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Foxtel bows to demand by adding movie greats

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 26 : 5-Mar-18

Foxtel’s executive director of television, Brian Walsh, says broadcasters must offer exclusive content in order to remain competitive as viewers shift to watching films and TV shows on demand. Foxtel will increase the number of film channels it offers to 10 with the launch of Foxtel Movie Greats on 23 March. It will feature classic Hollywood films that have been digitally remastered in high definition. Foxtel will also add more than 1,200 classic films to its Foxtel Now on-demand service.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL NOW, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, HBO, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Latest Sky complication upsets Murdoch plans

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 26 : 1-Mar-18

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had aimed to finalise the acquisition of British pay-TV group Sky by mid-2018. Murdoch would then complete the $US52.4bn ($A65.9bn) deal to sell most of Fox’s assets to Walt Disney Company, including Sky. However, these deals are in doubt in the wake of Comcast’s Stg22.1bn ($A39.4bn) bid for Sky. Comcast’s offer is compelling at Stg12.50 per share, compared with Fox’s offer of just Stg10.75. The Comcast deal is also likely to meet with less resistance from Britain’s competition regulators than Fox’s bid for Sky.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

POSCO offtake deal for Pilbara lithium

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 1-Mar-18

Pilbara Minerals has struck a deal for South Korean steelmaker POSCO to buy at least 80,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from its Pilgangoora lithium mine each year. The offtake agreement includes provision for POSCO to buy up to 240,000 tonnes each year, which means that the bulk of Pilgangoora’s output for the next several years has been contracted. POSCO will also acquire a 4.75 per cent stake in Pilbara Minerals for $A79.6m, while the two companies propose to establish a downstream processing joint venture in Korea.

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PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, POSCO, TAWANA RESOURCES NL – ASX TAW, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE, GREAT WALL MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, GANFENG LITHIUM COMPANY LIMITED, GENERAL LITHIUM CORPORATION, TOYOTA TSUSHO CORPORATION

Seven not seeking legal costs from Harrison

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Feb-18

The long-running legal dispute between Seven West Media and former employee Amber Harrison has returned to court. Seven alleges that Harrison was in contempt of court by posting tweets about the media group despite being subject to a suppression order. Seven is seeking a declaration to this effect from the Supreme Court of New South Wales, although sources have indicated that the company is unlikely to enforce a costs order against her. Harrison left the media group in the wake of an affair with CEO Tim Worner.

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SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Seven not seeking legal costs from Harrison

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Feb-18

The long-running legal dispute between Seven West Media and former employee Amber Harrison has returned to court. Seven alleges that Harrison was in contempt of court by posting tweets about the media group despite being subject to a suppression order. Seven is seeking a declaration to this effect from the Supreme Court of New South Wales, although sources have indicated that the company is unlikely to enforce a costs order against her. Harrison left the media group in the wake of an affair with CEO Tim Worner.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Seven post-Games Spartan bet hits the skids

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Feb-18

Data from OzTAM shows that the debut episode of the Seven Network’s "Australian Spartan" boasted just 816,000 viewers on 25 February. This compares with 1.54 million viewers for the Nine Network’s "Married at First Sight", and 1.12 million viewers for Seven’s "My Kitchen Rules" in the same timeslot a week earlier. Seven had been hoping to capitalise on the strong ratings for its coverage of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by scheduling "Australian Spartan" earlier in the year than it had originally intended.

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SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), OZTAM PTY LTD

Nine and News Corp in tie-up talks on cricket

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 26-Feb-18

The Ten Network may lose the Big Bash League broadcasting rights if a potential deal between Nine Entertainment Company and News Corp’s Fox Sports comes to fruition. Sources have indicated that they may a joint bid for all forms of the game, with Nine to retain its existing coverage of international matches and share coverage of the domestic Twenty20 competition with Fox Sports. The two media groups are believed to be proposing to offer between $A130m and $A150m per year, although they have not yet approached Cricket Australia.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

David Jones not looking at riding to Myer’s rescue

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Feb-18

Department store chain Myer canvassed rival David Jones about what would have been a $A3 billion merger in late 2013, but the potential deal never got off the ground. Myer shares fell a record low of less than $A0.50 on 22 February, amid growing fears about its financial health. Ian Moir, the CEO of David Jones’ parent Woolworths Holdings, said he has no interest in making a bid for Myer. David Jones’ operating profit fell by 29.4 per cent in the December half, and Moir said his focus is on improving its performance.

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MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Nine has options if cricket broadcast rights escalate

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Feb-18

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A116m, compared with $A75m previously, with revenue rising nine per cent to $A720m. Meanwhile, CEO Hugh Marks says that while Nine wants to retain the cricket broadcasting rights, it will not pay an excessive price. He has also signalled that Nine may be open to a joint bid for the cricket rights. Nine paid $A500m for international cricket broadcasting rights under the current five-year deal, with Ten paying $A100m for Big Bash League rights. There has been speculation that the next rights deal could cost close to $A1bn.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, CRICKET AUSTRALIA

Wesfarmers in push for tax cuts

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Feb-18

Wesfarmers has posted a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A212m, which is 86.6 per cent lower than previously. Group revenue rose 2.8 per cent to $A35.9bn, while Bunnings’ revenue in Australia and New Zealand was 10.2 per cent higher at $A6.566bn. Supermarket chain Coles posted revenue of $A19.978bn, which is in line with the previous corresponding period. Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott has called for corporate tax cuts to ensure that Australian companies are globally competitive, adding that a lower tax rate will ultimately boost wages.

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WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT