Uncategorized

Why Rupert is still in the news

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Con Frantzeskos
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 21-Dec-17

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to sell the bulk of 21 Century Fox’s assets to Walt Disney Company reflects that the fact that digital disruptors have largely only affected the channels for distributing content, rather than the content itself. Murdoch will retain TV assets that primarily broadcast live content, such as news and sport, in which digital players such as Facebook and Google have made relatively limited progress to date. Murdoch is also repositioning his media empire to focus on live news and sports at a local level, which has always been his forte.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, FOX NEWS, FOX SPORTS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Amazon to trigger big change in ad spending

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Dec-17

UBS forecast that Amazon will boast revenue of $A3.5 billion in Australia by 2023, while Morgan Stanley expects it to be generating revenue of $A12 billion by 2026. Search marketing firm Adthena forecasts that Amazon’s share of internet searches in retail categories could be between 40 per cent and 70 per cent by 2023, which will require existing Australian retailers to change their advertising strategies and improve their online sites. PHD Media CEO Mark Coad notes that Amazon is effectively becoming a default search engine for some consumers when it comes to looking for products.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ADTHENA, PHD MEDIA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, THE GOOD GUYS, APPLIANCES ONLINE PTY LTD, M&C SAATCHI AGENCY PTY LTD, BOHEMIA

Sky News at centre of Foxtel tussle over fees

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 15 : 20-Dec-17

The proposed merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports is in doubt due to a dispute between Foxtel’s joint owners over carriage fees for Sky News. Foxtel currently pays about $A30m a year to broadcast the news channel, but Sky News owner News Corp is seeking an increase in this fee. Foxtel’s 50 per cent owner Telstra has signalled that it is open to an increase in the carriage fee, but its proposed increase is lower than that sought by News Corp. The merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports recently gained regulatory approval.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SKY PLC

Myer profit warning a present for Lew

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-Dec-17

Solomon Lew might be more likely to get support for his push for an extraordinary general meeting of Myer shareholders after the department store chain issued another profit warning on 14 December. Lew is Myer’s largest shareholder through Premier Investments, and he has been attacking the Myer board for some months over what he claims is its flawed business strategy. Myer’s shares fell to a record low after it revealed that sales for the last two weeks were down five per cent.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, LIVE CLOTHING, LOVER

Media buyers divided on News Corp’s pull from AMAA audit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Zoe Samios
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 13-Dec-17

Nunn Media MD Chris Walton and Tom Rankin of 303MullenLowe are among media agency executives to have criticised News Corp Australia’s decision to withdraw its newspapers from the Audited Media Association of Australia’s circulation audit. Meanwhile, Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says there is a need for an independent research body to measure media. "I’m sure the AMAA will be described as unnecessary expenditure. But it comes at a time when advertisers and their agencies are crying out for truth and accuracy in measurement," Levine said. "The time for media and their industry bodies (OzTAM, EMMA etc) measuring themselves is fast drawing to an end. The confluence of digital media, outdoor, direct, point of sale and traditional media means more than ever advertisers and their agencies want , and need, a single source of truth – not media’s own claims or industry’s own claims."

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUDITED MEDIA ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NUNN MEDIA PTY LTD, 303 MULLENROWE, HAVAS MEDIA PTY LTD, PHD GROUP PTY LTD

Department stores set for decade-long tumble

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Luke Misthos
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Dec-17

The value of Australia’s department store sector will decline to $A16.7 billion (excluding the value of GST) in 2027, according to Morningstar. The sector is currently valued at $A17.5 billion. Morningstar predicts that sales earned by "bricks and mortar" department stores will decline by two per cent annually between now and 2027, while the number of physical stores will fall by 26 per cent. Morningstar contends that Kmart is best-equipped to meet the challenge posed by Amazon.

CORPORATES
MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

News Corp tipped to cut print circulations 30pc

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Dec-17

There is speculation that News Corp Australia will reduce the print circulation of some newspapers by 25-30 per cent following its decision to cease reporting print sales data. Industry sources have suggested that News Corp may also have decided to stop distributing bulk copies of its newspapers, which Fairfax Media has already done. Fairfax Media also reduced the print circulation of some titles in 2014.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS

Rivals uneasy at merger of Foxtel, Sports

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 11-Dec-17

Scott Lorson, the CEO of pay-TV company Fetch, says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission should have released a statement of issues before advising that it will not oppose the proposed merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports. Other pay-TV providers and telcos have also expressed concern about approval of the deal, which the ACCC concluded would not result in a substantial lessening of competition.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FOXTEL NOW, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Game on: Foxtel, Fox Sports merger cleared

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Dec-17

Shares in News Corporation and Telstra rallied on 7 December after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission signalled that the proposed merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports would not substantially reduce competition. The two companies jointly own Foxtel, while News Corp is the sole owner of Fox Sports. Telstra’s stake in Foxtel will be reduced to 35 per cent if the merger proceeds. ACCC chairman Rod Sims says the regulator took into account the fact that Foxtel’s digital products will be available to Telstra’s rivals.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Amazon just warming up, warn analysts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Dec-17

Melanie Sanders of Bain & Company has forecast that e-commerce giant Amazon will boast Australian sales of between $A8bn and $A10bn within 5-10 years, making it the nation’s sixth-biggest retailer. Consumers have criticised the limited product range offered by Amazon when it officially launched in Australia, but Sanders argues that the company probably opted for a low-key launch in order to test its systems. Retail industry analysts have warned Australian retailers against becoming complacent based on Amazon’s local launch on 5 December, while Amazon itself says its sales for the day were higher than for any previous country launch.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BAIN AND COMPANY, UGAM, WORLD FIRST AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN