MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC boss seeks peace deal as strike looms

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Mar-23

ABC MD David Anderson will meet with representatives of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance on Monday, in a bid to avert industrial action over a new pay deal. The MEAA and the public broadcaster’s journalists have rejected an offer of a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years and are pushing for an annual increase of six per cent for three years. The proposed 40-minute strike on Tuesday has been timed to coincide with the Reserve Bank’s interest rate announcement. Longer strikes have been flagged in coming weeks if the ABC does not return to the bargaining table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

An exceptional 12 magazine categories enjoy growth over the last year led by Food & Entertainment, General Interest, Home & Garden, Health & Family, Women’s Fashion and Women’s Lifestyle – all with readership up on 2021

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to December 2022 shows that 11.3 million Australians aged 14+ (52.8%) read print magazines, up 1.7 per cent on a year ago. This market broadens to 15 million Australians aged 14+ (70.3%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app, a small drop of 3.6 per cent from a year ago. There were increases in print readership for over two-thirds of the 17 magazine categories during 2022, a year during which COVID-19 restrictions eased considerably following the extensive lockdowns of 2021. The most widely read category of Food & Entertainment magazines increased its print readership by 1.6 per cent to 7,233,000 ahead of General Interest magazines with a readership of 4,131,000, up 1.2 per cent. Exactly half of the top 10 most widely read magazines increased their print readership over the last year, as well as 12 out of the top 25. Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine with print readership of 1,689,000, up 4.2 per cent on a year ago, ahead of the Australian Women’s Weekly on 1,258,000. These two magazines continue to be the only two paid magazines with a readership of over 1 million. Australia’s two most widely read free magazines are Coles magazine with a print readership of 4,865,000 just ahead of Fresh Ideas (from Woolworths) with a readership of 4,798,000, up 3.3 per cent. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 65,928 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to December 2022.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Media bosses unite to push government on press freedom

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Original article by Nick Bonyhady
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 28-Feb-23

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus met with executives from Australia’s major media groups on Monday to discuss a range of issues, including proposed changes to privacy laws. The executives also pushed the goverment to act on recommendations that resulted from raids on the ABC and the home of then News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst in 2019, with Drefyus saying he had been shocked by the raids at the time. Other issues discussed at the meeting included increased protection for whistleblowers and further changes to defamation laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ThinkNewsBrands and Roy Morgan Total News figures show 20.6 million Australians over the age of 14 engage with news every month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Feb-23

The latest release of Total News readership shows a slight softening for news consumption for the 12 months to December 2022, down 0.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, with 20.6 million Australians continuing to consume news in a four-week period. The readership figures, produced by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands, show that Total News reaches 97 per cent of the population over the age of 14. Total News represents all news brands across print and digital, as well as standalone news websites. Australia’s trusted masthead brands continue to command large audiences, while Total News continues to engage audiences across all age groups, including the hard-to-reach under-40s.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, THINKNEWSBRANDS

KIIS FM boss plays down Seven West tie-up talk

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Feb-23

Listed media group HT&E has posted a statutory loss of $176.3m for calendar 2022. The result was marred by a $249.9m impairment charge on the value of its radio business. However, underlying EBITDA and revenue both rose by 53 per cent, to $91.8m and $344.9m respectively. There has been recent media speculation of a potential merger with Seven West Media, but HT&E CEO Ciaran Davis says he has not heard from Seven. He adds that HT&E would be an "absolute prime target" in the event of further consolidation in the media sector. Davis has also indicated that HT&E may look at divesting its Hong Kong-based Cody outdoor advertising firm later in 2023.

CORPORATES
HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CODY

No sign of dividends as Seven West seeks revenue lift, debt shrinkage

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Feb-23

Seven West Media has posted a 2022-23 interim net profit of $114.9m, which is 4.6 per cent lower than previously. Revenue was down 0.5 per cent at $814.6m and EBITDA was 4.8 per cent lower at $205m. CEO James Warburton says the nine interest rate rises since May 2022 have had a significant impact on the advertising market, which he expects to decline to "mid to high single digits" in the second half. Meanwhile, Seven will seek cost savings of $15m to $20m, although Warburton has ruled out job cuts. Seven has cited "prevailing market conditions" for its decision to withhold paying a dividend again.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in Dominion defamation case

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Original article by Helen Coster
The New Daily – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

Election technology company Dominion Voting Systems has launched defamation action against Fox News Network over allegations it ‘amplified’ false claims that its voting machines helped to rig the 2020 US presidential election in favour of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump; it is seeking US1.6 billion ($2.3 billion) in damages. Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch is due to be questioned by lawyers for Dominion on 19 and 20 January in Los Angeles; his sessions will be closed to the general public.

CORPORATES
DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS, FOX NETWORK, FOX CORPORATION

Nine to take a hit from Kyrgios’s Australian Open exit

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Jan-23

Data from OzTAM shows that the Nine Network’s broadcast of the first night session of the 2023 Australian Open attracted a national audience of just 476,000; this compares with 885,000 viewers in 2022. The withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios from the grand slam tournament due to injury is expected to affect Nine’s rating for the remainder of the event, given that he was one of the major drawcards. A TV industry insider notes that viewers have traditionally tended to lose interest when the leading tennis stars are not playing or are defeated in the early rounds. Nine Entertainment Company renewed its broadcasting rights deal in late 2022; it is paying about $85m a year, plus contra.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS

Foxtel pays more for less in record $1.5b cricket broadcasting deal

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-Jan-23

Cricket Australia’s new seven-year broadcasting rights deal with Foxtel and Seven West Media is worth more than $1.5bn. Foxtel will pay about $980m for the broadcasting rights, which equates to nearly $140m a year. However, the Big Bash League will be reduced from 61 matches per season to just 43 under the new rights deal, which runs from 2024-25 to 2030-31. Seven in turn will pay about $65m a year, which is about 13 per cent lower than the cost of its current rights deal. Meanwhile, Ten Network owner Paramount has stated that it did not make a formal bid for the cricket rights.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA,FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD,SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM,SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED,TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED,PARAMOUNT GLOBAL

Billion-dollar cricket bid drags as rivals pick up pace

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Original article by Ben Horne
The Australian – Page: 3 : 23-Dec-22

Cricket Australia is believed to favour a joint bid from Nine Entertainment and Fox Sports for its broadcasting rights, despite the fact that Ten Network owner Paramount has made the highest offer. CA is said to be reluctant to give the rights to all forms of cricket to Paramount, although it could secure some of the rights. Meanwhile, Nine is believed to have been given financial advice that it could handle the broadcasting rights to both cricket and the Australian Open.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL