J57 Internet Publishing and Broadcasting

Netflix, Disney and other streamers to be forced to pay for more Australian-made content

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 5-Nov-25

The federal government will legislate an ‘Australian content obligation’ for streaming video-on-demand platforms. It will require streaming services that have more than one million subscribers in Australia to invest at least 10 per cent of their total expenditure in Australia or 7.5 per cent of their revenue in this country on producing local content. This will include local drama, children’s TV shows, documentaries, and educational or arts programs. Screen Producers Australia’s CEO Matthew Deaner has described the move as a "landmark day" for the nation’s screen industry.

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SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA

Nine buys Premier League rights in Australia as Optus Sport shuts down

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Original article by Martin Pegan
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Jul-25

Nine Entertainment has struck a deal to acquire the sports broadcasting rights that are currently held by telco Optus. They include the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the National Women’s Soccer League, which will all shift from Optus Sport to Stan Sport. The deal is said to be worth about $300m in total, and Optus is believed to have agreed to contribute about $40m to the estimated annual cost of $100m per annum for the final three years of its broadcasting rights deal for EPL matches. The Optus Sport platform was launched in 2006, but it will be shut down at the end of July; this will allow Optus to focus on its core business.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN SPORT, OPTUS SPORT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE

Social media overtakes online as news source

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 18-Jun-25

Research undertaken by the University of Canberra shows that television is still the biggest source of news for Australians, at 37 per cent. However, some 26 per cent of respondents to the annual survey said they use social media as a primary source of news, while just 23 per cent nominated online news as their main source for such content. The Digital News Report also found that nearly 50 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 identified social media as their primary source of news, compared with just eight per cent of people over the age of 65. In contrast, TV is the primary source of news for the 65+ age group, compared with only 18 per cent of the 18-24 age cohort.

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UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA

Forrest election plea: Force Meta to set up local operation

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 24 : 8-Apr-25

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest contends that Australian sovereignty should be the key factor when considering how to regulate foreign technology platforms such as Meta. He says the winner of the federal election on 3 May should take immediate action to require digital platforms to operate in Australia via a local legal entity and be subject to the nation’s laws and regulations. Forrest has been engaged in a long-running battle with Meta to remove scam ads that use his likeness from its platforms. He has opted for legal action in California because Meta has sought to use a 30-year-old US law that grants online companies immunity regarding content that is posted on their platforms.

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META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED

Netflix rival Max rolls out in Australia with bold profit prediction

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 19 : 1-Apr-25

Warner Bros Discovery’s Max streaming service debuted in an already crowded Australian market on Monday. Warner Bros Discovery executive Jean-Briac Perrette is upbeat about the outlook for the sector, contending that streaming will be a "fantastic business". Perrette expects Max to be profitable in Australia within three years, and he has not ruled out acquisitions in the local market. Much of the HBO content that was previously available on Foxtel’s Binge streaming platform will now exclusively on Max.

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WARNER BROS DISCOVERY INCORPORATED, MAX, HBO, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BINGE

Australians who get most of their news from social media more likely to believe in climate conspiracy, study finds

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Jan-25

Research undertaken by Monash University has found that people who use social media as their main source of news score lower on a measure of ‘civic values’ than those who rely on newspapers and non-commercial media for news and current affairs. The researchers also found that 25 per cent of respondents who primarily use social media for news content believe that climate change is a conspiracy. This compares with 37 per cent of those who use commercial TV and radio as their main source of news. In contrast, just six per cent of people who largely source their news content from public TV networks the ABC and SBS consider climate change to be a conspiracy.

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MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Optus may sell sports streaming to Nine

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 21-Jan-25

Sources have indicated that Optus has sought expressions of interest from potential buyers of its sports streaming platform. Amongst other things, Optus Sport holds the Australian broadcasting rights to the English Premier League and the Women’s Super League. The potential buyers that Optus has approached are said to include Nine Entertainment, which owns the rival Stan Sport streaming service. Optus is believed to be keen to focus on its core telecommunications business amid growing competition in the streaming sector and the rising cost of broadcasting rights.

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SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, OPTUS SPORT, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN SPORT

D-day is on the horizon for Meta

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-Dec-24

The federal government will shortly decide whether to ‘designate’ Facebook parent Meta under the news media bargaining code. This would force the digital giant to negotiate revenue-sharing deals with Australian news publishers, almost a year after it announced plans to terminate these arrangements. A spokesman for Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has downplayed suggestions that a decision on designating Meta is imminent, although sources have indicated that the government will act before Christmas.

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META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Social media ban alarms YouTubers

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-JonesEuan Black
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 12-Nov-24

Mark and Tina Harris say their children’s-themed YouTube channel Lah-Lah would become unviable if the federal government goes ahead with its plan to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing YouTube and other social media platforms. Speaking on the sidelines of the Tech Council of Australia’s National Tech Summit in Melbourne, Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the government has not yet decided how it will enforce the ban, while he suggested that there could be exemptions to the ban on educational grounds.

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TECH COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAYOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Seven Media boss warning on evil forces

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 30-Oct-24

Seven West Media’s director of news and current affairs, Anthony De Ceglie, says the federal government should "definitely" designate Meta under the news media bargaining code before the upcoming election. De Ceglie has also warned that social media platforms represent the biggest threat to traditional media outlets, and urged the government to "step up" to help the industry. He added that artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT are also a major threat to news outlets.

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SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED