MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

‘Urgent meeting’: ABC peace deal over pay on brink of collapse

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has accused the ABC’s management of backing away from a key clause in the in-principle pay deal that was struck in late March and aimed at ending an industrial dispute. The clause granted automatic pay grade increases to ABC employees on band 5 of its pay scale; however, the MEAA says the ABC now claims that the clause will only apply to performance appraisals that have been completed since 2023. MEAA members wil discuss the possibility of further industrial action today, following the recent 24-hour strike that disrupted the ABC’s broadcast schedule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Ex-Stokes right-hand man lifts stake in Seven owner

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Steve Jackson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Apr-26

Media industry veteran Bruce McWilliam has become a substantial shareholder in Southern Cross Media Group. McWilliam’s stake in Southern Cross has increased to more than five per cent after buying about 25 million ordinary shares last week. He stepped down as the commercial director of Seven West Media in 2024, after more than two decades at the media group; Seven subsequently merged with Southern Cross in early 2026, and McWilliam says he capitalised on a sharp fall in the combined group’s share price. McWilliam is upbeat about the outlook for free-to-air broadcast media, and says Southern Cross owns a top TV network and a strong radio network.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED

Kyle and Jackie O chase ARN for twice its value

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Apr-26

The market capitalisation of listed radio stations group ARN Media has fallen by more than 75 per cent over the last three years, to just $73.5m. In contrast, former KIIS FM breakfast show hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson are suing ARN for a combined $167m. The latter contends that she had been unfairly sacked after advising ARN that she could no longer work with Sandilands on the long-running Kyle & Jackie O Show. ARN has indicated that it will defend the claim, and says it is too soon to estimate the potential financial impact of the legal proceedings. ARN’s shares closed 19 per cent lower to $0.235 on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

ABC slightly sweetens its pay offer to staff

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 5 : 1-Apr-26

Jocelyn Gammie from the Community & Public Sector Union says it will recommend that members vote in favour of a revised pay offer from the ABC. The improved pay deal has also been welcomed by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, a week after members of the two unions staged a 24-hour strike at the public broadcaster. The ABC has proposed a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years, which represents an 0.5 per cent improvement on its initial offer; however, the broadcaster has removed a $1,000 bonus from the negotiating table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

ACM staff pass vote of no confidence in Catalano after assault charges

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-Mar-26

Australian Community Media held an all-company meeting yesterday afternoon, in the wake of assault charges against joint owner Antony Catalano. Sources have indicated that 30 employees voted in favour of a motion of ‘no confidence’ in Catalano, although only 49 people voted. ACM employees had attended a town hall meeting on Monday, with MD Tony Kendall stressing that Catalano has "almost no involvement" in the regional newspaper publisher’s day-to-day operations; he added that the allegations will not affect the company or force it to be sold. Catalano and Alex Waislitz bought ACM from Nine Entertainment Company in 2019 for $125m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD,NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

‘Serious misconduct’: Kyle taken off air

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Steve Jackson, Stephen Rice, Samina Rahkshani
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Mar-26

ARN Media has suspended controversial broadcaster Kyle Sandilands after KIIS FM co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson advised that she cannot continue to work with him. The popular Kyle and Jackie O show has been put on hold for two weeks, and most of its production staff have been told not to come into the studio today. The breakfast duo fell out after an on-air dispute in late February, and ARN has told Sandilands that his behaviour was an "act of serious misconduct" that breached of his service agreement; he has been given 14 days to remedy the breach or have his contract terminated.

CORPORATES
ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

AI deals a Labor ‘priority’: Nine

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 25-Feb-26

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2025-26 interim net profit of $81.4m, which is 42 per cent higher than previously. Group revenue was down four per cent at $1.1bn, while its TV division’s revenue was 14 per cent lower at $508.2m. The Stan streaming video platform’s revenue rose 15 per cent to $282.7m, while the publishing division’s revenue was down two per cent at $262.2m. Meanwhile, CEO Matt Stanton is confident that the federal government will support the media sector’s push to secure increased payments from technology companies for using their content to train AI models.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Magazines matter to a clear majority of Australians: over 14.5 million read magazines in print or online

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-26

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to December 2025 shows that 10.7 million Australians aged 14+ (46.4%) now read print magazines. This market broadens significantly to over 14.5 million Australians aged 14+ (63%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app. Overall, a total of 11 of the top 25 most widely read magazines increased their readership over the last year. Food & Entertainment is again Australia’s best performing magazine category, with a readership of 6,296,000 (well over 2 million ahead of any other category, and reaching 27.2% of the population). Meanwhile, Better Homes and Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with a print readership of 1,593,000. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,960 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to December 2025.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

UK-owned Foxtel still calls Australia home

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 15 : 11-Feb-26

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has emphasised that the pay-TV and streaming group remains focused on producing content for Australian audiences, despite having been sold to UK-based DAZN in 2025. Speaking at Foxtel’s annual showcase on Tuesday night, Delany noted that it is still an Australian-operated company that has a local headquarters and management team, and directly employs more than 1,000 Australian. He added that Foxtel invests more than $1bn in Australian sports every year, as well as $130m in local drama content.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DAZN

Magazines matter to a clear majority of Australians: over 14.6 million read magazines in print or online

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 26-Nov-25

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2025 shows that 10.9 million Australians aged 14+ (47.4%) now read print magazines. This market broadens significantly to over 14.6 million Australians aged 14+ who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app. Overall, a total of seven of the top 25 most widely read magazines increased their readership over the last year. Food & Entertainment is again Australia’s best performing magazine category, with a readership of 6,612,000 (well over 2.5 million ahead of any other category, and reaching 28.7% of the population). Meanwhile, Better Homes and Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with a print readership of 1,658,000; the second-placed The Australian Women’s Weekly has a print readership of 1,180,000. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 65,956 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2025.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED