J55 Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities

Producers cut Hollywood deal

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Jan-18

Australian film and TV production company See-Saw Films has secured a production deal with New Regency. The "first look" deal with the Hollywood studio will allow See-Saw to make films with much bigger budgets than at present, and enable its films to reach a larger audience worldwide. See-Saw was among the major winners at the recent Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts awards, for productions such as "Lion" and "Top of The Lake: China Girl".

CORPORATES
SEE-SAW FILMS PTY LTD, NEW REGENCY PICTURES, AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF CINEMA AND TELEVISION ARTS, REGENCY ENTERPRISES, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Why Murdoch changed his tune on selling

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Original article by Amol Sharma, Joel Flint
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 7-Dec-17

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has a market capitalisation of about $US60bn ($A79.1bn). The proposal to sell the bulk of its assets to Walt Disney Company would allow Murdoch to achieve a premium price for those assets at a time when the traditional media industry is facing growing competition from companies such as Netflix and Google. A deal with Disney might also help resolve the issue of succession at 21st Century Fox, as there has been speculation that CEO James Murdoch could take up an executive role at Disney, leaving the way clear for Lachlan Murdoch to head Fox.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, COMCAST CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, METROMEDIA INTERNATIONAL, STAR INDIA, FOX NEWS, HARPERCOLLINS, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, HBO, AT&T CORPORATION, TESLA INCORPORATED, VICE MEDIA INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE

Murdoch’s Fox shares rise on talk of sale of key assets to rival Disney

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 8-Nov-17

The share price of 21st Century Fox has risen by more than nine per cent in response to media reports that it had held talks about selling most of its assets to the Walt Disney Company. The discussions were said to be preliminary and have been discontinued, but it is believed that the talks could resume. The reports suggested that Fox would sell assets such as its film and TV studios to Disney, while retaining its news and sports broadcasting assets. Fox has a market capitalisation of $US50bn, while Disney’s market capitalisation is $US155bn.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CNBC, GABELLI FUNDS, SKY PLC, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, AT&T CORPORATION, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, STAR INDIA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, HARPERCOLLINS

Foxtel, Village’s landmark win to block pirates

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, David Swan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 16-Dec-16

The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that ISP must block access to five illegal file-sharing websites within 15 days. Foxtel and Village Roadshow had launched separate legal proceedings in a bid to combat the pirating of films and TV shows. Village Roadshow’s joint CEO Graham Burke has welcomed the judgment, arguing that the local film and TV production industry would collapse if action is not taken against such websites. Foxtel and Village Roadshow will have to pay the ISPs’ costs for blocking the infringing sites.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED, M2 GROUP LIMITED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, WARNER BROS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ASHURST AUSTRALIA

Pirates in the line of fire as Village boss goes on warpath

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 10-Oct-16

Village Roadshow MD Graham Burke has vowed to crack down on people who download illegal copies of movies. Burke will address the issue in a speech at the annual Australian International Movie Convention, in which he will highlight the impact of piracy on the local film industry. Burke notes that although the advent of subscription video-on-demand services has reduced the level of piracy among Australian adults, there has been big growth in piracy among the 12-17 age group.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Profit down but Village Roadshow targets a strong year for cinema

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 26-Aug-16

Australian-listed Village Roadshow has posted a 2015-16 net profit of $A16.6m, which is 58.7 per cent lower than previously, while revenue rose by 6.7 per cent to $A1.1bn. The company’s cinemas division recorded EBITDA of $A73.6 million, an increase of 27.2 per cent, and its theme parks division’s EBITA rose from $A87.5m to $A88m. Shares in Village Roadshow closed 9.3 per cent lower at $A4.77 on 25 August.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, WARNER BROS MOVIE WORLD ENTERPRISES, WET `N’ WILD WATER PARK, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

How local visionary Grundy conquered the world of TV

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 10-May-16

Australia media industry identities have paid tribute to pioneering TV producer Reg Grundy, who has died at his home in Bermuda at the age of 92. Grundy produced many of Australia’s best-known game shows and dramas, including "Wheel of Fortune", "The Price Is Right", "Prisoner" and "Neighbours". He started his media career as the host of radio and TV shows before opting to become a TV producer.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, RG CAPITAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Streaming sends music sales bouncing upwards

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 11-Apr-16

Data from the Australian Recording Industry Association shows that sales of recorded music grew by five per cent in 2015, to $A334m. Sales of digital music increased by 11 per cent to $A208m, with music streaming services boasting revenue of $A71.1m. However, sales of physical music were three per cent lower at $A126m, although this followed an 18 per cent decline in 2014.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, APPLE INCORPORATED, SPOTIFY LIMITED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, CREDIT SUISSE AG, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VEVO, FUTURE CLASSIC, ENDEMOL SHINE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Doubts over Netflix’s local content pledge

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 25 : 4-Apr-16

Australian subscription video-on-demand providers Stan and Presto have commissioned local programs, but US-based rival Netflix has yet to do so. Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos indicated in 2015 that the group will eventually begin producing content in Australia. However, Netflix has started to submit its original content for classification in Australia, and it has broadcast a range of Australian content in overseas markets.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NINE PINES PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Seven CEO slams TV, film tax benefit gap

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 15-Mar-16

The Australian Government’s tax offset for TV producers is just 20 per cent at present, compared with 40 per cent for producers of feature films. The free-to-air and pay-TV industry has urged the Government to match the tax offset for the film industry, with Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner arguing that many TV shows that are currently on hold would be in production if there was a level playing field. Ten Network CEO Paul Anderson adds that the tax offset’s current cap of 65 per cent should be abolished.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS