Uncategorized

It’s too little, too late: media lament aid deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 16-Apr-20

The federal government has announced a $91m financial relief package for the media sector, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Amongst other things, the government will suspend content quotas for local drama and children’s programs for the rest of the year, while TV and radio networks will collectively receive $41m in tax rebates for spectrum fees. Regional media companies will also receive financial support totalling $50m. However, industry executives had hoped for a further relaxation of cross-media ownership laws and action to force digital companies to pay for content.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, ELLIOTT NEWSPAPER GROUP PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1

AFP search of journalist’s home illegal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Pelly, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 16-Apr-20

Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw says News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst could still face criminal charges despite a landmark High Court ruling on the legal validity of a search warrant. The court has unanimously ruled that the warrant used to search her home in June 2019 was invalid as it was too imprecise and "impossibly wide". However, the court narrowly rejected an application for an injunction requiring the AFP to return or destroy data that it seized in the raid.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

News Corp warns of hit to Foxtel, Kayo and real estate classifieds

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Apr-20

News Corp expects to lose more Foxtel and Kayo Sports subscribers due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on live sports events. Foxtel’s broadcast and commercial subscriber base fell to 2.268 million in the December quarter, compared with 2.326 million in the September quarter, while its churn rate rose from 14.4 per cent to 16 per cent. Meanwhile, Kayo boasted 402,000 paid subscribers in early November, but this had fallen to around 370,000 by early February. News Corp also expects its property listings businesses in Australia and the US to be hit by the pandemic.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, MOVE INCORPORATED

Catalano’s Australian Community Media to suspend some print titles

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 15-Apr-20

Australian Community Media has responded to the coronavirus-induced downturn in the advertising market by suspending publication of some non-daily regional print newspapers. Four of its printing facilities will also be closed until late June. ACM’s joint owner Antony Catalano says he recently approached Communications Minister Paul Fletcher about financial support for regional media groups. Catalano contends that consolidation in the regional media sector is necessary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA

High Court to rule on warrant AFP used to raid journalist Annika Smethurst’s Canberra home

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elizabeth Byrne, Matthew Doran
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 15-Apr-20

The issue of press freedom will come under scrutiny again on 15 April, when the High Court decides on the validity of a search warrant used in a media raid in June 2019. News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst has challenged the legal validity of the search warrant issued to Australian Federal Police officers who raided her home in Canberra. Her lawyers have argued amongst other things that the law under which the warrant was issued was invalid because it breached the implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication. The ABC has unsuccessfully challenged the search warrant used in a separate raid on its Sydney premises.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Clock ticking on debt-laden Seven as lenders make plans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Perry Williams, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Apr-20

Seven West Media’s $541m debt equates to 2.4 times its underlying earnings. CEO James Warburton is seeking to reduce costs in response to the coronavirus-induced downturn in the advertising market, but there are concerns that Seven’s lenders may opt to on-sell their debt; any buyers of this debt could potentially call in their loans or gain control of Seven via a debt-for-equity swap. Seven’s outlook has been complicated by uncertainty regarding the future of its $40m deal to sell Pacific Magazines to Bauer Media.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Seven takes Bauer to court over mags deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Apr-20

Seven West Media has stated that Bauer Media’s contract to buy Pacific Magazines is unconditional following recent regulatory approval for the $40m deal. Seven has launched court action to ensure that Bauer completes the deal. There has been speculation that Germany-based Bauer could withdraw from the Australian market following its decision to shut down its New Zealand arm. Seven in turn has flagged the possibility of further asset sales to reduce its $541m debt.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG

Foxtel’s tough week as 200 jobs go

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Apr-20

Pay-TV group Foxtel has responded to the coronavirus-induced downturn in advertising revenue by retrenching 200 employees. CEO Patrick Delany has told staff that the pandemic has forced the company to accelerate a "transformation" of its business due to digital disruption. A further 140 employees who work in its sports production division have been stood down until the end of June; Delaney notes that it is uncertain as to when live sporting events will resume. He adds that Foxtel is not eligible for the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme at present.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS

Media groups slash costs as advertising slump bites

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 7-Apr-20

Southern Cross Media Group CEO Grant Blackley says the fundamentals of its business remain sound, despite the impact of the pandemic on the advertising market. Southern Cross will seek to reduce costs by $40m-$45m in 2020, while the proceeds of a $169m equity raising will be used to reduce its $330.5m debt. The group has also advised that advertising revenue fell 10 per cent year-on-year in the nine months to 31 March. Rival radio stations group HT&E has also flagged cost cuts, including temporary salary reductions and reduced working hours for its staff.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1

New Zealand’s Netflix, Lightbox and Amazon Prime Video experience double digit growth in viewership

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Apr-20

New data from Roy Morgan shows that a total of 2.42 million New Zealanders have access to Netflix in their household, an increase of 291,000 compared with a year ago. It is followed by Sky TV (including Neon) on 1.70 million (+66,000), Lightbox on 875,000 (+113,000), Apple TV on 377,000, Amazon Prime Video on 322,000 (+191,000) and YouTube Premium on 234,000 (-7,000). This new pay television data has been obtained from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over six thousand New Zealanders each year. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that while Netflix remains the most popular pay television service, a number of its competitors are also experiencing considerable growth. Levine adds that the coronavirus lockdown should provide a boost to not only new entrants such as Disney Plus but also more established services as housebound Kiwis look for ways to entertain themselves.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LIMITED – ASX SKT, NEON, LIGHTBOX, APPLE TV, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, YOUTUBE PREMIUM, DISNEY+