Over at Capital Brief this morning there is the latest in a number of articles in Australian media about US real estate giant CoStar and its plans for recently-purchased local real estate site Domain.
It is talking about products it is launching in the market, which got me thinking about a trend that disappeared overnight about a decade ago: Live broadcasts of real estate auctions.
The live broadcasts were intended for television. I remember talking with a producer about the kits he was using to send reporters out with - it was a backpack that gave them a camera, mic, and some gear to livestream (it may even have involved a small sattelite dish) a TV broadcast-quality signal to the studio.
Obviously, that last paragraph reads as ridiculous in the current era.
Auctions are fun to attend and watch. There’s an obvious drama and excitement around them. Why can’t I watch them throughout the day via real estate apps like Domain or realestate.com.au?
These sites all have extensive content on the sites beyond listings nowadays - this introduces a video element to it, which could be done at low cost. Heck, the cost of the live video stream of the auction could even be covered by inclusion as an upsell for agents when posting listings - real estate agents are looking to build their profile, their personal brand.
Without seeing traffic figures, I would assume that traffic builds throughout the week and is at an all-time high on Saturday mornings as renters and buyers are visiting inspections, with a sharp drop-off at noon (past experience has proven that anyone showing a property after midday is showing a dud). Auctions are a great way to build a new weekend primetime that can extend beyond midday.
It’s puzzling to me that the live video of auctions seem to have completely vanished.
The Pitt’s 15-episode baby
In March of 1995, ER aired an episode of TV that is so well-regarded that people actually know the episode name - Love's Labor Lost.
It is a harrowing episode of TV which focuses on a happy couple expecting a child who enter the ER with a mild medical concern. By the end of the hour a baby is born and only one of the parents is leaving the ER with the child.
So when spiritual successor (is it more than a spiritual successor? That’s up for the courts to decide) The Pitt announces that it has plans to run a storyline featuring a baby for the full 15-episode season… well, I immediately just got queasy.
I struggled with 45 minutes of the ER episode… what are they about to do to me with 15 hours?
Running a story featuring a baby over that many episodes does create a casting logistics issue:
That’s a whole season. You’ve got to use multiple babies. They can only work for 20 minutes … By the time the shift is over, which will be in January, this baby’s going to be walking to craft service by himself.”
Read more: Deadline
News Desk
Warwick Davis will once again play Harry Potter character Professor Filius Flitwick, reprising his movie role in the new HBO series. Read: thefutoncritic
Fetch TV in Australia has launched six new FAST channels (Moonbug, four Stingray music channels, and a Blue Ant Media channel Declassified). Nothing super interesting. But, in a plus for anyone still sticking with Fetch, it has just added the Crunchyroll app. Read: Mediaweek
Trailer Park
House of Guinness debuts 25 September on Netflix.
Dublin, 1868. The Guinness family patriarch is dead, and his four children - each with dark secrets to hide - hold the brewery's fate in their hands.
Dan Da Dan season 2 is stremaing now on Netflix.
Platonic: Blue Moon Hotel debuts on Netflix Sept 18.
When a suave stranger with a hidden agenda checks into the Blue Moon Hotel, chaos and raunchy romance ensnare the two unhinged sisters who work there.
That’s the newsletter for today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.
Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.