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Nine flags cuts amid advertising downturn

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 15 & 23 : 26-Feb-25

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2024-25 interim net profit of $95.1m, which is 29 per cent lower than previously. EBITDA fell by 15 per cent to $268m, and revenue was steady at $1.39bn. The media group has advised that it will seek to generate cost savings of $100m across its operations over the next two years, and interim CEO Matt Stanton has indicated that the restructuring will involve some job cuts. Stanton also stated that the Domain property listings business is a key part of Nine’s growth strategy, in the wake of a $2.6bn bid for Domain from US-based CoStar Group.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, COSTAR GROUP INCORPORATED

Nine CEO met CoStar boss weeks before Domain bid

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 25-Feb-25

Nine Entertainment will release its half-yearly results today, with investors and analysts certain to question acting CEO Matt Stanton about CoStar’s bid for Domain. The US real estate firm has made a $2.40 per share for Domain, the online property classifieds platform that is 60 per cent owned by Nine and which is considered by many to be its most valuable asset. It can be revealed that CoStar founder Andy Florance met with Stanton when Florance was staying with former federal treasurer Joe Hockey in Sydney over the Christmas break, and that the two discussed possible opportunities involving CoStar and Domain.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, COSTAR GROUP INCORPORATED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

AFL fans expected to fork out as Saturday live coverage goes behind paywall in 2025

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Original article by Jack Snape
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Feb-25

Foxtel and its Kayo Sports streaming service will have exclusive live broadcasts of AFL matches on Saturdays in Victoria and Tasmania during the 2025 season. The live and exclusive coverage will also apply to the first eight rounds of the home-and-away season in other states, under the new $4.5bn broadcasting rights deal between the AFL, Foxtel and the Seven Network that began this year. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany is confident that fans will be willing to pay to watch live coverage of AFL matches.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Murdochs at war – through media

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Feb-25

A dispute among the members of the Murdoch family over the future control of their media empire has been aired in public in recent days, with particular reference to an interview with James Murdoch. The dispute centres around the attempts of Rupert Murdoch to change the terms of a family trust so that his favoured son Lachlan gets sole control of it, while his siblings James, Elisabeth and Prudence miss out on what would be eventually gaining a majority control of it. Rupert Murdoch’s efforts have so far failed, and an appeal against a legal decision that went against him is not likely to succeed. It is suggested that the dispute could be settled by buying out James, Elisabeth and Prudence on terms that are more favourable than the 60 per cent of market value that they have been offered.

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Tough advertising market smashes Seven West Media’s earnings

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Original article by James Manning
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Feb-25

Seven West Media has posted a net profit of just $17.7m for the first half of 2024-25, which is 68 per cent lower than previously. Revenue was down 6.2 per cent at $727.3m and EBITA fell 26 per cent to $92m. Seven has noted that rival Nine Entertainment benefited from its coverage of the Paris Olympic Games during the half-year; Seven’s own financial results for the previous corresponding period had also been boosted by its coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Meanwhile, Seven’s share of the advertising market rose by 0.5 per cent during the half-year, to 41.5 per cent; its advertising share was 43.8 per cent in the December quarter.

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

Worst in 30 years: What Hottest 100 says about the state of Aussie music

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Original article by Thomas Mitchell
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Jan-25

The ABC’s youth-focused radio station Triple J is under scrutiny after its annual Hottest 100 countdown featured just 29 Australian artists; this compares with 52 last year. The head of Triple J, Lachlan Macara, says Australian music discoverability is an issue, which has been exacerbated by the growing use of streaming music platforms. Local artists account for just 9.2 per cent of songs that are streamed in Australia, and Tim Kelly from the University of Technology Sydney notes that streaming platforms’ playlists are determined by algorithms rather than radio station programmers.

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TRIPLE J PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Myer to relaunch loyalty scheme after merger

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 24-Jan-25

More than 96 per cent of Myer shareholders have voted in favour of a deal to acquire Premier Investments’ clothing brands. The deal was also backed by more than 99 per cent of Premier’s shareholders. Myer’s executive chair Olivia Wirth says the department store group will relaunch its Myer One customer loyalty program later in 2025 and expand it to include the network of stores in Premier’s Apparel Brands portfolio; they include Just Jeans, Portmans and Jacqui E. Premier’s chairman Solomon Lew will have a stake of about 27 per cent in the enlarged Myer and gain a seat on its board, while Premier will now focus on its Smiggle and Peter Alexander brands.

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MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, PORTMANS PTY LTD, JACQUI E PTY LTD

Rivers rus dry with no buyers

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 24-Jan-25

The receivers and managers of Mosaic Brands have advised that they have been unable to find a buyer for its Rivers footwear and clothing brand. David Hardy from receiver KPMG says all remaining 136 stores operating under the Rivers brand will be close by mid-April, with the loss of about 650 jobs. Rivers and several other brands were acquired in 2018 by Noni B, which subsequently became Mosaic Brands. The company collaped in late 2024 with debts of nearly $250m, and several of its retail brands were immediately axed. The brand that eventually became Rivers was established in 1863.

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RIVERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MOSAIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX MOZ, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Labor’s $1bn for Rinehart-backed rare earths

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-25

The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund is set to become a cornerstone investor in Arafura Rare Earths. The fund is set to acquire $200 million worth of unsecured convertible notes in the rare earths miner, which can be converted into shares at a fixed price and after a specified period of time. The government has previously provided some $840m worth of loans and grants to Arafura, whose biggest shareholder is Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Arafura’s assets include the Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

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ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION FUND, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Former Foxtel chief executive Tonagh to join Nine board

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 15-Jan-25

Nine Entertainment’s chair Catherine West says media industry veteran Peter Tonagh will be a valuable addition to the group’s board. Tonagh was previously the deputy chairman of the ABC; he is also a former CEO of both News Corp Australia and pay-TV company Foxtel. Nine is also believed to have recruited another former Foxtel executive, Amanda Laing; she is said to be set to be given oversight of Nine’s broadcast operations. Nine’s shares fell by nearly 40 per cent in 2024, although the stock has gained about four per cent so far in 2025.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD