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Ad honchos caution Nine over merger

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Original article by Jennifer Duke John McDuling
The Age – Page: 6 : 30-Jul-18

Dentsu Aegis CEO Simon Ryan says the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media will be good for shareholders of both firms, as well as generating "value creation" for clients. Omnicom Media Group’s Australia and New Zealand CEO Peter Horgan said there would be some benefits to media buyers that would result from the merger, while he warned there should not be any thought of combining Nine and Fairfax newsrooms. He says newspaper journalists are very different to television journalists.

CORPORATES
DENTSU AEGIS MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD IPG MEDIABRANDS

PM shoots down ABC over Iran attack report

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Original article by Darren Davidson Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: Online : 30-Jul-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull may file a formal complaint against the ABC over a story regarding the US and Iran. The online story suggested "unnamed senior figures" in the Australian government had indicated the US could launch a strike on Iran as soon as August. Turnbull noted that neither he, the Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister, or the head of the Australian Defence Force had been contacted prior to the story being published. US Defence Secretary James Mattis has described the ABC story as "fiction".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE UNITED STATES. DEPT OF DEFENSE AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Keating out of touch and a tad vindictive

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Original article by Mark Day
The Australian – Page: 24 : 30-Jul-18

Former prime minister Paul Keating has been rather critical of the Nine-Fairfax merger, while attacking the federal government’s changes to media ownership in 2017. Keating said the changes would reduce diversity within the media, while he referred to Nine’s news output in rather unflattering terms. However, there is plenty of diversity of views within Fairfax’s radio network for example, while "The Australian" publishes views from all parts of the political spectrum. Keating’s views ignore the fact that the Australian media must adapt to survive.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ GOOGLE INCORPORATED FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Shotgun wedding a threat to independence, say journos

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Original article by Stephen Brook, John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Jul-18

Fairfax Media journalists have expressed concern about the long-term impact of the merger with Nine Entertainment Company on the newspaper publisher’s editorial independence. Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood and Nine counterpart Hugh Marks have given assurances that the two companies’ newsrooms will not be merged. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has warned that the deal will reduce media diversity and has urged the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to block it.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Sky news junkie spreads his wings

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 25-Jul-18

News Corp Australia’s executive chairman Michael Miller has praised the contribution of Australian News Channel CEO Angelos Frangopoulos to the development of Sky News Australia. The pay-TV network’s ratings have risen in 2018, while it will shortly venture into the free-to-air market for the first time via alliances with the Nine Network and regional broadcaster WIN Corporation. Frangopoulos, who joined ANC in 1996, has been appointed CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SKY NEWS ARABIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, 2SER, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Call to rewrite ABC, SBS charters

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 3 : 25-Jul-18

News Corp Australia has used its submission to an inquiry into the competitive neutrality of the ABC and SBS to argue that taxpayer funding gives them an advantage in the distribution of news content online. The media giant has also called for the public broadcasters’ charters to be overhauled to ensure a "level-playing field" with regard to online news content. In addition, News Corp argues that the ABC should not compete with commercial rivals for contracts to supply news content to third parties.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SKY NEWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

ABC pitches for massive digital grant

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 28 : 23-Jul-18

The ABC is seeking a one-off funding boost to prepare it for the eventual termination of traditional broadcasting services and its shift to a pure-play online media company. As part of the public broadcaster’s online-only future, it proposes to establish a database containing its entire archive of audio-visual content. ABC chairman Justin Milne notes that it spends about $200m a year on broadcast infrastructure and spectrum, but it will no longer incur these costs when it ultimately shifts to an online-only platform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, OZEMAIL LIMITED, TELSTRA BIG POND

Autobarn overtakes Supercheap Auto for Auto store satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-18

Autobarn has won Roy Morgan’s Auto Store Customer Satisfaction Award for June 2018, with a customer satisfaction rating of 90.1%. Autobarn has increased its customer satisfaction by 8.2% over the last year, and it has now won three monthly customer satisfaction awards in 2018. Runner-up Supercheap Auto has also increased its customer satisfaction over the last year (up 2.8% to 88.4%) while third-placed Repco has seen a decline in customer satisfaction (down 1.5% to 84.1%). Analysis shows that more than three million Australians shop at an Auto store in an average month; over 70% (2.16 million) are men, while less than 30% are women (920,000). The generations most likely to shop at Auto Stores are Generation X (840,000), Baby Boomers (800,000) and Millennials (730,000); these three generations comprising over three-quarters of the overall Auto Store market.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUTOBARN PTY LTD, SUPER CHEAP AUTO, REPCO

Myer to shed head office jobs but keep stores

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 20-Jul-18

Department store group Myer has reduced staff numbers at its head office in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct by about 30 per cent in recent years, and CEO John King is expected to seek further job cuts. However, sources have rejected suggestions that up to 50 per cent of head office staff could be retrenched. King also intends to reduce the number of Myer stores, although he is expected to wait until existing leases expire. Meanwhile, David Jones has posted 2.2 per cent growth in sales for the first half of 2018, and growth of 2.7 per cent in same-store sales. Full-year sales were 0.9 per cent lower than previously.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, HOUSE OF FRASER HOLDINGS PLC, SEARS HOLDINGS, KMART CORPORATION, LATITUDE FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED

Comcast surrenders to Disney in bid for 21st Century Fox

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Original article by Anousha Sakoui, Gerry Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 20-Jul-18

Comcast will press ahead with its takeover bid for pan-European broadcaster company Sky after withdrawing from the bidding war for the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. Comcast’s cash offer of $US65bn for the Fox assets forced rival bidder Walt Disney Company to increase its offer to $US71bn. Disney’s bid has received clearance from antitrust regulators.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, SKY PLC, AT&T CORPORATION, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NBC TELEVISION NETWORK, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED