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‘Fast and vast’ Amazon on its way

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 20-Apr-17

US-based e-commerce group Amazon will expand its presence in Australia over the next several years, with a focus on low prices, fast deliver times and a wide range of merchandise. A new report from Morgan Stanley notes that Amazon already boasts annual sales of $A1bn in Australia, while some retail analysts believe that local retailers’ earnings could be slashed by around 50 per cent if Amazon opts to offer a full service in Australia. Amazon has commenced the process of recruiting a local CEO, while it is also scouting potential locations for distribution warehouses.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLINDERS INVESTMENT PARTNERS

Sport betting ads to be banned ‘siren to siren’

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Apr-17

The Coalition of Major Professional & Participation Sports’ executive director Malcolm Speed has warned that a proposed ban on gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts could affect the value of media rights deals. He adds that restrictions are already in place and further regulation will ultimately affect funding for sports at "grassroots" level. Federal Cabinet ministers are expected to approve the ban in late April 2017. Senator Nick Xenophon says the new regulations should be accompanied by a reduction in broadcasting licence fees.

CORPORATES
COALITION OF MAJOR PROFESSIONAL AND PARTICIPATION SPORTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, SPORTSBET AUSTRALIA, CROWNBET PTY LTD

Networks baulk as ABC firms for soccer rights

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Original article by John Stensholt, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 20-Apr-17

The ABC is believed to be holding talks with Football Federation Australia regarding free-to-air broadcasting rights for the A-League and Socceroos matches. The current four-year deal with Fox Sports and SBS expires in 2017, and the Seven, Nine and Ten networks are said to have considered submitting bids. However, none of them are believed to have met the deadline for lodging formal bids. Factors such as the need to contribute to Fox Sports’ production costs are said to have been a deterrent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, SOCCEROOS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ADANA PARTNERS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, THE W-LEAGUE, MATILDAS, BIG BASH LEAGUE

Women kick goals for television ad spending

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

New data shows that the inaugural AFL Women’s league prompted strong growth in TV advertising sales in March 2017 and boosted the audience share of the Seven Network. Metropolitan TV ad sales rose by 15.5 per cent year-on-year in March, while TV ad sales rose by 12.7 per cent overall compared with the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, Seven’s audience share rose from 37.5 per cent in March 2016 to 39.2 per cent, with AFLW matches consistently attracting high ratings.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOX FOOTY CHANNEL, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

New app enlists ride-share drivers to cover breaking news stories

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Apr-17

The NewsCar app, which will be launched in Sydney in late April 2017, allows motorists to be paid for supplying free-to-air TV networks with live video from the scene of breaking news events. The app enables TV networks to identify motorists who are close to the scene and direct them to record "first response" video on their mobile phone in return for instant payment. Members of the Ride Share Drivers Association of Australia will be given priority in allocating first response assignments.

CORPORATES
NEWSCAR, RIDER SHARE DRIVERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BELL PARTNERS PTY LTD

News to cut jobs in $40m cost saving

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 12-Apr-17

News Corp Australia has revealed plans for its third round of redundancies in less than two years. The staff cuts are expected to result in a significant reduction in the number of photographers at some metropolitan mastheads, while some journalists are also likely to be retrenched. News Corp is expected to rely more on the use of freelance photographers and wire agencies as it seeks to reduce costs by $A40m. Fairfax Media recently announced plans to reduce costs by $A30m.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Coalition forced to mull ‘broader’ media reform

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Apr-17

The Australian Government will consider more extensive media reforms after failing to secure the Senate’s support for its cross-media ownership bill in the last session of Parliament before the May 2017 Budget. The reforms could include changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports events and a further reduction in broadcasting licence fees. The latter is likely to be reduced over time in order to reduce its impact on the Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

Networks seek end to kids’ TV quotas

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 10-Apr-17

Australia’s commercial free-to-air networks have argued that the growing range of viewing options means the quota system for children’s programming is no longer appropriate. The networks’ submissions to the Federal Government’s arts inquiry noted that children are spending less time watching TV content on free-to-air, citing factors such as the emergence of streaming services and growing viewership of ABC channels among young audiences.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Fairfax spikes on talk of takeover

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 21 : 30-Mar-17

Shares in Fairfax Media closed 2.8 per cent higher at $A1.095 on 29 March 2017, after reaching a six-year high of $A1.15. The stock has rallied on the strength of speculation that TPG Capital has been actively buying Fairfax shares and could launch a takeover bid. The private equity firm is believed to have held talks with other media groups regarding Fairfax assets in the event of a takeover play.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, PLATINUM CAPITAL FUND, CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Sugar the sweetener for One Nation to back media reform

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 27-Mar-17

One Nation will not support cross-media ownership reforms unless the Federal Government agrees to back its push for a national code of conduct for the sugarcane industry. The Senate had been scheduled to debate the media bill in the week beginning 27 March, but One Nation will only support abolition of the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three" rule if the Government intervenes in a stand-off between Queensland sugarcane farmers and Wilmar International. The media reform bill requires the support of One Nation and the Nick Xenophon Team.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WILMAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA