Guthrie’s ground rules: an ABC of inclusiveness

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Jul-16

ABC MD Michelle Guthrie will be one of the speakers at the Creative Country conference in Melbourne on 28 July 2016. Guthrie will outline the need for the public broadcaster to extend its multi-platform audience reach beyond its current level of about 71 per cent. She will also outline plans to increase the ABC’s diversity in terms of both staff and content, and significantly increase the proportion of its annual budget that is allocated to content production.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, STAR TV, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Fresh blood for Ten board

Original article by Darren Davidson, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-16

WIN Corporation CEO Andrew Lancaster has succeeded Brian Long as a director of Australian-listed Ten Network. WIN has a 14.9 per cent stake in Ten, and the two TV broadcasters commenced an affiliation agreement in mid-2016. Meanwhile, John Klepec has stepped down as Gina Rinehart’s nominee on the Ten board. He has been replaced by Australia’s former trade minister, Andrew Robb.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED

Ten tie-up delivers good news for WIN

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 25-Jul-16

RegionalTAM data shows that WIN Corporation’s ratings in the 6pm to 7:30pm timeslot have risen since it became a Ten Network affiliate on 1 July 2016. WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster has praised the level of assistance and co-operation provided by Ten during WIN’s switch from its long-running affiliation deal with the Nine Network. The data also show that Southern Cross Media Group’s ratings under its new program supply deal with Nine are lower than WIN’s ratings when it was affiliated with Nine.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, REGIONAL TAM PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, CRICKET AUSTRALIA

WPP eyes TV as YouTube falls short

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 25-Jul-16

GroupM is expected to allocate more of its advertising spending commitment to Australia’s free-to-air TV networks, after favouring YouTube in 2015. The Nine Network’s share of the media buying group’s TV budget has been reduced, while the Ten Network has secured a guaranteed share of 25 per cent, compared with between 23 and 25 per cent in 2015. Industry executives note that that digital platforms such as YouTube are under scrutiny over issues such as viewability and audience measurement.

CORPORATES
GROUPM COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, WPP GROUP PLC, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, THINK TV, IPG MEDIABRANDS

Ten shares get left behind in post-Brexit rally

Original article by Lucy Battersby
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 21 : 22-Jul-16

The Ten Network’s share price has underperformed its listed peers and the broader sharemarket in recent weeks. The stock has risen by 5.5 per cent since 28 June 2016, while Nine Entertainment Company and Seven West Media have gained 10.5 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively since the "Brexit" fallout. Ivor Ries of Morgans Financial notes that there is a global trend for advertisers to reduce their expenditure on TV advertising.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, LAZARD ASSET MANAGEMENT PACIFIC COMPANY, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Exit of irreplaceable Ailes would be an ‘existential tailspin’ for Fox

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 21-Jul-16

21st Century Fox has downplayed media reports in the US which have suggested that Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes is poised to step down. Ailes has been accused of sexually harassing a former Fox News employee. Fox News has become the highest-rating and most profitable news channel since it was launched in 1996, and contributes more than $US1bn in free cash flow to 21st Century Fox each year. Media experts believe that Ailes’ departure would have a big impact on 21st Century Fox, with some saying that there is no obvious successor.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX NEWS, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BTIG LLC, CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, STAR TV, SKY PLC

News Corp in undisclosed $75m tax fight

Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Jul-16

News Corp Australia’s submission to a Senate inquiry into tax avoidance in February 2015 stated that the media group believed that it fully complied with Australia’s income tax laws. Just days later the Australian Taxation Office issued a tax assessment regarding some $A75m in undeclared income from fiscal 2010. News Corp subsequently lodged an objection to the tax assessment, one day after former CEO Julian Clarke appeared before the Senate inquiry. The media group has since lodged a Federal Court appeal against the tax assessment.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Voelte to pay ABC legal costs after defamation case fails

Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 20-Jul-16

A jury has rejected a defamation lawsuit against the ABC over a news story that was broadcast on "The Business" in November 2014. Former Seven Group Holdings CEO Don Voelte had alleged that the story on Seven Group’s takeover of Nexus Energy was defamatory. The story claimed that the former Nexus chairman had "dudded" shareholders and that he had "switched camps". Voelte has been ordered to pay most of the public broadcaster’s legal costs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, NEXUS ENERGY LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Lynas hits quarterly revenue record

Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 32 : 19-Jul-16

Australian-listed Lynas Corporation has reported sales of $A196.1m for 2015-16, compared with $A148.6m previously. The rare earths producer’s full-year result was boosted by record sales in the fourth quarter, with gross sales revenue for the period rising by 27 per cent to $A55.9m. Lynas shares closed $A0.008 higher at $A0.084 on 18 July 2016.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC

Seven West signs Aussie start-up for Olympics alerts

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 19-Jul-16

Australia’s Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games broadcaster Seven West Media will provide viewers with messages advising them of Olympic events that they want to watch. Sports fans will receive an alert 15 minutes before an event begins, after Seven secured a deal with CalReply, The technology start-up’s alert service was used by some 600,000 people during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CALREPLY, SQUARE PEG CAPITAL PTY LTD, VALAR VENTURES MANAGEMENT LLC, CVC ASIA PACIFIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD