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Foxtel-Fox Sports merger hails new era in content

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Mar-18

Foxtel customers will have access to 201 channels after joint owners News Corp Australia and Telstra finalised a deal to merge the pay-TV company with News Corp’s fully-owned Fox Sports. Telstra will reduce its stake in Foxtel to 35 per cent as a result of the deal. Meanwhile, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney has flagged plans to launch a series of genre-based streaming video services, with the aim of targeting consumers who have shunned its traditional broadcast products.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Lynas sees rare chance in trade row

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 6-Mar-18

Lynas Corporation has posted a 2017-18 interim profit of $A63m, compared with a $A19.3m loss for the previous corresponding period. Revenue was up 75 per cent at $A200.9m, while the rare earths miner reduced its debt to $US256.5m. CEO Amanda Lacaze says the Federal Government’s proposed collaboration with the US on the development of rare earths is positive for the local industry, adding that Lynas has contacted the office of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull regarding the issue.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Softened spy laws sent for scrutiny

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Mar-18

The Federal Government has amended proposed foreign interference laws in response to the media industry’s concern about the impact on freedom of the press. Although journalists will not be exempt from the laws, they will only face criminal prosecution for reporting on classified documents if their actions pose a threat to public safety or national security, or affect an ongoing criminal investigation. The amendments will be scrutinised by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Sky News, Nine explore finance-reporting JV

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Mar-18

Nine Entertainment Company has declined to comment on reports that it is holding talks with pay-TV channel Sky News Business regarding a finance reporting joint venture. However, a spokeswoman for Sky News owner News Corp has confirmed that the two companies have held such talks. The proposed alliance would distribute finance content on free-to-air, pay-TV and online channels, and could potentially include the launch of a new business channel. Nine and News Corp may also jointly bid for cricket broadcasting rights.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SKY NEWS BUSINESS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CARADVICE.COM.AU PTY LTD, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

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.

CORPORATES
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.

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 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.

CORPORATES
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