube paying $2 billion a year to acquire the product given this context. And that is before one realizes YouTube is not requiring NFL fans to be YouTube TV subscribers to purchase their Sunday Ticket offering (as was the case with DirecTV). The streaming service can be bought on an a la carte basis.

However, Google may not be looking at it that way. The company may see investing in the tier-one produced content as a means of “driving more eyeballs and driving up CPMs to its traditional YouTube platform,” Matt Rosenberg (managing director & head of media finance, Monroe Capital) said. “Google can afford the large price tag it takes to do this.”

It is also suspected that the Google subsidiary is using the NFL package to anchor the sports content discovery platform it is building. Stratechery’s Ben Thompson theorized the company may be planning to monetize the rights by turning YouTube into a ‘filter’ for sports content, similar to what its search engine does for internet content.

Of course, Google acquired YouTube in 2006. Both companies are now part of the holding company Alphabet.

YouTube and the Google Press Team did not respond to a request for comment on the speculation.

The internet made it easy for people to create content. But the rapid proliferation of it quickly made discovery a challenge.

Google became the internet’s dominant search engine by making it easy for people to find the content they were after. Millions of people now use it daily to navigate the internet.

The company monetizes the traffic it generates by serving as a referral engine to product, service, and content providers, primarily through search engine ads. And it generates a fortune (see: $42.6 billion in Q2 ‘23).

Sports fans are now facing their own content discovery challenges.

The emergence of countless new properties, the rise of streaming services (think: YouTube TV, ESPN+, AppleTV, and Amazon Prime) and the fracturing of rights packages have made it increasingly challenging to find the game one wants to watch.

At the same time, sports content costs are rising (annual rights fees cost billions of dollars) and unlike entertainment programming, the content is usually only shown once.

Google found being the filter for content, rather than the primary creator of it, to be a lucrative strategy for its internet search business. Logic suggests YouTube may be trying to replicate the model around digital sports programming.

The main difference this time around is that YouTube made a substantial investment in content to bring users to its platform. Presumably, the hope is NFL Sunday Ticket draws fans into the centralized content marketplace and that they’ll continue using the platform to find the games they’re looking for.

The company will then likely pursue a commission each time it refers a fan to a third-party platform (e.g., ESPN+).

Amazon, Apple, and Roku charge similar fees for referrals to other platforms. Affiliate has become a profitable revenue stream for those companies, generating billions of dollars in combined revenues.

“YouTube isn't taking this exclusively to YouTube TV because it wants to build YouTube Primetime Channels–[this is] its answer to Apple and Amazon's channel stores,” John Kosner (president, Kosner Media) said.

Google’s ‘late’ entrance into the marketplace should not be an issue given that it has overcome similar competitive dynamics before. It was not the first search engine when it launched, but was able to make up the time lost by delivering a better experience.

Combining NFL content with YouTube/Google search capabilities would seemingly have the company in position to become sports’ preferred discovery solution. If it can achieve those ambitions, generating a return on the Sunday Ticket investment shouldn’t be an issue.

“YouTube TV is far more than just one of the Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distribution (vMVPD). It is becoming one of the largest TV distributors period,” Kosner said.

(JohnWallStreet)

‘Couldn’t organise a conference for 500’: event expert on Games chaos

The Victorian government’s team in charge of delivering the 2026 Commonwealth Games was so inexperienced it would have struggled to host a 500-person conference, an inquiry has been told.

Event Pty Ltd director Simon Thewlis said one of the primary causes of the Games’ failure was that it was being organised by “generalist public servants” rather than specialists. He also panned the reliance of state government “super departments” on outsourcing work to consultancy firms.

Events industry heavyweight Simon Thewlis has slammed the organisational structure of the Victoria’s ill-fated Commonwealth Games, saying it was “always going to end in tears”.  Eamon Gallagher

Mr Thewlis said he believed the Games would always “end in tears” given its business case was based on the 2018 Gold Coast Games but was intended to be held in five regional hubs across Victoria.

“At the end of the day, a bunch of people with little to no real operational major event experience tried to organise one of the largest events our country has ever seen,” he told an inquiry on Monday.

“This is a story of astonishing arrogance and hubris that has seen Victoria going from having once been a leading event state to one responsible for the biggest debacle in the history of events in Australia.

“They thought they knew better than the event industry. They failed

Mr Thewlis said he believed the Games would always “end in tears” given its business case was based on the 2018 Gold Coast Games but was intended to be held in five regional hubs across Victoria.

“At the end of the day, a bunch of people with little to no real operational major event experience tried to organise one of the largest events our country has ever seen,” he told an inquiry on Monday.

“This is a story of astonishing arrogance and hubris that has seen Victoria going from having once been a leading event state to one responsible for the biggest debacle in the history of events in Australia.

“They thought they knew better than the event industry. They failed completely. I would go as far as saying had the project been a conference for 500 people, they still would have been in trouble.”

Mr Thewlis, who has worked in the Victorian event industry for 40 years and co-founded the lockdown-era Save Victorian Events campaign, said leading public servants in the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions “decided they were the best people in Australia to run the Games”.

‘Unencumbered by knowledge or experience’

“To my knowledge, they all had little to no real operational major event experience and some an unwillingness to ever listen or learn. This confirmed to me that the Games would end in tears,” he said.

“Events don’t happen by magic. They involve a whole range of really quite specific skill sets. They didn’t do that, it was just generalist public servants.

“I have no doubt that they all thought they were doing a good job. They were so unencumbered by knowledge or experience that they would not have known otherwise.”

Red flags in the business case included that Melbourne spent $2.9 billion to host the Games in 2006, but the 2026 event, with a “vastly more complex regional model”, was budgeted to cost $2.6 billion.

Also, the Gold Coast in 2018 spent $40 million on ceremonies, but only $41.9 million was budgeted for 2026 ceremonies at the MCG and Geelong’s Kardinia Park.

Mr Thewlis said the axing of the Games would put NSW in a better light than Victoria, particularly after the Sydney edition of the South By Southwest festival, the first time the festival was held outside Texas in 36 years.

Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee told the inquiry earlier on Monday Victoria would be a “place to avoid for some time” for major events.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games Australia boss Craig Phillips said he and fellow organisers met in April with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, who was then the minister tasked with delivering the event, to discuss cost pressures and proposed savings.

“We got the impression that she was very confident the budget would be available,” he said.

Ms Allan has denied misleading parliament by saying “tremendous progress” was being made to host the Games months after receiving advice that the cost would blow out by billions of dollars.

Mr Phillips said the government was yet to pay the $380 million agreed compensation for cancelling the Games, because the federation was concerned it may have to pay UK tax on the payout.

(AFR)

Seven boss content with ‘last-mover advantage’ on streaming - October 24, 2023

Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven West Media is pitching its all-in approach to free-to-air television as an asset to advertisers, with CEO James Warburton saying that the network is not captive to the distractions of newer broadcast formats, like streaming.

According to Warburton, Seven’s main competitors, Ten and Nine (the owner of this masthead), are “probably a little bit distracted with the other bits they’ve got”.

“They don’t talk a lot about just television. Whereas us, it’s what we eat, sleep and breathe.”

Warburton spoke to this masthead before Seven’s annual Upfront event last week, where the network pitched its slate of programming to media executives in a bid to secure a chunk of tighter advertising dollars.

Backed by the network’s staple performers, Home and Away and The Voice, Warburton points to Seven’s claim as the “number one free-to-air network”, based on this year’s TV ratings survey period.

It’s an important metric, given Warburton’s real challenge is to remind advertisers that television remains an unmatched place to reach audiences at scale.

Ten/Paramount will pitch to advertisers this week, showcasing its free-to-air product, alongside content on affiliated streaming service, Paramount+. Meanwhile, Nine, which made its pitch in September, has assets in streaming (Stan), radio and newspapers, including this masthead.

Warburton reckons these other assets should be seen as a distraction from the main event, and that’s television.

But his upbeat tenor belies the pressure the television industry continues to face from global and digital competitors. Meanwhile, the advertising pool is continuing to shrink, with total revenue across the year ending June 30 dropping 7.9 per cent.

In a $3.6 billion market, Seven remains a powerhouse, but its long-term viability looks increasingly wobbly. While Seven does own Perth-based masthead The West Australian, it’s lack of diverse assets, particularly in the premium streaming space, means it will continue to be reliant on revenue from freely accessible news, sport and entertainment.

However, across the past 12 months, market sentiment on global streaming SVOD (streaming video on demand) services has soured, and Warburton believes Seven can focus on what it does best by not being weighed down by the “pain” involved with such products.

“I’m not a believer in last-mover advantage, I’m too aggressive for that,” he says, but in this case, “it exists”.

Seven did mull the streaming opportunity, working with NBCUniversal at one time to partner on a local launch of the latter’s streaming service, Peacock. NBCUniversal eventually decided that licensing made more sense. 

Now, global giants like Disney are rethinking their commercial models, freeing up some of their content to be licensed across other platforms and allowing the US heavyweights to turn their intellectual properties into dollars, even as their streaming platforms start to stutter.

Paramount on Tuesday announced it was adding an advertising tier to its Paramount+ service in Australia, in a bid to attract new audiences at a lower price point and diversify revenue opportunities on the platform. The tier will be introduced in Australia in 2024.

“I think everyone puts on a brave face, but ultimately, it always comes back to economics, and it’s funny to read some global people saying it was all about subs at any cost, and now it’s about profitable subs. Like, really?” Warburton said.

“You wouldn’t want to be trying to renew content pipelines in this market, you can see clear as day they’ll all be here eventually,” Warburton adds, a potential reference Foxtel’s lucrative HBO-based content deal with Warner Bros.

Discovery is another company looking to launch its own service, Max, in 2025.

Seven is hoping new content, including a new format drawing from the popular Made in Chelsea brand, Made in Bondi, co-commissioned with British network Channel 4, will help bring new audiences to its free digital service, 7Plus, alongside a number of new titles fronted by the ‘Bondi Vet’, Dr Chris Brown, recently recruited from Network 10.

Brown will do the heavy lifting for Seven in 2024, hosting a new The Block-like format, Dream Home, and a new dating show, Stranded on Honeymoon Island, while also joining Sonia Kruger as co-host of Dancing with the Stars.

Also coming to Seven’s digital channels at the end of 2024 are new broadcast deals with the AFL and Cricket Australia. Currently, the network’s respective deals with the sporting bodies only allow it to broadcast matches on linear channels.

Next on the horizon for Warburton is doubling up on winter codes with an attempt to snatch the NRL’s State of Origin. The three annual games are a regular ratings hit across both linear and digital channels for current rights holder Nine, though negotiations are not likely to take place until 2025.

“Our commitment is with the AFL - but absolutely [Seven is interested]. We have a very good relationship with [Racing NSW CEO and chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission] Peter V’Landys through racing, and a very good relationship with [NRL chief] Andrew Abdo as well, so that’s something we’ll target,” he said.

Nine declined to comment.

Forget football: investors line up as PFL reveals local launch - October 2023

The fast-growing Professional Fighters League wants to take on giants like UFC and sees Australia as a key part of that strategy. Local fighters – and money – will help.

(The Australian)

MMA star’s $10 million boxing payday continues shakeup - October 22, 2023

Mixed martial arts star Francis Ngannou is in the final week of training for his first professional boxing match, which will reportedly pay him $10 million — 16 times more than his most recent MMA bout.

Ngannou was a heavyweight champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA's top circuit. When his contract expired earlier this year, he signed with the upstart Professional Fighters League, which — unlike the UFC — allowed him to compete in boxing, where purses can be much larger. If other UFC stars follow his path, it would continue shaking up the sport.

On Oct. 28, Ngannou will fight world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. Although payouts haven’t been officially revealed, Fury has said Ngannou is set to make at least eight figures.

The tilt is another meeting between a top boxer and MMA fighter that’s drawing lots of media attention and big paydays. Conor McGregor set the stage for these kind of matchups in 2017, when the UFC star boxed and lost to Floyd Mayweather. McGregor earned $85 million, according to Forbes.

Despite experiencing a boom in popularity, MMA’s top fighters still can’t match the payouts of boxers. One big reason is that boxing is a much older sport with a lucrative business model in place. And while MMA fighters are under contract with a promotion or league, boxers act as their own business entities. That gives them more power when negotiating fights and advertising deals.

"Most fighters are barely able to make a living,” Ngannou said. They’re "living paycheck to paycheck.”

Ngannou, who oddsmakers see as a big underdog against Fury, was able to take part in a boxing match because of a unique contract with the PFL, which was founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis.

"I didn’t know a contract could be this great,” Ngannou said. "It’s been a while since I have had a promotion that fully supports your goals and dreams.”

The deal also gave Ngannou a minority stake in the league. That adds to a growing portfolio that includes ownership of a professional soccer team in his native Cameroon. He’s also interested in purchasing a piece of a Major League Soccer team.

UFC fighters have applauded the deal, with UFC hall-of-famer Daniel Cormier saying it "set a new standard.”

Ngannou’s contract with the PFL could be replicated again, according to Davis.

"If people can deliver what Francis can deliver then we will give them a Francis contract,” Davis said during an August interview.

Ngannou has pushed for better pay for his peers. As part of his deal with the PFL, his opponents will receive a guaranteed payout of $2 million.

MMA athletes have already pushed back against their employers. The UFC is currently in the midst of an antitrust lawsuit filed in 2020 by former fighters that alleges unfair business practices and seeks up to $1.6 billion in damages. Ultimately, Ngannou would like to see fighters unionize, but doubts it will happen.

"Until there is a law or government officials (get involved), there is not a way that a union can happen,” Ngannou said. "Fighters have minimal power.”

MVP confirms stipulation for Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz rematch - October 24, 2023

Jake Paul returns to the ring on December 15.

Two months after his brother fought Dillon Danis in Manchester, Jake Paul is set to make his return to the ring. 

This will take place on December 15, a location and opponent are yet to be announced, but fans should not expect to see former UFC star Nate Diaz in the opposite corner. 

Paul and Diaz first fought in August in what was a memorable event with the "The Problem Child" being declared the winner via unanimous decision. 

In the aftermath it was revealed that there was a rematch clause in the contract with both men wanting to run it back inside an MMA cage. 

Now Paul's promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), have confirmed on social media that Paul will face Diaz for a second time and it will take place inside a cage under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner. 

"For the record: Jake Paul will not be boxing Nate Diaz again. Nate Diaz and Jake Paul have received an offer from @PFLMMA to rematch in MMA in the SmartCage. Jake Paul has accepted the offer," MVP posted on X. 

Paul signed a deal with the PFL in January which will see him compete in the organisation's pay-per-view "Super Fight" division which contains a number of stars including former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and undisputed women's featherweight champion Amanda Serrano. 

(DAZN)

‘Go big or give up’: The hunt for TV’s next big hit

As more than 11,000 television program buyers and sellers head home from Mipcom — the annual market where TV content is bought and sold — striking American actors will mark the 100th day of industrial action which has essentially put a plug in Hollywood’s content pipe.

The strikes — in addition to the actors, Hollywood’s writers ratified a new, three-year contract earlier this month after their own 148-day stoppage — shifted the focus at Mipcom, held annually in Cannes, France, to international content, including Australian content, as program buyers searched for the “next big thing”.

In conversations up and down the Boulevard de la Croisette, café chatter ranged from the commercial impact of artificial intelligence (AI) — both positive and negative — to the muted presence of US majors like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, the rapid rise of FAST (free, ad-supported TV) channels and the shifting significance of glass-jawed streaming platforms.

As for the strike itself? All eyes were on Paramount Global president Bob Bakish for clues during his packed keynote. “I’ve said publicly that the strike is accretive to our cash in 2023; that is true, and it’s true for the industry writ large,” Bakish said. “We’re playing the hand we were dealt. We didn’t want to be in a strike. We would very much like this strike to be over, so everyone can get back to work.”

Of Mipcom’s more than 11,000 delegates, some 3500 were program buyers. That detail is significant, as it marks a roughly 10 per cent increase year-on-year, the clearest indicator of both the buoyancy of the market and the broadcast industry’s shift away from the make-the-show-and-own-the-pipeline streaming business model that has seen streamers shell out billions in content investment only to wake up with the same old problems as the networks they aspired to replace: how to hang onto revenue and eyeballs?

“Given the buzz from the stands, what [has been] said on stage and the sheer volume of content deals done, it is clear that third-party sales and distribution are back,” Mipcom director Lucy Smith said.

In plain terms, Mipcom shrinks the global television business to the size of the Royal Easter Show. More than 320 production companies and television studios — the majors, the minors and the fringe players — cram into the world’s biggest show bag pavilion, Cannes’ Palais des Festivals, and the world’s TV channels (and streaming platforms) come to shop.

But the four-day market also sees producers and broadcasters grapple with existential questions, such as how to bridge the gap between widening demographics: the older linear TV audience and the younger-skewing digital TV audience.

The answer? Shows like The Masked Singer and Ninja Warrior, which are popular “co-viewing” titles, where grandparents, parents and children will watch together, the summit heard. It’s go big or give up, ITV commissioning editor Satmohan Panesar said. “We can’t go for the middling,” he said. “It’s got to be big, or it can’t go forward.”

Besides the tens of thousands of meetings — inside the Palais, at full pelt, it’s like speed-dating on steroids — there are more conventional activities, such as screenings, conferences and keynote talks. There are even several awards nights. (Australia picked up two: Blackfella Films’ The Australian Wars won the Content Innovation Award, and Southern Pictures’ The Swap won the Diversify TV Award.)

For traditional broadcasters, the market is a balance between content acquisition and keeping a seat at the table when local content strikes a chord with the market. The Australian formats Married at First Sight (distributed by Red Arrow) and The Summit (Banijay Rights), for example, both had creative talent at the market, meeting with international broadcasters. (Both are Endemol Shine Australia productions for Nine, owner of this masthead.) Other popular formats are The Traitors (All3media) and Love Island (ITV Studios).

But the bulk of Mipcom’s transactional business is driven by new content. Three of the buzziest this year: Beta Film and ZDF Studios’ co-production Concordia, about a crimeless near-future AI-controlled town which must deal with its first murder, a Zorro reboot from Secuoya Studios for Amazon, about the 19th century Californian vigilante, and a reboot of Enid Blyton’s iconic children’s series The Famous Five, from BBC Studios.

Among the new Australian content generating noise: Paper Dolls, a fictional spin of the story of the real reality TV pop group Bardot from Helium and Entertainment One, and the crime drama Scrublands, starring Jay Ryan and Luke Arnold, from Easy Tiger and Abacus Media. (Scrublands will air in Australia on Stan.)

The reboot of Neighbours, was also in the spotlight, with the show’s producer Jason Herbison and two of its stars, actors Annie Jones and Tim Kano, in attendance to promote the series to potential new investors. And Leonine Studios was selling the Australian “tropical noir crime drama” Troppo, which has just finished filming its second series in Queensland.

Other stars in attendance included Andrea Riseborough, promoting the Channel 4 romantic drama Alice & Jack, and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, delivering a producer keynote. (Longoria’s producing credits include the drama Mystery Hotel and the upcoming Spanish-language remake of Call My Agent.)

And American actor/producer Josh Duhamel came to promote one of the market’s more unusual packages: a reality TV reboot of the 2019 scripted comedy film Buddy Games, from Bunim/Murray Productions and CBS Studios, in which groups of friends compete in physical and mental challenges. (Duhamel directed and starred in the original film, and will executive produce the reboot.)

(SMH)

NXT Halloween Havoc 2023 Week One results: Lyra Valkyria stuns Becky Lynch to become the new NXT Women's Champion

Tyson Fury wrestling again?

Tyson Fury made his WWE in-ring debut at Crown Jewel in 2019 following an angle with Braun Strowman on SmackDown. Yet, despite the match being poorly received by fans, there have been occasional teases of Fury returning to the wrestling ring again, particularly relating to Drew McIntyre. However, during an interview with ESPN, the boxer has now revealed he has no intention of wrestling again, noting wrestling was too hard for him and that he’d rather dodge punches in the ring.

WWE’s too hard for me, boxing is much easier than WWE. It’s very physical and taxing on the body. WWE, getting slammed on the floor and all that sort of stuff. I’d rather move around the ring and dodge punches.” - Tyson Fury

It’s claimed that Fury was paid a staggering $15 million for his match at Crown Jewel, which, while hard to believe, could be possible due to the involvement of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment. Still, considering it’s speculated that Fury could earn $200 million for a fight with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, it’s easy to understand why he has no interest in wrestling again.

(Web Is Jericho)

TWO WRESTLING STARS TO BE FEATURED ON UPCOMING SEASON OF HIT MTV SHOW

MTV rebooted Cribs in 2021, and it has now been announced that the upcoming season will feature CJ Perry and Nikki Garcia, both of whom have reality TV experience via The Surreal Life and Total Divas, respectively. It has yet to be confirmed when their episodes will air, although it is known the new series commences on November 15th. Other celebrates set to be featured include Dita Von Teese, Rumer Willis, Vanessa Williams, and Jesse Metcalfe.

For those unaware, Cribs is a show that takes fans inside the homes of celebrities homes via a Steadicam and, since debuting in 2000, has featured 113 episodes. However, there has been controversy over the show’s history, with some celebrities using rented properties and not displaying their true home. Nevertheless, the show has remained incredibly popular over its run, and it will be a big deal for the wrestlers to appear.

(Web Is Jericho)

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

United States Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul

At WWE Crown Jewel,The Social Media Megastar has an eye for gold, specifically the United States Title being held by Rey Mysterio.

Paul has yet to win a WWE championship, despite coming close against Roman Reigns at WWE Crown Jewel last year. 

Paul called his shot soon after defeating Dillon Danis in a boxing match, declaring that he was coming for Rey Mysterio’s United States Title.

When Paul confronted Mysterio on the Oct. 20 episode of SmackDown, The Social Media Megastar explained his reasons for targeting the United States Champion, shaking Mysterio’s hand and vowing to let the best man win.

Paul defeated Mysterio on The Grandest Stage of Them All, albeit in tag team match with The Miz against Rey and Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 38 in Paul’s first-ever match. Much has changed since then, setting the stage for a monumental conflict.

Can Paul capture his first title in WWE, or will the WWE Hall of Famer hold on to the U.S. Title? 

Don’t miss all the incredible action of WWE Crown Jewel, streaming LIVE from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

(WWE)

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight

At WWE Crown Jewel, Roman Reigns will go one-on-one with LA Knight for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The news was first reported by the LA Times.

On the Season Premiere of Friday Night SmackDown, The Greatest of All Time himself, John Cena, brought Knight face-to-face with Reigns, and the would-be challenger didn't flitch for a second before knocking a disruptive Jimmy Uso clean out of the ring. Later that evening, Knight defeated Solo Sikoa one-on-one, only to suffer an earth-shattering Spear by The Head of The Table.

One of the most dominant World Champions of all time, Reigns is enjoying a legendary title reign that stands at well over 1,000 days, winning epic battles against Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre and many more. As he presides over The Bloodline with an iron fist on The Island of Relevancy, The Head of the Table stands armed with a brutal arsenal and seems unstoppable. 

But "let me talk to ya!" LA Knight's charisma has helped make him the fastest-rising star in SmackDown history. While his ever-growing popularity may seem unimportant once the bell rings, Knight has fed off the power of the WWE Universe before, and he seems capable of turning that mighty force against The Head of the Table. He also carries an unwavering confidence, an extremely hard-hitting style and an unpredictable attack. Together, these factors arguably make him one of the most unique threats that the elite titleholder has faced in some time. "Yeah!"

Don’t miss all the incredible action at WWE Crown Jewel, streaming LIVE from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

WWE)

Ribera Steakhouse, Japan

Ribera Steakhouse is a Japanese professional wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts-themed steak house restaurant with two locations. The original location is in Gotanda, and there is a second, larger location in Meguro. Professional wrestlers frequent the restaurant when touring in Tokyo, a rite of passage in the wrestling community. In addition, some wrestlers receive a satin Ribera Steakhouse Jacket from the owners.HistoryChris Jericho credits wrestler Stan Hansen with "discovering" the restaurant in the 1970s. Hansen, however, credits Bruiser Brody with being the first American wrestler to discover the restaurant. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, American professional wrestlers began to frequent the restaurant when they were wrestling in Tokyo. Over time, the owner began to cover the walls with hundreds of pictures of the wrestlers who ate at his restaurant. The owner rotates the pictures to correlate with the wrestlers currently touring the country. The restaurant is also decorated with other sorts of memorabilia such as title belts and trophies.The owners of Ribera Steakhouse give out the Ribera Steakhouse Jacket to selected patrons. The jacket is satin and has a bull logo on the breast. Road Warrior Animal popularized wearing the jacket with Zubaz pants. Later, it became a rite of passage for American wrestlers to go to the steakhouse and receive their own jacket. Ricky Fuji has said that in English Ribera means, "I'm a wrestler, and I've been to Japan.

Google Search

How we're improving search results when you use quotes - August 2022

Sometimes people know they absolutely, positively only want webpages that mention a particular word or phrase. For example, maybe you want to find out about phone chargers but only those that support wireless charging. Fortunately, Google Search has a special operator for that: quotation marks. Put quotes around any word or phrase, such as [“wireless phone chargers”], and we’ll only show pages that contain those exact words or phrases.

Now we’re making quoted searches better. The snippets we display for search results (meaning the text you see describing web content) will be formed around where a quoted word or phrase occurs in a web document. That means you can more easily identify where to find them after you click the link and visit the content. On desktop, we’ll also bold the quoted material.

For example, if you did a search such as [“google search”], the snippet will show where that exact phrase appears:

In the past, we didn’t always do this because sometimes the quoted material appears in areas of a document that don’t lend themselves to creating helpful snippets. For example, a word or phrase might appear in the menu item of a page, where you’d navigate to different sections of the site. Creating a snippet around sections like that might not produce an easily readable description.

We’ve heard feedback that people doing quoted searches value seeing where the quoted material occurs on a page, rather than an overall description of the page. Our improvement is designed to help address this.

Things to keep in mind about quoted searches

For those doing quoted searches, here are some more tips, along with caveats on how quoted searching works.

Quoted searches may match content not readily visible on a page. As referenced above, sometimes quoted searches match content contained within a web page that isn’t readily visible, making it seem like the content isn’t on the page when it actually is present.

For example, content in a meta description tag is looked at for matches, even though that content isn’t visible on the web page itself. ALT text that describes images is considered, as is the text within a page’s URL. Material brought in through inline frames (iframes) is also matched. Google may also see content that doesn’t initially load on a page when you go to it, such content rendered through JavaScript that only appears if you click to make it display.

Pro tip: Sometimes people use the standard Find command in a browser to jump to the phrase they want, after arriving on a page. If that doesn’t work, though, you can try using a developer tools option. For instance, in Chrome, you can search from within Developer Tools to match against all rendered text, which would include the text in drop-down menus and other areas of the site.

Pages may have changed since Google last visited them. While Google revisits pages across the web regularly, they can change in between visits. This means quoted material might appear on a page when we saw it, but it no longer exists on the current page. If available, viewing the Google cached copy may show where the quoted content appeared on the version of the page we visited.

Quoted terms may only appear in title links and URLs. Quoted terms won’t appear in web page snippets if they only appear within title links or URLs of a web page. We also do not bold matches that happen in title links and URLs.

Punctuation is sometimes seen as spaces. Our systems see some punctuation as spaces, which impacts quoted searches. For example, a search for [“don’t doesn’t”] tells our systems to find content that contains all these letters in this order:

don t doesn t

As a result, we’ll match content like the ones below, where punctuation like commas or hyphens break up words — because when you remove the punctuation, the letter patterns are the same:

don’t, doesn’t

don’t / doesn’t

don’t - doesn’t

Snippets might not show multiple quoted terms. If a search involves multiple quoted terms, the snippet may not show all of them if they are far apart from each other. Similarly, if quoted material appears several times on a page, a snippet will show what seems to be the most relevant occurrence.

We mainly bold quoted content for web page snippets on desktop.

Our new bolding of quoted content generally only works for web page snippets on desktop. Bolding won’t appear in snippets for recipe or video boxes, and it also won’t appear when using some special modes such as image or news search. However, anything listed in these boxes or special modes will contain the quoted terms. Bolding also doesn’t work for mobile results.

Quoted searches don’t work for local results. Quote restriction does not work for results in our local box where listings usually appear with a map; we’ll be looking more at this area in the future.

To quote or not to quote?

Using quotes can definitely be a great tool for power users. We generally recommend first doing any search in natural language without resorting to operators like quotation marks. Years ago, many people used operators because search engines sometimes needed additional guidance. Things have advanced since then, so operators are often no longer necessary.

By default, our systems are designed to look for both the exact words and phrases entered and related terms and concepts, which is often useful. If you use a quoted search, you might miss helpful content that uses closely related words.

Of course, there are those times when the exact word being on a page makes all the difference. For those situations, quoted searches remain available and are now even better.

Quotes

“I had been hobbled, perhaps even crippled by a pervasive internet society I had come to depend on and take for granted... hit enter and let Google, that twenty-first century Big Brother, take care of the rest.

In the Derry of 1958, the most up-to-date computers were the size of small housing developments, and the local paper was no help. What did that leave? I remembered a sociology prof I’d had in college - a sarcastic old bastard - who used to say, When all else fails, give up and go to the library.”

― Stephen King

Quotes

“There is discrimination, and the opportunities are not equal to everyone. Most countries are blocked from using several crucial features on Google, Amazon, Shopify, AliExpress, and many more platforms that the "internet millionaires" use to get all of their wealth. They are not smarter than you! They simply have access to markets that are blocked to you! When you try to compete inside their markets, the domain owners alter the algorithms to favor people in that geolocation and put them and their products in front of your. I have been stopped from uploading books for no other reason than being in east Europe. People don't believe these stories are true because they don't want to believe they are living in such a world. It's like the story of the Native Americans, who were offered blankets contaminated with diseases to kill them. Now you are being offered a blanket of illusions that gives you lies. And when you say the truth, they call it a conspiracy and hate speech.”

― Dan Desmarques

"We're going to knock this big sausage out" Tyson Fury #FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #TysonFury 

Boxing, combat sports and world history to be made. Fury for the win!

#FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest 

Pro Wrestling

AEW @AEW Official YouTube

Video

MJF v Juice for the Dynamite Diamond Ring + Okada & OC v BCC | AEW Control Center: Philly, 10/25/23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9VrmRqRfDM&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

#AEWDynamite #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #wrestling #prowrestling #MJF #JuiceRobinson #Dynamite #DynamiteDiamondRing #BangBangGang #Okada #OC #BCC #BlackpoolCombatClub #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #entertainment #TBS #broadcast #broadcasting #TV #trends #trending #buzz #media 

Combat Sports / UFC News

UFC @UFC MMA Living Legend Jon Jones injured

Jon Jones is now out of the main event of UFC 295.

UFC President Dana White made the annoucement via social media:

“What’s up everybody, here we are again. Jon Jones was training last night, got injured. He was wrestling and he tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone, off the bone. Eight months, gonna need surgery, he’s out.”

UFC Official YouTube

Video

UFC 295: Jones vs Miocic - History Is Calling | Official Trailer | November 11

*for educational purposes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3yxR7yab_g&ab_channel=UFC

*MMA fans can expect that the UFC production team will create a new/replacement video for UFC 295.

Video

Who makes the UFC All-Time Roster?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm4UvAcXs0k&ab_channel=UFC

The vast majority of the mixed martial arts world wish JJ  a speedy recovery.

Jones remains regarded as one of the absolute greatest MMA fighters of all time.

#UFC295 #UFC #DanaWhite #quote #JonJones #MMA #mixedmartialarts #combatsports #sports #sportsnews #sportsbiz #sportsmedia #PPV #PayPerView #livesports #liveentertainment #trends #trending #media 

Combat Sports News

"Battle Of The Baddest" Fury vs Ngannou

Interviews, promos and features ramp up and hype goes to next level says Media Man

May break some boxing pay-per-view records

News Release via Top Rank Boxing @trboxing  

Fury and Ngannou set to collide in heavyweight boxing showdown on Saturday, October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

LONDON (Sept. 7, 2023) – Lineal & WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury and lineal heavyweight MMA king Francis Ngannou met face-to-face today at the kickoff press conference for the most anticipated combat sports event of the year.

Fury and Ngannou will collide in a 10-round boxing match on Saturday, October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in an epic showdown between two giants of their fields, which will mark the opening of this year’s Riyadh Season. The fight will take place under the official rules of professional boxing, with the three ringside judges using the 10-point must system.

This clash of heavyweight titans is promoted by Queensberry, Top Rank and Ngannou’s promotional banner, GIMIK Fight Promotions.

Fury-Ngannou will be available on pay-per-view in the United States.

At today’s press conference, this is what Fury, Ngannou and Hall of Fame promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren had to say:

Tyson Fury

“I’m absolutely honored to be fighting Francis. He’s going to be a very, very good fighting man. You can see that he’s massive. He’s in shape. He’s going to be a real challenge. It’s something different for me. I’m used to boxing boxers and boxing the head off of somebody. But fighting an MMA guy who comes in with a different style is going to be different.”

“I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be an absolutely fantastic event. I’m honored that I’m a part of it, and I’m honored that Francis is a part of it. I’ve got to take my hat off to Francis for his story, where he’s come from, the fight, the grind, the determination and everything he’s put into it to get to where he is.”

“I will give Francis the respect that he deserves as a warrior, as a man and as a world champion. He’s a big man. He’s very strong and powerful. And it’s in my interest to give it the 100 percent training in camp and bring in the best sparring possible for me.”

Francis Ngannou

“I am very excited. I am very happy. I have been dreaming of becoming a boxer since I was a kid. And today, I’m not just going to box; I’m going to box the guy at the peak of the mountain. Usually, I would not pay attention to what is going around. But this thing is so big that I can’t stop thinking about it. History is going to be made.”

“It’s something that I didn’t see coming, even though my dream was always there. I always hoped for it to happen some day. But I didn’t see it lay out this way as one of the biggest events of the world. This is not just a fight. We are going to open up Riyadh Season. So, it is a cultural event that we are fighting on. And we’ll just make this fight bigger and bigger. Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen, but what I do know for sure is that I’m going to be out there hunting for that guy’s head to take it off. I can guarantee that.”

Bob Arum

“This is a massive event around the world, but it’s particularly massive in the United States because MMA has become one of the most popular sports there and Francis Ngannou is a legend in that sport. And Tyson has performed so admirably in the United States over the past few years that he is a massive figure in sports. The fact that they’re both coming together is something that is creating tremendous interest in the United States.”

Frank Warren

“This is a massive event. This is the biggest event I’ve ever been involved with. It’s a crossover event. You’ve got a guy who is the best in his discipline. He is the heavyweight champion. And you’ve got the man, the lineal champion, Tyson Fury, who has done everything you can ask for in a fighter. He’s an undefeated champion, a brilliant boxer and fighter. He can box or he can stand and trade with you. This is going to be something special.”

Videos

Riyadh Season Official YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/RiyadhSeason

Top Rank Boxing Official YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/trboxing

Tyson Fury ADMITS He Doesn't Recognise Himself In Old Videos At 30 Stone | Francis Ngannou | Career

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXdsUgZjI4&ab_channel=FrankWarren%27sQueensberryPromotions

Face Off: Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou with Carl Frampton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcNpPRPgaDs&ab_channel=TNTSports

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou | GRAND ARRIVALS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPsbFO_3O4&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Fury Says He Will Knock Ngannou Mother****** Out! | REAL TIME EP. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj56-v22tls&ab_channel=MMAFightingonSBN

Ngannou Predicts 6th Round Knockout of Fury | REAL TIME EP. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5hGjwH9qvQ&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Tyson Fury Says He Plans to Show the World He is The Hardest Puncher Ever | Grand Arrival Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQSug42yeFM&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

GRAND ARRIVALS • Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou • FULL EVENT IN SAUDI | Frank Warren & TNT Sports

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgikYlpxBls&ab_channel=SecondsOut

Watch Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou Live On DAZN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdDaZVD03rc&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury: The Riyadh Chronicles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU_5KCZTrbk&ab_channel=FrancisNgannou

Francis Ngannou reacts to UFC 294 | Usman vs Chimaev | Makhachaev vs Volkanovski ahead of Fury fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZsM0ujdN8&ab_channel=FrancisNgannou

"I'M GOING TO KNOCK THIS BIG FELLA OUT" - Tyson Fury sends STERN WARNING to Francis Ngannou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfGaY7YEJFw&ab_channel=TNTSportsBoxing

I've Been Waiting 4 Years to Fight Fury, I Plan on KO'ing Him | Ngannou Grand Arrival Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ4-YvDEWM8&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Tyson Fury: "I traded with Wilder, I'll stand and trade with this little b****"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLwMuDHT7uE&ab_channel=TheMacLife

Francis Ngannou: 'I took over 1 sport, imagine how cool it'd be to take over 2'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grxCmPvEDd4&ab_channel=TheMacLife

Francis Ngannou WARNS Tyson Fury!! 'I'm the BADDEST MAN ON THE PLANET!!'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THSz8TCmhaI&ab_channel=SecondsOut

Tyson Fury responds to Joshua, Wilder and Usyk questions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dENxvNB8cAk&ab_channel=SkySportsBoxing

BISPING: Is Mike Tyson the CORRECT COACH? | Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou PREVIEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R5sjZJIPAY&ab_channel=MichaelBisping

Fury vs Ngannou = Lakers vs Harlem Globetrotters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ-exdWDUU8&ab_channel=ChaelSonnen

#TysonFury #FuryNgannou #FrancisNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #FightWeek #boxing #boxingnews #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #videos #interviews #promo #hype #combatsports #PPV #PayPerView #sportsnews #sportsbiz #sportsmedia #Saudi #SaudiArabia #legends #icons #history #worldsport #worldnews #buzz #trends #trending #buzz #news #newsmedia #media 

Boxing: Battle Of The Baddest: Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

October 28, 2023 

"A hard fought victory". "That definately wasn't in the script" Tyson Fury @Tyson_Fury

The Aftermath:

Many experts, fans and non-fans not happy with the official result; Social media buzz indicates Ngannou is the new People's Champion!

Combat Sports Commentators and Experts

MatchRoom Boxing YouTube

"Ngannou Won! Usyk Fight Is Dead. Joshua KO's Fury In 6" - Eddie Hearn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzGjlCHe4VY&ab_channel=MatchroomBoxing

"I'm absolutely lost for words" - Eddie Hearn

"But Tyson Fury looked like he's never laced up a pair of gloves before" - Eddie Hearn

"Got dropped in what - the third round. Never threw a punch. Ngannou never threw a punch after. I thought Ngannou won by two rounds. The boxing world's gone mad. I mean, please. Forget Fury - Usyk.. no ones interested. Just give us Fury against AJ. AJ will knock Fury out inside six rounds. Make the fight otherwise we'll never get it, or rematch Ngannou".. - Eddie Hearn

Seconds Out YouTube

SHOCKED! Tommy Fury & Big John Fury REACTION to Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou CONTROVERSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aimPkUMUQa8&ab_channel=SecondsOut

ESPN MMA YouTube

MONEY TALKS. What could be next for Francis Ngannou? | ESPN Ringside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVGosfipc94&ab_channel=ESPNMMA

Chael Sonnen Official YouTube

Come on, no one believed in Francis Ngannou?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZFJhYj5zEg&ab_channel=ChaelSonnen

Boxing King Media YouTube

“WE HAVE SEEN THIS WITH TYSON FURY BEFORE” Spencer Fearon BRUTALLY HONEST | NGANNOU FUTURE IN BOXING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY_HZ9vcrqs&ab_channel=BoxingKingMedia

Seconds Out YouTube

Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou • POST FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE • Saudi Arabia | TNT Boxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7TNtcls8XI&ab_channel=SecondsOut

DAZN Boxing YouTube https://youtube.com/DAZNBoxing #BattleOfTheBaddest 

Media Man: "I like and respect both Fury and Ngannou. I'm sorry to some boxing promoters, but add me to the ever growing list of observers who felt that Ngannou quite clearly won the match against Fury. It looked to be a pretty poor showing by Fury and a very solid to strong performance by Ngannou, especially considering that this was the first boxing match for Ngannou. This has damaged the Fury brand and enhanced the Ngannou brand. Boxing has been an embattled sports with too many controversies for the longest time, and this match hasn't really helped get the sport and sports business of pro boxing back in the good graces of fans. Many people want boxing to improve and be cleaned up. Perhaps offering Francis Ngannou the rematch will be the way for pro boxing to get back some of its reputation. Just my thoughts, however I'm reading much similar type of sentiment from fans and media today fresh of this fight" - Greg Tingle, founder, Media Man

#TysonFury #AndStill #FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #furyvsngannou #Ngannou #boxing #PPV #combatsports #videos #quote #quotes #livesports #liveentertainment #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #hype #media #mediaman 

Boxing On TNT Sports X

TNT emotional reactions from Iron Mike. Vince McMahon is a lot more poker-faced. 

Is pro wrestling more "honest" than pro boxing these days? In the sprit of cross-overs..I think Undertaker (Mark Calaway) would have had a decent shot of beating Fury on this evening). Undertaker's quote post match this evening: 

"I thought it was a close fight. Could have went either way. I thought Francis really represented himself well and earned everybodies respect. He's a heck of a fighter. I didn't think the fight would go ten rounds. I didn't". 

Media (TNT Sports Boxing): Do you think it was the right decision?

"It was close" (smiles and nods head)

#BattleOfTheBaddest #FuryNgannou #Ngannou #Undertaker #TNTsports  

Boxing News

Battle Of The Baddest: Tyson Fury vs Francis "The Predator" Ngannou  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. October 28, 2023 

Fallout Continues; Numerous fighters speaking out; Not just armchair athletes up in arms. Fighting sports champions and insiders side with 'The Predator' FN

Media Man Jab, Deep Dive and Comeback KO with verbal back-ups..

"A hard fought victory". "That definitely wasn't in the script" Tyson Fury @Tyson_Fury

The Aftermath Continues:  Many experts, fans and non-fans not happy with the official result; Social media buzz indicates Ngannou is the new People's Champion!  Combat Sports Commentators and Experts

Logan Paul @LoganPaul :

Really sucks to see Ngannou get blatantly robbed like that… boxing needs a more objective system in place for scoring  The subjectivity & inherent bias of hand-picked judges is ruining the credibility of the sport

Chael Sonnen @ChaelSonnen :

Chael Sonnel Official YouTube

Boxing is NOT a real sport...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rVVFCRcVjg&t=31s&ab_channel=ChaelSonnen

"I have had two interactions with Frances Ngannou.  Neither pleasant!  One of them that involved security. So, those things are difficult to get around. So I will just disclose a biasiness to you. With that said, a man's commitment and body of work deserves to be recognized and it deserves to be recognized accurately.     That is discusting what they just did to him.  And, anybody would have been wise to predict that was going to happen to him. There was no chance that boxing was going to let him come in and get that win"...  - Chael Sonnel

Eddie Hearn @EddieHearn : (Matchroom Boxing)

"I'm absolutely lost for words" - Eddie Hearn

"But Tyson Fury looked like he's never laced up a pair of gloves before" - Eddie Hearn  "Got dropped in what - the third round. Never threw a punch. Ngannou never threw a punch after. I thought Ngannou won by two rounds. The boxing world's gone mad. I mean, please. Forget Fury - Usyk.. no ones interested. Just give us Fury against AJ. AJ will knock Fury out inside six rounds. Make the fight otherwise we'll never get it, or rematch Ngannou".. - Eddie Hearn

Undertaker (Mark Calaway)

"I thought it was a close fight. Could have went either way. I thought Francis really represented himself well and earned everybodies respect. He's a heck of a fighter. I didn't think the fight would go ten rounds. I didn't".   Media (TNT Sports Boxing): Do you think it was the right decision?  "It was close" (smiles and nods head)

Michael Bisping @bisping

"Francis Ngannou won. Most of Twitter thinks he won. John Fury is probally loosing his *ucking mind. Notice we didn't hear anything from him tonight" - Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping YouTube Channel

BISPING reacts: Francis Ngannou WON vs Tyson Fury | Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgZNChi-ixA&ab_channel=MichaelBisping

So fight fans. Logan Paul, Sonnen, Undertaker (Mark Calaway), Eddie Hearn and Michael Bisping not happy with the fight outcome (if that's what we're going to call it). Plently more unhappy folks... we just didn't get around to quoting all of them yet - it's an infinity list! 

This may further damage pro boxing and might actually help MMA and pro boxing. We're not so sure there's going to be too many takers who will be willing to part with $90USD for the next boxing PPV, at least not with any of those judges nominated. Is it too much to request an investigation, or would that just be a waste of time.

We hope that in future we will be able to report more positive news on the business of boxing.

We're looking forward to the upcoming WWE @WWE Crown Jewel mega event in Riyadh on the 4th November, and at least we know what we're looking at .."sports entertainment", as WWE promotions legend Vince McMahon named it well over a decade ago.

Should or could boxing learn from wrestling or MMA, or does boxing just need to take a few steps back to take a step forward, as McMahon said of his WWE promotion a few years ago. It appears that boxing needs to get back to its roots when it was more about sport and less about business.. but is it way to late for that now? When cross-over LP is not happy with what's happening with boxing you know sometime is very wrong. We're curious to also hear the thoughts of fellow Paul brother, Jake Paul aka "Problem Child", after all, boxing does have a problem or two to deal with at present and coming up again soon.

And in the meantime TKO Group @TKOGrp and UFC @UFC top brass Dana White may have even garnered more motivation to start his own boxing promotion, as suggest by media a few months back. And cross-over legend Ken Shamrock continues to carve out a sweet niche for himself and  his fighters with Valor Bare Knuckle, not to be confussed by others that may attempt to copy or replicate his formula for success and "true bare knuckle".

Fans, this is the fight game. Some elements of fighting are more "gamed" than others.

We've got a predator (FN) on the prowl, a fallen (and still) boxing champion, looking for time off and big U.S and Saudi promoters cashing in on the chaos. Paul Bros who know they are swimming withe shakes and still making them bucks, with LP the hot tip as "And New" WWE U.S champion, currently getting ready for a "weigh in" against the masked Rey Mysterio, pro wrestling/lucha libre legend, former UFC women's champ Ronda Rousey fresh off a victory at Lucha VaVOOM, having recently retired from WWE, and everyone having an opinion on 'Battle Of The Baddest' at present. Cant' wait to get Dana White's quote on this one.

The circus has come to town you might say, with a dash of gonzo journalism and satire. P. T Barnum would be proud of today's promotional activities, but not a hundred percent certain about the outcome. Tis the season for big sports business. Back and over to the Court Of Public Opinion.

FN - The People's Champ.

LP - Truth Teller Of The Day

Undertaker - Diplomat Of The Day

Eddie Hearn - Honest and Upfront Boxing Promoter Of The Day

Chael Sonnen - Good cop/guy, Bad cop/guy of the day with Truth Teller channel amplification

VKM - OMG, is this happening - tied with Ukyk

Mike Tyson, coach of "The People's Champion" FN

Michael Bisping - YouTuber and UFC/MMA Legend "He won that"

Media Man - Devil's Advocate

Official Results!

Tyson Fury def Francis Ngannou via SD (95-94, 96-93, 94-95)

Fabio Wardley def David Adeleye via TKO

Joseph Parker def Simon Kean via KO

Arslanbek Makhmudov def Junior Anthony Wright via TKO

Moses Itauma def Istvan Bernath via TKO

Carlos Takam def by Martin Bakole via TKO

Jack McGann def Alcibiade Duran Galvan via TKO

#TysonFury #AndStill #FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #furyvsngannou #Ngannou #LoganPaul #EddieHearn #LoganPaul #Undertaker #MikeTyson #boxing #quote #quotes #PPV #PayPerView #combatsports #videos #quote #quotes #livesports #liveentertainment #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #hype #media #mediaman #mediamanint 

"Francis Ngannou, congratulations. You dared to be great. People, a lot of people didn't give you a chance. You scored a knock down. They said if you survived ten rounds that would be a miracle. How are you feeling right now"? Media

"I am feeling great. I am feeling fantastic. And I am very happy. It didn't go my way. But, you know, I want to thank reaism? and your excellency..the Kingdom Of Saudia Arabia, for giving me this opportunity to prove people wrong one more time again. You know, I might me battered today. I might come up short today, but I might be wounded but I'm not baty yet, I can bite. You know, I can bite. I'm just a fighter and I'm ready to fight any time soon.  We can run it back again and I'm sure I'm going to get better. This was my first boxing match. Great experience. I mean, I'm not giving any excuse. I know I come up short. But I'm going to go back and work harder with a little more experience this time, little more feeling of the game and come back even stronger" Francis Ngannou

#FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #FrancisNgannou #daznboxing

Combat Sports Connection

Dana White (UFC @UFC ) and Vince McMahon (WWE @WWE founder)

“My history with Vince isn’t a good one”.

“He tried to *uck me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to *uck me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”

“Since day one of the deal, it’s like I’m dealing with a different guy”. 

“It goes to show that when you oppose him — or he thinks you are opposing him — the guy comes after you blindly. Once you are aligned, Vince is an incredible partner.

“We’ve probably spoken on the phone 20 times since the deal”.

“It’s all added value, conversation with Vince doing work and raising the bar for both companies.”

Vince McMahon was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia today at the 'Battle Of The Baddest' boxing event (Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou). Fury (officially won the bout), but the majority of fans and insiders, media and fans felt that Ngannou did enough to secure the victory (officially)!

McMahon's WWE will present Crown Jewel on November 4 headlined by Roman Reigns vs LA Knight and supported by cross-over fighter Logan Paul - who is challenging Rey Mysterio for the WWE U.S Title in a bout where LP is currently considered at the hot fav. Reigns is expected to retain his WWE Universal Title, but you never know what may happen in the fight game (be it wrestling, boxing or MMA).

References: SI, Wires, F4 Online, Newswires

#DanaWhite #quote #quotes #UFC #TKO #TKOGroup #VinceMcMahon #Undertaker #WWE #WWECrownJewel #Endeavor #promoter #promoters #combatsports #entertainment #sportsbusiness #popculture #showbiz #PPV #PLE #livesports #liveentertainment #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh  #broadcasting #biz #sportsnews #media #mediaman 

Big Tech News

YouTube Ad Sales Approach $8B via Alphabet Parent

Third-quarter results of $7.95 billion

Google Search ads remain Alphabet’s most significant revenue driver, with Search and other ad revenues up 11% year-over-year to $44 billion.

Search and YouTube ad sales drive strong growth despite economic uncertainty.

Google ad revenues rose to nearly $60 billion, up 9% vs last year. Search ads were up 18%. YouTube ad revenue grew 15%.

Ruth Porat, CFO, cited “meaningful growth in Search and YouTube,” showing ongoing ad spend by marketers.

Cloud revenue grew 23% year-over-year to $8.4 billion. Traction with retail, healthcare, and financial services customers noted.

Operating income rose 25% to $21.3 billion, aided by AI-driven product innovations. The margin expanded from 25% to 28%.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai: “receiving excellent reviews”.

Advertisers must adapt to coming changes focusing on user privacy and AI automation to maximize ROI.

“We have heard positive feedback from our partners at NFL about the new features and live stream reliability. This is a clear example of our ability to execute big partnerships with excellence and at scale,” Pichai advised on the earnings call.

Pichai added that YouTube saw “solid momentum” in its advertising and subscription businesses in Q3, while Porat said the company had seen a “stabilization in spending by advertisers” compared to last year.

Overall, in the third quarter, Alphabet, which is the parent company to YouTube, reported revenue of $77 billion, up 11 percent year-over-year, and net income of $19.7 billion, or $1.55 per share, compared to $13.9 billion, or $1.06 per share, a year ago.

“I’m pleased with our financial results and our product momentum this quarter, with AIdriven innovations across Search, YouTube, Cloud, our Pixel devices and more. We’re continuing to focus on making AI more helpful for everyone; there’s exciting progress and lots more to come,” Pichai said.

Alphabet's Google search engine remains the most popular (and controversial) search engine globally.

Google remains primarily and online adveritsing based business.

Alphabet continues to drive forward into the A.I space with mixed results.

#Google #GoogleNews #searchengine #Alphabet #searchengines #searchenginenews #bigtech #bigtechnews #SEO #ads #onlineadvertising #markets #finnews #financial #technews #Q3 #results #conferencecall #investors #investorcall #trends #AI #ainews #media #mediaman 

Quotes

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill #WinstonChurchill #Churchill #quote #success #failure #courage #mindset #attitude #media #mediaman 

“Every problem is a gift - without problems we would not grow.” – Tony Robbins #TonyRobbins #quote #problem #gift #growth #development #selfdevelopment #mindset #attitude #mbs #world #media 

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau #HenryThoreau #quote #success #work #hardwork #mindset #focus #mbs #media 

X @X (formally Twitter) remains a staple and go-to for sports and in particular combat sports such as boxing, MMA (mixed martial arts) and wrestling says Media Man. 

"X has been outstanding for us, our associates and the vast majority of our readers over the years - especially since Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino took over the reigns. Much of our recent coverage on combat sports and the business of sports and pop culture is found on X, often first before being distributed to other platforms and websites. There's good reasons for that" - Greg Tingle, founder, Media Man Int

#GregTingle #quote #X #xcorp #elonmusk #lindayaccarino #platforms #socialmedia #combatsports #sports #sportsnews #boxing #mma #wrestling #prowrestling #WWE #UFC #TKO #AEW #NWA #PFL #one #TNA #socialmedianews #trends #popculture #trend #trends #buzz #media #mediaman #mediamanint 

YouTube’s NFL Bet May Be About Becoming Sports Content Filter (John Wall Street)

JWS's @HowieLongShort  Adam with an insightful and educational deep dive into the moving parts of Alphabet's YouTube sizable multi-billion dollar investment into the NFL Sunday Ticket. It sounds likely that YouTube is or will be also profiting from the sports betting connection to the NFL - one way or another. It's all part of the overall sports business model, be it for the NFL league, boxing, MMA, soccer/football or something else humans can be on. Could YouTube also be selling their own products at the games? Could YouTube also be listed on one team's or more jersey? How about a YouTube 'Life After Pro Sports Education Program'? (extremely speculative by me - but for the sake of illustrating potential arms)..The YouTube brand and service knows little bounds globally..OTT (over the top) broadcasting is also growing area and has been cutting into traditional broadcasting networks as per infographics we've sighted from Chartr and Statista. So, Google bought YouTube about two decades ago. They are the most popular streaming platform/website in the world. Most people in the world from say age 10 (conservative) up watch something on YouTube. Advertising is everywhere. We have more than one YouTube channel and account ourselves. Broadcast globally. Win.

#jws #johnwallstreet #youtube #alphabet #youtubechannel #nfl #nflsunday #nflsundayticket #broadcast #broadcasting #ott #overthetop #sponsorship #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #sportsmarketing #sportsmedia #livesport #sportsbetting #merch #branding #marketing #win #buzz #trends #media #mediaman 

X 

@X

 (formally Twitter) remains a staple and go-to for sports and in particular combat sports such as boxing, MMA (mixed martial arts) and wrestling says Media Man. 

"X has been outstanding for us, our associates and the vast majority of our readers over the years - especially since Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino took over the reigns. Much of our recent coverage on combat sports and the business of sports and pop culture is found on X, often first before being distributed to other platforms and websites. There's good reasons for that" - Greg Tingle, founder, Media Man Int

Pro Wrestling Faction Scenarios in the WWE 

@WWE

 

Would/could this work?

Logan Paul 

@LoganPaul

 with lady, Dominik Mysterio 

@DomMysterio35

 with lady and Karrion Kross 

@realKILLERkross

 with lady Scarlett Bordeaux 

@Lady_Scarlett13

 

Vs Pretty Deadly with special adviser Wade Barrett 

Roses and Thorns and War Of The Roses. Who got seen with who?! 

Room for one or two more factions in the WWE and let's keep Judgement Day and The Bloodline on guard.

NXT 

@WWENXT

 has 'The Family' Tony D and Stacks. Could they be looking to relocate from their Florida and waterfront HQ to Stamford and New York for a slice of the action and new gold? 

In the WWE the story never ends, as creative top brass Triple H 

@TripleH

  has pointed out numerous times over the years.

Image credit: WWE

Pro Wrestling Fantasy Booking Scenarios

In a WWE 

@WWE

 ring

Lexis King 

@LexisKingWWE

 vs Cody Rhodes 

@CodyRhodes

 

or, with Cody Rhodes vs Steve Austin 

@steveaustinBSR

 and Dustin Rhodes. Potential Regal wildcards! 

As a general rule wrestlers, management and fans enjoy matches and stories that have some historical significance.

What a way to leap from the shadows and aftermath of what was WCW (World Championship Wrestling) to the big time in TKO's WWE! 

What was old becomes new again. Legends never die. WWE's and NXT's 

@WWENXT

 new breed of hungry and ultra talented pro wrestlers continue to get  to the next level.  Kingmakers and bookers paradise. Tradition Rules with modern pro wrestling disruptors and game changers. Students become the teachers. The long and winding road of pro wrestling, town by town, leads to the main event and worldwide success.

Image credit: WWE

Combat Sports

Battle Of The Baddest Press Conference

Tyson Fury @Tyson_Fury vs Francis Ngannou @francis_ngannou 

PPV Live on October 28th, 2023

Fight Promos May have triggered John Fury vs Mike Tyson challenge; Fact or Fiction? Shades of grey as per the fight and PPV game?

“Mike Tyson, the man I named my son after” bellowed Fury Sr.

“But you know what? Give me a special mention. The man who bred him. John Fury. Fears no man. Fears no man on Earth. No matter what they’ve done, no matter what accolades, John Fury only fears one person, and he’s not even of this world — that’s God almighty!

“Here I am! Any man alive want to fight John Fury! I’m ready to go! Mike Tyson, what have you got to say to that? The world is going is going to see what’s going to happen to your man. Your man will get his head boxed off and stopped. Don’t you worry about that. If I’m wrong, me and you will fight straight after! Whatever the outcome, me and you will fight!”

“He’s been chasing me for 40 years” - Mike Tyson on John Fury.

“I’ll take of your son, and Mike Tyson will take care of you,” Ngannou said. “How about that? Mike Tyson will handle you.”

“Don’t embarrass yourself, Mike,” Fury shouted. 

“Honestly. He can’t beat my son. Just be a man and say we’ve come here to try our hardest, but we’re messing with the best in the world.”

Media Man: Much respect to the fighters, fight teams and promoters. What an impressive team effect. Sporting history will be made.

Video

DAZN Official YouTube Channel

TYSON FURY VS. FRANCIS NGANNOU PRESS CONFERENCE LIVESTREAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osCDG877lCg&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

Top Rank Boxing YouTube

Highlights From Today's Fury vs Ngannou Press Conference | Fight Sat. ESPN+ PPV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLDQUzBEOEs&t=194s&ab_channel=TNTSportsBoxing

TNT Sports Boxing YouTube

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou Press Conference Best Bits!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLDQUzBEOEs&t=194s&ab_channel=TNTSportsBoxing

Riyadh Season Official YouTube (Streams)

RIYADH SEASON: Redefining Boxing's Playground

Trainings before the battle of the baddest | livestream

https://www.youtube.com/@RiyadhSeason/streams

#BattleOfTheBaddest #TysonFury #FrancisNgannou #JohnFury #MikeTyson #FuryNgannou #FuryTyson #fightweek #combatsports #boxing #proboxing #PPV #PayPerViews #TopRankBoxing #DAZN #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #sportsnews #broadcasting #streaming #promotions #promoters #publicity #exposure #trends #buzz #hype #agency #showbiz #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #SaudiArabia   #media #mediaman

Behind The Scenes Of The Creative Media World

What is the “Hero's Journey”?

“Hero’s Journey” is a structure that most of us are actually familiar with. Even if some of us haven’t noticed, mostly all heroic stories from epic mythologies to Tolkien have similar structures that Joseph Campbell calls as “Hero’s Journey”.

Basically, it can be said that there is a story structure most of us are familiar with, in which a protagonist is dragged into an adventure, makes new friends and enemies, fights the enemy and becomes a whole other person than s/he was before...

This structure is well explained in the book called Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell, who coined this structure in mid 1900s. Then, Christopher Vogler turned this useful mythic structure into a comprehensive modern guideline for screenwriters with his book Writer’s Journey. In his book he divides the structure into 12 stages.

What Are The 12 Stages of “Hero’s Journey”?

1. Ordinary World

The first stage of the hero’s journey is called “Ordinary World” in which the main character is seen in his/her everyday life. The spectator gets to know about the character’s life before adventure calls. The character has no idea what is waiting for him.

For example, in the first Spider-Man (Sam Raimi,2002) movie, the spectator gets to know a teenage boy, Peter Parker who lives with his uncle and aunt and likes a girl from school.

2. Call to Adventure

As understood from the name, in this stage the character is called by the adventure and the adventure begins… This stage can be formed in different ways.

Again, in Spider-Man, Peter Parker’s adventure call begins when he is bitten by a genetically modified spider that gives him special powers.

3. Refusal of the Call

In this stage Hero refuses the adventure, mostly because s/he is afraid. The hero is not ready to make a major change in his/her ordinary life.

For example, in Matrix (1999), Neo refuses to obey Morpheus’s instructions and surrenders to agents.

4. Meeting the Mentor

The hero meets with his mentor who shows and teaches the hero to overcome his/her fears and pushes the hero into the adventure. Mentor does not always have to be a person; it can also be an object or an inner mentor.

5. Crossing the Threshold

If the hero has made it to this stage, it means that the hero is now committed to the journey. It is a big step into the Special World from the Ordinary World.

For example, in Matrix (1999), Neo’s threshold is the pills offered by Morpheus. When he chooses the red pills, he enters to the Special World.

6. Tests, Allies and Enemies

Crossing the threshold, the hero now copes with the tests, faces the enemies and team up with allies. Basically, in this stage the hero defines the relationships by finding out who is the enemy or who is the friend.

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

This is the part where the hero faces a danger or a conflict that makes him/her question his/her journey. Hero needs to gain courage again in order to continue. And often failure is not an option.

8. The Ordeal

Whatever the hero is facing at the moment (such as a major conflict or a danger), the hero must overcome his/her fears and keep on. In this part, hero must not fail; s/he must fight with the conflict with all his/her powers.  It can be said that in this stage hero must reborn from his/her ashes.

9. Reward

After the enemy is defeated and overcoming the obstacles, the hero is rewarded for his/her accomplishments.

For example, after the enemy is defeated in Spider Man, Peter Parker comes together with the love of his life, Mary Jane.

10. The Road Back

Hero attempts to go back to his/her hometown and ordinary life except the hero is no longer the same person we first met, and it is not that easy to return.

11. Resurrection

This is the climax stage in which the hero must face one last conflict before returning home. This is the most dangerous conflict that the hero faces. It is a matter of life and death. Mostly the hero succeeds, and the enemy fails.

12. Return with Elixir

This is the last stage where the hero returns to his/her home. However, the hero is no longer the same person as before. The hero brings a new perspective to his/her ordinary life.

For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry returns to his home happy because he knows that he will go back to Hogwarts.

What Are the Benefits of the Hero’s Journey Structure?

The structure helps you as a writer to create a clear road map.

It reveals character arcs.

It provides a layered and strong character transformation.

Unlike the 3-Act-Structure, it offers 12 steps to structure your story, and therefore it is easier to track the plot, character arcs and inconsistencies in your screenplay.

The structure has become familiar to the audience.

#HerosJourney #TheHerosJourney #stories #storytelling #storylines #writers #writing #scripts #entertainment #popculture #creative #creativity #media #mediaman 

Search Engine Journal. Google "Search Themes"

SEJ's Matt with a most interesting and helpful feature article on Google "Search Themes"..I'm interested to learn and experience how Search Themes will do this for online and pop culture websites such as ours because news and pop culture covers so much territory. How much will Google drill down and discover and index (for themes) the niche content of the sites and fresh news. To me I'm thinking that more articles should get a fresh image to accompany them so the A.I will have more clues and intel as to what to expect. It's all sounding like a big Pandora's Box for online news publishers and the like. We'll be checking in again for updates on this developing situation. Take it to The Max (as limit) as per extreme sports and beverage campaigns. Cheers from Sydney. 

LinkedIn and X/Twitter

28th October 2023

Pro Wrestling Fight Week Continues; Friendly promotional wars in United States, Canada, Australia, Middle East and beyond

MMA/UFC @UFC and boxing world getting a slice of the action

WWE @WWE Crown Jewel: 4th November 2023

Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio to wow the crowd - U.S Title

Roman Reigns vs LA Knight. The people have spoken. Universal Title

AEW @AEW (All Elite Dynamite). Wrestling legends Sting and Ric Flair reunited in an AEW ring!

WWE buzz they may potentially secure more legends back into the WWE fold for broadcast specials. Goldberg is one name being thrown around, plus CM Punk wildcard and heat seeker factor.

WWE Royal Rumble. Tampa, Florida. January 27, 2024. Many fans hope Hulk Hogan makes an appearance at the traditional card.

NWA @NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) securing talent that fits their niche and not going to get dragged into wrestling war immediately.

Impact Wrestling @impactwrestling is now TNA (Total Non-stop Action), returning to its rich roots

AEW Worlds End: December 30, 2023

WWE Elimination Chamber. Perth, Western Australia: 24th February 2023

WWE Bash in Berlin. Germany. 31st August 2024

plus

Top Rank Boxing @trboxing : Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou. Battle Of The Baddest. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

plus

UFC 295. Madison Square Garden, New York. Sergi Pavlovic vs Tom Aspinal. Middleweight Interim Title Bout. November 12, 2023

plus

Most Valuable Promotions and Misfits Boxing remains key reasons for the resurgence of professional boxing, celebrities and antics or not! Jake Paul returns to MVP to fight on December 15, 2023. Stay tuned.

plus

MMA and pro wrestling legend Ken Smamrock ramps up Valor Bare Knuckle as others attempt to replicate the success of the original legend and cross-over athlete.

FITE @FITE continues to ramp up its global broadcasting OTT (over the top) of combat sports and beyond. Covering pro wrestling, boxing, martial arts and more.

Paramount Plus has ramped up its combat sports coverage. Paul Bros coverage, boxing and wrestling documentaries, F1 and more.

tubi (part owned by News Corp) continues to offer a wide array of historic and retro wrestling, Lucha and more.

Much respect to all competitors and promoters. It's a Win-Win-Win. Combat sports fans remain spoiled for choice.

#wrestling #prowrestling #mma #boxing #wwesmackdown #wweraw #wwecrownjewel #wwebashinberlin #wwe #tkogroup #tko #tripleh #loganpaul #romanreigns #tysonfury #jakepaul #aew #nwa #impactwrestling #tna #tnawrestling #toprankboxing #battleofthebaddest #fightweek #wweeliminationchamber #wweroyalrumble #aewdynamite #aewworldsend #mvp #pfl #onechampionship #msg #thegarden #ppv #payperview #ple #premiumliveevent #combatsports #mma #fighting #bareknuckle #valorbareknuckle #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #sportsnews #sportsmedia #sportsmarketing #broadcast #broadcasting #streaming #promotions #promoters #publicity #exposure #trend #trends #buzz #hype #agency #onlinenews #livesports #liveentertainment #showbiz #wrestlingnews #news #win #winwinwin #media #gregtingle #mediaman #mediamanint 

Combat Sports Business

Dana White (UFC @UFC ) and Vince McMahon (WWE @WWE) connection

Media, Wires, SI, Newsfeed services ramp up on TKO Group powerhouses and combat industry promotional legends

“My history with Vince isn’t a good one” - Dana White, UFC CEO

“He tried to *uck me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to *uck me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”

“It goes to show that when you oppose him, or he thinks you are opposing him, the guy comes after you blindly. Once you are aligned, Vince is an incredible partner. Triple H and Stephanie have always been great to work with”.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with them, always, even when we weren’t aligned back in the day. But the most amazing story is the relationship with Vince McMahon.”

“He’s the Michael Jordan of the business world”

“We’ve probably spoken on the phone 20 times since the deal. It’s all added-value conversation–with Vince doing work and raising the bar for both companies.”

“Vince McMahon, man, he’s an absolute savage”

“Even with the stuff that went down with us in the past, I respect it. I love killers. He’s definitely a killer. He’s the Michael Jordan of the business world.”

#DanaWhite #VinceMcMahon #UFC #WWE #TKOGroup #TKO #quote #quotes #MMA #wrestling #prowrestling #mmanews #ufcnews #wwenews #wrestlingnews #sportsbiz #promoters #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #PPV #PayPerView #sportsmarketing #livesports #liveentertainment #sportsnews #sportsmedia #biz #broadcast #broadcasting #showbiz  #buzz #hype #win #winwin #winwinwin #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023

Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns and and LA Knight @RealLAKnight set to sign contract for title fight at WWE Crown Jewel. Watch out for tables and additional members of 'The Bloodline'. Puppet Master Paul Heyman will be looking to pull the strings as per usual.

Latino World Order aka LWO vs Street Profits SmackDown. Think pro wrestling meets 'Pulp Fiction' with a dash of 'Blood In, Blood Out', a Santos classic and some William Shakespeare thrown in. Other factions may look to capitalize on the drama and disruptions such as 'The Family' who enjoy mixed history with the LWO in NXT @WWENXT and then you've got the likes of Grayson Waller, Austin Theory and others looking to shoot up the rankings by any means any means necessary. The LWO's Zelina Vega is going to need her head on a swivel to keep outsiders at bay in this one.

Something tells us recent mega signee Jade Cargill @Jade_Cargill may continue to scout the SmackDown femme fatales and with the high stakes, who can blame her.

John Cena @JohnCena has been seen on the lead up FS @FS1 promos for today's broadcast, so don't be surprised for the living legend himself to turn up, as he prepares for battle with 'The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh on November 4.

You just know that SmackDown GM Nick Aldis @RealNickAldis is going to have his hands full with this one folks. Will RAW's GM Adam Cole continue to mindgames or is it wargames with Aldis. Red Flag to a bull as they say in Mexico and Formula One racing.

SmackWill will want plenty of extra security tonight as LA Knight and plenty of others look to further ascend their rise to the top of the industry while vets such as Sikoa, Heyman @HeymanHustle and others look to hang onto their spots.

Will the Grayson Waller @GraysonWWE Effect strike again as GW and tag-partner Austin Theory @_Theory1 have gold in their sights!

Tune in for SmackDown for high action and drama like nothing else that hits or smacks your TV box. Don't try the moves at home, but you are most welcome to watch and scream your hearts out ladies and gentlemen.

WWE announcers Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves and 

Michael Cole are going to be pushed to the limit keeping up with all the action. OH&S and risk management is going to be paramount for the next number of hours fans. Battle down the hatches for SmackDown.

Image credit: WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #RomanReigns #LAKnight #PaulHeyman #TheBloodline #JohnCena #LWO #LatinoWorldOrder #StreetProfits #GWEffect #NickAldis #JadeCargill #combatsports #fightweek #fighters #femmefatales #entertainment #popculture #broadcast #trends #trending #hype #buzz #TV #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE SmackDown

"Hey everybody. I'm Megan Morant, getting you ready for a huge SmackDown on FS1 tonight, so let's throw 3 minutes on the clock and get to it"...

Video

WWE @WWE YouTube 

Roman Reigns and LA Knight set to make Crown Jewel Match official on FS1: WWE Now, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpG9J9VKU5U&ab_channel=WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #RomanReigns #LAKnight #PaulHeyman #TheBloodline #JohnCena #LWO #LatinoWorldOrder #StreetProfits #GWEffect #NickAldis #JadeCargill #combatsports #fightweek #fighters #femmefatales #entertainment #popculture #broadcast #trends #trending #hype #buzz #TV #media

Pro Boxing

Battlle Of The Baddest

Video

Top Rank Boxing @trboxing YouTube 

Fury and Ngannou Both Weigh Over 270 LBS for Battle of the Baddest | WEIGH-IN HIGHLIGHTS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkuKhcfbrCU&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Mic'd Up | Fury Tells Mike Tyson & Israel Adesanya He Is Gonna Smash Ngannou | REAL TIME EP. 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzbEuNXyXgg&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Tyson Fury Calls Jared Anderson The Next Great Heavyweight & Future Champion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO5lnfeGr7Y&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

Next Up for Top Rank Boxing, the combat sports crossover event of the millennium will be beamed stateside from halfway around the globe.   

WBC & lineal heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury is set to go toe- to-toe with lineal MMA heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

The long-awaited battle of behemoths kicks off Riyadh Season, one of the world’s leading entertainment festivals, which runs throughout the winter months in the Kingdom’s largest city.   

Promoted by Queensberry, Top Rank and GIMIK Fight Promotions, the #furyngannou  card will stream live on Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV in the United States beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Priced at $79.99 across all distributors, it also will be available via cable and satellite pay-per-view providers. (Credit: Top Rank Boxing)

#BattleOfTheBaddest #TysonFury #FrancisNgannou #JohnFury #MikeTyson #FuryNgannou #FuryTyson #fightweek #combatsports #boxing #proboxing #PPV #PayPerViews #TopRankBoxing #entertainment #popculture #sportsbiz #sportsnews #broadcasting #streaming #promotions #promoters #publicity #exposure #trends #buzz #hype #agency #showbiz #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #SaudiArabia #media #mediaman

Pro Wrestling  

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023 

Milwaukee, WI

Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns and LA Knight

@RealLAKnight 

"Going to have his hands full tonight" Corey Graves @WWEGraves 

"Welcome"... Nick Aldis @RealNickAldis 

"We all know why where here. We all know what we're doing, so let me talk to ya.  There ya go big boy.  How about it chief"  NA

"Roman Reigns is not going to take to kindly to this" Michael Cole @MichaelCole 

"This is crazy.  You must be stupid.  Let me ask something. Have you ever signed a contract before?  Have you ever had a championship match before?  We're going to make it real easy.. we're going to go real gentle with you right sweatheart"...  Roman Reigns @WWERomanReigns 

"Roman's scared" - WWE fans

"Thank you gentlemen. That concludes my responsibilies... best of luck".. Nick Aldis

"I'm the head of the table so look at me" - LA Knight @RealLAKnight 

"You already beat" Knight

"Is this my first time. Yeah it is. I'm sitting at the head of this table about to take your title... what the hell just happended... this just walked out with my WWE championship.  I only just need one time"..

"I just can't stop being the megastar"..

"You don't get to... the tibal chief and survive the tell the tale.. reality".. Corey Graves

"Sold our crowd telling Roman he sucks" Kevin Patrick @kev_egan

"Roman Reigns getting an idea what's going to come his day a week from tommorow" Michael Cole 

"Through a table"

"Jimmy Uso took a ride"

WWE YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/wwe

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #RomanReigns #LAKnight #PaulHeyman #JimmyUso #TheBloodline #ContractSigning #NickAldis #combatsports #fightweek #fighters #femmefatales #entertainment #popculture #broadcast #trends #trending #hype #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling 

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023  

Milwaukee, WI  

LWO vs Street Profits

"Trying to pick up a quick victory tonight"... smart strategy"  Corey Graves @WWEGraves 

"There's that new found agression"

"There was an interesting interview on WWE social... their attitude...we're hear to please one person" Michael Cole @MichaelCole 

"How exactly do they overcome? What's the LWO strategy" Nick Patrick @kev_egan 

"Escobar putting on a clinic as well" 

"Carlito's been around this game a long time. You can't take your eyes off your opponent" Corey Graves

"The LWO is in control" KP

Videos

WWE YouTube https://youtube.com/wwe 

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #LWO #StreetProfits #WWEtag #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #broadcast #trends #trending #hype #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling  WWE @WWE 

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023  Milwaukee, WI

Dragon Lee vs Cedric Alexander

"Your looking at Dragon Lee. It's always electric when Dragon Lee is in the house" Kevin Patrick @kev_egan 

"You can not just sit around and wait. You have to try make your own opportunities" ..."Saying I've been sitting on the bench too long"... Michael Cole @MichaelCole 

"What John Cena was saying about having a connection with the WWE Unverse" MC

"So Cedrick's saying why not me.. take advantage..then they'll be talking about me" Michael Cole 

"Fast paced, hard hitting style" Corey Graves @WWEGraves

"Took his name, adopted his name..as homage from his hero Bruce Lee @BruceLee ...while not the biggest dog  in the fight, can more than compensate " CG

 WWE YouTube 

https://youtube.com/wwe  

 Image credit: WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #DragonLee #CedrickAlexander #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #broadcast #broadcasting #trend #trending #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling 

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023  Milwaukee, WI  

LA Knight @RealLAKnight vs Jimmy Uso @WWEUsos 

"And Roman Reigns telling Jimmy Uso earlier tonight you need to control this LA Knight situation" Corey Graves @WWEGraves 

"What a match we have in a matter of moments" CG

"LA Knight it acting like he's been there before..like its where he belongs" CG

"Millions of LA Knight fans watching around the world" Kevin Patrick @kev_egan

"Roman's doing something right. He's the head of the table. Reigns has the advangage".."against perhaps the greatest champion ever" Michael Cole @MichaelCole 

"Fear the dear KP, Fear the dear" Corey Graves 

"He has nothing to loose. He could knock of Roman Reigns. Someone's going to one day" MC

"In this business you've got to strike while the iron is hot" MC

"You not going to Crown Jewel" - Jimmy Uso to LA Knight

 WWE YouTube  https://youtube.com/wwe 

Image credit: WWE 

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #LAKnight #JimmyUso #TheBloodline #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #broadcast #broadcasting #trend #trending #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023  Milwaukee, WI

Chelsea Green vs Shotzi

"Shotzi geared up for Halloween" Kevin Patrick @kev_egan 

"Is that what's she's doing" Michael Cole @MichaelCole

"At least Chelsea got ride of her devil outfit. Piper still dressed like Stevie Nicks" Michael Cole

"Did you know that's Shotzi's ring gear was made from an authentic straight jacket Corey"!? KP

"And I'm 'm worried why you know that" 

"Chelsea and Green will avenge their tag=team championship at NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc: Night 2"

"Fantastic counter. Great balance. Cover by Green" CG 

"I lot of people have had a lot to save about Chelsea Green..and rightly so...she is a champion" KP

"Good save there cowboy" CG

"It's spooky season. It's where Shotzi thrives" CG

"He what are you dressed up as for Halloween KP" KP

"That's none of your business... it's a family show" CG

"Face first. Shotzi eats it" - CG

WWE YouTube https://youtube.com/wwe 

Image credit: WWE

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #RomanReigns #LAKnight #PaulHeyman #JimmyUso #TheBloodline #ContractSigning #NickAldis #combatsports #fightweek #fighters #femmefatales #entertainment #popculture #broadcast #trends #trending #hype #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling   

WWE @WWE SmackDown. October 27, 2023  Milwaukee, WI  

Videos

WWE YouTube

SmackDown’s wildest moments: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23cpSDk_D34&ab_channel=WWE

FULL MATCH – LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95P8kSZaqNY&t=7s&ab_channel=WWE

LA Knight hits a BFT on Roman Reigns after beating Jimmy Uso: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmxpyK-uomY&t=3s&ab_channel=WWE

LA Knight brawls with Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80sZHeTjQmU&ab_channel=WWE

Solo Sikoa executes a brutal sneak attack on John Cena: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OY8LxUMIF4&ab_channel=WWE

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPNKDG2Dlqg&t=9s&ab_channel=WWE

Shotzi battles Chelsea Green: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOZXJDzvbXs&ab_channel=WWE

Logan Paul punches Rey Mysterio in LWO vs. The Street Profits: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9qqSa1mO24&ab_channel=WWE

Pretty Deadly attack The Brawling Brutes at a local pub: SmackDown exclusive, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tgoIehESA8&ab_channel=WWE

Bianca Belair to challenge IYO SKY at WWE Crown Jewel: SmackDown highlights, Oct. 27, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntcvVBZkJIk&ab_channel=WWE

Seth "Freakin" Rollins goes to war with JD McDonagh: Raw sneak peek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP2jZWgf9zA&ab_channel=WWE

Image credit: WWE

   

#SmackDown #WWESmackDown #WWE #FS1 #WWECrownJewel #wrestling #prowrestling #RomanReigns #LAKnight #JimmyUso #TheBloodline #LoganPaul #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #videos #highlights #broadcast #broadcasting #trend #trending #buzz #TV #media

Pro Wrestling

The pro wrestling world is aware that wrestling living legend Ric Flair appeared on AEW @AEW Dynamite, along with his long time friend and rival Sting.

Here's a couple of quotes from Flair over the years

"I wish Tony would start a Hall of Fame. That would create a lot of interest." Ric Flair @RicFlairNatrBoy 

"Do it based on people who he thinks were good in the history of the business not just guys from AEW the last three years." Ric Flair.

Video

The Nature Boy RIC FLAIR in AEW?! An ICONIC gift for the LEGENDARY STING! | 10/25/23, AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvYMHka7BLo&t=2s&ab_channel=AllEliteWrestling

Image credit: AEW

#RicFlair #quote #quotes #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #AEWDynamite #wrestling #prowrestling #entertainment #popculture #sports #legends #sportsbiz #TV #media 

Wrestling /Pop Culture News

John Cena to take battle Solo Sikoa in an official pro wrestling match at WWE @WWE Crown Jewel

John Cena @JohnCena vs Solo Sikoa at the WWE Crown Jewel event next week

In good company on the Saudi card with Roman Reigns vs LA Knight (Universal Championship) and Rey Mysterio vs Logan Paul @LoganPaul (WWE U.S Championship) as a hot fav with hardcore fans and media

Premium Live Event formally known as a Pay-Per View: Represents fantastic value for wrestling and pop culture fans, new and old.

Follows Cena and Solo's recent verbal and physical brawls; Booked to satisfy Saudi and global fans, WWE bean counters

The WWE confirmed Friday that Cena, 46, will face off with Sikoa, 30, at the professional wrestling mega event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

WWE Crown Jewel will air live Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. EDT on Peacock and WWE Network.

The event will mark Cena's first WWE singles match since WrestleMania 39 in April. Cena is winding down his pro wrestling career, as one can understand he might given all he has given of himself over the decades.

Cena and LA Knight defeated Sikoa and Jimmy Uso in a tag team match at Fastlane earlier this month. Cena and Sikoa also brawled at SmackDown last week.

Cena is a professional wrestler who made his WWE television debut in 2002 and has since become a 13-time WWE Champion.

The superstar thanked fans for their support over the years in a post on social media last week.

"It's you. It's me. It's us. Thank you to the incredible crowd at #Smackdown and @WWE Universe for allowing me to continue to spend time with you. Good & bad, ups & downs I am grateful for every second we spend together," he wrote.

Cena's Twitter and Instagram posts are must read for wrestling fans and those of widsom and interpretive art", as Cena has explained over the years.

Cena also an actor who recently appeared in the film Fast X and will star in the upcoming spy action comedy Argylle.

Cena's overall positive contribution to wrestling, pop culture and a positive outlook on life is considerable and his reach has far outgrown the once modest reach of the WWE Universe, which today has a footprint spanning the globe.

"John Cena has become one of the most respected, influential and well liked figures in and around entertainment, wrestling and beyond for decades. A legit living legend of our time is accurate, and who can forget his sayings such as Hustle, Loyality and Respect', and 'Never Give Up', said Media Man 

Image credit: John Cena

#WWE #JohnCena #WWECrownJewel #SoloSikoa #wrestling #prowrestling #wrestlingnews #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #legend #icon #PLE #PPV #PremiumLiveEvent #NeverGiveUp #ThankYouCena #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #TKO #TKOGroup #broadcast #broadcasting #overthetop #OTT #boxoffice #movienews #trend #trends #socialmedia #buzz #media #mediaman 

Pro Boxing

Battle of the Baddest

Fury @Tyson_Fury vs Francis Ngannou @francis_ngannou

Videos

"FURY WILL GO DOWN WITH MY OVERHAND RIGHT" | Francis Ngannou is READY TO END Tyson Fury!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnF9pKj8wv4&ab_channel=TNTSportsBoxing

DAZN Boxing YouTube

Francis Ngannou: My Tyson Fury Fight Is Bigger Than Anything In The UFC!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSZyaopQjUo&ab_channel=DAZNBoxing

TNT Sports YouTube

"HE'S IN SEVERE TROUBLE" | Tyson Fury sends CHILLING WARNING to Francis Ngannou 👀 #FuryNgannou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHADYj1LXCU&ab_channel=TNTSports

TNT Sports Boxing YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/BTSportBoxing/videos

Top Rank Boxing Tube

https://www.youtube.com/@toprank

DAZN Boxing YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/DAZNBoxing

Riyadh Season YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/RiyadhSeason

Image credit: Top Rank Boxing/Riyadh Season

#BattleOfTheBaddest #boxing #FrancisNgannou #Ngannou #TysonFury #Fury #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #sports #combatssports #legends #livesports #liveentertainment #PPV #PayPerView #SaudiArabia  #media 

Combat Sports

UFC @UFC Videos

UFC 295: Jones vs Miocic - History Is Calling | Official Trailer | November 11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3yxR7yab_g&t=7s&ab_channel=UFC

Who makes the UFC All-Time Roster?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm4UvAcXs0k&ab_channel=UFC

Georges St-Pierre | Ultimate 30 All-Time Roster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_wVgVCWlA&ab_channel=UFC

Royce Gracie | Ultimate 30 All-Time Roster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCRp-nL6IPs&t=274s&ab_channel=UFC

Ripple Effect of Jon Jones’ Injury, Catching Up With Ben Askren | UFC Unfiltered

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IknZSZ-UVmc&ab_channel=UFC

Image credit: UFC

#UFC #UFC295 #UFC296 #MMA #UFClegends  #JonJones #Miocic #GSP #RoyceGracie #Gracie #BenAskren #combatsports #fighting #sports #popculture #MBS #videos #legends #media 

Pro Wrestling Fight Week Continues; Friendly promotional wars in United States, Canada, Australia, Middle East and beyond

MMA/UFC and boxing world getting a slice of the action

WWE Crown Jewel: 4th November 2023

Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio to wow the crowd - U.S Title

Roman Reigns vs LA Knight. The people have spoken. Universal Title

AEW (All Elite Dynamite). Wrestling legends Sting and Ric Flair reunited in an AEW ring!

WWE buzz they may potentially secure more legends back into the WWE fold for broadcast specials. Goldberg is one name being thrown around, plus CM Punk wildcard and heat seeker factor.

WWE Royal Rumble. Tampa, Florida. January 27, 2024. Many fans hope Hulk Hogan makes an appearance at the traditional card.

NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) securing talent that fits their niche and not going to get dragged into wrestling war immediately.

Impact Wrestling is now TNA (Total Non-stop Action), returning to its rich roots

AEW Worlds End: December 30, 2023

WWE Elimination Chamber. Perth, Western Australia: 24th February 2023

WWE Bash in Berlin. Germany. 31st August 2024

plus

Top Rank Boxing: Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou. Battle Of The Baddest. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

plus

UFC 295. Madison Square Garden, New York. Sergi Pavlovic vs Tom Aspinal. Middleweight Interim Title Bout. November 12, 2023

plus

Most Valuable Promotions and Misfits Boxing remains key reasons for the resurgence of professional boxing, celebrities and antics or not! Jake Paul returns to MVP to fight on December 15, 2023. Stay tuned.

plus

MMA and pro wrestling legend Ken Smamrock ramps up Valor Bare Knuckle as others attempt to replicate the success of the original legend and cross-over athlete.

FITE continues to ramp up its global broadcasting OTT (over the top) of combat sports and beyond. Covering pro wrestling, boxing, martial arts and more.

Paramount Plus has ramped up its combat sports coverage. Paul Bros coverage, boxing and wrestling documentaries, F1 and more.

tubi (part owned by News Corp) continues to offer a wide array of historic and retro wrestling, Lucha and more.

Much respect to all competitors and promoters. It's a Win-Win-Win. Combat sports fans remain spoiled for choice.

Boxing: Battle Of The Baddest: Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou. 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. October 28, 2023

"A hard fought victory". "That definately wasn't in the script" Tyson Fury @Tyson_Fury

"A hard fought victory". Media in-ring

 "That definately wasn't in the script" Tyson Fury

Top Rank Boxing YouTube

Tyson Fury & Francis Ngannou Embrace After Historic Fight | Fury Gets Decision Win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IivqD80qhs&ab_channel=TopRankBoxing

TNT Sports Boxing YouTube

Francis Ngannou SHOULD FIGHT Deontay Wilder after brilliant showing vs Tyson Fury! #FuryNgannou 🇸🇦

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwjLTxRgCaQ&ab_channel=TNTSportsBoxing

DAZN Boxing YouTube https://youtube.com/DAZNBoxing #BattleOfTheBaddest #TysonFury #AndStill #FuryNgannou

Image credit: Top Rank Boxing/Riyadh Season

#BattleOfTheBaddest #furyvsngannou #TysonFury #Ngannou #boxing #PPV #combatsports #videos #livesports #liveentertainment #RiyadhSeason #Riyadh #hype #media

Top Rank Boxing X

"You had asked for more time for this fight. Is December 23rd a date you want to come back here to Saudi Arabia"? Media

"I'm ready. 23 December, I am ready" Oleksandr Usyk

#BattleOfTheBaddest #FuryNgannou #FuryUsyk #OleksandrUsyk 

DAZN Boxing X

"Francis Ngannou, congratulations. You dared to be great. People, a lot of people didn't give you a chance. You scored a knock down. They said if you survived ten rounds that would be a miracle. How are you feeling right now"? Media

"I am feeling great. I am feeling fantastic. And I am very happy. It didn't go my way. But, you know, I want to thank reaism? and your excellency..the Kingdom Of Saudia Arabia, for giving me this opportunity to prove people wrong one more time again. You know, I might me battered today. I might come up short today, but I might be wounded but I'm not baty yet, I can bite. You know, I can bite. I'm just a fighter and I'm ready to fight any time soon.  We can run it back again and I'm sure I'm going to get better. This was my first boxing match. Great experience. I mean, I'm not giving any excuse. I know I come up short. But I'm going to go back and work harder with a little more experience this time, little more feeling of the game and come back even stronger" Francis Ngannou

#FuryNgannou #BattleOfTheBaddest #FrancisNgannou #daznboxing 

SEJ SEO

SEJ's Tony on an excellent and educational feature article on the collaboration between SEO, web development and IT teams - and don't forget the overall boss of the company. Clear lines of communication, shared vision and collaboration are paramount. Some negotiation is required in business, both internally and externally. The dynamic nature of the internet and tech related business means things will change over time. Stay on the vision, communicate with the relevant departments, work hard and work smart. Test, communicate and improve - success! 

SEJ Link Building

SEJ's Bibi with an interesting and educational look at link building. I'm not a newbie, but rather a veteran these days. Once upon a time, a few decades ago, we used to "exchange links". We did this strategy while building and establishing our own unique content based on pop culture, combat sports, entrepreneurs and innovators to name but a few..As our websites crew along with our own unique content we no longer needed to exchange links, let alone request any. We were index and referenced in news articles, Wikipedia, DMOZ, web directories and all kinds of places. The sites went from a bit of a side hustle to a full time endeavour and sustainable business. And from more journalism to more media, sports and creative advertising agency. Some things take time, be it a week, a month or more than a decade. Getting started is a hard part of the process. The rewards can be there who put in the time, work, and who keep learning and improving. It's a long haul and marathon but for us and many it beats the 9 to 5 (which I also did many, many moons ago). Stay Google friendly is a tip..build your reputation for results. Get some wins. Keep building. Transform your business as per market and repeat the formula. Success! 

Media Man Blog

PR, SEO and SEM News

Human and A.I elements

PR, SEO and SEM Powers Business And Online Business Exposure via Internet Matrix Of Things Says Media Man

Boost online visibility and improve search engine rankings by integrating public relations and SEO strategies.

Summaey, Key Points and Keywords

Digital technology has transformed how brands connect with their audiences.

To connect successfully, brands need to take an integrated approach.

Combining the strengths of PR and SEO is one aspect that delivers benefits across a brand's entire marketing strategy.

When talking about how digital technology transformed brands and marketing, most marketers are quick to point out the arrival of new digital marketing channels and the influence of social media. But what about public relations (PR) and search engine optimization (SEO)?

Traditionally, most brand teams would have considered PR and SEO separately or even left SEO to their website teams. As the two disciplines come closer together, brands are starting to see the benefits of integrating PR and SEO.

Understanding the relationship of PR and SEO in digital marketing

The Public Relations Society of America defines PR as a "strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics." Just a few decades ago, PR professionals relied mainly on newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets to spread their messages. Today, they have a far wider choice of channels, most of them digital.

SEO, on the other hand, is firmly linked to the digital age. The term describes how teams increase their brand's visibility and ranking on search engine results pages. As Google puts it, SEO is about "helping search engines understand and present content."

Both PR and SEO rely on understanding the brand's audiences and taking a strategic approach to reaching those audiences. While they have traditionally pursued that goal separately, brand teams and company leadership teams are starting to realize that combining their efforts can create previously unknown synergies.

The best marketing strategies have a few things in common. They are built on a central message or a set of messages woven through the entire campaign. They also use the combined power of a variety of different (digital) marketing channels, making sure that their core messages are recognizable across all of them. Lastly, they are based on a solid strategy and clear objectives. Both of those ensure each strategic element contributes toward achieving the objectives.

Use the same principles to integrate PR and SEO and take advantage of the power of public relations to support search engine rankings. Here are four ways PR supports SEO.

Backlinks

Backlinks from high-ranking, influential websites can transform your rankings. So, how can you convince other websites to link to yours? Enter PR. Compelling storytelling is the strength of PR. Use that strength to craft content others would like to share on their platforms.

Consider blog posts, case studies, or high-quality video content to attract the attention of your target brands. Don't be afraid to send direct links to their brand teams or tag relevant brands if you share social media content.

In most cases, you will spend some time building a relationship before others backlink to you. Stay the course, and you will reap the rewards in the long term.

Keyword research

You don't need to be an SEO expert to understand the importance of keyword research. Knowing how potential customers search for you and optimizing your website accordingly are cornerstones of successful search engine marketing.

To be effective, keyword research needs to include the actual words your audience is looking for and the search intent. Once both are clear, your SEO team needs to share them with your PO professionals. Applying keyword research results only to your website would mean missing out on a large part of the opportunity.

Integrating SEO and content marketing

So-called keyword stuffing no longer works for successful SEO. Search engines are looking for well-organized content that adds value to the person who initiated the search. However, that does not mean that you should remove SEO keywords from your PR content.

The opposite is the case: Skilled PR professionals can utilize target keywords without compromising their storytelling. Think about thought leadership articles, social media posts, and even press releases – all of these forms of content can contribute toward higher rankings.

Monitoring and measuring performance

Measuring the performance and effectiveness of your efforts is critical to understanding what is working and what needs to be adapted. Start by establishing clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to allow you to benchmark successes and understand where improvement is needed.

Most search engines offer a range of analytics tools to help you understand your performance. Make sure those are set up and ready to monitor your activity right from the start.

Best practices

Both PR and SEO require mid- to long-term commitment. Over time, their impact builds up and grows stronger. That is why some of the brands reaping the most noticeable results started their integration a few years ago.

Airbnb, for example, developed relationships with leading influencers and thought leaders as early as 2015 to create content that helped users experience key cities and drove traffic to the accommodation platform. The content created by those influencers contributed to Airbnb's search engine rankings.

Inbound marketing and sales platform Hubspot is another example of a brand integrating PR and SEO successfully. The company realized in 2017 that previous approaches to SEO were no longer as effective. To maximize the potential of their content for search engine rankings, the team not only integrated its own approach but even built a tool customers could use to validate the potential effectiveness of content before creating it.

News

SEO Tips For A Small Business

In the digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any small business. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in improving your website’s visibility on search engines like Google, which can drive more organic traffic and potential customers to your site. While SEO can be a complex and ongoing process, there are several quick and effective strategies that small businesses can implement to boost their online presence. In this article, we’ll explore some simple and quick SEO strategies tailored to small businesses.

Optimize Your Website’s On-Page Elements

One of the fundamental aspects of SEO is on-page optimization. This involves optimizing various elements on your website to make it more search engine-friendly:

a. . Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers are likely to search for. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find valuable keywords for your niche.

b. Title Tags: Create unique, descriptive, and keyword-rich title tags for each page on your website. These tags appear as the clickable headline in search engine results and should accurately represent the content of the page.

c. Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling meta descriptions that provide a concise summary of your page’s content. Include relevant keywords and a call to action to encourage clicks.

d. Header Tags: Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content and make it more readable for both users and search engines. Include keywords naturally in your headers.

e. Image Optimization: Compress and optimize images on your website to improve page load speed. Add descriptive alt text to your images for accessibility and SEO benefits.

Create High-Quality, Relevant Content

Content is king in the world of SEO. Producing high-quality, informative, and engaging content is essential for attracting and retaining visitors. Consider the following tips:

a. Blogging: Start a blog on your website and regularly publish articles related to your industry, products, or services. Share valuable insights, tips, and solutions to common problems.

b. Keyword Integration: Incorporate your target keywords naturally into your content. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your SEO efforts.

c. Visual Content: Use a mix of text, images, videos, and infographics to make your content more engaging and shareable.

d. Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and up to date. Outdated information can negatively impact your search rankings.

e. Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve user navigation and help search engines understand your site’s structure.

Mobile Optimization

With the majority of internet users browsing on mobile devices, mobile optimization is no longer optional. Google considers mobile-friendliness a significant ranking factor. Ensure your website is responsive, loads quickly on mobile devices, and offers a seamless user experience.

Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Local SEO is essential for small businesses that serve specific geographic areas. Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to manage your business listing on Google. Here’s what you should do:

a. Claim Your Listing: Claim and verify your business on GMB to appear in local search results and on Google Maps.

b. Accurate Information: Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation are accurate and consistent across all online platforms.

c. Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing. Respond to reviews, both positive and negative, to engage with customers and improve your online reputation.

d. Posts and Updates: Use GMB to post updates, promotions, events, and other relevant information to attract local customers.

Build Quality Backlinks

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are a vital ranking factor in SEO. However, it’s essential to focus on quality over quantity. Here’s how to build quality backlinks:

a. Guest Blogging: Contribute guest posts to reputable websites in your industry. Ensure the content is valuable and relevant to the host site’s audience.

b. Local Directories: List your business on local directories, industry-specific directories, and review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

c. Social Media: Share your content on social media platforms to increase its visibility and potentially earn natural backlinks when others link to your content.

d. Influencer Outreach: Collaborate with influencers or experts in your niche who can link to your website or mention your products/services.

Conclusion

SEO is a powerful tool for small businesses looking to compete in the digital marketplace. While SEO is an ongoing process, these quick strategies can help you get started and see noticeable improvements in your website’s search engine visibility. Remember that SEO requires patience, monitoring, and adaptation to stay ahead in the competitive online landscape. By consistently implementing these strategies, your small business can establish a stronger online presence and attract more potential customers.

Local SEO

In today's digital age, 97% of consumers go online to find local services, and 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a local business. If you're not optimizing for local search, you're missing out on a significant chunk of potential customers right in your vicinity.

The web is a bustling hub of business opportunities. If you're a local enterprise looking to stand out, our tailored Local SEO strategies can position you at the forefront of your industry. Our skilled team of Local SEO experts has a proven track record of delivering results for businesses on the east coast of Australia.

We understand the Australian market, its nuances, and what the local audience is searching for. Our strategies have helped numerous businesses rank on the first page of search results.

Our Local SEO packages are designed to be budget-friendly, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes. Our team is just a call away to address any of your concerns or to provide updates.

Our deep understanding of the Aussie market, combined with our expertise in local SEO, has allowed numerous businesses to achieve and maintain a strong online presence in the region. We pride ourselves on our commitment to delivering tangible results and our dedication to our clientele.

SEO

Media Man (Digital), a leading expert SEO marketing company in Australia, is here to skyrocket your online visibility and drive targeted traffic to your website. With our cutting-edge strategies and proven techniques, we ensure that your business stays on top of search engine rankings, generating higher conversions and maximising your ROI. Our team of skilled professionals will work closely with you to understand your unique business needs and tailor a customised SEO strategy that delivers exceptional results. 

Don't let your competitors steal the spotlight. Get in touch with Media Man and watch your online presence soar!

Media Man Marketing CEO and Founder Greg Tingle sees success in SEO, storytelling and cormering niche markets such as casino news, casino games, casino innovational, mixed martial arts (MMA), pro wrestling (WWE, AEW etc), surf culture, online advertising agencies, MBS (Mind, Body and Spirit) and gaming, casinos and hotels).

Digital Marketing Agency 

20 Best Digital Marketing Agencies

mediaman.com.au

mediamanint.com

digitaluncovered.com › best-digital-marketing20 Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydneydigitaluncovered.com › best-digital-marketing CachedPerth SEO Studio. Perth SEO Studio one of Australia’s top digital marketing agencies is based in Sydney and specializes in helping businesses enhance their online presence and achieve higher rankings in organic search results. Wonderful Digital. Wonderful Digital is an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. With their extensive range of services including SEO PPC social media marketing and website design they have established themselves as one of Australia’s best digital marketing agencies. Humaan. Humaan is a reputable digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. With a team of experienced professionals Humaan offers many services including website design and development SEO social media marketing and content creation. Due North. Due North is a renowned digital marketing agency based in Sydney Australia. Their extensive services encompass SEO PPC advertising social media management and content marketing.

Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney | Digital Agency …

Explore the top digital marketing agencies in Sydney. Creative and b2b digital marketing companies offering branding web design UX design eCommerce SEO content marketing PPC email marketing online marketing and social media marketing services in Sydney.

Sydney Digital Marketing Agency ™️ | Digital MarketingDone …

Ready to achieve real business growth with a comprehensive customised digital marketing strategy? Sydney Digital Marketing Agency works with business owners and marketing managers to accelerate revenue growth using Google Ads Social Media SEO Email Marketing and Marketing Automation.

Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney 2023 | Semrush

TOP Professional Digital Marketing Companies in Sydney. List of TOP 26 Digital Marketing Agencies in Sydney. Discover the most skilled marketing agencies from our community to outsource your marketing to.

Top Digital Marketing Companies in Sydney – DesignRush

Readers and online entrepreneurs, that's the SEO News for the day. Tell them Media Man sent you.

Good web surfing and wrestling with the web across the The Internet Matrix Of Things.

By Media Man with some modest assist from A.I!  Bard, xAI, Bing et al. Man over machine!

UFC Facebook

UFC Feature

"There is Manchester's Tom Aspinal".

"His heartrate has not lifted one little bit"..."The man's a savage"..

"The guy's so technically good".."He's so calm and compossed".

"What a moment".."Special moment for the Uk's Tom Aspinall".."Pretty much been the plan since Tom was able walk to get here". .."And only night fights in his record:. "Beautiful right hand"..

WWE Facebook

"That's right because tonight's eposode is of course can't miss. But its moving homes. It's on FS1. That's right, tonights SmackDown esosode is on FS1. See you there" John Cena. 

Lucha VaVoom. Pro wrestling meets Pulp Fiction and a festival of strange days. The greatest show on Earth?! 

American Box Office

Five Nights of nightmares is months of bean counter dreams for some Hollywood executives

Good, wholesome entertainment for the family - Not!

Swift with the entertainment dollar and budget; Movies cheaper than VIP concert seats!

Box Office Mojo leaps to media's rescue once again

1. Five Nights at Freddy's. $78 million

2. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. $14.7 million

3. Killers of the Flower Moon. $9 million

4. After Death. $5 million

5. The Exorcist: Believer. $3.1 million

6. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie. $2.2 million

7. Freelance. $2.06 million

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas. $2 million

9. Saw X. $1.7 million

10. The Creator. $1 million

Deep Dive into showbiz industry with Media Man

Reviews (Media Man Int)

https://www.mediamanint.com/reviews.html

Entertainment News (Media Man Int)

https://www.mediamanint.com/news4.html

Box Office: News (Media Man Int)

https://www.mediamanint.com/articles/box_office.html

#BoxOffice #boxofficemovies #movienews #showbiz #entertainment #EntertainmentNews  #FiveNightsAtFreeddys #TaylorSwift #killersoftheflowermoon #AfterDeath #AfterDeathMovie #TheExorcistBeliever #PAWPatrol #Freelancemovie #TheNightmareBeforeChristmas #SawX #TheCreator #thecreatormovie #buzz #hype #trends #trending #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestler Shoots Straight On Concussions In Pro Wrestling Industry

AEW Star Jon Moxley shares ideas spot concussions, protect wrestlers from self, early retirement, other workers

Mox took time out from his loaded schedule to communicate with The Messenger. Media continues to run with the story from the U.S to Japan, Australia and across the globe.

Moxley has an idea or three on how wrestling promotions (that also means promoters and owners) can do a better job at spotting concussions - one of the the combat sports worse enemies, or heels - if you will.

Moxley was concussed early in his match against lucha sensational Fenix at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam last month. He disclosed to The Messenger that he felt progressively worse as the match wore on before he eventually realized he should not continue.

"I just kept getting progressively more lost and couldn't figure out where the *uck I was," he elaborated. "Then I had this moment of clarity, 'Oh, I’m *ucked up. I gotta get the f--- out of here.'"

Mox believes wrestling could benefit greatly from a uniquely tailored concussion-spotting system.

"In pro wrestling, it's a really touchy subject," Moxley said. "Somebody’s gotta *ucking bring it up."

"Pro wrestling is such a strange thing," he continued. "In football, if a guy goes down and he doesn't go back to the huddle, you know he's *ucked up. In pro wrestling, a lot of times it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake."

That's part of the double edged sword, partly responsible for dozens of early deaths of wrestlers in the mid 80s and early 90's when steroids, sex, drugs and rock n roll were all the rage, coupled with a bump filled week, often travelling from town to town, raking up miles on the road and their bodies. Hardcores can look up the movie/doco 350 Days if you want to get more of the back story on that aspect!

Mox has proposed having a doctor and an experienced wrestler watch the shows on a separate video feed.

"Maybe a really experienced wrestler and a really experienced doctor, who are trained to see signs of that *hit, are watching it on a separate feed," he explained. "Even if they have a doctor close to ringside, what if the guy *ucking spills outside the ring? He doesn't see that."

"The doctor and wrestler are completely untethered to the creative portion of it," Moxley said. "They have no idea nor any interest in what the story is, who wins, who loses or how long it's supposed to go."

"If a guy *ucking spins around or something and the doctor goes, 'Is he OK?'" Moxley suggested, "the wrestler can tell him, '"That's just a pro wrestling thing. Don't worry.'"

"As soon as the doctor sees a sign of somebody being concussed, he just hits the *ucking red button," Moxley continued. "Boom, this is over. No matter how much time is left. No matter if it's on live TV. It's just over, and you figure it out from there."

Wrestlers are well adjusted to changing up things on the fly in a match, witness Hulk Hogan vs Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at WrestleMania 18, tuning into the mixed crowd reactions, doing double turns ala Bret "Hitman" Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WWE WrestleMania 13, or recently Bryan Danielson fighting through the pain of an injured orbital bone in the eye region to finish of his tag-team match broadcast via All Elite Wrestling. 

Pro wrestling living legend Bret Hart was once kicked in the head full on by footballer come pro wrestling star Bill Goldberg on the defunct WCW Nitro and was never the same since.

Mox hasn't wrestled since suffering the concussion against Fenix last month. However, he did make a colourful and  memorable appearance at the commentary table for AEW WrestleDream on October 1. Hardcores enjoyed some of his language will some with a softer side or more purist inclined may have not. 

Mox wasn't cleared to compete for a scheduled rematch against Fenix for the AEW International title on the October 10 Dynamite. He was replaced by former champion Orange "Freshly Squeezed" Cassidy, who defeated Fenix to regain the title. Moxley has since returned to the promotion, appearing on Saturday's episode of Collision.

Pro wrestlers, newer to the business and older vets are encouraged to be mindful of their long term health and take calculted risks, such is the nature of the beast with the wild world of pro wrestling - part athlete, part Shakesphearian and all real life, where the lines often get blurred between real and similated danger and pain. 

Let's put a finish to this number for now with one of Mox's fav finishing moves - the feared Death Valley Driver. See you at the matches.

#wrestling #prowrestling #AEW #JonMoxley #quotes #concussion #concussions #injury #injuries #health #wellbeing #wellness #medical #sportsbusiness #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #legend #legends #showbiz #broadcast #broadcasting #mbs #sportsnews #promoters #win #winwinwin #media 

Streaming/Gaming/ Pop Culture News

Netflix @Netflix , the entertainment based company many love to hate has a secret - they have a gaming arm!

And less than 1 percent of you know about it! It's been that way for over a year.

Netflix's price rises and password crackdowns have dominated the headlines in recent years, hence part of the reason for their secret.

Movie and TV themed games such as Squid Game are not going to really do it for us. We want full blown WWE, UFC, surfing, James Bond and Mission Impossible type games says a Media Man staffer. 007 might be out since they are linked to MGM (and Amazon these days). To their credit they do a have a fairly basic WWE themed (sort of) game featuring 'Undertaker' and 'The New Day', but it is lacking the bodyslaming game of say WrestleMania, WrestleFest or All Stars. No sign of pro wrestling cousin UFC either, with UFC 5 recently getting the hot press on it's EA deal with the mainstream gamer sector. Ah, those water-tight entertainment contracts!

According to Co-CEO Greg Peters, the streaming platform is taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach to the gaming industry.

“This trajectory is not dissimilar from what we’ve seen before,” Mr Peters said on the company’s prerecorded earnings call Wednesday, per CNBC.

“When we’ve launched a new region, or when we launched new genres, like unscripted” we had to “crawl, walk, run, but we see a tremendous amount of opportunity to build a long-term centre value of entertainment”.

So punters, are you game to sign up to Netflix for games, or will the games maybe just save you from habing a break from the "Big N"?

Over to you Playa.

#Netflix #NetflixGames #streaming #streamingbiz #streaminggames #streamingentertainment #movies #TV #homeentertainment #games #gamesbiz #gamingnews #gamenews #videogames #entertainment #entertainmentnews #popculture #OTT #OverTheTop #videogames #buzz #hype #TV #media #mediaman 

Streaming/Gaming/ Pop Culture News

Netflix @Netflix , the entertainment based company many love to hate has a secret - they have a gaming arm!

And less than 1 percent of you know about it! It's been that way for over a year.

Netflix's price rises and password crackdowns have dominated the headlines in recent years, hence part of the reason for their secret.

Movie and TV themed games such as Squid Game are not going to really do it for us. We want full blown WWE, UFC, surfing, James Bond and Mission Impossible type games says a Media Man staffer. 007 might be out since they are linked to MGM (and Amazon these days). To their credit they do a have a fairly basic WWE themed (sort of) game featuring 'Undertaker' and 'The New Day', but it is lacking the bodyslaming game of say WrestleMania, WrestleFest or All Stars. No sign of pro wrestling cousin UFC either, with UFC 5 recently getting the hot press on it's EA deal with the mainstream gamer sector. Ah, those water-tight entertainment contracts!

According to Co-CEO Greg Peters, the streaming platform is taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach to the gaming industry.

“This trajectory is not dissimilar from what we’ve seen before,” Mr Peters said on the company’s prerecorded earnings call Wednesday, per CNBC.

“When we’ve launched a new region, or when we launched new genres, like unscripted” we had to “crawl, walk, run, but we see a tremendous amount of opportunity to build a long-term centre value of entertainment”.

So punters, are you game to sign up to Netflix for games, or will the games maybe just save you from habing a break from the "Big N"?

Over to you Playa.

Movie News

'Furiosa'

Release Date: May 24, 2024

The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before she teamed up with Mad Max in 'Fury Road'!

If you already searched the desert and can't pick the name -this femme fatale beast of a women is from the 'Mad Max' franchise, so you already know this is going to be great - if end of days, kill or be killed - survive at all costs is your thing.

Down Under's Dr. George Miller returns to direct his baby and staple (as in gun) franchise.

Anya Taylor-Joy is cast as Furiosa, previously portrayed by knockout Charlize Theron. 

Australia's Chris Hemsworth gets the nod as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who you just know is up for a war.

Aussie badass and former WWE pro wrestler Nathan Jones returns as the lovable (sort of) Rictus Erectus, who is a tough as he looks and speaks. This is going to be bodyslamming and smackdown fueled action.

Miller co-wrote the script with Nico Lathouris, and the prequel will go down the rabbit hole into Furiosa's backstory before she assisted Max Rockatansky in the Aussie sadistic desert.

Miller is working with Doug Mitchell under the Australian born outfit Kennedy Miller Mitchell.

The Warner Bros connected flick to hit HBO Max and theaters simultaneously, so if your in Australia you may even get this via the Foxtel service by then. Rupert Murdoch (speaking of rebels and fellow disruptors) would be proud.

Furiosa poised and prepared to kill numerous other movie releases around the same period. One for the brave. Alpha's Only! 

Websites

IMDb: Furiosa

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12037194/

Screen Culture YouTube (not the official trailer or movie channel)

MAD MAX 2: FURIOSA – First Trailer (2024) Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor Joy Movie | Warner Bros

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE-z_AvX0tg&ab_channel=ScreenCulture

Furiosa (Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furiosa_(film)

#movienews #Furiosa #FuriosaMovie #MadMax #MadMax5 #ChrisHemsworth #AnyaTaylorJoy #NathanJones #GeorgeMiller #DougMitchell #KennedyMillerMitchell #WarnerBros #movie #entertainment #popculture #showbiz #boxoffice #cult #cultclassic #Aussie #AustralianMade #DownUnder #war #comingsoon #media #mediaman 

Movie News

Napoleon

Storyline: Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed. - Sony Pictures

The film takes a personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins, and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor viewed through the prism of his addictive, and often volatile, relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

Due to release: November 22, 2023

Movie Trailer

NAPOLEON - Official Trailer #2 (HD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIsfMO5Jd_w&ab_channel=SonyPicturesEntertainment

#movienews #Napoleon #NapoleonMovie #napoleonbonaparte #movietrailer #movierelease #SonyPictures #entertainment #entertainmentnnews #boxoffice #popculture #buzz #trends #media 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE Official YouTube

Video

Will Seth “Freakin” Rollins make a deal with The Judgment Day?: WWE Now, October. 30, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1FtIa29Hdk&ab_channel=WWE

Media Man lists a cast of characters to be watching out for on this spooky edition of RAW

The Judgement Day, especially Rhea Ripley @RheaRipley_WWE and upstart JD McDonagh @jd_mcdonagh

Finn Balor: Can he keep his Demon at bay?

Seth Rollins @WWERollins set to battle McDonagh

"Dirty" Dom Mysterio @DomMysterio35  vs Ricochet @KingRicochet - non-title (just in case?!)

DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs Imperium's Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser

Natalya vs Chelsea Green in a Trick or Street Fight. The Real Cat's Meow vs Karensvilles own. Who will be Queen of the little tonight? Creame for one, sour candy and lipstick on the mirror for another? Just maybe Natalya has a special place in a dungeon awaiting CG. A strong showing by NN will help place her back in line for some gold.

Good guys, bad guys, bad girls, femmes, technicos and characters of Shakespearean proportians.

Announcers including Wade Barrett @StuBennett and Michael Cole @MichaelCole better watch out for firecrackers, fireworks, broomsticks and lockerroom ribs and more this broadcast. BoogeyMan on call!? Freddy? Chucky? Damian 666 coming up on you. Season of the witch?! Scarlett? Exercise your demons. USA Network cast and crew be pre warned! Boo!

Image credit: WWE

#WWERAW #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #JudgementDay #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #Halloween #Halloween2023 #trickortreats #TrickOrTreating #femmes #witch #karen #femmefatals #USANetwork #USA #broadcast #broadcasting #trends #trending #buzz #gonzo #media 

From Around The Web and Under The Watercooler; Media Man heard..

We all want to be number one, on the web and in real life right? It's hard to be champ around the clock, year in and year out, but something to aspire to.

We used to be number 3 in the Hitwise (Australia) rankings for our Media Man (Australia) website. Then Hitwise pulled out of Australia and stopped doing the awards circa 2011 - such is life and the disruptive nature of the web and online commerce biz.

In the early days, SEOs (Search Engine Optimization) firms were relying heavily on keyword stuffing, creating fake authors, doing spammy blog comments, and over-optimizing the alt text of their images. All sorts of black night and dark knight, dirty tricks. Then step by step, crackdowns from Google and government authorities came about. There's still some bad actors out there, but they had to change tactics once again. Alert to watch out for cryptro and NFT scams will we cover the dark arts and grey areas.

One practice that’s still going strong to this day is linkbuilding. Many SEOs end up buying links, either directly through independent vendors or through larger marketplaces. Another common tactic is the use of PBNs, or Private Blog Networks.

Text links work sometimes - under the right circumstances. We've been in and around web business for over two decades and yes, we have some some web link campaigns over the years, quite effectively. Done with relevent content, context including the right sites, niche, images and more, can work quite the treat. Interviews with PR / online publicity, and now you're really talking.

Ok, we're got your attention. Check out our websites and blogs, in addition to our red hot X (formally Twitter), and you will just sell yourself. Would you like some AI with that?

That's all your getting for free today punters says the Media Man staffer, getting ready for WWE RAW and another cold ice swim and nature boost. Balance and risk management. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Play to win. And win-win-wins are even better.

#PopCulture #onlinenews #agency #SEO #SME #authority #expert #underthewatercooler #watercooler #crypto #bitcoin #nft #nfts #cafenews #medianews #gossip #leaks #onlinemarketing #onlinenews #digitalnews #digitalmedia #content #contentisking #contentcreator #creative #creativity #googlenews #Algorithm #results #performance #niche #nichenews #gonzo #edgy #top10 #trends #buzz #win #AI #newsmedia #media #mediaman #mediamangroup #mediamanint 

Pro Wrestling

WWE @WWE RAW 

October. 30, 2023

Wrestling deals with The Devil?

Will Seth “Freakin” Rollins make a deal with The Devil ala "Judgment Day"

JD McDonagh to represent The Judgment Day; Exercise The Demons

For weeks, there has been speculation as to whether "The Scottish Warrior" Drew McIntyre is in bed with The Judgment Day. 

In the art of war Women's World Champion and Queen Bee of Australia and well beyond, Rhea Ripley turned around offered World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins the opportunity to make a deal with the nefarious faction. Although Rollins didn't seem quite ready to make that deal, he also did not give a definitive "no" to The Eradicator.

As Ripley continues to try and recruit, The Visionary is set to go one-on-one with the conniving JD McDonagh, looking to prove himself to The Judgment Day. 

The doomsday clock is ticking at Rollins is set to defend his title against The Scottish Warrior at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia! Tis the season to celebrate, or be on guard?!

Image credit: WWE

#WWERAW #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #JudgementDay #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #Halloween #Halloween2023 #Demon #Demons #trickortreats #TrickOrTreating #femmes #witch #karen #femmefatals #USANetwork #USA #broadcast #broadcasting #showbiz #trends #trending #buzz #gonzo #TV #media

Pro Wrestling  WWE

WWE @WWE RAW. October 30, 2023

Judgement Day invades the ring.

“Dirty” Dom Mysterio vs Ricochet.

"Wait a second. Ricochet sticking his nose in Judgement Day business...weeks and months"

"He's out here in no man's land" - Michael Cole

"JD continues to audition for a role in Judgement Day"

"For my money.. should already be a member of the Judgement Day" - Wade Barrett

"Ricochet is getting absolutely getting battered by the NXT North American Champion" - WB

"Tomorrow it's NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc".. MC

"Lack of respect shown by the audience..blows away audiences" WB

"Shooting star, hook of the leg" MC

"Things not going too well for Mysterio and Judgement Day. Crossbody, stares down"... MC

WWE Official YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/wwe

Announcers: Wade Barrett @StuBennett and Michael Cole @MichaelCole

Image credit: WWE 

#WWERaw #WWE #wrestling #prowrestling #JudgementDay #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #Halloween #Halloween2023 #trickortreats #TrickOrTreating #femmes #witch #femmefatal #USANetwork #USA #broadcast #broadcasting #trends #trending #buzz #gonzo #media

Casino News Media Blog

U.S. Gambling Regulations in 2023

Gambling in the U.S. is worth millions of dollars every year, but things aren't always so cut and dry. Each state has autonomy over its own gambling regulations and can decide which in-person and online betting markets are permitted.

With regular changes to bills taking place, it can be challenging to know which states permit what gambling activities (sports betting, poker, online casinos).  Even those states that only allow sports wagering, the rules vary.  Illinois, Virginia, New York do not allow betting on in-state schools, Oregon does not allow any mobile gambling on college sports.  States like Iowa and Massachusetts prohibit use of a credit card for opening a betting account.  And then there's Nevada.  The Silver State requires individuals to register in-person (not remotely).

The legality of online gambling markets in the U.S. is determined by individual states, most of which must amend their current state laws.  There are some exceptions such as New Mexico.  The Land of Enchantment allowed a few retail sportsbooks to operate on tribal lands without any type of legislative considerations.

The federal government has not immersed itself in gambling regulations in America since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May of 2018. Instead, the sausage making all occurs at the state level (just not New Mexico) where lawmakers must find a way to get a final version of a bill through both the state house and senate.  Once legislation passes through both chambers, it's up to the governor to sign off or veto.  In 2020, Maine Gov. Janet Mills opted to veto a sports gambling bill that landed on her desk.  The Maine senate would go on to override Mills veto.  Only now is that state in the process of approving operators, three years later.  It's not always a pretty process.

All states apply tax rates on betting activities with taxes typically varying between 10% and 20%, but much higher in some states.  Case in point, Pennsylvania is over 30%.  New York flirts with the 50% mark. License applications and renewals are another way that states benefit financially from gambling operations.

Online gambling has enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This provides users with a convenient way to place bets from the comfort of their own home or on the move.

Online gambling is typically split into a variety of markets that include online casinos, sports betting, horse racing, fantasy sports betting, lottery, and poker.

At present, online sports betting is legal in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia.  It is estimated that over $180 billion has been wagered legally on sports betting in the U.S. and many states are interested in the possibility of tapping into this revenue stream.

This week, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ multi billion agreement with the Seminoles to offer online sports betting in Florida.  And while it may appear the sky is the limit for the Seminoles to launch their Hard Rock sportsbook, various court challenges remain.  Clarity is not anticipated before the next Super Bowl.  Florida makes up the top three most populous U.S. states, none of which currently offer sports wagering.  Texas and California are the other two.  on October 27 it was announced that the most populated state, California, will once again feature two ballot initiatives asking voters to determine the fate of sports betting in 2024.  The last effort failed miserably.

Even in states that have yet to regulate sports gambling, there are ways for consumers to legally place wagers. Offshore betting is not covered by regulations, meaning citizens can sign up and play with operators from based outside the U.S.  Some offshore sportsbooks have opted not to accept new customers from New Jersey and Nevada.

Because offshore books are not regulated by any state, players are not afforded the same protection as those granted a license.  Offshore sportsbooks do tend to be far more established however.  That's resulted in a stellar reputation built over time.  Some of the best options for 2023 provide players with great incentives, state-of-the-art software, and high-security levels, and are licensed by reputable authorities overseas, like the Curaçao Gaming Control Board.

When it comes to state regulated sports betting, the tribes do have significant influence over gaming in several states including Connecticut, California, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Mexico.  This is both a blessing and a curse.   

Native American tribes are permitted to operate casinos on tribal land. These permissions are based on the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which created a framework based on set conditions.

Conditions include gaming compacts with the state and a license being granted by the NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission).  But conflicts are common.  We're seeing this in Florida where the Seminoles are influential but not the only game in town, so to speak.   Connecticut's Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, on the other hand, were met with little resistance in their quest to oversee the mobile and retail sports betting market.  California can't get over the finish line as a result of in-fighting among tribes.  For the better part of a decade efforts to legalize online poker fell apart courtesy of differing tribal agendas.

During 2023, there were bills either newly proposed or rehashed across the country looking to regulate sports wagering.  Lawmakers in Kentucky and North Carolina were ultimately able to take a victory lap.  Georgia?  Better luck next time.

Until now, there's been little effort to push for online gaming and/or poker legislation.  That seems to be changing.

Indiana launched an attempt to legalize iGaming under HB1536 with a proposed 20% tax rate that would see money going directly to services to support gamblers. This attempt failed in February and will have to wait until 2024 for another attempt.

Iowa's HSB227 to legalize online casinos isn't being considered while Illinois' HB2239, SB1656, and HB2320 to create an internet gaming act saw proposals of 12% and 15% tax rates, but there has been little movement. Illinois is relatively unique in offering biennial legislative sessions, which means the proposal will stay active until 2024.

There were high hopes for New York's attempts to legalize online casinos in 2023 under bills A1380 and A3634. The state has the potential to be one of the highest-grossing gambling states because of its population (4th largest in the nation), but support appears to have slowed down after the legalization of sports betting on the NFL, NBA and others bringing in massive revenues since 2022. New York is also considering retail casino applications at present.  With this in mind, iGaming will have to take a back seat for now.  There is a real possibility in 2025 following the election year.

Rhode Island surprised a lot of people by agreeing to SB948, which will legalize online casino gaming. Regulatory framework and licensing are still to be decided, but this is just a formality. 

Maryland missed the 2023 deadline to pass iGaming legislation to compliment the already approved sports betting market. Bill number SB267 will face a referendum so campaigners will be pushing for support if it gets the nod for 2024.

Maine's LD1777 proposal to legalize online casinos based on the current tribal agreement over online sports betting hasn't moved quickly (we mentioned the three year lag period for sports betting above).

Betting laws in the U.S. will continue to change to accommodate different betting markets. States are seeing significant revenue streams from allowing legalized betting, and many others are eager to explore these options.

Assurances that a percentage of gaming revenues will go towards programs to help problem gamblers along with other social programs will appease some detractors for sure.

States that have zero forms of gambling like Utah and Hawaii may never see mobile sports betting or iGaming in our lifetimes.  Georgia, South Carolina and Texas are not the most gambling-friendly states in the nation but, nevertheless, there are those at least trying to make an effort.  Anything is possible.  Just look at Tennessee.  This is a state that has no casinos yet embraced mobile sports betting with open arms not too long after the 2018 SCOTUS decision.

(Gambling911)

Casino News

Man faces Perth court charged with woman’s murder at Crown hotel

A man has faced court charged with murdering a woman in a hotel room at Crown Towers Perth.

A man charged with murdering a family law barrister at a Perth hotel has faced court wearing a white forensic jumpsuit.

The body of 34-year-old Alice Rose McShera was found at Crown Towers Perth in Burswood on Monday morning.

Cameron John Pearson, 42, was also found at the scene with allegedly self-inflicted wounds and was treated in hospital.

Homicide squad detectives charged the Bibra Lake man with murder overnight.

Pearson, represented by solicitor Reid Hogan, briefly faced Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning wearing a forensic jumpsuit and was unshaven.

Magistrate Stephen Butcher remanded Pearson in custody to face Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on November 22.

Ms McShera was based at the Murray Chambers in Perth.

Her profile said she was “an experienced advocate who appears and advises as counsel in all family law and restraining orders matters”.

Before commencing practice as an independent barrister, Ms McShera practised as a senior associate in a boutique family law firm and, prior to that, was a legal associate to a WA Family Court judge for four years.

She obtained her Master of Laws from the Australian National University in 2015 and was a member of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Western Australia and the Law Society of Western Australia.

Outside court, supporters of the victim, who are believed to be family members, declined to comment to the waiting media.

Emergency services were called to the hotel about 11.10am on Monday after reports a woman was found dead inside a room.

St John Ambulance paramedics treated Ms McShera at the scene but she could not be saved.

Police said Pearson had sustained “serious self-inflicted injuries”.

A spokesperson for Crown Resorts issued a brief statement following the woman’s death.

“We can confirm police responded to an incident at Crown Towers Perth earlier today,” the statement read.

“Our team are assisting WA Police with their investigation, and we are supporting our team members.

“Any further inquiries should be directed to WA Police.”

The $650m Crown Towers in Perth, which includes 500 guest rooms and villas, was opened in 2016.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

Anti-domestic violence organisation White Ribbon Australia said Ms McShera was the 43rd woman to die this year due to alleged violence.

“We’re faced with a shocking reality that should make all of us feel equal parts outrage and sadness — on average, one woman is allegedly murdered every nine days in Australia,” chief executive Melissa Perry said in a statement.

“As a society we cannot be so numbed and desensitised that we view family and domestic violence and the resulting deaths as just another statistic.“

Ms Perry said the time for silence and indifference had passed.

“As a nation, we need to be doing more to change this unacceptable set of statistics,“ she said.

“We also need to recognise that this won’t happen without greater investment across all areas of the family domestic violence and abuse sector.

“This includes primary prevention strategies and education campaigns to stop violence before it starts, behaviour change programs for men who have chosen to use violence, and victim-survivor support services.”

007 News

James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli admits she hasn’t started working on next instalment

The producer admitted in an interview with The Guardian that there is "a big road ahead", before the iconic British spy is "reinvented for the next chapter" following the end of Daniel Craig's run in 2021's No Time to Die. Broccoli explained her team "haven't even begun" the process of modernising the franchise, which they believe is necessary whenever a new actor takes over the role. When Craig signed up for Bond with 2006's Casino Royale, the producers "wanted to focus on what a 21st-century hero would look like"

James Bond 007 News

California man prepares to sell nearly 60-year James Bond memorabilia collection for $1 million

Collection includes over 30,000 items — posters, books, magazines and much more

A retired California schoolteacher is ready to cash in his collection of all things James Bond-related. 

Steve Oxenrider has a collection of over 30,000 items related to the Bond phenomenon, with some items dating back to the early 1960s when the series was first released. 

The San Francisco resident has shipped half his items so far to Ewbank’s Auction House in Woking, Surrey, England, ahead of the auction.

Due to the large number of collectibles, Ewbank’s will auction off Oxenrider's collection in two parts — with the first half of the miscellany going live in November.

Some of the items included in the auction include original posters for "Dr. No," valued at over $15,000, and a signed "Thunderball" gala charity premiere brochure from 1965, which is expected to sell for over $1,000.  

Although Oxenrider has over 30,000 items of memorabilia, he told Ewbank's that he still wishes he had call sheets from the earlier films in his possession. 

"They provide an intriguing insight into the production of a film," he said.

Oxenrider said the first items he acquired were James Bond trading cards in 1965.

These then led to books, lobby cards, magazines, comics, merchandise such as toys and games, music, posters, press material, scripts, still, movies and more.

The two-day auction for the first half of the collection will begin on Nov. 16.

It will be highlighted by posters from the earlier films — with the second auction scheduled for spring 2024. 

Ewbank’s partner and head of entertainment memorabilia Alastair McCrea said the collection is "breathtaking."

"We have been holding dedicated James Bond auctions for years now, but this collection is on an entirely new level," he said. 

Oxenrider said the first items he acquired were James Bond trading cards in 1965.

These then led to books, lobby cards, magazines, comics, merchandise such as toys and games, music, posters, press material, scripts, still, movies and more.

The two-day auction for the first half of the collection will begin on Nov. 16.

It will be highlighted by posters from the earlier films — with the second auction scheduled for spring 2024. 

Ewbank’s partner and head of entertainment memorabilia Alastair McCrea said the collection is "breathtaking."

"We have been holding dedicated James Bond auctions for years now, but this collection is on an entirely new level," he said. 

The sheer breadth and depth of the collection is breathtaking and a tribute to the dedication and perspicacity of Steve Oxenrider — the ultimate collector of 007 material."

For those looking to grow their own memorabilia collection, Oxenrider said that doing your own research is key. 

"Do research on auction websites to see what’s available and price estimates," he said.

"Limit what you’re looking for and how much you want to invest."

The collector recommended getting in touch with trusted establishments that might be interested in selling or trading material.  

James Bond, also referred to as "Agent 007," was a fictional character introduced in "Casino Royale" in 1953 as a British Secret Intelligence Service agent, according to Britannica. 

Bond was the product of British novelist Ian Fleming — who featured the character in 12 novels after "Casino Royale" and film adaptations, as Britannica also noted.

Some actors known for playing the role of Bond include Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. 

For more information on how to bid for the Bond memorabilia, visit Ewbank’s Auctions.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ewbank's for further comment.

(FOX)

Search News Media News

Content News Media

Ways to find unique content ideas from real-life insights

Find out how to create content that sets you apart from the competition using untapped sources. Here are four areas to explore.

Marketers often work at a distance from frontline operations.

We may not directly build the product, deal with angry customer phone calls, or be out in the field selling.

We might even be at an agency, an additional level removed from the shop floor or direct interactions with the target customer. 

How, then, can you:

Know what to write about?

Insert meaningful insights into your landing pages or ad creative?

Effectively persuade your target audience that you are the clear choice over your competitors? 

Digging new wells to find new content

One of the best writing tips I’ve ever received is to “dig new wells.” That is, to get content no one else is writing, you need to establish different sources. 

Too often, content writing for the web starts with the search results. While it makes sense to look at what’s ranking for your target keywords, it should not be your only source of information. 

The rise of 10x content and the Skyscraper Technique led some content writers to rely on rewording and combining top pages into a long, SEO-focused page. But it’s not getting outside sources of information. 

For me, the best type of content for the web comes from outside the web. Pulling content ideas, inspiration, and even language from real-life sources can help your content stand out, resonate with your target audience, and even alleviate any concerns they have. 

Plus, combining outside-sourced content with an SEO’s skills in finding keywords, structuring content, and generating links can form a powerful piece of content that performs nicely. 

Here are a few ways to dig new wells to find new content. 

1. Source content from employees

The single greatest source of content is from front-line employees. Depending on your business, you might have: 

Salespeople

Salespeople earn their living by earning trust, highlighting benefits, and alleviating fears of potential customers or clients.

Any successful salesperson has already worked out a script based on common pain points and exactly what message can help convince people to buy.

Customer service representatives (CSRs)

As frontline workers who come in contact the most with existing customers, they know the most common questions and objections people have.

If a CSR gets asked the same question regularly (say once per week or greater), the answer to that question should become content on your site. 

Those doing the work

Another great source of content is from those doing the actual work. Visit the factory floor, buy coffee for the production team, or go for a ride along with the installation team.

By spending time with those who actually make your products or carry out your services, you will get a newfound understanding and appreciation for what they do.

Plus, they should be able to provide great insights into how you are different than your competitors – whether it is better materials, unique processes, or attention to detail. 

Example of sourcing content from employees

I had a client in the agriculture industry who wanted to grow by getting their brand in front of more farmers. My main contact was a salesperson working in the field six days a week, traveling from farm to farm.

In some ways, he functioned more as a consultant, helping generate ideas and sharing best practices from others to help each farmer expand their operation. 

He would be the first to tell you he was not a great choice for writing new content for their website. Here’s what worked for us: I would get him on the phone while driving between farms, and he would rant.

For half an hour, he would brain-dump his thoughts on a certain product or service his company was offering. I was simply there to transcribe and ask follow-up questions. 

When it was time to write the website content, I found that the salesperson’s rants would form 80% of the page. I was merely there to edit and shape it into a logical flow and ensure it was optimized for search and conversions. 

2. Source content from current customers

Another well of great content ideas is from your current customers or clients. They are your best source for entering the buyer’s mind and decision-making process. 

If possible, make it a habit to regularly interview some of your current customers. Ask them questions about: 

Their pain points. 

How they researched options.

What mattered and didn’t matter to them as they made a decision.

You can sometimes use these stories as the basis for case studies or featured project pages for your site. At the very least, you will uncover phrases, words and concepts that can become integral parts of your website content and marketing efforts. 

Example of sourcing content from current customers

A few years back, I was working on a branding campaign for a furniture company. Their core business was selling through furniture stores; they saw an opportunity to increase sales by working with high-end interior designers. 

As we worked on drafting content for their website and marketing material, our team booked calls with a handful of interior designers with whom they currently worked. 

These phone calls were a wealth of information and insights into these interior designers’ pain points, goals and dreams. 

Some insights they provided were completely unknown to the furniture company. What we learned from these calls proved invaluable in shaping the website content. 

3. Source content from past customers

Past customer reviews are among the easiest yet impactful wells to pull content ideas and language.

Whether past customers have left reviews on your Google Business Profile, Amazon, a third-party review site, or your own internal system, these are great sources of info about how the market views your product or service. 

Customer reviews are great because they provide a glimpse into your customer's thinking at scale – no need to interview them. Online reviews also collect the right language, pain points, and angles you may not have noticed. 

Whenever I take on a new local SEO client, I make it a point to read every review on their Google Business Profile. I like looking for trends and themes across the reviews and see anecdotally what really matters to customers. 

Google does pull out themes by seeing the top 10 topics or phrases mentioned in reviews.

You can take your reviews and put them in a sentiment analysis tool to see topics, trends, and talk points that you can share with your CSR or use in your marketing, advertising and website efforts. 

Example of sourcing content from past customers

One time, I was reading reviews for a new client in the home service industry.

A few reviews told a similar story: each mentioned the same salesperson by name and how professional and informational the salesperson was – especially compared to other companies. And each said a surprising detail: the salesperson gave a gift of local jam. 

One specific salesperson was doing this to make connections with his prospects, but it was leaving such an impact on customers that they mentioned it in their reviews.

When our client found out about this, they made it a standard across all sales staff, and we mentioned it as part of the online appointment scheduler. 

4. Source content from competitors 

A surprising source of content ideas can come from your competitors.

As we saw above, if online reviews for your own products or services can provide helpful insights for your marketing efforts,  what can you learn from reading the reviews of your competitors? A lot!

Find a few of your competitors and read every review of theirs that is three stars or lower. Bad or mixed reviews can provide a gold mine of information about what people don't like about your competitors.

These points can be used in your marketing efforts, as they are pain points your target audience has, and your competitors are not meeting. 

Example of sourcing content from competitors

While conducting competitive research for an outdoor structure company, I noticed their main competitors had a fair amount of indifferent reviews. As I read these reviews, I noticed themes. Most reviews mentioned:

A lack of communication. 

Misunderstandings about the delivery and installation process. 

I took this to the client, and we discussed how we could make their service better. The client worked on strengthening their already solid customer communication system. 

On the website, we invested in content to fully explain how they deliver and install their structures, answering every single question their CSR is regularly asked. 

Finally, we created a comprehensive guide on the entire sales process, from initial order through installation. We used this as a target for a remarketing campaign to help reengage with potential customers. 

Dig deeper: Competitor content analysis: Here’s what you can learn

Start creating new content today

To create content that no one is creating, you need to get different sources no one else can get.

Interview your employees and current customers. Summarize feedback from past customers and those disappointed with your competitors.

Gain valuable insights to tell your unique story and stand out.

Publishing and Broadcasting Guide to Media Man

X 

@X

 (formally Twitter): Up to date news and commentary with buzz. Often trends.

Blogger: Blogs about a wide array of subjects, campaigns

YouTube: Videos and YouTube Shorts. Mainly pop culture and select and niche news

Websites: Media Man Int and Media Man (Australia) 

@mediamanoz

  Website network established for over two decades. News, pop culture, sports, feature articles, evergreen content, SEO, SEM, mainstream, niche, interviews, multimedia, showcase campaigns, newsfeeds and much more! 

LinkedIn: Primary business commentary and analysis. The business of SEO, Digital Business, Combat Sports, Extreme Sports and spread of topical news media.

Numerous websites and channels help spread the risk as well as cast the net far and wide.

Media Man Blog

Publishing and Broadcasting Guide to Media Man

X (formally Twitter): Up to date news and commentary with buzz. Often trends.

Blogger: Blogs about a wide array of subjects, campaigns

YouTube: Videos and YouTube Shorts. Mainly pop culture and select and niche news

Websites: Media Man Int and Media Man (Australia) 

 Website network established for over two decades. News, pop culture, sports, feature articles, evergreen content, SEO, SEM, mainstream, niche, interviews, multimedia, showcase campaigns, newsfeeds and much more! 

LinkedIn: Primary business commentary and analysis. The business of SEO, Digital Business, Combat Sports, Extreme Sports and spread of topical news media.

Numerous websites and channels help spread the risk as well as cast the net far and wide.

Pro Wrestling 

WWE NXT @WWENXT Halloween Havoc 2023. Week Two

WWE YouTube: highlights

New Years Day brings the fire for Halloween Havoc: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BlpnWCV32c&ab_channel=WWE

What’s next for Lexis King?: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjIoqOFhnlE&ab_channel=WWE

Mr. Stone vs. Bron Breakker: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZidVbWK2w-c&ab_channel=WWE

Von Wagner attacks Bron Breakker at Halloween Havoc: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtsBDSAkq4g&ab_channel=WWE

Vice wins the 2023 NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03HjuRWhYb0&ab_channel=WWE

Tiffany Stratton ambushes Fallon Henley: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqMFbY-EKf0&ab_channel=WWE

Mysterio vs. Frazer - NXT North American Title Match: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aF6eHa-hOw&ab_channel=WWE

Creed Brothers vs. Carrillo & Garza - TLS Match: NXT Halloween Havoc highlights, Oct. 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkjjBOBkdFg&ab_channel=WWE

and more via WWE Official YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/WWE

NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph @VicJosephWWE and Booker T @BookerT5x

Image credit: WWE NXT

Media Man: Says solid thumbs up

#HalloweenHavoc #WWENXT #NXTHalloweenHavoc #NXTNorthAmerican #NXTTitle #wrestling #prowrestling #TeamLola #LexisKing #TeamKing #King #LooseCannon #PillmanLives #MyLife #MyWay #KingKult #KingCult #Candy #CreedBros #BronBreakker #entertainment #popculture #USANetwork #showbiz #broadcast #broadcasting #videos #TrickOrTreat #legends #thumpsup #trends #trending #TV #buzz #media

Wrestling News

Per Andrew Zarian via Wrestling Observer Live, AEW will calling the MAX (fka HBO Max) its digital home commencing in 2024. 

Mr Zarian reports that there is a possibility that a December 2023 pay-per-view could potentially be the first event AEW broadcasts on MAX however that has yet to be confirmed. He also notes that he is uncertain about a price-point, but that AEW is is joining MAX “for sure.”

This was somewhat expected as Warner Bros. Discovery has constantly plugged the success of AEW, most recently with their ratings success from last week’s AEW Grand Slam programming.

MAX recently announced a live-sports addition to its app. While AEW was not mentioned as an option, the up-charge in price will most likely cover AEW whenever it does join MAX. This means that AEW’s pay-per-views, Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision replays, as well as a full library of former content, including ROH, will most likely be available to stream.

Neither AEW nor Warner Bros. Discovery have made any official announcements as of time of publication.

AEW top brass has already Tweeted via X that he will be   making an official annoucement. See below:

Tony Khan

Tomorrow, November 1

@TBSNetwork , 

8pm ET/7pm CT Wednesday Night #AEWDynamiteI Have An Important Announcement  For many (of us), tomorrow is the start of the holiday season! I'll have an important announcement for AEW fans worldwide TOMORROW November 1 on Wednesday Night Dynamite

Image credit: AEW

#wrestlingnews #wrestling #prowrestling #AEW #AEWDynamite #MAX #HBOMax #TonyKhan #WB #WBD #ROH #quote #wrestlingpromoter #broadcast #broadcasting #combatsports #entertainment #popculture #sportsbusiness #showbiz #ratings #streaming #TV #PPV #PayPerView #disrupt #disruptor #trends #trending #buzz #hype #X #media

Combat Sports Connection

MMA/Boxing cross-over start Francis "The Predator" Ngannou advised he’d “like to know” UFC prez Dana White’s thoughts after his boxing match with Tyson "Gypsy King" Fury.

Words, Satire, Imagination and Videos To Hold Off Fans Till The Next Superfight (or insert your own term and promo)!

Earlier this year, the UFC announced that Ngannou would be "released" from his deal, as the two sides did not see eye-to-eye. 

Ngannou’s contract negotiations were not smooth or seamless and he and White were not getting progressing well, nor were they on the same page, seeing the same $ values etc etc. Eventually "The Predator" became what is known as a free agent.

Ngannou signed up with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) for his mixed martil arts dealings.

The living legend also secured a boxing match against Tyson Fury in a bout he was a significant underdog in. In the lead-up, White also claimed it was "gimmicky" and other less than stellar terminology.

Ngannou knocked down (not knocked out) Fury in the 3rd and lost by split decision, in a fight many experts, media figures and fans thought he won.

FN is curious as to White has to say about him and the bout now.

“Who cares, Dana White feels what Dana White feels. I feel what I feel (and) personally I feel great. You have to send him an invite so you can ask him, I’d like to know, too… You have to understand Dana has power over a lot of fighters,” Ngannou said via The MMA Hour. “A lot of them are just there to please the boss, a lot of them don’t have their own personality, their own identity so they just want to fit in on something and you can’t blame them. It takes a lost, it costs a lot to stand up and say what you think. Some people don’t just have it, and some people make themselves a puppet. It’s okay, but I can’t be anybody’s puppet. I’m too big for that. I’m too proud for that.”

As of time of publication UFC CEO Dana White still has yet to make a statement to the best of our knowledge on "The Predator vs "The Gypsy King.

It's tipped that White may comment on the high profile boxing match at one of the press conferences associated with UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena!

Sounds like another perfect story brewing.

All is fair in love and war (and pro boxing and pro wrestling)? You be the (special) judge. Easy tiger with those scorecards. Compubox got it right yeah? (as per LA Knight hot wrestling promo portfolio) - What the world is watching (as per WWE tag-line that went huge circa 1987).

That's Boxing and That's Showbiz. The show must go on! The Man In The Arena...

Still keen on the boxing and wrestling connection? Check out WWE Crown Jewel on the 4th November and be watching out for the Roman Reigns Superman Punch! Can't wait till then? Later this week WWE SmackDown is offering up a weigh-in between Logan Paul and Rey Mysterio. Don't suppose there will be any drama on the pound for pound formalities! We hope Jake Paul will be in Saudi to witness history as his bro is the hot fav to secure some gold - the WWE U.S Title. Just maybe pro wrestling is more "honest' than pro boxing these days?  Does the UFC's Dana White still have plans to start a boxing league after the mixed headlines for Fury - Predator? White has guts and balls, but also smart. Maybe let it cool down a little hey?

Some videos to help keep you pumped and entertained until then, and nor charge for these teasers customers and punters:

Mojahed Fudailat Official YouTube Channel

Ngannou wants rematch vs Tyson Fury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llbeMBHzTos&ab_channel=MojahedFudailat

WWE Official YouTube

Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage - WWE Championship Match: Main Event, February 23, 1990

*James "Buster"Douglas special ref

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQmuC0AsEhA&ab_channel=WWE

WWE Official YouTube

Mr. T vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper: WrestleMania 2 - Boxing Match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQmuC0AsEhA&ab_channel=WWE

WWE Official YouTube

Roddy Piper vs. "Cowboy" Bob Orton: Saturday Night's Main Event, November 29, 1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFzWdd9t__c&ab_channel=WWE

WWE Official YouTube

Muhammad Ali makes his presence felt at Whttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_--4_zeUBQY&ab_channel=WWErestleMania I

WWE Official YouTube

Muhammad Ali takes a ride courtesy of Gorilla Monsoon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YalhAclq9y4&ab_channel=WWE

Michael Bisping Official YouTube

BISPING: Did Francis Ngannou EXPOSE BOXING and EMBARRASS Tyson Fury?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_6k1YqdVM&ab_channel=MichaelBisping

WWE YouTube

Bob Orton Jr. has something to prove to his father Bob Orton Sr.: CWF, April 20, 1976 (WWE Network)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-51okTmrPp8&ab_channel=WWE

Chael Sonnen Official YouTube

Francis Ngannou proved Boxing's NOT a real sport...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rVVFCRcVjg&t=2s&ab_channel=ChaelSonnen

MTV Vault Official YouTube

Chris Rock vs. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson' Official Clip | Celebrity Deathmatch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX7gUfbIeRM&ab_channel=MTVVault

Media Man Int YouTube

Social Media Wars Musk vs Zuck The Fight Of The Century. (For educational purposes).

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wsqgUskzp4w

Media Man Int YouTube

Interview UFC Sydney Media Media Man Australia Foxtel permission By Greg Tingle (Media Man Int).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6eEW9ijBsM&ab_channel=mediamanint

Media Man Int YouTube

Father Dave Smith vs Robert Elmasri. Boxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2RZYb366Y&t=23s&ab_channel=mediamanint

Media Man Int YouTube

The Man In The Arena

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9einY_2zoxs

MMA. McGregor. Training. (For educational purposes).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlY7StpDxo&ab_channel=mediamanint

#combatsports #boxing #boxingnews #TysonFury #FuryNgannou #FrancisNgannou #crossover #TopRankBoxing #FrankWarren #PFL #PPV #PayPerView #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #sportsnews #MMA #mmanews #fighting #fightnews #sportspromoters #sportsmarketing #dreammatch #dreammatches #crossover #underdog #boxervsmma #boxervswrestler #gonzo #gonzojournalism #satire #entertainment #entertainmentnews #sportsmedia #sportsart #theartofwar #videos #trends #trending #buzz #hype #win #winwin #AI #media #mediaman 

Pro Wrestling AEW

Mohegan Sun Arena

Saturday, October 28th 2023

This Saturday night, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, All Elite Wrestling presents the biggest edition of COLLISION thus far as AEW World Champion MJF puts his title on the line against former champion Kenny Omega in their very first meeting inside the squared circle! But it's more than just the championship at stake, with 343 days as champion to his reign, MJF is just four days away from breaking Omega's 346 day record as longest reigning champion of all-time. This is history in the making, but it's not all that's going down on Saturday night! Abadon will challenge Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women's World Championship, Jay White will take on AR Fox, and The House of Black are back in action after all the damage they caused a week ago!

COLLISION is coming to you this Saturday night on TNT, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, so before the night begins swing over to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

343 days; for 343 days Maxwell Jacob Friedman has reigned over All Elite Wrestling as the World Champion, just three weeks shy of completing a full year as the top guy in the company, and three days away from breaking the current record of 346 days held by Kenny Omega. That record, and MJF's egotistical need to be viewed as the greatest champion of all-time, is why these men are heading for a collision on COLLISION this Saturday night!

It wasn't Kenny Omega who came seeking Maxwell Jacob Friedman, it wasn't Kenny who first broached the subject when they two men hadn't so much as shared the same room over the past four years much less the same ring, it was MJF who sought out Kenny. It was MJF who whispered “13 days” into Kenny's ear, as if to rub it in Omega's face that he was going to break the record, and perhaps even thinking Kenny would do nothing about it.

If that was MJF's thought, well he was dead wrong, because Omega stepped onto the stage following MJF's fight with Juice Robinson this past Wednesday, and laid the challenge on the table. Would MJF be the kind of champion who would risk it all, knowing he's got a title fight with Jay White already lined up at FULL GEAR 2023, and give Omega an opportunity to defend his streak? MJF may be a scumbag, but he's also got an ego that would not allow the moment to pass him by, that wouldn't let the opportunity to cement himself as the greatest AEW World Champion just slip away. If Max hadn't accepted the challenge, when Wednesday morning came and he woke up as the longest reigning AEW World Champion in history, he would know there's an asterisk because he didn't fight Kenny Omega. 

Once MJF made the choice to whisper into Kenny Omega's ear, he made the choice to take on a fight with Kenny Omega, and risk seeing his title reign end before the 346-day streak was broken. In confronting Kenny, MJF added yet another target on his back, joining those already placed there by Jay White, The Gunns, Juice Robinson, Samoa Joe, and Wardlow. The World Champion is always the most wanted man in any sport, but MJF may have more on this plate than he can possibly eat, and that was before “The Cleaner” was heaped on there as well.

This is the biggest match in COLLISION's short history, one of the biggest in All Elite Wrestling history, and it is happening on TNT this Saturday night! For the very first time, Kenny Omega and MJF, the AEW World Championship on the line, Omega's 346-day record at stake, and it's going down at the Mohegan Sun! History will be made if MJF survives this title fight, with but one World Championship record let to chase, that being the nine successful title defenses Jon Moxley accomplished during his first reign. An Omega victory would make eight for MJF, but regardless of who walks out of Connecticut as AEW World Champion, “Switchblade” Jay White will be waiting at the KIA Forum come FULL GEAR 2023! 

AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...

Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Abadon

This past Friday night on RAMPAGE Abadon made her return to AEW competition for the first time since June 14th, and did so against some pretty stiff competition with seriously high stakes. Abadon, Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, and Anna Jay went to battle with a shot at Hikaru Shida on the line, and when the final bell rang, it was Abadon who scored the victory! Luckily for both women, they don't have to wait long for the championship fight because it is going down this Saturday night live on COLLISION!

This won't be the first dance for Abadon and Shida, as a matter of fact their very first battle on the March 10, 2020 edition of AEW DARK was also Abadon's first match in All Elite Wrestling. Unfortunately for her, Abadon's first match also took place just days before the world shut down, and it would be several months before “The Living Dead Girl” returned to the AEW stage. When she did, Abadon would win six straight matches, positioning herself for a championship opportunity, and thus a rematch with Hikaru Shida with much greater stakes than their first encounter.

Abadon was unsuccessful in this second attempt at conquering Shida, and at claiming her first AEW championship, but it clearly served as a motivational tool because the woman would rack up 18 consecutive victories en route to facing Dr. Britt Baker in a bloody Trick or Treat match. Though Baker was the champion at the time, the title was not on the line, but given how hard the two women fought, one would never have known.

That fight with Baker was the last time Abadon competed on AEW TV before this past Friday, her fights largely taking place on DARK or DARK: ELEVATION, but now she is back in the mix, healed up and hungry, with the opportunity to be champion once more at her feet. It just feels appropriate that it is once again Hikaru Shida who will stand across the ring from Abadon this Saturday given their connection, and the fact that she is the only woman in AEW to hold two victories over Abadon.

Will this night be different than their previous encounters? Can Abadon take everything she's learned since their last encounter in January of 2021 and put it together to end the 3rd championship reign of Hikaru Shida? The pressure is on Abadon in this Fright Night Fight, will she unleash the monster on Shida?

ONE-ON-ONE...

AR Fox vs. “Switchblade” Jay White

After the night the Bang Bang Gang had on Wednesday, with Juice being beaten but The Gunns getting their ROH World Tag Team Championship match at FULL GEAR 2023, it's time for Jay White to step into the ring and fight on Saturday night! His opponent on this explosive edition of COLLISION will be a man in need of finding himself once again, someone who has been out of action since early September, the high-flying AR Fox!

Fox was last seen on the receiving end of a Jon Moxley beating on the September 6th edition of DYNAMITE, his first match after being excommunicated from The Mogul Embassy, and an opportunity to right his ship by winning the International Championship. Unfortunately Fox did not claim the title, leaving him without a championship, and with a great deal of doubt hanging over his head. Darby Allin seemed willing to forgive Fox's transgressions, Nick Wayne less so, and perhaps that feeds into why Nick chose TNT Champion Christian Cage over his relationship with Darby.

Now that he's back in action, it's time for AR Fox to prove he deserves that forgiveness from Darby, and that he's willing to do the work rather than take another Mogul Embassy type shortcut. Taking on the next challenger to the AEW World Champion is a tremendous way to begin that quest, and a victory over “King Switch” would be a huge boon to Fox's career moving forward. 

Jay White will obviously have one eye on the Omega/MJF match as it shapes White's FULL GEAR 2023 future; will that distraction give Fox the opening he needs to score the upset victory?

THE HOUSE OF BLACK IN ACTION!

A week ago The House of Black returned to AEW in full force, laying waste to Bryan Danielson after his fight with Andrade El Idolo, taking out FTR before they could even finish their tag team fight, and coming after the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club following their championship loss to Big Bill and Ricky Starks. The chaos that resulted brought Jon Moxley back to the fight for the first time since his AEW International Championship loss to Rey Fenix, and left Ricky Starks laid out by the combined efforts of FTR and BCC.

This Saturday on COLLISION, The House of Black will be back in trios action, but no doubt the men they assaulted a week ago will have a close eye on the situation, and have to have some form of retribution in mind! 

This Saturday night AEW returns to the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT for the biggest episode of COLLISION to date with Kenny Omega challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship, Shida defending her AEW Women's World Championship against Abadon, Jay White in action against AR Fox, The House of Black, and more! Prior to the night getting started, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

(Credit: AEW)

WWE Crown Jewel

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns to battle LA Knight

Don’t miss WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, streaming LIVE from in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark vs. Raquel Rodriguez (Fatal 5-Way) 

United States Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul

Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest

John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa

WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair

Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh (Kickoff Match)

10.19.2023

UFC AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE AND TOURISM – ABU DHABI EXTEND PARTNERSHIP TO 2028

UAE Capital to Continue to Host UFC Championship Events with Additional Fight Night Events to Take Place within the MENA Region

Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 19, 2023 – UFC®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), today announced the continuation of their existing partnership which sees the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation bring one numbered event featuring a championship bout to the Emirate every year. The new partnership will also expand to include additional Fight Night events, which will take place across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.  

UFC has a longstanding relationship with Abu Dhabi, with 18 events having been held in the region since 2010. The two sides entered a formal partnership in 2019, and since then, some of the biggest names in combat sports have competed in the UAE capital, including former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defended his title multiple times in Abu Dhabi, along with former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor, former middleweight champion and No.1 contender Israel Adesanya, and many others.  Over the term of the original deal, nine title fights have taken place showcasing top-tier global talent, entertaining viewers all over the world and growing the sport of MMA across the MENA region.

“Bringing UFC to Abu Dhabi each year has proved hugely popular, with MMA fans coming to the emirate from all over the world to watch the biggest and best fights in the sport,” said HE Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi. “Over a 15-year relationship, UFC has extended its global reach and Abu Dhabi has established itself as a world capital for combat sports. Renewing our partnership with UFC allows us to continue to stage major events that thrill visitors and residents. We are excited to extend the relationship and innovate together to grow this sport in the UAE and wider region.”    

UFC CEO Dana White commented: “Abu Dhabi is one of my favourite places in the world; the people, the restaurants, the hotels, it’s incredible. I have been so excited to be able to put on some of the biggest fights in the history of UFC in Abu Dhabi and it’s only going to get even bigger from here with additional Fight Nights coming to the region next year. I love it here.”

Since 2010, UFC events have brought thousands of fight fans to Abu Dhabi and showcased UFC and the emirate to a global TV audience within UFC’s broadcast footprint of more than 900 million homes across more than 170 countries.

That partnership was deepened further as Abu Dhabi hosted three separate series of Fight Island events during the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when sport around the world was shutting down, Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island was transformed to create a safe and secure location for international athletes to compete. The events became a global sporting phenomena and example to other sporting organisations and host cities around the world.

The announcement comes ahead of the sold-out UFC 294: MAKHACHEV VS VOLKANOVSKI 2 set to take place on Saturday, October 21, at the state-of-the-art Etihad Arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. Last year, a sold-out crowd witnessed Islam Makhachev become the lightweight champion when he defeated Charles Oliveira via second round stoppage at UFC 280®. In the co-main event, fan favourite and UAE resident Khamzat Chimaev will make his middleweight debut as he faces his toughest test to date in Kamaru Usman in a bout that is guaranteed to deliver fireworks inside the Octagon.

In addition to the championship event, fans have been enjoying a week-long celebration of MMA as Abu Dhabi Showdown Week returned bigger than ever this year to take over the city, including UFC Fan Experiences, concerts, comedy shows, and much more.

Abu Dhabi has a proven track record of hosting major global sports and adrenaline-driven competitions and events. The destination provides seamless connectivity, world-leading infrastructure, and a wide range of attractions and activities which cater to visitors of all tastes. The emirate’s transformation into a global centre for sport is fully supported by Abu Dhabi Government entities in cooperation with private sector partners.

About UFC®

UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

About the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi:

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) drives the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors, fuels economic progress and helps achieve Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions. By working in partnership with the organisations that define the Emirate’s position as a leading international destination, DCT Abu Dhabi strives to unite the ecosystem around a shared vision of the Emirate’s potential, coordinate effort and investment, deliver innovative solutions, and use the best tools, policies and systems to support the culture and tourism industries.

DCT Abu Dhabi’s vision is defined by the Emirate’s people, heritage and landscape. We work to enhance Abu Dhabi’s status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives and creative thought.

For more information about DCT Abu Dhabi and the destination, please visit tcaabudhabi.ae and visitabudhabi.ae For Abu Dhabi Calendar, please visit inabudhabi.ae

10.11.2023

Riyadh Season Announces Spectacular UFC Fight Night

Saudi Arabia, October 11, 2023 – As part of its thrilling activities, Riyadh Season will host a UFC Fight Night in collaboration with UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization on Saturday, March 2, 2024.

The event will feature a variety of UFC’s most successful and internationally known fighters. UFC CEO Dana White will announce participating athletes in coming months.

The agreement for this event will be signed in the presence of His Excellency Advisor Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

Riyadh Season’s fourth edition will kick off at the end of October, attracting visitors from around the world to Saudi Arabia’s capital during the winter months. The Season offers a multitude of concerts, exhibitions, dining experiences, and unique entertainment events, with the participation of renowned celebrities and leading brands.

About Riyadh Season

Saudi Arabia’s capital embraces one of the world’s biggest entertainment event every year during winter.

Since the launch of the Riyadh Season in 2019, the festival has welcomed visitors from all over the world to experience thousands of concerts, sporting events, dining experiences and other unique cultural events. In 2023, Riyadh Season will commence on Saturday, 28 October with a spectacular opening ceremony and an historic boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.

About UFC®

UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more

than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

How UFC's greed lost both Francis Ngannou and their crown as undisputed kingmaker

The ghost of Mayweather-McGregor led to a big miscalculation.

How much money did UFC leave on the table by letting Francis Ngannou walk away?

The UFC has trained a generation of fight fans to obsess over TV ratings, arena gates, and PPV buys. It will be an overarching theme for UFC 295 at MSG and a continuation of one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in the history of sport to convince customers that the better business is for their (arguable) monopoly, the more validated you should feel as a UFC superfan.

Zuffa has created a self-fulfilling psychological loop of confirmation bias. Only they could provide fans with the best matches because of centralized economic control. Without it, MMA wouldn’t exist as a sport and would never, ever become a major player. Their version of greed was altruistic in stopping boxing’s version of greed.

Now the chickens have come home to roost. The fever has been broken. UFC’s psychological control is facing its most serious challenge yet.

The main story heading into Battle of the Baddest was all about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia financing the world’s richest combat sports party. They built an arena supposedly in 60 days (wonder how that happened), bought a ton of media and celebrities to attend the event, and wanted to demonstrate not only their seriousness as a sports promoter but also as a global power that can provide safety and security with turmoil just hundreds of miles away from their borders.

The Saudis ended up buying a near-replay of 1990’s Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas classic upset at the Tokyo Dome. Playing the role of Evander Holyfield sitting at ringside was Oleksandr Usyk, whose bugged-eyed shock at Ngannou’s third round knock down of Fury captured the world’s emotions in a single scene. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The biggest heavyweight prize fight in modern history between Usyk and Fury was moments away from being flushed down the toilet.

Saturday’s fight in Riyadh between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury not only changed the trajectory of the boxing business but also changed the fortunes of the Mixed Martial Arts business, too.

A crisis of confidence for both UFC and the boxing world

Tyson Fury walked in as a 20-to-1 favorite to beat Francis Ngannou. It’s not quite the absurd 42-to-1 underdog story that Buster Douglas was against Mike Tyson, but it’s as close as we’re going to see for such a large underdog status in a modern major prize fight. Buster Douglas was a trained boxing professional. Francis Ngannou was making his boxing debut.

Ngannou drew first blood. Then came the knockdown and special dance that caused an industry earthquake. Fury was able to escape with a win but the damage was already done.

A man who was dirt poor for his entire life changed the fortunes of some of the most powerful people in fight sport. Mr. Ngannou validated both himself and KSA’s investment in him.

And everyone was left scrambling.

‘The boxing world’s gone mad!’

The boxing world is completely changed from what it was just 30 days ago. Showtime is out. Al Haymon is looking for a new home for PBC. Now there are serious questions about the credibility of the Heavyweight division.

What’s the most marketable fight now? Who is legitimate and who is a fraud?

There have been several boxing fights that have drawn magnificent gates in 2023. However, the allure and influence of a heavyweight prize fight cannot be understated.

A powerful 1-2 combination KO has completely altered the landscape of boxing economics. Tailor made for gloomy online fight fans, who will play conqueror one minute and martyr the next.

The boxing heavyweight champion looked horrible against the lineal MMA (and former UFC) heavyweight champion. He can’t travel to America because of sanctions against Daniel Kinahan. Tyson Fury’s inability to fight in America opened the door wide open for Saudi Arabia to promote his fights, some of the biggest in the sport.

Now juxtapose the reaction from the fans, boxers, and press to the muted response from Team UFC. Hunter Campbell and Dana White drew a line in the sand with Francis Ngannou. They could have had a piece of the action in either MMA or boxing with their best heavyweight. Instead, we got this gem from Dana White:

"Francis just thinks that he's in a position where he's got some Conor McGregor-Mayweather fight on his hands which he does not. Anthony Joshua called it a gimmick fight this week. You know? When asked about that fight, he's like 'I'm focused on fighting the best guys in the world. I'm not interested in a gimmick fight' and that's one of the big problems with boxing right now is it's all about these gimmicky type fights and that's just not what I do here. It's not what I do."

The man marketing Power Slap has spent a lifetime issuing a sales pitch that he is the only one giving you the fights that you want to see, unlike those other scumbag evil promoters. He’s on your side.

Look at Dana now. He didn’t want to pay the money it required to make the Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones fight happen. He relied upon the media parroting a talking point that UFC offered Mr. Ngannou “the richest heavyweight contract ever”.

Was it a case of déjà vu all over again for Dana? Did he see Ngannou as Randy Couture 2.0? That’s how Mr. Ngannou categorized contract negotiations. The old UFC playbook dictated that every time a fighter demanded independence, they would return to UFC on Zuffa’s favorable terms. UFC could always rely upon no one else paying what they would pay. 2023 is a different landscape. Your business frenemies are no longer individuals, they are world governments. With one big paycheck, Saudi Arabia entered the sports conversation and became the wildcard at the negotiating table.

Ari Emanuel knows this well because he has been busy converting UFC into a government contractor. Endeavor and Silver Lake are the ultimate mercenaries. If anyone understands the leverage of KSA, it’s Ari. Last Friday, Phil Mickelson went on Twitter and posted Exhibit A on Ari’s ability to play — with or against — KSA.

According to the legendary golfer, Endeavor and Silver Lake knew about KSA’s interest in starting LIV Golf and had offered the PGA a deal to run eight “elevated” tournaments with players getting 50% and Silver Lake getting 50%. Ari was supposedly using Saudi interest as leverage to score a big deal while framing it as a bridge to prevent player defections. Mickelson claimed the PGA said no on three occasions, never imagining that players would make the jump to Team KSA. Oops.

Kind of sounds like what Francis Ngannou did. How did Endeavor not see it coming?

Is Dana White capable of navigating this kind of political shop in 2023? As we recently saw in his Bud Light interview with Sean Hannity, his old playbook is toast. If Ari can sideline Vince McMahon from WWE creative, he can sideline Dana as well.

Ari Emanuel’s key decision on Conor McGregor & Floyd Mayweather

In 2015, it was impossible not to read an article or see an ESPN segment crowning the rise of Mixed Martial Arts and the downfall of boxing. It was insufferable to read thousands of “boxing is dead” thought pieces. It got so out of hand that Larry Merchant sent a hand-written letter to The Los Angeles Times.

“Last week you ran an opinion piece declaring that boxing is dead. Then last weekend you gave excellent coverage to its funeral, Canelo Alvarez burying Liam Smith before nearly 52,000 mourners at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas (and tens of millions more world-wide on television and the internet). May boxing rest in peace."

Or, as he more succinctly put it, “Nothing will kill boxing, and nothing will save it.”

As accurate as Mr. Merchant was, the “boxing is dead” narrative was a critical storyline adroitly exploited by two individuals: Dana White and Al Haymon.

Dana White had convinced the general public that UFC was rising as the king of combat sports and that part of the success was their stringent control of purses.

Al Haymon built his Premier Boxing Champions empire under the premise that they would be on as many TV outlets, offering the biggest fights under one promotional banner. Through an endless hedge fund bankroll, they were going to force the hand of rival promoters to work with Haymon-aligned fighters to jack up the purse bids.

The yin and the yang of combat sports. It’s funny how Mr. White and Mr. Haymon always complemented each other. They served each other’s needs.

By 2016, Conor McGregor’s star had never been brighter. His fight with Nick Diaz sold 1.65 million PPV buys. He was the face of UFC.

Enter Ari Emanuel. His purchase of UFC from Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta for $4 billion dollars shocked the world. Dana White promised bigger and better things for the fighters and for UFC’s brand.

Conor McGregor wanted a bigger piece of the pie. Under Zuffa’s old ownership, no UFC fighter would ever box outside of the company. With the Fertittas gone, conditions changed. Conor had real leverage and threatened to sit out 2017.

Dana White proffered a purse bid of $50 million. Whatever the final number was between Conor and Endeavor to reach an agreement to negotiate with TMT, Stephen Espinoza (Showtime), and Leonard Ellerbe, the match with Mayweather sold 4.4 million PPV buys.

Conor McGregor made more money in his Mayweather exhibition fight than all of his UFC bouts combined. It changed the financial landscape for future MMA fighters, who viewed UFC as a spot to build their brand and eventually land a “boxing pay day.”

It makes sense if you view UFC’s restrictive contracts and arbitration clauses as more of a business model resembling a talent agency than a fight promotion.

Instead of UFC taking advantage of their dominance in the combat sports landscape by paying fighters higher purses, they opted to let McGregor do the exhibition bout with Mayweather. This flashpoint would surface in the Ngannou/UFC contract talks.

Whether the fight was a salary dump, an easy agent’s cut, an attempt to placate their top draw while not changing the underlying business model, or smothering a temper tantrum, the end result is that many UFC fighters started to develop a wandering eye.

What if UFC had paid Conor McGregor more money to stay strictly in MMA? McGregor had already been a two-division champion. He beat Eddie Alvarez. What would the 2017 campaign have looked like in UFC? It’s one of the biggest “what ifs” in modern combat sports history.

McGregor vs. Mayweather was a short-term win for UFC in terms of keeping their top fighter happy but it cemented an image of the “inferior” status of MMA fighters against boxers in the eyes of the general public.

It also cemented the image of UFC half-heartedly letting a fighter find out what they’re worth under quasi-free agency. The eye-opening gap in purses between Mayweather/McGregor versus major UFC main events created some much-needed public scrutiny. If MMA was truly the king of combat sports, why didn’t they pay fighters more money?

All the parties involved in promoting Mayweather-McGregor saw it as an opportunity to maintain the status quo. Dana White and Ari Emanuel wanted to maintain their core UFC profit margins while locking in new media deals.

Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon were busy raising their profile and enticing new talent recruitment into TMT & PBC. They swallowed up most of the top prospects.

Showtime’s plan of dominating a post-HBO boxing world was on a fast track. Showtime was king and Leonard Ellerbe was busy calling DAZN “an app that nobody watches.”

Six years later, Paramount pulled the plug on Showtime Sports. Floyd Mayweather sold an exhibition match to Abu Dhabi, who turned around and cut a deal to air it on DAZN. Mr. Haymon is now facing a much tougher media rights market for PBC.

You would think that these developments would prove to be a source of vindication for the vaunted UFC “business model.” Wall Street values TKO stock at $80-83. They’re signing new state-sponsored contracts left and right. They just signed a $100 million sponsorship deal with Bud Light.

Part of UFC’s business model revolves around a form of restrictive free agency with champion clauses, tolling, and matching offers/windows. When a fighter generally does reach free agency, they’re usually on the downside of their career. It is rare to see a UFC champion in their prime test free agency and find out their true value.

Francis Ngannou had one shot at free agency. He had one chance to cash in big. UFC dared him to leave. Every UFC fighter watched Conor McGregor cash in his leverage and get the big boxing payday.

The company’s greed and rigid ideology led them to make a big miscalculation that no one would even come close to paying what it would take to keep Francis Ngannou to set up the marquee fight with Jon Jones. Penny wise and pound foolish.

Guess who was in attendance in Riyadh to watch Francis Ngannou score the biggest pay day of his fighting career? Conor.

For UFC, it shouldn’t have gotten to this point. They had the money to make the fight everyone wanted to see with Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. They blew it. It didn’t have to be this way.

How will UFC respond to the growing threat of billionaire opposition?

Old-school UFC business ideology would indicate that Dana White will simply wait out Francis Ngannou getting one or two more pay days and hope that he vanishes from the face of the Earth.

Power through this, let things burn out, and hope that he loses in embarrassing fashion so that the candle flame is extinguished.

Current-school UFC business ideology would consider creating an off-ramp to placate fighters while maintaining full portfolio control. One example would be to buy out Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship or Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bare Knuckle promotion.

Acquire a bare-knuckle company and legislatively package it with Power Slap to try to force regulation and legislation through as many state athletic commissions as possible. It would be another cog in the suffocation strategy to offer an extra sold show event in a traveling circus to a state or country near you. UFC could use Mike Perry and Eddie Alvarez as examples of how to score a larger, but controllable purse.

Would such a strategy stop UFC fighters from jumping to Saudi-backed combat sports contests? Perhaps, on the margins.

The new world we face in the post-Ngannou/Fury era requires a different level of thinking. As long as UFC is tying up with government actors to finance A and B-level events, it would make sense to negotiate with ESPN to cut a deal with either Todd DuBoef (Top Rank) or Al Haymon (PBC) to create a boxing silo that allows the prospects of some boxing-style paydays for top UFC fighters while maintaining full control of who fights whom and where.

This would instinctively go against Ari Emanuel’s gut feeling about always being on the right side of the trade. It would incontrovertibly go against UFC orthodoxy of minimizing fighter salaries but they may not have a choice.

Market Distortion vs. Market Control

As billionaires and foreign governments jump into the sports business, the value of doing business is getting severely distorted. However, market distortion does not equal market control. You can accomplish both but all it takes is one rich money mark to create chaos. Think of activist investors in the mold of Nelson Peltz & Carl Icahn.

WWE controls the global professional wrestling market but Tony Khan has created a large market distortion by spending nine-figures in US dollars over the last five years to run All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

UFC controls the global Mixed Martial Arts market but governments like Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have the resources to radically distort fighter salaries with large events.

If Tony Khan is his own bank, the Saudis are a thousand Tony Khans. Regardless of how long they decide to stick around as a dominant player in the combat sports space, their mere existence has already dramatically distorted the market now and after they exit or scale down investment.

The barrier to entry in combat sports is getting more expensive by the day. Revenue streams supporting an entry into wrestling or boxing or Mixed Martial Arts are shrinking. The cable industry is in a stage four collapse. The yakuza in Japan is severely diminished. Streaming is proving to be a terribly volatile business model. What you’re left with is Wall Street, oligarchs, and governments.

There is a bittersweet irony that the biggest threat to UFC’s monopoly in combat sports is Mohammed bin Salman. You couldn’t provide stronger prima facie evidence against UFC’s market control than by pointing out that it took the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to shake things up.

Those Wall Street analyst warnings about KSA investments being a threat to TKO stock? Francis Ngannou is now Exhibit A.

UFC has spent twenty years denying MMA fans some of the biggest interpromotional fights that could have expanded the sport’s popularity. You have to go back to 2003 for Chuck Liddell vs. Rampage Jackson at PRIDE’s Tokyo Dome event.

PRIDE’s biggest aces didn’t get a chance to fight during their prime years in the UFC. When Dana tried to sign Fedor in the later stages of his career, a failure to reach an agreement was blamed on “those crazy Russians.”

UFC remained a closed shop. That strategy obviously worked for Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta in helping them sell UFC for $4 billion dollars. However, the economic conditions have changed for both Endeavor and UFC in 2023. They’re a publicly traded company with debt that needs to be serviced in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment.

Ari Emanuel has always taken pride in being on the right side of every trade. The money, leverage, and energy is flowing towards Francis Ngannou and KSA. The master of the political shop has an important decision to make.

Is he willing to make a deal to generate the biggest payday for his operations or will he stay married to the artificial pay ceiling he put on the the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in 2017?

Francis Ngannou is positioning himself to build generational wealth for both his family and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

UFC still has the opportunity to make a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. For the price of one or two years’ worth of Bud Light sponsorship, Ari Emanuel could pay Francis Ngannou and PFL enough money to co-promote a fight the public wants to see.

That’s a hell of a better way to market the new UFC/Bud Light business partnership than by having Sean Hannity argue that UFC fans should be good Christians and give Bud Light a second chance for redemption.

For the first time in his life, Dana White is now on the sidelines and has limited power in making a monumental fight that could permanently change the course of Mixed Martial Arts. Francis Ngannou may have lost his battle with Tyson Fury on the scorecards, but he won big betting on himself and betting on the future of a sport outside of UFC’s control.

Will he be able to convince the world that Mixed Martial Arts does not automatically equal the UFC?

(Bloddy Elbow)

Michael Bisping covers MMA - Pro Wrestling connection

Media Man:

Michael Bisping, UFC legend, flashback to UFC and pro wrestling connection! What "The Count" is cooking.  Punk - UFC 203. UFC 225.  Ken Shamrock - Pancrase. Sept '93. WWF debut '97. Pride.  Dan Severn - 19 and 7 in MMA. UFC 5 tourney and former NWA belt (from Blue Demon)! UFC 4 - Severn made finals. UFC 5. "Dan Severn didn't give a *hit". "Sauku was determinded to become a pro wrestler". "Pro wrestling is strong he yelled out"... Vs Royce Gracie "cemented legend".. "forced Gracie to quit". UFC HOF 2017. "Number one, you guessed it - Brock Lesnar". "Exactly who you think". - :Few people picked up the fundamentals are quickly as Lesnar did" .."Selling a *hit load of pay-per-views"- Michael Bisping.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns to battle LA Knight

Don’t miss WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, streaming LIVE from in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

Broadcaster gives viewers option to switch off certain ads

Fans of foreign films, obscure Scandinavian crime shows, the hit survival TV series Alone and the Tour de France will soon be able to have a say in what ads they see – or don’t.

In an industry first that pre-empts government intervention into gambling advertising, SBS says it will allow viewers to choose whether or not to view ads related to wagering, alcohol or fast food on its On-Demand TV app.

Media companies usually announce new programs and ad formats at their annual “upfront” presentations to Australia’s big advertisers, and this year, SBS has also announced new advertising restrictions. People can choose to block one of those three categories.

SBS managing director James Taylor said the new feature would start early next year and had been tested internally for the past few months. It has been welcomed by Tabcorp and Endeavour Group – two of the biggest companies in the gambling and alcohol sectors.

“We started with these categories; we think they are logical places to start. It’s great for audiences, for obvious reasons, but it’s great for our commercial partners too. Because it means they’re not paying to reach audiences that have no interest in their product,” Mr Taylor said.

SBS made $173 million from advertising and sponsorships last financial year, up 12.7 per cent on the year before. That adds to the $316 million it received from the federal government. The broadcaster runs five minutes of ads per hour, compared with about 15 minutes for free-to-air broadcasters Seven, Nine and Ten.

Mr Taylor said choosing the wagering, fast food and alcohol sectors was unrelated to the impending government regulations on gambling advertising. Any week now, the government will announce its response to a recent parliamentary inquiry into online gambling harms that has recommended a ban on gambling advertising. That would remove a $300 million-a-year revenue driver for the media.

No change in number of ads

SBS aired the FIFA men’s World Cup in December last year, with Tabcorp and McDonald’s as two of its major sponsors.

Mr Taylor would not say how much these categories contributed to SBS’ revenue, instead noting that viewers would see the same number of ads – just far fewer from the category they choose to limit.

“The decision about which categories to include is not linked to government’s deliberations around what categories they might be imposing further or different regulation,” Mr Taylor said. “This is based on our observations about the categories where audiences will derive a benefit by being able to express a view about what they’d like to see.”

About 2 per cent of complaints SBS received last year related to wagering advertising. “It’s a small but passionate community of people,” Mr Taylor said.

SBS On Demand accounted for 15 per cent of the broadcaster’s total viewing last year – a higher proportion than other free-to-air operators, but the vast majority of its audience watches the live TV channel, where it is not possible to customise the advertising for viewers.

SBS also announced a new series of Alone Australia, which reached a record audience this year.

Joanna Rose, Endeavour Drinks Group’s chief marketing officer, said the company was looking forward to working with SBS on its opt-out feature.

Tabcorp’s marking chief, Vanessa Sanford, said: “This is an innovative initiative that ensures advertising reaches a receptive audience.”

Free-to-air network Nine is owned by Nine Entertainment, which also publishes The Australian Financial Review.

(AFR)

Crown’s multibillion-dollar expense bill wipes casino profits - October 26, 2023

Casino giant Crown Resorts narrowed its financial loss last year to $199 million as costs related to improved compliance measures and pecuniary penalties outweighed profit.

The Blackstone-controlled operator, which is preparing to pay a $450 million fine for falling foul of counterterrorism and antimoney laundering laws, boosted revenue 44 per cent to $2.7 billion in 2022-23.

It was not enough to offset a $3 billion expense bill bloated by investment in compliance and remediation measures and all three of its properties – Sydney, Melbourne and Perth – being open and operational post COVID-19.

A Crown spokeswoman said the result reflected the challenges the hospitality and tourism industry faces.

“During the year, Crown has made considerable progress on its remediation and transformation plan, which has resulted in a significant uplift to the operations and culture of the business,” the spokeswoman said.

The result is a marked improvement on the $945.4 million loss it suffered the previous financial year, buoyed by a turnaround in revenue across all locations with Melbourne up 59.5 per cent and Crown Perth up 16.1 per cent.

Crown Sydney, which started its gaming operations in August 2022, made $271 million, a significant jump on the previous year. Crown Sydney was forced to close one of its two gaming floors in August because of low visitor numbers.

Financial provisions for FY23 include a $450 million AUSTRAC penalty for historical breaches of counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws.

Crown, once owned and operated by billionaire James Packer, has come under major financial pressure since a 2019 investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes showed it was facilitating international crime. The revelations led to three government inquiries, which all ruled it unfit to hold casino licences.

The company overhauled its board, management and oversight to gain a conditional licence for Crown to operate its Barangaroo casino on Sydney’s Darling Harbour, which was granted last year. The conditional licence is valid until December 31.

In July 2022, Blackstone officially acquired the business, paying $8.9 billion and pledging to commit significant capital.

(AFR)

Foxtel slams proposal to put women’s sport on free TV list - September 18, 2023

Putting women’s sports on a government list designed to keep key games freely accessible for Australians would be a mistake, entrenching a “grass ceiling” on the players and sporting codes, Foxtel says.

The Albanese government is reviewing the “anti-siphoning list”, a law introduced in the 1990s to prevent key sports from being put behind pay TV paywalls. The legislation lists the key sporting events that must sell their broadcast rights to free-to-air networks.

After a surge in support for the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup last month, which broke Australian free-to-air TV viewing records, the government rushed to put their future games on the list.

But that does not solve a complex situation where Australians view shows on subscription platforms such as Netflix, through free broadcast services like 9Now or 10 Play, or on the likes of YouTube.

Two key players in the mix, subscription broadcaster, Foxtel and Free TV, which represents the Seven, Nine and Ten networks, have very different visions for what the future of sports rights negotiations should look like.

Foxtel commissioned a paper by research firm Charles River Associates that concluded that, in most cases, women’s AFL, NRL, FIFA Women’s World Cup, cricket, netball and basketball were already more accessible than their male counterparts.

“The benefits of explicitly including women’s sports on the anti-siphoning list would likely be symbolic at most: there would be no practical effect on the extent to which these sports are freely available to the public because they would be freely available anyway,” CRA’s Geoff Edwards wrote.

“The only clear beneficiaries would be the [free-to-air] broadcasters, which would face less competition for rights to televise listed women’s sports.”

Less competition would drive down the price of broadcast rights, reducing investment by codes and salaries for female athletes, Mr Edwards wrote – a “grass ceiling”.

Last month, the government released a set of three proposals for how the scheme could work. They include a more streamlined free-to-view approach – which would allow subscription streamers to buy sports as long as they were made free for viewers, to keeping just free-to-air aerial viewing enshrined as free – essentially the same as the law is now.

Finally, it proposed expanding it to prioritise the broadcasters’ streaming apps, like Seven’s 7plus and Nine’s 9Now. Nine is owned by Nine Entertainment, the publisher of The Australian Financial Review.

Free TV said the government’s preferred proposal, which ensures sports are available for free on aerial television for broadcasters, don’t go far enough. Major broadcasters are increasingly seeing their audiences – and revenue – move to their digital streaming services.

“The government’s preferred model would allow the most attractive livestreaming rights to be cherry-picked by online content service providers,” Free TV wrote in its submission. “Local TV services would not be able to earn sufficient revenue to acquire the rights to any iconic sporting events included on the anti-siphoning list.”

Free TV chief executive Bridget Fair said Foxtel’s proposal was a marketing tactic. “This model must be seen for what it is – a marketing strategy to loss lead with a small number of sports in front of a paywall in the hope of driving increased subscriptions,” she said.

SBS, meanwhile, said the government should broaden the anti-siphoning list to include streaming platforms, and expand the list of sports from its current 1900 to 2800 to include more women’s and para-sports events.

Submissions were due by Sunday. The government will put forward legislation by the end of the year.

(AFR)

U.S. Gambling Regulations in 2023

Gambling in the U.S. is worth millions of dollars every year, but things aren't always so cut and dry. Each state has autonomy over its own gambling regulations and can decide which in-person and online betting markets are permitted.

With regular changes to bills taking place, it can be challenging to know which states permit what gambling activities (sports betting, poker, online casinos).  Even those states that only allow sports wagering, the rules vary.  Illinois, Virginia, New York do not allow betting on in-state schools, Oregon does not allow any mobile gambling on college sports.  States like Iowa and Massachusetts prohibit use of a credit card for opening a betting account.  And then there's Nevada.  The Silver State requires individuals to register in-person (not remotely).

The legality of online gambling markets in the U.S. is determined by individual states, most of which must amend their current state laws.  There are some exceptions such as New Mexico.  The Land of Enchantment allowed a few retail sportsbooks to operate on tribal lands without any type of legislative considerations.

The federal government has not immersed itself in gambling regulations in America since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May of 2018. Instead, the sausage making all occurs at the state level (just not New Mexico) where lawmakers must find a way to get a final version of a bill through both the state house and senate.  Once legislation passes through both chambers, it's up to the governor to sign off or veto.  In 2020, Maine Gov. Janet Mills opted to veto a sports gambling bill that landed on her desk.  The Maine senate would go on to override Mills veto.  Only now is that state in the process of approving operators, three years later.  It's not always a pretty process.

All states apply tax rates on betting activities with taxes typically varying between 10% and 20%, but much higher in some states.  Case in point, Pennsylvania is over 30%.  New York flirts with the 50% mark. License applications and renewals are another way that states benefit financially from gambling operations.

Online gambling has enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This provides users with a convenient way to place bets from the comfort of their own home or on the move.

Online gambling is typically split into a variety of markets that include online casinos, sports betting, horse racing, fantasy sports betting, lottery, and poker.

At present, online sports betting is legal in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia.  It is estimated that over $180 billion has been wagered legally on sports betting in the U.S. and many states are interested in the possibility of tapping into this revenue stream.

This week, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ multi billion agreement with the Seminoles to offer online sports betting in Florida.  And while it may appear the sky is the limit for the Seminoles to launch their Hard Rock sportsbook, various court challenges remain.  Clarity is not anticipated before the next Super Bowl.  Florida makes up the top three most populous U.S. states, none of which currently offer sports wagering.  Texas and California are the other two.  on October 27 it was announced that the most populated state, California, will once again feature two ballot initiatives asking voters to determine the fate of sports betting in 2024.  The last effort failed miserably.

Even in states that have yet to regulate sports gambling, there are ways for consumers to legally place wagers. Offshore betting is not covered by regulations, meaning citizens can sign up and play with operators from based outside the U.S.  Some offshore sportsbooks have opted not to accept new customers from New Jersey and Nevada.

Because offshore books are not regulated by any state, players are not afforded the same protection as those granted a license.  Offshore sportsbooks do tend to be far more established however.  That's resulted in a stellar reputation built over time.  Some of the best options for 2023 provide players with great incentives, state-of-the-art software, and high-security levels, and are licensed by reputable authorities overseas, like the Curaçao Gaming Control Board.

When it comes to state regulated sports betting, the tribes do have significant influence over gaming in several states including Connecticut, California, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Mexico.  This is both a blessing and a curse.   

Native American tribes are permitted to operate casinos on tribal land. These permissions are based on the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which created a framework based on set conditions.

Conditions include gaming compacts with the state and a license being granted by the NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission).  But conflicts are common.  We're seeing this in Florida where the Seminoles are influential but not the only game in town, so to speak.   Connecticut's Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, on the other hand, were met with little resistance in their quest to oversee the mobile and retail sports betting market.  California can't get over the finish line as a result of in-fighting among tribes.  For the better part of a decade efforts to legalize online poker fell apart courtesy of differing tribal agendas.

During 2023, there were bills either newly proposed or rehashed across the country looking to regulate sports wagering.  Lawmakers in Kentucky and North Carolina were ultimately able to take a victory lap.  Georgia?  Better luck next time.

Until now, there's been little effort to push for online gaming and/or poker legislation.  That seems to be changing.

Indiana launched an attempt to legalize iGaming under HB1536 with a proposed 20% tax rate that would see money going directly to services to support gamblers. This attempt failed in February and will have to wait until 2024 for another attempt.

Iowa's HSB227 to legalize online casinos isn't being considered while Illinois' HB2239, SB1656, and HB2320 to create an internet gaming act saw proposals of 12% and 15% tax rates, but there has been little movement. Illinois is relatively unique in offering biennial legislative sessions, which means the proposal will stay active until 2024.

There were high hopes for New York's attempts to legalize online casinos in 2023 under bills A1380 and A3634. The state has the potential to be one of the highest-grossing gambling states because of its population (4th largest in the nation), but support appears to have slowed down after the legalization of sports betting on the NFL, NBA and others bringing in massive revenues since 2022. New York is also considering retail casino applications at present.  With this in mind, iGaming will have to take a back seat for now.  There is a real possibility in 2025 following the election year.

Rhode Island surprised a lot of people by agreeing to SB948, which will legalize online casino gaming. Regulatory framework and licensing are still to be decided, but this is just a formality. 

Maryland missed the 2023 deadline to pass iGaming legislation to compliment the already approved sports betting market. Bill number SB267 will face a referendum so campaigners will be pushing for support if it gets the nod for 2024.

Maine's LD1777 proposal to legalize online casinos based on the current tribal agreement over online sports betting hasn't moved quickly (we mentioned the three year lag period for sports betting above).

Betting laws in the U.S. will continue to change to accommodate different betting markets. States are seeing significant revenue streams from allowing legalized betting, and many others are eager to explore these options.

Assurances that a percentage of gaming revenues will go towards programs to help problem gamblers along with other social programs will appease some detractors for sure.

States that have zero forms of gambling like Utah and Hawaii may never see mobile sports betting or iGaming in our lifetimes.  Georgia, South Carolina and Texas are not the most gambling-friendly states in the nation but, nevertheless, there are those at least trying to make an effort.  Anything is possible.  Just look at Tennessee.  This is a state that has no casinos yet embraced mobile sports betting with open arms not too long after the 2018 SCOTUS decision.

(Gambling911)

Search Engine News

How To Use SEO To Target Your Audience Throughout The Funnel

Understanding the marketing funnel or customer journey is critical to effective SEO efforts. It means being able to map user intent, keywords, and content properly.

The marketing funnel, otherwise known as the sales funnel or customer journey, is a path or way that potential customers take that contains stages from initial awareness of a product or service to making a purchase decision.

A lot of SEO tactics, investment, and efforts can be wasted without fully defining and understanding the customer journey or marketing funnel for businesses.

I’ve seen it way too many times, and talk a lot about the importance of having a defined and objective plan for SEO.

Regardless of how new or established your brand or organization is – or where you are in your efforts – it is always a worthy exercise to go through on a regular basis.

Customer behaviors change, competitors change, and even your own organization can have changes in goals and objectives that may impact your marketing funnel that you’ll want to map your efforts to.

Stages Of The Marketing Funnel

Before I get into the SEO audience targeting to the funnel, let me take a moment and recap how I define the stages of the funnel:

Top Of The Funnel

At the top of the funnel, the main goal is to create awareness for your target audience.

Potential customers become aware of your brand, product, or service through various channels, such as advertising, social media, content marketing, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Keep in mind that this stage should be informational and educational, aimed at addressing the needs of your audience rather than directly promoting products.

Middle Of The Funnel

In the middle of the funnel, individuals have now shown interest in your product or service and are actively seeking more information.

They might do this in the form of engaging with your content in a more valuable way, signing up for newsletters, following your social media accounts, or exploring product pages on your website.

In this stage of the funnel, your content should focus on detailed information about your products or services, including benefits, features, and how they address specific customer needs.

Bottom Of The Funnel

In the final stage of the funnel, users are evaluating their options to make informed decisions on whether or not to make a purchase.

They may compare what you offer with those of competitors by reading reviews and seeking reassurance to ensure that your offer is the right choice for them.

It’s important that you provide these individuals with content that builds trust and loyalty to your brand, driving them toward converting and leaving a positive, lasting impression.

Aligning Your SEO Efforts To The Funnel

By aligning your SEO strategy with the user’s search intent at each stage of the marketing funnel, you are able to deliver the right content to the right audience at the right time.

Understanding Search Intent

The most commonly accepted search intents are informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.

SEO is intrinsically tied to understanding user intent and delivering content that speaks to your audience’s needs.

When we have the right content for the wrong moment, or vice versa, we spend a lot of time and effort on lower-than-ideal conversion opportunities.

Below, I’ll detail how search intent can vary by stage of the marketing funnel:

Awareness Stage

At the top of the funnel, search intent is typically informational.

Users are searching for information or answers to questions in the form of educational or insightful content. Searches often include who, what, when, where, why, and how.

To target top-of-the-funnel users, I recommend that you:

Identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience might use when searching for information related to your industry, products, or services. The keywords you use should focus on broader, informational keywords.

Develop high-quality, informative, and engaging content that addresses the key components, questions, and interests of your target audience. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, and social media content.

Target keywords that often trigger featured snippets in search results. These can help you gain more visibility and establish authority.

Consideration Stage

As your audience enters the consideration phase, their intent shifts towards commercial and transactional. They intend to make a decision on a product or service at some point and are evaluating options.

In order to reach mid-funnel searchers, you should:

Start targeting more specific and long-tail keywords that indicate user intent to learn more or make a decision. These keywords often include terms like “best,” “reviews,” “comparison,” or “how to choose.”

Develop comprehensive guides, product reviews, and comparison articles that provide valuable insights and help users make informed decisions.

Create location-specific content using keywords based on location to drive people to your physical location, if applicable. Local SEO can help drive people to your location over a nearby competitor’s.

Conversion Stage

Finally, we reach the conversion stage, where users have navigational and transactional intent.

They know what they want and may even be searching for your specific brand or product.

Pay attention to navigational and transactional keywords that often include brand names, product names, or specific action-related phrases like “buy,” “order,” “sign up,” or “contact.”

In order to reach bottom-funnel users, you need to:

Optimize product pages and service descriptions to target keywords that signal user intent to purchase, such as “buy,” “order,” “discount,” or “pricing.”

Use schema markup to provide rich product information in search results, making it easier for users to compare and decide.

Bonus: Tools for Tracking

Google Analytics 4

GA4 is a tracking tool that provides comprehensive insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

Utilize it to track where users are landing on your site, how they are engaging with your content, and the paths they are taking prior to converting.

We recommend setting up goals and funnels in order to measure specific events, such as form starts and form completions.

Google Search Console

Search Console provides valuable data insights to track search queries and page performance.

You can use it to monitor what keywords are driving traffic to what pages using core KPIs like clicks, impressions, and click-through rate.

Search Console’s reports are also an invaluable resource for learning how Google is crawling and indexing your site, as well as discovering any Core Web Vitals issues.

Keyword Research Tools

You can use SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz to help you discover and track keywords for SEO specifically.

All of these tools allow you to identify the intent of a specific keyword, as well as the estimated search volume and ranking difficulty of the keyword.

Conclusion

Knowing your marketing funnel and mapping your SEO focus to the user intents at each phase is critical. SEO requires a lot of time and effort.

Plus, it can take a matter of time before we see a measurable return on investment (ROI).

The more you know about how you engage prospects, move them through the funnel, and with an ongoing optimization process, you can minimize wasted tactics that don’t produce results.

Wrestling and Coffee News

Claudio Castagnoli On His Two Passions: Pro Wrestling And Coffee

“No two cups of coffee are ever the same. That’s the beauty of wrestling, too.”

laudio Castagnoli is a world-class wrestler. Whether it is AEW, WWE, or New Japan Pro-Wrestling, there are very few professionals that exhibit the same type of precision or authenticity to their work.

Outside the ring, Castagnoli is fervent about an altogether different import. He is a coffee connoisseur, sampling different cups all across the globe.

“I don’t have one specific favorite,” said Castagnoli, who grew up in Lucerne, Switzerland. “There are so many coffee shops opening up in the world, these mom-and-pop shops. It’s beautiful. Their passion, like mine, is coffee.”

When Castagnoli moved from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in September of 2004, he carried only a briefcase, a backpack, and a dream. As he spent the next seven years accomplishing his dream of signing with WWE, he was powered by an endless amount of coffee.

“I started drinking coffee when I was 27,” said Castagnoli. “Coffee brings people together. That’s why I love going to coffee shops. And I look forward to a cup of coffee before my matches. It kind of calms me down, puts everything in position, and puts me in the moment.”

As the interview was being conducted, I was drinking a cup of coffee brewed from a bakery at a Market Basket supermarket. As soon as I mentioned that, Castagnoli switched roles with me and became the interviewer.

“Was it made fresh?” he asked, to which I answered in the affirmative–and received a proud nod of approval from Castagnoli. “Coffee brewing is art, the same as wrestling. The more care that goes into it, the better it is.”

Nine years ago, when I was writing for the Boston Herald, I made every attempt possible to bring pro wrestling into the newspaper’s sports page. One of my interviews was with a young Roman Reigns, who spoke about WrestleMania 30 and his goal of becoming champion–as well as the potential of wrestling The Undertaker at a WrestleMania, which came to fruition three years later. During the interview, Reigns mentioned traveling with The Shield’s Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, who now stars as Jon Moxley in AEW.

“He can disappear in a moment’s notice,” Reigns said about Moxley. “But I’ve kind of timed out the things he may be doing. If you lose him, he’ll always come back with a granola bar and a coffee.”

Castagnoli added that he is not the only coffee drinker in the Blackpool Combat Club, confirming that Moxley and Bryan Danielson also share an interest in the global phenomenon.

“Mox drinks coffee,” said Castagnoli. “He is a straight filter coffee and espresso guy. Bryan is a cold brew guy. That’s the only kind of coffee he’ll drink. We all have our own preferences, but we’re all coffee guys, with the exception of Yuta.”

Wheeler Yuta, the youngest member of the BCC, is not a coffee drinker. But his time, Castagnoli excitedly shared, is coming.

“When you turn 27, that’s the magic age,” said Castagnoli. “That’s when you start drinking coffee. So right now, Yuta is too young.”

Currently 26 years old, Yuta turns 27 next week on October 26.

“Yuta is almost there,” said Castagnoli. “Once he is ready, we’ll be happy to teach him.”

Castagnoli sees similarities between coffee and pro wrestling, his two driving passions.

“No two cups of coffee are ever the same,” said Castagnoli. “That’s the beauty of wrestling, too. Every match in the ring is very unique and special.”

(S.I)

Content Is King—Except When It Refers to Creative Works

What if your life’s work was equated to the stuffing in a sofa cushion? That’s what British actor Emma Thompson says is happening when people call her work “content.” Creatives are speaking up, scrutinizing the connotation of the word, and thinking critically about art vs. content, after the famed Love Actually star pushed back on the term at the Royal Television Society conference in September. 

It’s part of a larger conversation, she explains, in bridging the gap between creatives and executives amid concurrent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Variety reports. “Everyone is affected,” Thompson noted. “You know, I’ve been writing to friends who are crew people, who are costume people, who are makeup people who aren’t working. It’s a very, very, very hard time; people are suffering so much.”

Speaking to an audience that included the future creatives of the world, Thompson asserted that the word “content” sounded merely like the stuffing of a sofa cushion, and called it “rude.”

“‘Content.’ What do you mean ‘content’?” she asked. “It’s just rude, actually. It’s just a rude word for creative people… you don’t want to hear your stories described as ‘content’ or your acting or your producing described as ‘content.’ That’s just like coffee grounds in the sink or something. It’s, I think, a very misleading word.”

‘Content’ implies consumption and sales

Thompson opens the conversation around just how much words matter when it comes to valuing creatives, whether you are working for them, with them or leading a team of them. From filmmakers and actors to writers and designers and artists, the word “content” has become a catch-all for creative work across industries, and lacks specificity, to Thompson’s point.

“For some creatives, the word ‘content’ may have a connotation with being more disposable due to the fast pace of social media,” says Jen Jones Donatelli, a certified creativity coach and the founder of Creative Groove, a small business that coaches and offers community programming around creativity and self-expression. “For an established actress with theater roots like Emma Thompson, that may feel like it degrades the idea of craft or thoughtfully produced material in favor of content that audiences can quickly consume.”

Art vs content

Jones Donatelli explains that the word ‘content‘ often implies there’s a sales pitch involved. “…Content is often created with the intention of selling something as opposed to telling a story—whether it be a YouTube makeup tutorial or a gift-buying guide filled with affiliate links,” she says. “That can go against the ethos of people who want to prioritize artistry over consumerism.” She adds that it can also just feel too general, like an umbrella term that lumps creative work from vastly different fields together: “Everything from movies to Instagram reels to SEO articles takes away from the uniqueness of each medium and makes it feel more generic.”

Another creative, an editor in the parenting journalism industry who wishes to remain anonymous, says, “I grapple with this all the time. I remember the first time my manager at a new job referred to everything I did as ‘content,’ and I hated it. It felt commodified and so far from what I did creatively.”

“A lot of the media created today wouldn’t exist if it didn’t need to function as a consumer touchpoint or at the very least a vehicle for a sales pitch,” adds Dane O’Leary, a creative director and visual designer in Winchester, Virginia. “The way we view content is less about what’s being created and more about the action that the media is designed specifically to incite. It’s a really interesting thought that raises some fascinating questions, like: Are less people making content for its own sake? Or is there simply so much media being generated for marketing campaigns that it drowns out all of the ‘real’ stuff? But since even artists need to support themselves, maybe this shift in perspective was an inevitability.”

‘Content’ broad-brushes intention and purpose

Beth Booker is the CEO and founder of the Naples, Florida, public relations agency Gracie PR. She’s often consulted as a public perception expert, and says that though she makes and posts content herself, it shouldn’t be synonymous with the work a producer or actor creates. “Using a catch-all phrase like ‘content’ to describe the work of professionals in the entertainment industry is rude. Language matters, and while I know that a lot of strategy and creativity goes into content creation, it isn’t the same type of strategy and creativity that goes into filmmaking,” she says. 

Using the word “content” as a blanket phrase diminishes the talent of those who create art “with intention and purpose,” Booker says. 

‘Content’ is too broad

Let’s call it what it is. So what is it? Filmmaking isn’t content marketing, and copywriting isn’t graphic design. There is a difference between content vs. art because all of these things that could be content, and technically are content, don’t have to be referred to in the exact same way. So, while the term ‘content’ is effective as a catch-all, it points to laziness in word choice.

“It isn’t ‘rude,’ but it is a very vague term that has come to mean anything and everything relating to creative work and marketing,” says Amanda Green, a corporate content manager in Orlando, Florida. “A TikTok comedian is a ‘content producer,’ and so is an academic white paper writer, a graphic designer, a video journalist, a science reporter, a Twitch gamer, a meme creator, a tech reviewer, a social media manager, an SEO expert… Do you see the problem? It’s very difficult to find jobs in this industry because ‘content’ is such a generic term.”

The age of AI complicates content

“The word ‘content’ has become particularly sensitive in the age of AI,” says Jessica Siegel, a writer and former journalist who now runs a creative agency. “As companies struggle to keep up with an ever-growing consumer desire for new movies, music, social media posts, blogs and videos, there is a growing tension around where all of that creative work will come from.” She also recently led a workshop on how professionals in the social sector can ethically and efficiently harness the power of AI without losing the essential human touch.

“As we’ve seen, many producers and organizations are turning to AI to try and fill this void. It makes sense: AI is fast and cheap, and if you’re just looking for SEO hits, it does the job,” Siegel says. “But where it can become offensive is when we confuse ‘content’… with ‘art’… It takes a human mind—and a talented one, at that—to create art. The difference between these two things is where the offense comes in. We need clearer boundaries on what is content and what is something much more.”

But we don’t have to just say ‘content’—try this instead

“I recommend always being as intentional as possible with the words you use when speaking about your work,” Booker says. “Each creative brings something different to the table, making creative work dynamic and expressive because it has our own personal touches.”

She recommends those working with, above and under creatives to follow a few language strategies to ensure they respect creatives’ work:

Be as specific as possible to highlight what makes your work unique and impactful. This is why storytelling is so powerful. You want people to feel connected to your work and your why. 

You should be mindful about adapting that language to different audiences and contexts. Allow yourself to alter that language as your brand grows and changes. 

Mull over words that matter, but be concise and impactful—not long-winded.

When in doubt, ask the artists—be it an actor, writer, designer or influencer—what they prefer to call their work. It’s pretty unlikely they’ll respond with “content.”

(Success)

Intimidated by AI? Don’t Be—Here’s How to Leverage AI to Increase Your Company’s Revenue

The age of AI is here. Three in four small business owners report that they are interested in using it in their business. Yet, 46% say they have a beginner’s level of understanding of what it can do for them, according to a poll of 480 businesses across the U.S. by Constant Contact. This leaves quite a few with much room to learn, improve and understand exactly how they can leverage AI for their business needs, to ultimately make more money as they do less work.

Some businesses, on the other hand, have already seen increased profits as their productivity rises with AI tools. Brooklyn, New York-based Jen Glantz, founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, has been using a maid of honor speech writing tool that helps anyone with writer’s block write a speech in minutes. “We created the tool using AI and trained it with over 200 real maid of honor speeches that I wrote for clients. The tool replicated my writing style and writes speeches with a human and conversational tone. Plus, the experience mimics how I work with clients,” she says, adding that it chats with her clients to pull out stories, details and memories. It even alerts clients when they’ve shared something too inappropriate or in bad taste to be included in the speech. 

“Before having this AI tool, I’d spend 4-5 hours writing a maid of honor speech for a client, and because of this, I could only take on two clients a week. Now with the tool, the amount of people I can help write maid of honor speeches is endless. Since launching in July, we’ve increased our bottom line for this service by 50%,” she says.

At scale, Glantz’s concept presents the opportunity for larger businesses to save millions of dollars optimizing AI. Here’s what experts recommend trying if you are ready to dive into the future and use AI to make money.

How to use AI to make money? Find an expert

As with anything brand new and evolving, it’s hard to point out the experts at first. But the concept of an AI consultant, which goes by various new names, might be just what your business needs to outsource the job of determining where and how AI would be most helpful to you.

Rob Marsh is a direct response copywriter and founder of the Copywriter Club. He has been teaching people in his industry how to optimize AI for increased revenue. “Just like you might hire an expert to set up your email system or manage content for your content management system for your website, there’s a huge opportunity for people to be able to do this… how to connect all this stuff together.” He has someone on his team already serving in this role. 

He recommends starting with a single project rather than jumping to hiring someone to “take them into the AI age.” This serves as a safety net, as most AI consultants are new to the game as well.

“[Ask] for a proposal of two to three things we should do differently, and tools that we should be using, and let’s explore that,” he recommends. 

Move from panic to play

“We are all deer in the headlights, even people who are talking about it… yes, they are experts, but they’ve only been experts in this for a couple of years, and most of the time a couple of months,” Marsh says. He says we’ve just been handed a “massive box of Legos,” and have an opportunity to start putting the bricks together to see how it works. He encourages business owners that nobody is really behind at this point. “Just play around with them. Have some fun, see what they do… if you like them, keep using them.”

Soo-Jin Yang is the CEO and founder of illumino, a technology-enabled eyelash extension brand in Las Vegas. She says her company has been “testing the waters and generating ideas to get us started” using AI. They’ve tried plannthat.com to come up with social media post ideas using a mood board that they tweak as needed. This saves time, and ultimately money, in decreased brainstorming tasks. 

They also use ChatGPT to edit blogs, captions and other copy, though they aren’t looking to replace all of their copy needs with AI. “It cannot replace the creativity and touch of a real human,” Yang says. Finally, they’ve implemented AI to help “clean up” photos and make them more engaging without the extra time, creating backgrounds for product images, she explains.

Do an internal audit to look for ‘low-hanging fruit’

Many businesses have already automated processes from invoicing to data entry, but David Taylor, co-founder and CPO of Promptmaster, does 30-minute AI strategy calls with clients to craft a “personalized strategy for achieving radical cost savings in the era of artificial intelligence.” The tech entrepreneur built a SaaS company that used machine learning to predict viral trends, designed and shipped more than 30 software products in the last 12 years, and co-founded the world’s largest web3 Metaverse.

Now at Promptmaster, Taylor reports seeing an “uptick” in requests from C-suite leaders on how to leverage AI. “There is a weird mix of caution and opportunism. Only a few companies have realized that AI can bring radical productivity gains to businesses,” he says. His recommendation if you want to be one of them? Look for “low-hanging fruit” in your processes.

“Take a good look at how your employees are actually doing their jobs. What tasks take a lot of effort to generate text, images or audio? What tasks revolve around editing or refining generated content? This content can be anything from presentations, internal memos, customer support conversations, marketing collateral,” he says. “Those are your low-hanging fruits to unlock productivity for your teams and redirect 30-40% of their time toward more value-generating activity.”

He recommends having at least one marketing manager adept at using AI tools, and ensuring customer support agents can use ChatGPT well. He adds that social media managers should be masters of tools like HeyGen or ElevenLabs.

“Find the tasks that are ripe for automation,” he adds. He uses an AI scoring formula with clients to estimate potential cost savings per task for companies. “Operational costs can be cut in half… if that happens at departments that are profit centers, revenues go up immediately and significantly.”

Try out these AI tools

If you hear a tool mentioned multiple times in your network, check it out to see what the buzz is about, and if it would help your business, Marsh recommends. He also likes There’s An AI for That to help identify which tool you need for a specific task.

Jeff Pedowitz, president and CEO of The Pedowitz Group in Alpharetta, Georgia, is also the author of AI Revenue Architect: Building Your Time Machine For Exponential Sales Growth. He has a list of must-try tools that could benefit leaders in most industries:

ChatGPT: continue using this or consider upgrading to the paid version

CoPilot: If you are using Outlook to send email because you’re a solopreneur, look into CoPilot

Jasper

CRM or marketing automation: “If you are on Salesforce, just wait for Sales GPT to be released. Same thing if you’re on HubSpot or using Marquetto. All of these tools will have AI capability by the end of the year, so just kind of hold the line.”

Marsh adds that with more than 200 new tools hitting the market weekly, there’s no way to keep up with them all. Instead, simply prioritize the ones you keep hearing about again and again.

Work through an organized strategy plan

In Pedowitz’ book, he recommends companies follow a specific strategy to implement AI with intention throughout business practices:

Automate your key sales and marketing processes today

Clean up your data so you can feed the machine

Personalization at scale—getting AI integrated into your core systems

Opening up new revenue streams to exponentially expand your business

Cleaning up data is, in particular, something you can start with now. This involves ensuring that all the data you plan on inputting into AI is relevant to your business, and doesn’t include confidential information that might be compromised in the process.

“We don’t really know how the black box behind the bots is actually working. If it needs to be protected, such as HIPAA or banking information, don’t use that for AI,” Marsh says. “But, most of these tools have already swallowed the entire web… if you are concerned about privacy, don’t put that stuff you are concerned about into any AI.”

Finally, as with any new technology or societal advancement, Pedowitz says to consider the ethics. “If you are going to be using open platforms like ChatGPT that’s using public training data, you really have to have some guidelines in place for your team, and you need to treat it like you would any other confidential information for your clients.” He says that you can produce quite a bit quickly, but you still have to double-check it. “It’s not always accurate and has some built-in biases to it,” he warns.

With these tips, some concrete strategies and potentially a bit of hired help, your business can move to the front of the pack, leading the way into increased revenue through AI best practices.

(Success)