Author: roymorgansocial

ACCC alarmed by Foxtel plan for Ten

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-Sep-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) will decide the fate of the proposed Ten Network-Foxtel equity alliance on 22 October 2015. The ACCC has raised a number of concerns about the deal in a statement of issues. They include the potential for Ten and Foxtel to dominate bidding for sports broadcasting rights and the impact of the alliance on the television advertising market, as Ten’s advertising sales team would be merged with Foxtel’s MCN. The role of 8.5 per cent Ten shareholder and News Corp executive Lachlan Murdoch is also a concern for the ACCC.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX SPORTS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, CONSOLIDATED MEDIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Chinese face big losses as $A falls

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 14-Sep-15

Basis Point estimates that the sharp decline in the value of the Australian dollar since late 2014 has cost Chinese investors about $A12bn. Basis Point’s David Chin notes that investors in residential property who have already settled the deal will have lost money. However, investors in off-the-plan apartments that have not yet been settled will benefit from the currency’s decline.

CORPORATES
BASIS POINT CONSULTING, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Liberals lead in Canning as threat to PM grows

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Sep-15

There is growing speculation that Prime Minister Tony Abbott will face a leadership spill either before or just after the 19 September 2015 by-election in the seat of Canning. A Fairfax Media/Ipsos poll has found that Liberal Party would have narrowly won the by-election if it had been held on 12 September, albeit with a swing against it of about 10 per cent. Some Liberal insiders have suggested that a leadership challenge is likely if the swing against the party is greater than five per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Subscription outpaces free sites in flight to quality

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 14-Sep-15

A Nielsen Online Ratings survey shows that Australian consumers are embracing news websites that require a subscription to access the majority of content. The number of unique visitors to the five most-visited sites with a comprehensive paywall rose by 19.4 per cent year-on-year in August 2015. Meanwhile, the number of unique visitors to the top five new sites with a moderate paywall fell by 2.8 per cent. The top five sites with free access recorded growth of 2.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

TV rating measures stretch to a month

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 25 : 14-Sep-15

OzTAM’s TV ratings methodology is being updated to embrace time-shifting and multiscreens. The new data will begin to be available later in 2015, and OzTAM will report ratings for programs that are viewed up to 28 days after initial transmission. OzTAM CEO Doug Peiffer says preliminary data suggests that taking time-shifting into account can lift a program’s overall ratings by up to 10 per cent. He adds that multiscreen data is unlikely to have much impact on ratings, as most people still watch traditional TV.

CORPORATES
OZTAM PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

‘Fair’ GST rise to boost growth

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1& 8 : 14-Sep-15

A new report from Deloitte outlines several options for tax reform in Australia, estimating that overhauling the tax regime could boost national income by two per cent. The firm has proposed lifting the GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, but not increasing the scope of the tax to include items that are currently exempt. It is estimated that this would lift revenue by $A152bn over four years. Deloitte has also canvassed the option of raising the GST to 12.5 per cent and extending it to include fresh food. This option is forecast to raise $A112bn.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

YouTube expects to lock in Millennials for life

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 14-Sep-15

YouTube estimates that its audience reach among viewers aged 18-49 is now larger than that of US cable TV networks. Jamie Byrne, the director of content strategy at YouTube, believes that so-called Millennials will continue to use the website as they get older rather than switch to more traditional broadcast media. He also expects YouTube’s most popular content creators to remain with the group while expanding into other forms of media.

CORPORATES
YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, VINE, MTV MUSIC TELEVISION

Former Kellogg’s boss calls for investment lift in food

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 &20 : 14-Sep-15

McGrath Estate Agents chairman David Mackay was the CEO of multinational food group Kellogg from 2006 to 2011. He notes that Asia represents a huge opportunity for Australia’s food industry, but stresses the need the need for the sector to commit to long-term investment in order capitalise on this. He also argues that the Australian manufacturing sector’s costs are too high, with wages in particular much higher than most countries.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, KELLOGG COMPANY, FORTUNE BRANDS INCORPORATED, KEURIG INCORPORATED, MARS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SARA LEE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BEAM GLOBAL SPIRITS AND WINE INCORPORATED, SUNTORY LIMITED

Advertising agencies reinvent themselves for new era

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Original article by Paul McIntyre
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 14-Sep-15

Havas Worldwide CEO Andrew Benett says advertising agencies must evolve and adapt to the changing media landscape. Ad agencies have traditionally focused on making ads, but they are increasingly becoming active in producing and distributing content for clients. Havas Worldwide and WPP are among the advertising groups that are securing alliances with media companies.

CORPORATES
HAVAS WORLDWIDE, WPP GROUP PLC, VIVENDI GROUPE, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP, CANAL PLUS SA, VIVENDI UNIVERSAL, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST PLC, IBM CORPORATION, DROGA5, WME, IMG WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED

Foxtel wants anti-siphoning rules loosened

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 14-Sep-15

Foxtel Richard Freudenstein says "sensible" changes to anti-siphoning rules for sports rights should be part of any reforms to cross-media ownership laws. He argues that while major sporting events should continue to be protected, the anti-siphoning rules should be relaxed. However, Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner and Free TV Australia chairman Harold Mitchell are among those who say the existing regime for sports broadcasts should be retained.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET