MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Community spirit still strong for newspapers

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Jun-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that total readership of News Corp Australia’s community newspapers rose by just under one per cent to 5,062,000 in the 24 months to March 2015. Fairfax Media’s community publications maintained a combined reach of just over a million across New South Wales and Victoria, down 2.8 per cent compared with the 24 months to March 2014. The latest Roy Morgan Community Newspaper Readership results also show that the "St George & Sutherland Shire Leader" remains the most-read community paper in NSW, with an average of 194,000 readers per issue, and the "Waverley/Oakleigh Monash Leader" is now the most-read community paper in Victoria.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Racing Victoria bets on Seven deal

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Original article by John Stensholt, Patrick Bartley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 11-Jun-15

Racing Victoria is expected to post a net profit of at least $A15m for the 2014-15 financial year. Meanwhile, the racing body does not expect revenue to be unduly affected by Tabcorp’s decision to end Sky Channel’s coverage of Victorian horse races from mid-June 2015. Seven West Media is in talks with Racing Victoria to launch a dedicated racing channel.

CORPORATES
RACING VICTORIA LIMITED, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, SKY CHANNEL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Aussies in mid-size towns want more local news

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jun-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 51 per cent of Australians aged 14+ regard local news as the content they most want to see, hear or read one or more times across the week. The survey, which was carried out in the year to March 2015, also shows that 49 per cent of capital city residents cite local news as a weekday or weekend content preference, while residents of Australia’s 12 largest non-capital towns and urban areas generally prefer local news. This includes 71 per cent of residents of Launceston and 69 per cent of those in Albury.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Networks rely on sports for ad dollars

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 10-Jun-15

Concerns about an uncertain outlook for the advertising market prompted investors to sell down Australian media stocks on 9 June 2015. Nine Entertainment Company has partially attributed an earnings downgrade to slowing ad revenue. Ben Willee of Spinach Advertising notes that TV ad revenue is being affected by the growing use of mobile devices to access media content, while Starcom MediaVest Group CEO Chris Nolan says sports broadcasts are becoming a key source of viewers and ad revenue for TV networks.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SPINACH ADVERTISING PTY LTD, STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OPTIMUM MEDIA DIRECTION PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Shareholder backs Nine despite downgrade

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Jun-15

Nine Entertainment Company has attributed a profit downgrade to a subdued TV advertising market in the second half of 2014-15. The media group has advised that its full-year EBITDA will be within the range of $A285m to $A290m, compared with earlier guidance of $A311m. Entcho Raykovski of Deutsche Bank expects free-to-air ad revenue to be three per cent lower in the second half.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WARNER BROS

Battle for eyeballs to play out ‘within 12 months’

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 4-Jun-15

FetchTV CEO Scott Lorson estimates that up to five million Australian households could potentially take out a subscription to a streaming video service. He does not expect any of the rival groups to be able to operate at a loss for very long, and forecasts that they will succeed or fail within the next year. However, other media industry experts say the emerging sector is a long-term proposition.

CORPORATES
FETCHTV PTY LTD, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Blackley back on board for SCM M&A bonanza

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Jun-15

Southern Cross Media Group chairman Peter Bush expects mergers in Australia’s media sector if cross-media ownership laws are changed. He says the industry expertise of new CEO Grant Blackley will be an asset when dealing with the new media landscape. Bush adds that one of Blackley’s key tasks will be to assess the group’s "peak value". Blackley is a former CEO of the Ten Network.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KEYSTONE GROUP PTY LTD

Spotify adding 60,000 Australians per week

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 1-Jun-15

Spotify estimates that about 25 per cent of Australians have used its music streaming service at some point. Spotify says it is gaining about 60,000 additional users in Australia each week, and the rate of conversion to its paid service is estimated to top 30 per cent. Spotify’s MD in Australia, Kate Vale, forecasts that some rivals will either merge or quit Australia in coming years, and she believes that the local market can sustain 3-4 players in the long-term.

CORPORATES
SPOTIFY LIMITED, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, SONY CORPORATION, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, RDIO INCORPORATED, PANDORA MEDIA INCORPORATED, COMEDY CENTRAL, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Blackley to work on keeping Ten

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 29-May-15

Former Ten Network CEO Grant Blackley will become CEO of Southern Cross Media Group on 29 June 2015. He has indicated that the regional broadcaster will seek to negotiation a new affiliation agreement with Ten as quickly as possible, but has not ruled out ending the alliance. Blackley will receive a base salary of $A1.05m at Southern Cross, plus an incentives package.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KIIS1065, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, KEYSTONE GROUP PTY LTD, FOUR SEASONS MEDIA PTY LTD

Internet overtakes newspapers at breakfast, but radio still the most-used media in the morning

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-May-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 72 per cent of Australians aged 14+ reported using one or more forms of media at breakfast time on weekdays during the year to March 2015. This has remained steady over the past five years. However, 16 per cent of Australians are going online first thing in the morning, compared with 8.5 per cent in the year to March 2010. Meanwhile, the proportion who read newspapers at breakfast has fallen by four per cent to 15.9 per cent since 2010, while the proportion who listen to the radio at breakfast has fallen by four per cent to 28.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED