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Free-to-air TV beats streaming giants for events

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Original article by Zoe Samios, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Nov-23

The federal government will shortly introduce a bill giving effect to its ‘prominence’ framework for local broadcasters. The legislation will require manufactures of smart TVs to prominently display the channels and apps of free-to-air networks on their interfaces. Streaming companies often pay to have their apps appear in prime positions on connected TV interfaces. The legislation will also include changes to the anti-siphoning rules for major sports events, with free-to-air networks to be given priority in discussions regarding broadcast deals. The government also intends to add women’s sports and para-sports to the anti-siphoning list.

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WA lithium mine pauses production

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Original article by Peter Ker, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 29-Nov-23

Mineral Resources has advised that mining operations at the Wodgina hard rock lithium mine in the Pilbara has resumed following a fire at its processing plant on 24 November. However, Mineral Resources says that processing of spodumene rock is still on hold and it is uncertain as to when this will resume. However, the company does not expect the temporary suspension to have any impact on shipments. It also says the cause of the fire is still being investigated. Wodgina is the world’s third-largest hard rock lithium mine.

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MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Black Friday sales hit record high

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 29-Nov-23

The Australian Retailers Association recently forecast that consumers will spend $6.36bn across the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Data showing that retail sales fell by a seasonally 0.2 per cent in October suggests that many consumers had delayed their spending in order to take advantage of the increasingly popular four-day sales event. Retailers are also believed to have offered larger Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts of up to 30 per cent, compared with about 26 per cent in 2022. Meanwhile, the National Retail Association’s director Rob Godwin says Christmas sales will be a "make-or-break" period for many retailers.

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AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

US miner plotting Australian rare earths processing plant

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 29-Nov-23

US-based mineral sands producer Tronox may build a rare earths processing plant in Western Australia. The company has approached the state government about the plant, which would process a waste by-product of mineral sands mining known as monazite. Tronox proposes to stockpile monazite in WA for 3-5 years to use as feedstock for the plant, while sources have suggested that it may also import monazite from its South African operations to be processed. Tronox has mineral sands mines in WA and NSW. Iluka Resources is also building a plant to process monazite that it has been stockpiling for three decades.

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TRONOX INCORPORATED

Fake website scams: Grim warning to Black Friday shoppers

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Original article by Chloe Whelan
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 21-Nov-23

Australian shoppers are expected to spend $6.36bn in the Black Friday sales, making it the biggest shopping event on the nation’s retail calendar. However, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s deputy chair Catriona Lowe has warned shoppers to be aware of fake websites that replicate the genuine sites of well-known brands. The products sold on these sites are often fake or simply never arrive. Lowe adds that scammers are now paying for their fake websites to appear at the top of internet search results, so consumers may not be able to trust the first listing they see. Data from the National Anti-Scam Centre shows that there have been 2,760 reports of fake online stores so far in 2023.

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AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NATIONAL ANTI-SCAM CENTRE

Bunnings, Kmart and Samsung are Most Trusted Brands in Retail and Consumer Products for 2023

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Nov-23

Roy Morgan has presented the annul Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards for 2023 in the retail and consumer products industries. Hardware brand Bunnings has had a second consecutive victory as the ‘Most Trusted Retail Brand’ in Australia. The ‘Most Trusted Brand in Department & Discount Department Stores’ has been won by Kmart, also repeating its success of a year earlier. South Korea-based multinational Samsung has recorded its second straight victory in the ‘Most Trusted Consumer Products Brand’ category, while Apple is the ‘Most Trusted Technology Brand’ for a second consecutive year. Australia’s largest supermarket chain Woolworths has triumphed once again as the ‘Most Trusted Supermarket Brand’ as well as the ‘Best of the Best’ Most Trusted Brand in Australia for 2023.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Melbourne Cup viewing figures up, but far from impressive

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Original article by Nathan Jolly
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 9-Nov-23

The Ten Network’s coverage of the 2023 Melbourne Cup attracted 1.11 million viewers across the five major capital cities, compared with 1.024 million viewers in 2022. However, the broadcast was watched by 1.68 million people nationally, including streaming audiences; this compares with 1.35 million viewers nationally in 2022. The national audience was neverthless below 2021, when Ten’s coverage attracted 1.695 million viewers across metropolitan and regional areas. Ten has chosen not to renew its broadcasting rights deal.

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TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Black Friday sales tipped to buck Christmas slowdown trend

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Research by the Australian Retailers Association in partnership with Roy Morgan reveals that shoppers are tipped to spend $6.36bn across the four-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend (November 24-27); this is up 3.0% from last year. It is expected that many Australian shoppers will use the sales extravaganza to purchase gifts for Christmas. Broader pre-Christmas spending in 2023 is tipped to edge in line with last year’s results as shoppers increasingly tighten their budgets in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis. Provisional forecasts by the ARA and Roy Morgan suggest that $66.8bn will be spent in the November to December 24 Christmas trading period – broadly in line with last year (up slightly by 0.1% or $74,000).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Target wary of opportunistic ARN

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Oct-23

ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners are offering 0.753 ARN shares for each Southern Cross Austereo share, along with $0.296 in cash and $0.127 in franking credits. Southern Cross chairman John Murray has labelled the takeover bid "opportunistic", while describing it as quite complex and one that could take months to evaluate. Murray and Southern Cross CEO John Kelly have established a sub-committee of its board and management to assess the offer, while its shareholders are supportive of it considering the bid.

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SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

ABC boss grilled over Gaza conflict coverage

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 25-Oct-23

The ABC’s MD David Anderson appeared before a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, where he faced questions about the public broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Amongst other things, he was asked about leaked text messages written by the ABC’s Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner, who described reports that Hamas had beheaded Israeli babies as "bullshit". Anderson says the comment was ‘unfortunate’ and should not have happened; he added that it is currently under investigation, and that Joyner will no longer file reports from Israel. Anderson also rejected suggestions that the ABC is anti-Semite.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION