MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

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

Foxtel’s $8b float plans delayed

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

Foxtel’s joint owners, News Corp and Foxtel, initially planned to list the pay-TV company on the Australian sharemarket in the second half of 2016. However, the proposed IPO is believed to have been pushed back to 2017. Negotiations over a new broadband arrangement are said to be a key issue. Plans for the IPO also include merging News-owned Fox Sports with Foxtel. Foxtel faces growing competition from subscription video-on-demand companies such as Netflix.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Yahoo US deal may see Seven exit JV

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Apr-16

There has been speculation that Australian-listed Seven West Media could seek to exit the Yahoo!7 joint venture if US internet giant Yahoo! divests its news and media assets. The joint venture boated revenue of $A99.6m in 2014-15, and Seven receives 50 per cent of Yahoo!7’s profits. Morgan Stanley recently forecast that global internet groups such as Google and Facebook will account for between $A4bn and $A5bn worth of advertising revenue in 2016.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, YAHOO!7 COMMUNICATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YAHOO! INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST PLC, DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, VIACOM INCORPORATED, IAC/INTERACTIVECORP, CBS CORPORATION

Bauer urged to expand under new boss Chan

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 8-Apr-16

Former Pacific Magazines CEO and COO Nick Chan will succeed David Goodchild as CEO of magazine publisher Bauer Media Australia. Chan is also a former COO of Bauer when it was known as ACP Magazines. Dentsu Aegis Australia CEO Simon Ryan says Bauer could become a "powerful" media group in Australia under Chan, but he will need the support of its board to make acquisitions. There has been speculation that Bauer could expand into radio broadcasting.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, ACP MAGAZINES LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, COMMERCIAL RADIO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE TEXT MEDIA GROUP LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, PHD CREATIVE PTY LTD

Free TV networks ready to campaign on licence fees

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Apr-16

The metropolitan free-to-air TV networks may ramp their lobbying for a reduction in the annual broadcasting licence fee in the Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget. They are believed to have held discussions about launching an advertising campaign, which is likely to be similar to the Save Our Voices campaign that was launched by regional broadcasters.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, PIN PAYMENTS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Analysts tip Nine shares to recover

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Original article by Max Mason
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 23 : 7-Apr-16

Nine Entertainment Company’s share price closed 2.2 per cent higher at $A1.18 on 6 April 2016. The stock had shed 23.7 per cent in the previous trading session, in response to a sharp fall in earnings for the third quarter of 2015-16. Nine was hit by disappointing ratings, but some media buyers expect its performance to improve with several popular programs set to return shortly. Meanwhile, UBS and Deutsche Bank analysts have "buy" recommendations on the stock.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, OZTAM PTY LTD