J57 Internet Publishing and Broadcasting

Privacy, ads focus of reply to report

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 25 : 18-Nov-19

The federal government was slated to release its response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s inquiry into digital platforms by the end of 2019. However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has indicated that this could be delayed until early 2020, noting that the government is "working through the details" of the ACCC’s final report. He has identified digital players’ dominance of advertising revenue and how they collect and monetise users’ data as key concerns.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Disney bets billions on content for streaming battle with Netflix

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 13-Nov-19

The Disney+ subscription video-on-demand service will be launched in Australia on 19 November, following its US debut. Walt Disney Company has revealed plans to invest $US1bn in original content for the new streaming service in 2019, which will increase to $US2.5bn ($3.65bn) by 2024. The media giant forecasts that Disney+ will boast between 60 million and 90 million paid subscribers by fiscal 2024. Netflix is investing some $US15bn on original content during 2019.

CORPORATES
WALT DISNEY COMPANY, DISNEY+, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

New ACCC case targets Google

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Original article by Paul Smith, Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 22 : 5-Nov-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is preparing an antitrust case against Google over the collapse of mobile advertising group Unlockd. The ACCC’s case will centre on whether Google’s conduct in relation to Unlockd constituted a breach of section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act, which prohibits the misuse of market power. Google is also the subject of antitrust proceedings in the US.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UNLOCKD PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ROKT PTY LTD, FITBIT INCORPORATED

Google backs industry code, not a revenue-sharing model

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 29-Oct-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has called for a code of conduct to govern business relationships between media companies and digital platforms. With both Google and Facebook having come under global scrutiny over their impact on journalism and its underlying business models, Google’s vice-president of news Richard Gingras says he believes the code is a "sensible" idea. However, he does not believe it should include revenue sharing.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Netflix made millions, paid just 0.06pc tax

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Oct-19

Subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix has revealed that its Australian arm paid a total of $341,793 in tax during calendar 2018, compared with $175,516 in 2017. However, its revenue from local subscribers is estimated to have been between $600m and $1bn in 2018. Netflix’s customers in Australia are billed by Amsterdam-based Netflix International BV, which paid Netflix Australia a $12.1m service fee in 2018; this comprises all the company’s locally recognised revenue

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Facebook News a powerful precedent

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 28-Oct-19

News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson has praised Facebook’s news service initiative, which has been launched in the US with a test audience of 200,000 users. Thomson says the Facebook News tab will help ensure that media publishers are paid for quality journalism, adding that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg deserves "genuine credit" for the new initiative. Facebook has struck a deal to include content from News Corp publications such as ‘The Wall Street Journal’ in its news service.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Original reporting is hard to define: Google

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Oct-19

Defining original reporting can be difficult, according to Google’s vice-president of search, Ben Gomes. The technology company has received a lot of criticism in the past for the way it displays news reports in Google News, and it has recently stated that it will change its algorithms and rating guidelines. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission stated in the final report of its digital platforms inquiry that digital platforms are not rewarding publishers who produce original content, and content that had taken time and effort to produce is being copied by rival companies within hours of being placed online.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Big stream of notes is music to the ears

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Original article by Andrew McMillen
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Oct-19

APRA-AMCOS has reported record of revenue of $471.8m for 2018-19. The music rights management agency has advised that digital revenue – which includes both streaming audio and video services – rose 30 per cent in 2018-19, to $175.4m. APRA-AMCOS’s annual report also notes that there has been 4,265 per cent growth in audio streaming revenue since 2012-13, while live music revenue has risen from $16.6m in 2009-10 to $30m in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALASIAN PERFORMING RIGHT ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN MECHANICAL COPYRIGHT OWNERS SOCIETY LIMITED, SPOTIFY LIMITED, APPLE MUSIC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Call for tougher rules for big tech despite shift

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Oct-19

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has stressed the continued importance of a strong newspaper industry in the era of digital platforms. He says that although there are signs that technology giants such as Facebook and Google are starting to recognise the need to pay for news content, the ACCC and its overseas counterparts will keep pushing for greater regulation of the sector to ensure a level-playing field for traditional media companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

New era: News, Apple join forces

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Original article by Chris Griffith
The Australian – Page: 3 : 1-Oct-19

Apple’s subscription news service News+ will be launched in Australia on 1 October, with News Corp Australia to be the exclusive local provider of news content. News Corp CEO Robert Thompson said the media group is pleased to be partnering with a company which recognises that there should be a premium for "premium journalism" and which believes in the "profundity of provenance". He also claimed that Apple rival Google is more interested in hype and hypocrisy. Bauer Media and Pacific Magazines are also providing content to News+, which will cost $14.99 per month with a one-month free trial.

CORPORATES
APPLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD