Foxtel boss’ big cricket deal. Lachlan Murdoch is due back in Australia tomorrow morning with a reported expectation that he will have a cricket broadcast contract to approve for the newly merged Foxtel/Fox Sports. The contents and structure of the deal could be career-making or breaking for those concerned in Friday’s bidding farce, described beautifully in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

In some ways this recalls the NRL contract back in 2015, when Nine grabbed the entire broadcast rights to NRL from under the noses of those at Fox Sports, then-run by Patrick Delaney (who is now boss of the merged Foxtel and Fox Sports). Delaney needs a big win to start his reign as the first CEO of the merged pay TV giant, otherwise his will be a short stint (like the man he beat, Peter Tonagh). 

Ten and Seven also put in offers for the cricket, and there are suggestions they could be holding hands, but other reports point towards the AFL twins, Seven and Foxtel, ending up with the cricket rights. But the anti-siphoning rules loom and if Seven wins the rights, what’s the bet that the financially embattled plaything of Kerry Stokes doesn’t want to show some One Day Internationals and T20 games, effectively pushing them to pay TV, as allowed under the anti-siphoning rules? — Glenn Dyer

Tele’s true crime podcast. The Daily Telegraph has launched its own true crime podcast today, investigating the murder of David Breckenridge in 2002, on Sydney’s North Shore. The first episode of Eight Minutes was released today, with the paper running a print story on its front page, and two pages inside the paper. The Tele‘s endeavour follows many others into the true crime podcast genre — The Australian’s Bowraville podcast won a Walkley, the ABC’s Trace led to new developments in a cold case murder last year, and The Age‘s Phoebe’s Fall in 2016 also got plenty of buzz.

Take 5‘s new venture. Bauer Media has this morning announced the first “real life” magazine launch in Australia for 20 years, with a new monthly edition of Take 5. The women’s mag is full of puzzles and real life stories. In a statement, editor Paul Merrill said there was a “strong appetite for another magazine in the market”. The same team that produces the weekly magazine will produce the bigger, monthly magazine.

German-owned Bauer has been plagued by magazine closures, redundancies and high staff turnover in Australia since it bought ACP in 2012.

Newspaper rebels against owners. The Denver Post has used an editorial to plead with its hedge fund owners to sell the paper. Calling the owners “vultures”, an editorial was illustrated with a graphic demonstrating how many of its staff had been cut over five years, and was accompanied by a more than half a dozen stories about how the paper could be saved:

We believe without question that if community leaders and our readers care about our mission, and what our newsroom ought to be instead of this shadow of what it once was, it’s time for their voices to be heard. The smart money is that in a few years The Denver Post will be rotting bones. And a major city in an important political region will find itself without a newspaper. It’s time for those Coloradans who care most about their civic future to get involved and see to it that Denver gets the newsroom it deserves.

Glenn Dyer’s TV Ratings. Thanks to the games, Seven wins everything from 7am to late last night. Insiders at 9am to 10am returns to ABC with a very sold 491,000 nationally, underlining the difference between it, Sky News and The Drum on the ABC and the ABC News. Viewers want informed chat and opinions, not yelling and droning. 

A special note to 60 Minutes — the sheep story was horrifying, much worse than the newspaper stories could suggest — 908,000 watched nationally which was more than OK up against Seven’s Games coverage. The program deserved a lot more. 60 Minutes reporter Ross Coulthart, who has had a great year so far is leaving. He will be missed. By far the sharpest reporter around.

In regional areas, Seven News was on top with 598,000 viewers, with the evening session of the games next with 560,000, then the night session with 507,000, then the Nine/NBN 6.30pm news with 360,000 and then the Nine/NBN news with 353,000. — Read the rest on the Crikey website