MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Hywood goes it alone on digital subscription

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 11-Aug-16

Fairfax Media will no longer quote the Audited Media Association of Australia’s data on digital newspaper subscriptions in its financial reports, after questioning the accuracy of the figures. The media group will instead publish its own digital subscription data in ASX releases. The AMA has reported that subscriptions to the digital edition of "The Age" fell by 6.3 per cent in the March 2016 quarter and 3.4 per cent in the year to March, while "Sydney Morning Herald" digital subscriptions grew by 0.9 per cent in the year to March.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUDITED MEDIA ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fairfax ‘reviews’ its papers

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 11-Aug-16

Fairfax Media has posted a 2015-16 net loss of $A893.5m, following a profit of $A83.2m in 2014-15. The latest result was marred by a $A1bn writedown in the value of its newspapers. The listed media group’s underlying net profit was 7.6 per cent lower at $A132.5m, and revenue fell by 0.6 per cent to $A1.83bn. CEO Greg Hywood says the company will consider all options for its publishing businesses, adding that the Australian Community Media regional newspapers business is under review.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, PLATINUM EQUITY HOLDINGS, SENSIS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GRESHAM PARTNERS LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Digital helps Seven attract Olympics audience

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Aug-16

The Seven Network’s TV broadcast of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games opening ceremony was watched by 1.61 million viewers in Australia’s five main capital cities. Meanwhile, Seven’s streaming coverage attracted 4.1 million viewers during the first two days of the Games, including a record 2.8 million streams on the second day. Seven has conceded that there have been problems with its streaming up, which it attributes to global demand for streaming services.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, OLYMPIC BROADCASTING SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Fairfax mulls sale of regional newspapers

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 9-Aug-16

Fairfax Media has declined to comment on speculation that it could divest the Australian Community Media division. The media group is said to have held talks with Platinum Equity about buying its portfolio of regional newspapers, which was primarily acquired via the 2007 merger with Rural Press. Fairfax already proposes to sell its New Zealand newspaper assets to NZME.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, RURAL PRESS LIMITED, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PLATINUM EQUITY HOLDINGS, SENSIS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Network Ten’s recovery by design

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 8-Aug-16

The Ten Network’s shares of free-to-air TV advertising revenue rose to 25.2 per cent in the first six months of 2016, compared with just 20.1 per cent in early 2014. Maxus CEO Mark McCraith says the consistency of Ten’s programming has been a major contributor to the network’s increased ratings. Meanwhile, Ten’s chief programming officer Beverley McGarvey stresses the importance of selecting the right host for popular shows like "Family Feud".

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, MAXUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PHD CREATIVE PTY LTD, THINK TV, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Frustrated WIN targets Marks

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 18 & 20 : 8-Aug-16

Nine Entertainment Company’s share price has shed 36.2 per cent since Hugh Marks succeeded David Gyngell as CEO in November 2015. Meanwhile, its share of free-to-air advertising revenue fell from 38.6 per cent to 35.6 per cent during the first half of 2016. WIN Corporation is said to have lobbied fellow large Nine shareholder Perpetual to support a push to oust Marks and Nine’s board of directors.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

The Project ‘really firing’ for WIN

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 8-Aug-16

There has been strong growth in regional audiences for the Ten Network’s TV programs since WIN Corporation switched affiliation partners in July 2016. WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster notes that shows such as "The Project" and "Have You Been Paying Attention?" in particular have been popular with WIN viewers. Meawhile, Southern Cross Media Group says its ratings and revenue were better than expected in July, when its affiliation deal with the Nine Network commenced.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, REGIONAL TAM PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

More Australians are reading print magazines

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Aug-16

Roy Morgan Research has released the Australian Magazine Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audience results for the year to June 2016. Print magazines reached 12,477,000 Australians aged 14+, up 0.8 per cent compared with the 12 months to June 2015. Nine of the country’s Top 20 magazines increased their readership; "Coles Magazine" remained the most widely-read print magazine during the period, with an average readership of 3,498,000 per issue (an increase of 28.6 per cent). Meanwhile, "Better Homes & Gardens" and "Australian Women’s Weekly" have the highest Cross-Platform Audiences, at 2,140,000 and 2,094,000 respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Roy Morgan Newspaper Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audiences for June 2016

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Aug-16

Roy Morgan Research has released its Print Readership and seven-day Cross-Platform Audience results for Australian newspapers for the year to June 2016. The "Herald Sun" remains the most-read weekday newspaper in print (down 2.1 per cent to 852,000), while "The Daily Telegraph" scored the biggest gain in print readers, up 25,000 (4.0 per cent) to 650,000 readers per average Monday to Friday issue. "The Saturday Paper" is living up to its name, with the title’s first year-on-year figures now showing growth of 13.5 per cent to 118,000 readers per average issue, while Sunday print readership dipped below 4.5 million Australians nationally (down 6.8 per cent). "The Sydney Morning Herald" remains Australia’s most-read masthead across all platforms, reaching a combined audience of 4,081,000 in an average week, including a net 1,196,000 print readers and 3,462,000 digital readers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Shut weekday print, investor tells Fairfax

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Aug-16

Australian businessman Alex Waislitz owns more than two per cent of Fairfax Media’s shares, via Thorney Investment Group and the listed Thorney Opportunities. He says that scrapping the weekday print editions of "The Age" and "The Sydney Morning Herald" is in the best interests of Fairfax and its shareholders, and CEO Greg Hywood should accelerate plans to do so. Waislitz has also welcomed Fairfax’s move to release separate earnings data for its Domain property listings business, and he says Fairfax should undertake a share buyback.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN