ACCC to investigate advertising secrets of Google and Facebook

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 5-Dec-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims is confident that it has sufficient powers to investigate the market power of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. He says the ACCC’s inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on competition in media and advertising markets is likely to take around 18 months, with the Federal Government to receive a preliminary report on its findings within 12 months. Sims adds that the ACCC will seek input from all parties affected by the growing market dominance of digital players.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, WPP PLC, GROUPM COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD

Google, Facebook face ACCC inquiry

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 4-Dec-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will hold an inquiry into the impact of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook on competition in the media and advertising sectors. The inquiry has been ordered by the Federal Government as part of its deal with former senator Nick Xenophon regarding media reforms. The inquiry’s terms of reference include examining digital platforms’ market power and their impact on the level of choice and quality of news and journalistic content. The ACCC’s final report is slated to be completed within 18 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, BUZZFEED INCORPORATED, MASHABLE INCORPORATED, ZIFF-DAVIS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA GROUP

Fairfax pulls plug on HuffPost

Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 5 : 30-Nov-17

Fairfax Media has announced the end of its joint venture with Huff Post Australia, just two years after the launch of the online news and commentary web site by editor Tory Maguire. Maguire will leave HuffPost Australia as a result, as will CEO JJ Eastwood. It is understood that Fairfax may try to find jobs for some HuffPost Australia staff, but the majority are expected to lose their jobs. The end of the joint venture could impact on former "Today" host Lisa Wilkinson, who is HuffPost Australia’s editor-at-large, and who is understood to be on a six-figure annual deal.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA, AMERICA ONLINE INCORPORATED, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, HUFFINGTON POST

Optus hails EPL growth, sweats on Socceroos

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 13-Nov-17

Optus CEO Allen Lew has downplayed suggestions that it may allow customers of rival telcos to subscribe to its exclusive coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Lew says Optus is not yet ready to announce details of its World Cup packages. Optus will be hoping that the Socceroos win their upcoming qualifying match against Honduras, although Lew notes that the World Cup will be popular with many dual nationals in Australia. Soccer is a key element of the Optus Sport service.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SOCCEROOS, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Foxtel pulls new service out of box

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Nov-17

Pay-TV group Foxtel has officially launched its new streaming "puck" device. The Foxtel Now puck will be available to purchase from 10 November and provides streaming access to Foxtel’s pay-TV service as well as free-to-air channels. Users can also install apps to access rival streaming services such as Stan. Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh says the Foxtel Now puck is aimed at younger customers than its traditional cable and satellite TV service.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Power to the irresponsible

Original article by Mark Ritson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 6-Nov-17

The extent to which Russian operatives attempted to influence the 2016 US presidential election and destabilise American society has been revealed by US social media companies. According to evidence presented by Facebook, Google and Twitter executives to Congress in the week ending 3 November, Russian operatives created close to 36,750 Facebook sites during the 2016 campaign, along with 1,000 YouTube videos, 36,000 bots and 2,752 Twitter accounts. Colin Stretch, Facebook’s general counsel, basically conceded it really had no way of knowing the identity of all of its advertisers.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Telstra TV reboots streaming push

Original article by Supratim Adhikari, Chris Griffith
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Oct-17

The new version of Telstra’s streaming video device provides access to free-to-air networks and their "catch-up" services, as well as subscription video-on-demand providers such as Netflix and Foxtel Now. Jo Pollard, Telstra’s head of media, says the Telstra TV2 device uses high efficiency video coding, so broadband speed limitations should not be an issue for users. Pollard adds that the proposal to merge Foxtel with Fox Sports will be a "net positive" for the telco, which will hold a 35 per cent stake in the merged entity.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, HAYU, BIGPOND MOVIES, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Google changes tack, works with publishers on subscriptions

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 3-Oct-17

Digital giant Google has responded to news publishers’ concerns by adopting a "flexible sampling" model for news content accessed via its search results. This will replace the "first click free" model, and allows publishers to determine how many of their news articles consumers can read before requiring a paid subscription. Richard Gingras of Google says the company will also co-operate with publishers in streamlining the process of signing up for paid subscriptions.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, FINANCIAL TIMES GROUP

YouTube improved on ads boycott: Google

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Sep-17

Google-owned YouTube has implemented a number of measures in the wake of revelations that clients’ advertisements had been displayed alongside objectionable video content. The controversy prompted a boycott of YouTube by leading Australian and global brands. Google Australia and New Zealand MD Jason Pellegrino says the company has worked with advertisers to address the issue. The new measures include a requirement that a video must be viewed at least 10,000 times before it starts to generate advertising revenue.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, KIA MOTORS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, NBN CO LIMITED, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, PEPSICO INCORPORATED, STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY LIMITED, AT&T CORPORATION, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED

Google ‘misled’ Senate on revenue

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Aug-17

Executives from Google and Facebook appeared before a Senate committee on 22 August. Google’s MD for Australia and New Zealand, Jason Pellegrino, told the inquiry into the future of public-interest journalism that the digital giant boasted gross advertising revenue of $1.1bn in Australia in 2016. Senator Nick Xenophon questioned this figure, citing advertising industry estimates which suggest that Google’s annual revenue was around $A3bn. Meanwhile, Facebook said its gross revenue in Australia was $A326m in 2016.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED