MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Government clamp on AI likely to be part of new media deals

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

The federal government has endorsed the five recommendations that arose from a review of the news media bargaining code. The government has advised that another review of the code is slated be completed in early 2025, with the aim of ensuring that it remains ‘fit for purpose’ in a rapidly evolving technology environment for news publishers and digital platforms. Artificial intelligence technology was not specifically mentioned, but it may well be included in the next review. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson argued earlier in 2023 that media companies should be compensated when their content is use to train generative AI platforms.

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NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Coverage by ABC favoured Yes vote

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Dec-23

The ABC has released its 2023 Voice to Parliament Referendum report, with editorial policies manager Mark Maley concluding that the public broadcaster’s coverage of the referendum favoured the Yes vote. The report revealed that ABC Ombudsman Fiona Cameron had received 382 complaints relating to the referendum coverage, with 82 per cent relating to claims of bias or lack of balance. 121 of the complaints were investigated, but only four were found to have breached editorial standards.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Amazon snaps up key cricket rights

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 5-Dec-23

Amazon Prime Video has secured an exclusive deal with the International Cricket Council. The deal includes the Australian broadcasting rights for the Cricket World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship Final until 2027. Data from OzTAM shows that the Nine Network’s recent coverage of the 2023 Men’s World Cup final in India was watched by more than 1.6 million people nationwide; the final also attracted record viewer numbers on Foxtel and its Kayo Sports streaming service. World Cup and Championship matches are not subject to the anti-siphoning list unless they are played in Australia or New Zealand.

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AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL, OZTAM PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS

Free-to-air TV beats streaming giants for events

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Original article by Zoe Samios, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Nov-23

The federal government will shortly introduce a bill giving effect to its ‘prominence’ framework for local broadcasters. The legislation will require manufactures of smart TVs to prominently display the channels and apps of free-to-air networks on their interfaces. Streaming companies often pay to have their apps appear in prime positions on connected TV interfaces. The legislation will also include changes to the anti-siphoning rules for major sports events, with free-to-air networks to be given priority in discussions regarding broadcast deals. The government also intends to add women’s sports and para-sports to the anti-siphoning list.

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Readership of magazines is up 3.5% from a year ago with increases in readership for all magazine categories

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Nov-23

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2023 shows that 11.6 million Australians aged 14+ (53.0%) now read print magazines, up 3.5 per cent on a year ago. This market broadens to 15.1 million Australians aged 14+ (69.2%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app, which is virtually unchanged from a year ago. Print readership increased for 14 magazine categories compared to a year ago; the final pandemic-era restrictions were lifted by October 2022. Eight of the top 10 magazines increased their print readership over the past year, as did 20 out of the top 25 titles. Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine with print readership of 1,805,000, up 10.9 per cent on a year ago, ahead of the Australian Women’s Weekly on 1,336,000 (up 8.3 per cent). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 65,331 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2023.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Melbourne Cup viewing figures up, but far from impressive

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Original article by Nathan Jolly
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 9-Nov-23

The Ten Network’s coverage of the 2023 Melbourne Cup attracted 1.11 million viewers across the five major capital cities, compared with 1.024 million viewers in 2022. However, the broadcast was watched by 1.68 million people nationally, including streaming audiences; this compares with 1.35 million viewers nationally in 2022. The national audience was neverthless below 2021, when Ten’s coverage attracted 1.695 million viewers across metropolitan and regional areas. Ten has chosen not to renew its broadcasting rights deal.

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TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Drama still booming Down Under, but a downturn could be coming

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Data from Screen Australia highlights the continued strength of the nation’s television and film industry. The annual Drama Report shows that a total of $2.34bn was spent on the production of local and international scripted content in 2022-23; this includes broadcast television, streaming and video-on-demand content, as well as theatrical feature films. It is slightly down on the $2.43bn spent in 2021-22, although it is still the second-highest figure on record. Foreign film and TV productions accounted for $1.22bn of the expenditure in 2022-23.

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SCREEN AUSTRALIA

SBS bets on customer choice to lure viewers as it offers block on gaming, booze and fast food ads

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-Nov-23

Public broadcaster SBS will allow allow users of its streaming video service to opt out of seeing advertisements for betting companies, alcoholic beverages and quick service restaurants. SBS On Demand viewers who chose to block such content will instead see ads for other products and services. SBS MD James Taylor says viewers have always had complete control over what they watch on SBS On Demand, and they will now have greater control over the ads they see. He expects other TV networks to consider a similar move. The federal government plans to impose greater restrictions on gambling advertisements.

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SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Target wary of opportunistic ARN

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Oct-23

ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners are offering 0.753 ARN shares for each Southern Cross Austereo share, along with $0.296 in cash and $0.127 in franking credits. Southern Cross chairman John Murray has labelled the takeover bid "opportunistic", while describing it as quite complex and one that could take months to evaluate. Murray and Southern Cross CEO John Kelly have established a sub-committee of its board and management to assess the offer, while its shareholders are supportive of it considering the bid.

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SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

ABC boss grilled over Gaza conflict coverage

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 25-Oct-23

The ABC’s MD David Anderson appeared before a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, where he faced questions about the public broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Amongst other things, he was asked about leaked text messages written by the ABC’s Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner, who described reports that Hamas had beheaded Israeli babies as "bullshit". Anderson says the comment was ‘unfortunate’ and should not have happened; he added that it is currently under investigation, and that Joyner will no longer file reports from Israel. Anderson also rejected suggestions that the ABC is anti-Semite.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION