Seven kicks a goal with Matildas’ Cup victory

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 9-Aug-23

The FIFA Women’s Wold Cup continues to be a ratings boon for the Seven Network. Data from OzTAM shows that Seven’s broadcast of the Matildas’ win against Denmark on Monday night attracted 3.248 million viewers nationwide, plus an additional 385,000 via its 7plus streaming platform. The Matildas’ 2-0 win to advance to the quarter-finals has become the most-watched program in Australia so far in 2023; the recent must-win match against Canada boasted an average audience of 2.42 million viewers. Seven has the free-to-air rights to 15 World Cup matches, with Optus Sport holding the rights to all 64 matches in the tournament.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, 7PLUS, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, MATILDAS, OPTUS SPORT

ABC defamation bill hits $1.9 million over four years

Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Aug-23

The ABC has disclosed its legal costs arising from defamation actions in recent years. Documents filed with the federal government show that the ABC spent $1.94m on legal costs over the four years to 2022-23. This includes legal settlements totalling $753,450 in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and external costs of $1.2m for the two financial years. However, the figures exclude data for the 2019-20 and 2022-23 financial years, as the public broadcaster was only required to disclose its legal costs for years in which there were three or more settlements.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Most loved Matildas smash Ashes

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Aug-23

More than 2.4 million Australians watched the Matildas defeat Canada to advance to the next round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday night. The match, which was broadcast by the Seven Network and on its 7Plus streaming service, was the first women’s sporting event in Australia to attract an average TV audience of more than two million. The match also had a total reach of 4.7 million viewers, which comprises people who watch at least one minute of content on TV or 15 seconds online. In contrast, the Nine Network’s coverage of the first session of the final day of the fifth Ashes Test attracted just 926,000 viewers; an average of 1.2 million viewers watched later sessions of the match.

CORPORATES
MATILDAS, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Uniqlo says sorry after uncovering $25 million in underpayments

Original article by Emma Koehn
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 26-Jul-23

Uniqlo Australia is the latest company to admit that its employees have been underpaid. The Japan-based casual wear retailer has advised that about 7,900 employees had been underpaid $25m in total between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2022. The underpayment occured due to errors in calculating affected employees’ entitlements, and were identified after a specialist firm undertook a review of Uniqlo’s systems. The company opened its first Australian store in 2014, and it now has more than 30 stores nationwide.

CORPORATES
UNIQLO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Andrews blindside puts Commonwealth Games broadcast deal on ice

Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 19-Jul-23

The Seven Network was the official broadcaster of the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, and it has first-refusal rights to the next two Games. Sources have indicated that Seven had been close to finalising a new broadcasting rights deal, but the negotiations have been put on hold due to uncertainty about the 2026 Games following the Victorian government’s decision to terminate its contract. The source has indicated that the 2026 Games will have significantly less appeal for Seven if they are held in a different timezone.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

‘Grey-BC’: most viewers of 7pm news are over 55

Original article by Mark Di Stefano
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 17-Jul-23

The ABC’s internal data shows that audiences for its news and current affairs programs are heavily skewed toward older people. More than 80 per cent of people who watch its evening news bulletin are aged 55+, and two-thirds are over the age of 65; in contrast, less than eight per cent of viewers are below the age of 40. Likewise, 75 per cent of the average audience for Q&A is aged 55+ and 70 per cent of Insiders’ viewers are over the age of 55. A spokesman for the ABC contends that the audience shift to older viewers for TV news content is an industry-wide trend; he adds that the ABC’s digital news service is popular among younger audiences.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Aussies spending $600m less online than a year ago

Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 12-Jul-23

Data from Airwallex shows that factors such as cost-of-living pressures and interest rates rises are prompting Australian consumers to shop online less frequently. The company estimates that online spending fell by 1.82 per cent nationwide in the year to June; this equates to a downturn of $523.3m, or $587 per adult. Amelia Hamer of Airwallex says Australians are holding back on their discretionary spending across the digital economy; however, she notes that "bright spots" include the technology, education and travel sectors

CORPORATES
AIRWALLEX PTY LTD

Rio hunts in the outback for new lithium deposits

Original article by Elouise Fowler, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 12-Jul-23

Rio Tinto has extended a lithium exploration partnership with Everest Metals with regard to the latter’s Rover Project in Western Australia. Everest has advised that Rio Tinto Exploration will commence a drilling program to assess the hard rock lithium reserves at the Rover Project. The Rio Tinto subsidiary struck an initial exploration deal with Everest in March 2021, before taking an 80 per cent stake in the venture in October 2022. WA is the world’s biggest source of hard rock lithium.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, EVEREST METALS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX EMC

ABC hires cultural guidance advisers

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 5-Jul-23

The ABC has released a 30-page Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan. Amongst other things, the public broadcaster will appoint three ‘cultural guidance advisers’ by June 2024; their role will include ensuring that culturally informed decisions are made when producing content. The inclusion plan, which is published every three years, also includes an anti-racism and discrimination statement, with the ABC set to launch a targeted anti-racism and discrimination campaign by the end of 2023. The ABC recently retrenched 120 employees as part of a restructuring program.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC board lays down law on radio fix

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 18 : 3-Jul-23

The ABC’s senior management has been urged to take action to address the decline in the audience share of its radio stations. The ratings of both ABC Radio and Radio National have fallen sharply in the last 18 months or so, and an internal advisory group has made a number of proposals aimed at addressing this, including changes to its on-air presenters and an overhaul of internal reporting structures within the public broadcaster. The advisory group’s report was tabled at the ABC’s recent board meeting in Perth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ABC RADIO, RADIO NATIONAL