DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Nine chief upbeat as digital lifts earnings

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 21 : 22-Feb-19

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a pro-forma net profit of $126m for the first half of 2018-19, which is five per cent higher than previously. EBITDA rose by six per cent to $252m, although revenue fell three per cent to $1.2bn. CEO Hugh Marks notes that broadcasting now accounts for 54 per cent of the group’s revenue, compared with 86 per cent prior to the merger with Fairfax Media. Nine’s shares closed 7.2 per cent higher at $1.57 on 21 February.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, 9NOW, METRO MEDIA PUBLISHING PTY LTD, NINE.COM.AU, PEDESTRIAN

Fairfax regional papers to be sold by mid-year

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 21 : 22-Feb-19

Nine Entertainment Company has advised that prospective buyers are undertaking due diligence on its Australian Community Media business, and a deal should be finalised by mid-2019. Formerly owned by Fairfax Media, ACM comprises more than 170 community and regional newspapers. Nine has also commenced the sale process for its New Zealand division, Stuff, as well as its events business.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, STUFF LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ALLEGRO FUNDS PTY LTD, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, PLATINUM EQUITY HOLDINGS, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

Free TV calls for tax breaks for news production to curtail Google, Facebook

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: Online : 19-Feb-19

Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair has urged the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to develop new regulations for digital platforms in the wake of its landmark inquiry into the sector. Amongst other things, Free TV suggests that digital platforms could be subject to undertakings to ensure that media companies are fairly paid for their content. The lobby group has also proposed the introduction of a tax offset for the production of local news and journalistic content.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Free TV targets tech ad imbalance

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 11-Feb-19

Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair has called for a level playing field with regard to the media’s political advertising rules. She says the ban on broadcasting political advertising on traditional media creates a big disincentive for advertising on commercial TV, given that the ban does not apply to digital media. Fair has welcomed the recommendations of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of digital platforms, but she says urgent action is needed to address competition issues in the media sector.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Facebook lashes algorithm watchdog oversight

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Dec-18

Social media giant Facebook has questioned the merits of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s proposal for a new regulator to be given responsibility for monitoring digital platforms’ algorithms. Facebook’s Andy O’Connell says the proposal is unnecessary and unworkable, and he has rejected suggestions that the company lacks transparency regarding its algorithms. He adds that Facebook will continue to engage with the ACCC as the competition watchdog prepares to release the final report of its inquiry into digital platforms in mid-2019.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Digital titans far from ad land’s biggest problem

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 12-Dec-18

Adveritas CEO Matthew Ratty estimates that advertising networks account for up to 40 per cent of fraudulent online ad revenue in Australia each year, making them a larger problem for the sector than digital giants such as Google and Facebook. He says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s proposed crackdown on digital platforms should be broadened to include ad networks. Meanwhile, Indago Digital’s Tom Sadler says all advertisers that spend more than $5,000 a month online should use a third-party verification tool.

CORPORATES
ADVERITAS LIMITED – ASX AV1, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, INDAGO DIGITAL, DIGIVIZER PTY LTD, ESSENCE, GROUPM COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED

Rules risk entrenching giants

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 11-Dec-18

LegalVision’s James Adler has questioned the merits of the ACCC’s proposal for an "opt-in" regime for the collection and use of customers’ personal data by digital platforms. Adler warns that the proposal would adversely affect many local digital start-ups while increasing the competitive advantage of established players such as Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LEGALVISION PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Facebook and Google face clamp on customer data

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Dec-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has concluded that Google and Facebook have substantial market power. The 378-page preliminary report of its inquiry into digital platforms has made 11 recommend­ations aimed at making digital players more accountable with regard to their use of customers’ data and how their algorithms work. Amongst other things, the ACCC has noted that the digital giants have contributed to declining investment in local news and journalism.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Tech titans face crackdown

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Dec-18

The preliminary report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of digital giants’ impact on the media and advertising markets will be released on 10 December. Amongst other things, the report raises concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the algorithms used by digital companies and whether such companies have engaged in "discriminatory conduct". The ACCC may also recommend establishing a regulatory auth­ority that would have the power to investigate digital companies over such conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS

UK-style digital tax may hit local media

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 31-Oct-18

Britain’s proposed digital services tax is primarily aimed at US-based technology companies, but experts suggest that traditional Australian media companies and online classifieds groups could be hit if the federal government introduces a similar tax. News Corp Australia, Fairfax Media, Seek, Domain and Carsales.com are among the local companies that could potentially be affected by any move to impose a digital services tax. The government will shortly release a discussion paper on the issue.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GREAT BRITAIN. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ERNST AND YOUNG, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION