MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

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.

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ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Sports rights inflation ‘almost untenable’, says MCN boss

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 25-May-15

Multi Channel Network CEO Anthony Fitzgerald has questioned whether the continued rise in the cost of sports broadcasting rights is viable for both TV networks and advertisers. Telstra’s MD of media and marketing, Joe Pollard has expressed similar sentiments, saying the telco will not overpay for sports rights. The Australian Football League is believed to be seeking about $A1.75m for its next rights deal, compared with $A1.25bn for the current deal.

CORPORATES
MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SKY PLC, BT PLC, PREMIER LEAGUE

APN cautious about bold step

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 21-May-15

APN News & Media does not expect its revenue to be significantly affected by plans to paywall the websites of its regional newspapers in Queensland. CEO Michael Miller notes that Australian consumers have become used to paying for digital content. The paywalled news sites will use a metered model, whereby a limited number of articles can be read each month without a subscription.

CORPORATES
APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, GANNETT, JOHNSTON PRESS PLC