MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Foxtel seeks delayed EPL coverage

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 2-May-16

Pay-TV group Foxtel is said to be negotiating a deal to broadcast the TV channels of some of the most popular English Football League teams. The channels provide delayed coverage of EPL matches, and were previously shown in Australia by FetchTV. Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh does not expect many EPL fans to cancel their Foxtel subscription when Optus’s exclusive three-year deal for live coverage of EPL matches begins in August 2016.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB, MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB, LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB, BEIN MEDIA GROUP, BEIN SPORTS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Ten and WIN deal expected shortly

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 27 & 29 : 2-May-16

The Ten Network is said to be close to finalising an affiliation agreement with regional broadcaster WIN Corporation, which currently has a content supply deal with Nine Entertainment Company. Speculation that Nine will pursue a merger with Southern Cross Media Group has intensified since the two groups signed a five-year affiliation agreement on 29 April 2016. Nine will receive 50 per cent of Southern Cross’s advertising revenue under the new deal, compared with the 34 per cent that Ten receives at present.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, HIT NETWORK, WEST DIGITAL TELEVISION, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

Tonagh’s plan to get halo back on pay TV

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 2-May-16

The iQ3 digital recorder, the Presto streaming video joint venture with Seven West Media and the wholesale broadband deal with Telstra are among the priorities for Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh. Restoring Foxtel’s "halo" following the success of Netflix is also on the agenda for Tonagh, who acknowledges that the pay-TV group needs to do more to promote the fact that it offers a much large range of content than Netflix.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTAR UNITED COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, SKY PLC, EASYNET GROUP

Slashed TV fee delivers windfall

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-Apr-16

The office of Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has declined to comment on speculation that the Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget will include a reduction in TV broadcasters’ licence fees. Free-to-air networks have lobbied the Government in the lead-up to the Budget, and some media reports have suggested that it will agree to their request. Pay-TV group Foxtel has argued that any reduction in licence fees should be accompanied by changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports events.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, 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, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

WIN loses streaming battle against Nine

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Apr-16

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has dismissed WIN Corporation’s application for an injunction to stop Nine Entertainment Company from streaming its metropolitan TV channels into regional markets. Justice David Hammerschlag has ruled that live streaming does not constitute broadcasting under the parties’ affiliation agreement. WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster says the judgment demonstrates the need to scrap the "reach rule". The ruling may affect other regional broadcasters in negotiating new affiliation agreements.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, BIRKETU PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Game of Thrones breaks records

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Original article by Max Mason
The Age – Page: 22 : 27-Apr-16

Pay-TV group Foxtel expects the season six debut episode of "Game of Thrones" to have attracted more than one million Australian viewers when Foxtel IQ and encore screening figures are taken into account. The first episode boasted a live viewing audience of 727,000 on 25 April 2016, with an average 396,000 people watching its initial broadcast during the day and an additional 285,000 viewers for the encore screening in prime-time.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HBO, BITTORRENT INCORPORATED

Quickflix goes bust, blames Stan for demise

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 21 : 27-Apr-16

Listed subscription video-on-demand provider Quickflix has been placed in the hands of administrators from Ferrier Hodgson. Quickflix has attributed its decision to go into voluntary administration on the refusal of streaming rival Stan to endorse a proposal to restructure redeemable preference shares. They were issued to HBO in 2011 and subsequently sold to Stan’s joint owner Nine Entertainment Company in 2014. Quickflix says Stan’s terms for agreeing to the restructure were unacceptable.

CORPORATES
QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, HBO, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY

Stop the presses: News and Fairfax in talks on sharing printing operations

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 25-Apr-16

Traditional rivals Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia are said to have commenced discussions on sharing newspaper printing and distribution facilities. The proposed alliance is expected to include both metropolitan and regional titles, with the latter widely seen to have the most potential to generate cost savings. However, Fairfax has a much earlier deadline for the print editions of its newspapers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, THE NEWSPAPER WORKS LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Foxtel hits pause on box with bugs

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Original article by Dominic White
The Age – Page: 25 : 20-Apr-16

Australian pay-TV group Foxtel has temporarily ceased marketing the IQ3 video recording device. The IQ3 has been plagued by technical issues since its launch in March 2015, and Foxtel expects to resolve all outstanding problems shortly. It has resumed marketing earlier versions of the device until the problems are resolved.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FETCHTV PTY LTD

TV audiences slide as Netflix effect kicks in

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 18-Apr-16

Data from OzTAM highlights the impact of video-on-demand services on Australia’s free-to-air TV networks. Prime-time viewing has fallen by 4.3 per cent overall in 2016, led by the key 16-39 age demographic, which is down 14.8 per cent. However, the figures do not include people who view the networks’ programs via their online "catch-up" services. The OzTAM data also shows that the prime-time audience share of pay-TV group Foxtel has fallen by 5.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
OZTAM PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), THE NIELSEN COMPANY