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Foxtel’s Kayo, Binge drive growth back to profit

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 7-Aug-21

Media giant News Corporation has posted a 2020-21 net profit of $US389m ($525.6m), compared with a loss of $US1.55bn for the previous financial year. Revenue rose four per cent year-on-year to $US9.36bn, while EBITDA was up 26 per cent at $US1.27bn. Meanwhile, News Corp Australia’s revenue was one per cent lower than previously, but the revenue of pay-TV group Foxtel was boosted by strong growth in subscriptions for its Binge and Kayo streaming services.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BINGE, KAYO SPORTS

Inconsistent YouTube rules challenged by Sky

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Aug-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker has asked YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki for a clearer explanation as to why 21 of Sky’s videos were removed from its platform and why it was banned from uploading content for seven days. Whittaker contends that YouTube’s policies on COVID-19 are "internally inconsistent and incapable of compliance", while he has asked for an explanation of remarks made by YouTube to other media groups as to why Sky was suspended. YouTube was apparently quoted as saying it was suspended for "content that denies the existence of COVID-19". Whittaker says Sky absolutely rejects that suggestion.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Seven strikes gold with Games coverage

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 9-Aug-21

The Tokyo Olympic Games have been a ratings boon for the Seven Network, with new data showing that 19.95 million Australians watched its coverage of the first 11 days of the showcase event. Viewers have also embraced Seven’s streaming coverage, watching more 4.6 billion minutes via 7plus during the first 14 days of the Olympics. Seven now boasts some 9.1 million registered users of 7plus, up from 6.4 million prior to the Olympics. Chief digital officer Gereurd Roberts says the strong growth in uptake of the free streaming service demonstrates the power of the Olympics and the success of Seven’s strategy.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, 7PLUS

News Corp buys oil information service for $1.56b

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Aug-21

Global media giant News Corporation has struck a deal to buy Oil Price Information Service, which provides referencing pricing and news and analytics for the energy and renewables sectors. News Corp will pay $US1.15bn ($1.56bn) for OPIS, which will become part of its Dow Jones Professional Information Business. OPIS is forecast to post revenue of around $US129m in the year to 30 November. News Corp has made a number of other acquisitions during 2021.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE, DOW JONES AND COMPANY

ABC admits staff numbers are on the rise

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-21

The ABC has come under scrutiny after new figures showed that its headcount rose by 2.8 per cent in 2020-21, with the addition of 120 additional employees. This includes 95 temporary positions. ABC MD David Anderson recently told a Senate committee that he did not think the public broadcaster’s headcount had increased in the last financial year. Liberal senator Ben Small says the ABC has been exposed as deceiving the public on resourcing, and notes that it is taking on additional staff at a time when its commercial rivals are cutting jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

TV legend David Leckie dies at 70

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Jul-21

Media identities have praised industry veteran David Leckie, who has passed away after a long illness. Leckie became CEO of the Nine Network in 1994, after holding a number of roles at the media group. He joined the Seven Network in 2003, and it subsequently displaced Nine as Australia’s top rating free-to-air network under his leadership. Seven West Media’s CEO James Warburton has described Leckie as a "true legend of the Australian media industry", while Nine CEO Mike Sneesby says he was a "giant of television".

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Sky News numbers boom in crisis

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says many viewers have discovered the pay-TV group’s content during the pandemic and continued to watch it. He notes that a growing number of viewers are accessing Sky News content via digital platforms rather than Foxtel. An online survey undertaken by Hoop Group shows that Sky News videos were viewed 95.6 million times on YouTube in June, a year-on-year increase of 248 per cent, while viewership on Facebook rose by 170 per cent. Sky News now boasts over 1.8 million YouTube subscribers and more than 1.1 million Facebook followers.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOOP GROUP, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Nine dumps Hewson in gender shake-up

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Nine Entertainment aims to have equal representation of men and women among its newspapers’ opinion writers. Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson has been a columnist for "The Sydney Morning Herald" and "The Age" for nearly two decades, but he has been dropped by Nine due to this policy. However, Hewson believes that the real reason for the decision was the fact that he has become too critical of the federal government. Hewson has tweeted that neither the government or the mainstream media believe in a free press. Former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone was also recently dropped from the roster of columnists at "The Age".

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

The lithium party’s still young

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 14-Jul-21

Matthew Hope of Credit Suisse forecasts that the strong rise in the price of lithium since February will be sustained. He says the lithium supply glut has ended, and the world faces a growing supply deficit as current and proposed lithium projects will be insufficient to meet demand. Rising demand for lithium has also boosted the share prices of Australian-listed producers; Pilbara Minerals’ shares gained 522.6 per cent in 2020-21, which was the second-best return among S&P/ASX 200 stocks.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

No peace deal: Lew rejects Myer offer of board seat

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Jul-21

Premier Investments’ chairman Solomon Lew has called for Myer Holdings’ three remaining independent directors to step down. He contends that $760m of shareholder value had been lost since his listed retail investment vehicle become Myer’s biggest shareholder in 2017. Lew adds that Premier has "nothing to gain" by engaging with Myer’s current board, after the department store group’s acting chair JoAnne Stephenson offered to provide his company with "appropriate" board representation. Lew has been advocating board renewal at Myer for several years.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV