MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Seven West to offload its stake in Sky News

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 & 31 : 14-Oct-16

News Corporation is expected to finalise the acquisition of Sky News Australia owner Australian News Channel in coming days. ACN is owned by Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment Company and UK-based Sky. News Corp initially launched a $A25m bid for ACN in February 2015, although Seven rejected the offer and favoured operating Sky News as a joint venture with News Corp. Seven has now agreed to accept the takeover offer for ACN, whose 2015-16 profit fell by 19 per cent to $A6.9m.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SKY PLC, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Twitter secures deal to stream Melbourne Cup

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 13-Oct-16

Social media giant Twitter will stream the 2016 Melbourne Cup live to a global audience via a revenue-sharing arrangement with the Victoria Racing Club. The Seven Network will supply Twitter’s live coverage, which has attracted Sportsbet and AAMI as sponsors. Twitter has previously secured live streaming rights to some US National Football League matches, and it is keen to gain more sports broadcasting rights. Seven will also offer streaming coverage of the Melbourne Cup.

CORPORATES
TWITTER INCORPORATED, THE EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SPORTSBET AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED MOTOR INSURERS LIMITED, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Media bosses back to Senate

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 22 : 13-Oct-16

The Senate’s Environment & Communications Legislation Committee will release the findings of its second inquiry into the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms on 7 November 2016. The CEOs of media companies fronted the first inquiry in March and April, and they are said to have been asked to appear before the committee again on 24 October. The first inquiry recommended that Parliament should approve the reforms, although the bill was shelved due to the double-dissolution election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NSW FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Diamond days as TV celebrates a jubilee

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 12-Oct-16

Industry executives and on-air presenters have joined politicians in marking the 60th anniversary of TV in Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. The event coincided with a decision by the Australian Labor Party’s caucus to support a proposed 25 per cent reduction in broadcasting licence fees for commercial TV and radio stations. Free TV Australia chairman Harold Mitchell notes that linear TV continues to be an important part of daily family life.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, OZTAM PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

New Free TV boss Savill to push for cuts in broadcast licence fees

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Oct-16

Brett Savill, who has succeeded Julie Flynn as CEO of Free TV Australia, says the TV sector is likely to undergo greater change in the next 5-10 years than the switch from analogue to digital. However, he notes that TV is still the only medium than can attract the large audiences that viewed the recent Australian Football League and National Rugby League grand finals. Savill is expected to lobby the Federal Government for a further reduction in broadcasting licence fees, which Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has indicated is under active consideration.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, BAI COMMUNICATIONS, BROADCAST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, KORN/FERRY INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Amazon all set to flow here

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Oct-16

Amazon has declined to comment on speculation that its Prime Video subscription video-on-demand service could be launched in Australia in November 2016, to coincide with the global debut of "The Grand Tour". The program is hosted by former "Top Gear" presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Amazon may opt to delay the local launch of its SVOD service until 2017, to enable it to build up a larger range of original and licensed content.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, CBS CORPORATION, SHOWTIME, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HBO, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, SANDVINE INCORPORATED

News adds racing site to stable

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 6-Oct-16

Media giant News Corp Australia will increase its exposure to the wagering industry with the acquisition of punters.com.au. The website features horse racing news and a free digital form guide, and boasts some 375,000 unique visitors each month. The British division of News Corporation established a wagering joint venture with Tabcorp earlier in 2016.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, PUNTERS.COM.AU, SUNBETS, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH

Cheerio to Presto: so how many subscribers are up for grabs – and can Foxtel persuade them to Play?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Oct-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 1.5 per cent of Australian homes (143,000) subscribed to Presto in the six months to August 2016. Some 77 per cent (or 110,000) of the homes with access to Presto also have at least one other pay TV/SVOD service; 55 per cent of Presto homes also have Netflix and 27 per cent have Stan, while 48 per cent have Foxtel – with almost all of them using the traditional set-top box, not the streaming Foxtel Play. Meanwhile, analysis of SVOD households based on Household Life Stage shows that half of homes with Netflix or Stan are in the Young Singles, Young Couples and Young Parents segments, while the majority of homes that have Foxtel are Mid-Life Households (33 per cent) or Older Households (28 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL PLAY

Presto ditched as Foxtel returns to Play

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 5-Oct-16

Foxtel will discontinue the Presto subscription video-on-demand service by the end of January 2017, after agreeing to buy out joint venture partner Seven West Media. The pay-TV group will focus on its internet-based Foxtel Play service, which will be relaunched with a bigger range of packages and lower prices. Foxtel Play will be pitched at consumers who want access to premium content but are reluctant to take out a Foxtel broadcast TV subscription.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL PLAY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, TELSYTE PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, KARMA MEDIA HOLDINGS, AMAZON PRIME, HBO

Finals football shows television is far from dead

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 4-Oct-16

Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner says the high ratings for the AFL and NRL grand finals demonstrates the continued strength of traditional broadcast television. The Seven Network’s coverage of the AFL grand final attracted an average national audience of almost 4.1 million, while the Nine Network’s NRL broadcast was viewed by a national average audience of about 3.7 million.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, WESTERN BULLDOGS FOOTBALL CLUB, CRONULLA SHARKS, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED