MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Foxtel goes global to fund record NRL deal

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones, Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Jul-26

The Australian Rugby League Commission’s chairman Peter V’landys says the National Rugby League’s new seven-year broadcasting rights deal will "future proof" the game. He adds that the record $5.3bn deal will allow the NRL to grow both in Australia and internationally. Incumbent broadcasters Foxtel and Nine Entertainment have retained the rights; every match in the regular season and the finals will be televised by Foxtel and its Kayo Sports streaming service, while Nine will show three matches per week and have exclusive rights to the NRL grand final and the State of Origin series. New Zealand pay-TV network Sky is also included in the deal. The NRL and Foxtel owner DAZN will establish a revenue-sharing deal which is aimed at launching the league in new markets.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LIMITED – ASX SKT, DAZN

NRL rights tiebreaker looms as Nine plots eleventh-hour pitch to V’landys

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Original article by Steve Jackson, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 1-Jul-26

Recent media reports indicated that the National Rugby League is poised to finalise a new seven-year rights deal with its current broadcast partners, Nine Entertainment and Foxtel. However, Nine CEO Mike Stanton is believed to be planning to hold further talks with the Australian Rugby League Commission’s chairman Peter V’landys in London, with a view to securing exclusive linear TV and streaming rights. Stanton is expected to argue that splitting the rights will limit the NRL’s growth.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ARN to pay $15m to sacked shock jock

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Original article by Steve Jackson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 17-Jun-26

ARN Media has struck a deal with Kyle Sandilands to settle legal action over the termination of his contract to co-host the breakfast show on KIIS FM. The listed company has agreed to pay him $5m per annum over three years; he had been seeking $85m in compensation from ARN for ending his 10-year contract to jointly host the ‘Kyle and Jackie O’ show after not much more than a year. Sandilands had been sacked earlier in 2026 over an on-air falling-out with long-running co-host Jackie Henderson, who is in turn seeking $82m in compensation for the loss of her own contract.

CORPORATES
ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

Southern Cross Media to cut at least 200 jobs

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Original article by Angelica Snowden, John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-Jun-26

Sources have indicated that proposd job cuts at Southern Cross Media Group could generate cost savings of about $25m. The media company is believed to have commenced a consultation process with its staff, and the Seven West Media division – which includes the Seven Network and The West Australian – is expected to bear the brunt of the job losses. Cassie Derrick from the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says the mooted loss of about 200 jobs highlights the growing instability facing workers in Australia’s media sector. Southern Cross CEO Rohan Lund recently identified investment in news and sport as a priority for the group.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

V’landys lures NRL bids from Amazon, Seven

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Jun-26

The Australian Rugby League Commission’s chairman Peter V’landys has previously stated that he wants the National Rugby League’s next broadcasting rights deal to be finalised by 15 July. The ARLC has confirmed that Amazon Prime Video and the Seven Network’s parent Southern Cross Media Group have submitted bids for the five-year broadcasting rights deal from 2028. Sources have indicated that both groups are seeking the rights to one match per week, while Southern Cross will also seek the State of Origin rights. Current NRL broadcasters Nine Entertainment and Foxtel will seek the rights to all matches, although anti-siphoning laws would require Foxtel to on-sell some matches to a free-to-air network.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION LIMITED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Rinehart will want influence after buying into media: Ex-Fairfax chair

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 28-May-26

Roger Corbett contends it is almost certain that Gina Rinehart will express her views to how she thinks ‘The West Australian’ and Channel Seven should report the news, with both media outlets being owned by Southern Cross Media. Corbett was the chairman of Fairfax Media at a time when Rinehart was a shareholder, with the two having ‘crossed swords’ during that time, with his comments coming after it was revealed that companies associated with Rinehart, who is Australia’s richest person, had ‘bankrolled’ most of Bruce McWilliam’s $25 million stake in SCM. A former lawyer and commercial director of the Seven Network, McWilliam now owns just under 10 per cent of SCM.

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SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED,{SPACE]SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL,{SPACE]FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED

BILLIONAIRES – AUSTRALIA]

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

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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.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

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

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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

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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.

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ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

ABC slightly sweetens its pay offer to staff

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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