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Free and pay TV row over licence fees

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Original article by Max Mason, Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 14-Mar-16

Australia’s free-to-air commercial TV networks argue that a reduction in broadcasting licence fees would result in increased local content. The networks’ CEOs also say it would make them more competitive against overseas streaming video providers, which are not subject to the same regulatory regime. Broadcasting licence fees were reduced by 50 per cent in 2013, but Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner says FTA networks should have to make a firm commitment to investing in local content in return for further licence fee cuts.

CORPORATES
SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Ten rebuffs Southern Cross offer to sell assets

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 14-Mar-16

Regional broadcaster Southern Cross Media Group has offered to sell its TV assets to Ten Network during negotiations for a new affiliation agreement. However, Ten chairman David Gordon has ruled out any such deal, saying the metropolitan broadcaster is not interested in buying Southern Cross’s TV stations. Regional broadcasters are facing growing competition from the streaming services offered by metropolitan networks and offshore players such as Netflix.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, HIT NETWORK, FREEHILLS PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Let TV stations trade spectrum: minister

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 11-Mar-16

Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield addressed the RadComms conference on 10 March 2016, where he outlined a proposal for TV broadcasters to share, lease or trade any spectrum that is surplus to their requirements. However, the proposal has been criticised by Australian Subscription Television & Radio Association CEO Andrew Main, who says free-to-air networks should not be "gifted" spare public spectrum and then profit from leasing it to other companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

News pushes for full reform

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Mar-16

News Corp CFO Bedi Singh has told a conference in the US that the Australian Government must abolish both the "reach rule" and the "two-of-three rule". The Australian Labor Party may oppose the latter, but Singh says abolishing both would provide consumers with greater choice. Singh also says the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts should also have been on the Government’s agenda for cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Kelly urges Nine-Fairfax mega-merger

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 7-Mar-16

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood recently ruled out merging with Nine Entertainment Company if cross-media ownership laws are relaxed. However, Nine’s former CFO Simon Kelly believes that the media group should merge with both Fairfax and regional broadcaster Southern Cross Media. He argues that a three-way merger would create a multi-platform company with about 30 per cent of the advertising market and revenue of around $A4bn.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, TICKETEK

‘Great adventure’ runs its course as BRW is absorbed into AFR

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 7-Mar-16

Australian media industry veterans Stuart Simson and Robert Gottliebsen say Fairfax Media’s decision to discontinue the "BRW" masthead was expected. The print edition ceased publication in 2013, and Fairfax will incorporate its online content into "The Australian Financial Review". Simson, a former editor of "BRW", says the growth of programmatic media buying has made it difficult for media groups to keep publishing multiple business mastheads. Gottliebsen, the founding editor of "BRW", made several offers to buy the masthead over a number of years.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SWITCH GROUP, BUSINESS SPECTATOR PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Crossbench not sold on case for reform

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Mar-16

The Senate Standing Committee on Environment & Communications will review the Federal Government’s bill to abolish the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule". Passage of the bill may require the support of a majority of the eight crossbench Senators, although six have yet to decide their position on the proposed reforms. Independent senator Nick Xenophon argues that TV broadcasting licence fees should also be reduced, and local content requirements should be introduced for regional broadcasters.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Graphite junior in shock collapse

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 4-Mar-16

Australian-listed Triton Minerals has been placed in the hands of administrators from Ferrier Hodgson. The group had recently released an update assessment of the prospects for its Mozambique graphite project, and it is not believed to have any significant debt. However, three directors have left Triton since December 2015, including former CEO Brad Boyle. Triton’s shares reached a high of $A0.54 in April 2015, and last traded at just $A0.061.

CORPORATES
TRITON MINERALS LIMITED – ASX TON, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GMP SECURITY PTY LTD, YICHANG XINCHENG GRAPHITE COMPANY LIMITED

$50m share raid puts Nine takeover in picture ahead of sector reforms

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 4-Mar-16

Shares in Nine Entertainment Company closed 3.42 per cent higher at $A1.51, amid revelations that an unknown buyer purchased 3.4 per cent of its shares via Deutsche Bank. The $A50m transaction was executed at $A1.60 per share, prompting speculation that Nine may become a takeover target. Fairfax Media has been touted as a potential suitor if cross-media ownership laws are relaxed, but the group has downplayed such speculation.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, DOMAIN.COM.AU, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Ten moves first in media shake-up

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 3-Mar-16

The Ten Network is believed to have held preliminary talks with regional affiliate Southern Cross Media Group about acquiring its TV assets if cross-media ownership laws are relaxed. It is expected that Ten would have to undertake a capital raising to finance the acquisition, with Southern Cross’s TV assets estimated to be worth between $A100m and $A120m. The two groups are also holding talks regarding the renewal of their affiliation agreement. Southern Cross has indicated in the past that radio assets are its priority.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, HIT NETWORK, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN