Metro radio drags on Southern Cross

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 25-Oct-17

Southern Cross Austereo has advised that revenue fell by two per cent year-on-year in the September 2017 quarter, due to the sale of a TV station in northern New South Wales. The group’s revenue was seven per cent lower on a reported basis, and its metropolitan radio stations posted a revenue decline of six per cent. However, its regional radio stations reported revenue growth of two per cent, and regional TV revenue was 3.5 per cent higher.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, PODCASTONE, HIT NETWORK, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

FIRB tick for Ten takeover

Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Oct-17

CBS Corporation’s acquisition of the Ten Network has cleared a key hurdle, with the Foreign Investment Review Board advising that it will not oppose the deal. The Supreme Court of New South Wales is scheduled to commence a hearing on the deal in late October, and small shareholders David Gubbay and Yunfeng Du are expected to challenge the transfer of Ten’s shares to CBS.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

The Athlete’s Foot wins for customer satisfaction

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that The Athlete’s Foot had Australia’s most satisfied shoe store customers in August 2017 with a customer satisfaction rating of 87.1%, an increase of 3.9% on a year ago. Close behind are Spend Less Shoes with a customer satisfaction rating of 85.9% and Williams The Shoemen on 83.9% – both of these shoe stores improved their customer satisfaction ratings from a year ago. Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says achieving high customer satisfaction results is a vital metric for retail businesses looking to maximise customer retention in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and the arrival of giant US retailer Amazon is set to add further pressures for existing retailers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, THE ATHLETE’S FOOT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SPENDLESS SHOES PTY LTD, WILLIAMS THE SHOEMEN

League Cup leads Seven’s switch to tailor livestream viewer ads

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Oct-17

Seven West Media is expected to announce at least eight new TV shows at its annual "upfronts" on 27 October. The media group will also reveal plans to offer targeted advertising on the live streaming versions of its TV channels, which will allow viewers to see ads based on their preferences. The "addressable television" product will be launched with Seven’s coverage of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Meanwhile, Twitter will expand its live coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival in a deal with Seven and the Victoria Racing Club.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED

Rebel is Australia’s top sports store for customer satisfaction

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Rebel Sports is Australia’s leading sports store with a market-leading customer satisfaction rating of 88.4% in August 2017, up 2.7% from a year ago. It is followed by Sports Power (86.8%) and Sportsco (75.8%). However, they have both achieved greater increases in their customer satisfaction ratings than Rebel over the past year. Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says Rebel Sports’ victory in August builds on consecutive wins in the annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards in 2015-16, and Rebel Sports will be aiming for a "threepeat" in the Sports Store category at the 2017 annual Awards.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, REBEL SPORT LIMITED, SPORTS POWER, SPORTSCO PTY LTD

Debenhams sets up shop in Australia

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 18-Oct-17

Pepkor will open the first Debenhams department store in Melbourne on 24 October, and Pepkor executive Graham Dean says the store format it has chosen has not been used by Debenhams before, nor has it been seen in Australia. Dean, who used to work for Myer, says the traditional "big-store" format that department stores are known for are no longer viable. Pepkor intends to open 10 Debenhams stores in Australia under a franchise agreement with the UK retailer.

CORPORATES
PEPKOR, DEBENHAMS RETAIL PLC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

TPG-News mulled sale of AFR

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Oct-17

Fairfax Media’s former suitor TPG Capital approached News Corp about on-selling "The Australian Financial Review" if its takeover bid succeeded. The approach is believed to have been made before TPG submitted its first indicative bid for Fairfax, although the private equity firm eventually decided to retain all of Fairfax’s assets. Although TPG was primarily interested in the Domain property listings business, it ultimately submitted a $A2.7bn bid for the whole of Fairfax.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

CBS to take Ten as rivals submit

Original article by Stephen Brook, Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 26 : 16-Oct-17

Lachlan Murdoch failed to lodge a legal challenge to the transfer of Ten Network’s shares to CBS Corporation by the deadline of 13 October, and Bruce Gordon is also believed to have not done so. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says Ten’s acquisition by the US media group now seems to be inevitable, and he has told the Radio Alive conference that News Corp would be willing to produce local content in partnership with CBS.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, COMMERCIAL RADIO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VIACOM INCORPORATED, CHANNEL 5 BROADCASTING LIMITED

Kmart leads discount department store satisfaction

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Kmart had a customer satisfaction rating of 87.6% in August 2017, which places it ahead of its major Australian discount department store competitors. Kmart is followed by Costco (87.1%), Target (86.5%), Harris Scarfe (85.9%), Big W (85.3%), Best&Less (84.7%) and Target Country (81.2%). Kmart was ranked fifth a year ago, behind Target, Best&Less, Harris Scarfe and Costco. Kmart has improved its customer satisfaction rating by 1.0% points over the last 12 months, while its major competitors all showed declines, except for Big W which remained unchanged. The biggest declines were for Best&Less (down 2.8% points), Target and Target Country (both down 2.2% points).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, TARGET COUNTRY

Nine says it can match Facebook for ad data

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 12-Oct-17

Nine Entertainment Company has used its annual "upfronts" to announce several new TV shows for 2018, including a local version of "Love Island" that will be broadcast on one of its secondary channels. Nine will also launch the 9Galaxy programmatic advertising buying platform, which will utilise OzTAM ratings data and usage data from Nine’s network of digital websites. Nine will also launch Future Women, a subscription-based website aimed at professional women.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC. NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED. OZTAM PTY LTD. RED PLANET. DATA REPUBLIC. LIVERAMP. EQUIFAX INCORPORATED. FACEBOOK INCORPORATED