Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun score increased Readership across the whole week

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Nov-16

Roy Morgan Research has released its Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audience results for Australian newspapers for the year to September 2016. Some 8.3 million Australians aged 14+ (42%) read print newspapers in an average week in the 12 months to September 2016, down 3.3% year-on-year. "The Daily Telegraph" is the big winner, with an increase in readers for all weekday and weekend editions, while the "Herald Sun" also scored a rare hat-trick, albeit with smaller gains right across the week. Meanwhile, "The Sydney Morning Herald" lost print readers across the week, while "The Age" recorded a fall in readership of weekday editions but a rise in readership of the Saturday and Sunday editions. "The Sydney Morning Herald" remains Australia’s most-read masthead cross-platform, reaching a combined audience of 4,187,000 in an average week, including a net 1,152,000 print readers and 3,609,000 digital readers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SCHWARTZ MEDIA PTY LTD

Magazines continue to accumulate more readers

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Nov-16

Roy Morgan Research has released the Australian Magazine Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audience results for the year to September 2016. Print magazines reached 12,575,000 Australians aged 14+, up 2.7% compared with the 12 months to September 2015. "Coles Magazine" remained the most widely-read print magazine during the period, with an average readership of 3,672,000 per issue (an increase of 31 per cent). Meanwhile, "Better Homes & Gardens" and "Australian Women’s Weekly" have the highest Cross-Platform Audiences, at 2,125,000 and 1,975,000 respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Fifield tops AdNews Power 50 list

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Nov-16

AdNews magazine will relaunch its list of the most powerful individuals in the Australian advertising, media and marketing sector after a three-year absence. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield heads the AdNews Power 50 list, which will be published on 8 November 2016. He is followed by News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller, Omnicom Media Group CEO Peter Horgan, Dentsu Aegis Network CEO Simon Ryan and Seven West Media’s chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS LIFE MEDIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, IPG ASIA-PACIFIC

ABC Netflix deal angers rivals

Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 7-Nov-16

An ABC spokesman has defended the public broadcaster’s decision to produce a second series of drama "Glitch" in partnership with Netflix. The US-based subscription video-on-demand provider is believed to be contributing about 15 per cent of the production costs. Netflix will stream the series outside of the Australian market at the same time as it is broadcast by the ABC. The deal has been questioned by Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner and Nine Entertainment Company CEO Hugh Marks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, FILM VICTORIA, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED

Domain slump only ‘temporary’

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-Nov-16

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood warned shareholders at the company’s AGM on 3 November 2016 that Domain’s first half EBITDA will be lower when compared with the previous corresponding period. Hywood described the decline in EBITDA as temporary and stressed that the outlook for Domain is positive. Fairfax shares closed 4.3 per cent lower at $A0.775 on 4 November 2016.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Heads of ABC at odds on pay deal

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Nov-16

The ABC’s new enterprises bargaining agreement has come under scrutiny, with some executives questioning whether the public broadcaster is required to comply with the Federal Government’s workplace bargaining policy. ABC chairman Jim Spigelman has told Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd that the broadcaster’s board does not believe that it is required by law to comply with this policy. However, ABC MD Michelle Guthrie told Employment Minister Michaelia Cash in August that the EBA negotiations comply with government policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

ABC plan to ramp up iView output

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 2-Nov-16

The ABC’s 2017 TV program line-up will include a number of new drama shows and documentaries, while it has confirmed new seasons of 16 current shows. The public broadcaster will also produce some 200 hours of original content for its iView video-on-demand service. ABC MD Michelle Guthrie recently stressed the need for the broadcaster to adapt in response to changes in the way viewers consume media.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Public service union wins ABC staff pay rise

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Oct-16

The Community & Public Sector Union’s national secretary, Nadine Flood, has welcomed a new enterprise agreement for ABC employees. She notes that while not all of the union’s demands have been met, the new pay deal is much better than the initial offer from the public broadcaster’s management. The ABC put the pay deal directly to staff after negotiations with the union broke down. Amongst other things, ABC staff will receive an annual two per cent pay rise over three years, domestic violence leave and a two-week increase in paid parental leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Content the future for telcos: media bosses

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 25-Oct-16

Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner says A&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner has major implications for both telcos and media companies. He believes that more deals of this nature are possible, noting the growing importance of content to telcos. Southern Cross Media Group CEO Grant Blackley says such deals could occur in Australia, and points out that under current media ownership laws his company could be acquired by Telstra but it could not merge with Fairfax Media.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, AT&T CORPORATION, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BEIN SPORTS, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Newspaper paywall successes vindicate Murdoch’s strategy

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 24-Oct-16

The Australian has gained more than 80,000 paid digital subscribers since its website was paywalled five years ago. The News Corp Australia flagship’s CEO Nicholas Gray says the newspaper will seek to lift this to 100,000 paid subscribers in 2017. Meanwhile, editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker says many news websites are now looking to adopt the paywall model. He adds that the company’s digital products complement its traditional print newspapers and allow it to produce editions that are tailored for specific digital devices.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GUARDIAN MEDIA GROUP PLC, DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST PLC, LONDON COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION