MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

News Corp’s $417m tax bill confounds critics

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 4-Feb-15

Australia’s Senate Economics Committee is looking into claims by unions and other organisations that major corporations engage in profit shifting to minimise their tax burden. In its submission to the inquiry, News Corp Australia says its payments of income and withholding tax between 2009-10 and 2013-14 totalled $A417.3m. The media group also notes that its combined goods and services, fringe benefits and payroll taxes for those years were worth a further $A900m

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, UNITED VOICE, HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS PTY LTD

Ten’s jungle success fires up fightback

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 3-Feb-15

Preliminary data from audience ratings provider OzTAM indicate that new reality TV show "I’m a ­Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!" has been very successful for Ten Network. It managed a total viewers figure of 1.1999 million on 1 February 2015, despite coverage of the Australian Open Tennis tournament’s finals by rival Seven West Media at the same time. Ten CEO Hamish McLennan says the free-to-air TV group should be given a greater share of the advertising spend by media buyers. Ten is also looking at takeover offers, but 14.99% shareholder Bruce Gordon remains a hurdle

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED

Murdoch exits streaming as Rdio revamps

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 2-Feb-15

Nova Entertainment, the radio stations group behind the Nova and Smooth FM networks owned by Lachlan Murdoch, in 2012 entered into a joint venture with US-based Rdio. The latter will now mount an increased effort to boost its local market share, after Nova divested its 50% stake in their Rdio Australia vehicle in late 2014. A number of similar online music streaming services have been closed recently, due to the dominance of Spotify and Pandora

CORPORATES
RDIO INCORPORATED, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SPOTIFY LIMITED, PANDORA MEDIA INCORPORATED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTEREO GROUP LIMITED, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UNIVERSAL MUSIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEEZER, LIVE NATION AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED

Seven edges out Nine in TV ads

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 28-Jan-15

New data from KPMG show that the overall Australian metropolitan free-to-air TV advertising market suffered a 3.04% decline in the first six months of 2014-15, to $A1.5bn. This contrasts with growth a year earlier of 5.01% to $A1.6bn. However that period was marked by the federal election campaign, and Seven West Media chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette argues the slump now is merely cyclical rather than structural. His group lifted its share by 0.66% to 40.4%. Nine Entertainment also gained, while Ten Network saw its share fall from 21.52% to 20.4%

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Ten’s fate hinges on celebrities in the wild

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Jan-15

Beverley McGarvey, chief programming officer at Ten Network, is confident a local version in Australia of "I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!" will generate good audience ratings for the listed free-to-air TV group. The format is being imported from ITV in the UK, where it continues to perform strongly after 14 seasons. McGarvey also claims not to be distracted by the current takeover battle for Ten, as major investor Bruce Gordon opposed an offer by Foxtel and Discovery Communications despite it being backed by fellow shareholders Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, WARNER BROS, ITV NETWORK LIMITED, ITV PLC

Stan rivals Netflix with Australia Day launch

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 23-Jan-15

A streaming video on demand service called Stan will be launched on Australia Day, 26 January 2015. It is a $A100 million joint venture between Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Company. A rival offering was released by Foxtel and Seven West Media on 18 January 2015, while US major Netflix will enter the Australian market in March 2015. After completing a 30-day free trial, Stan customers will pay $A10 per month for unlimited films and TV programs

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOME BOX OFFICE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Lion’s share of complaints against Aunty

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jan-15

The annual report of the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) shows that ABC programs attracted the most complaints among TV viewers in 2013-14. However, 33 complaints against the public broadcaster were dismissed, while only one was upheld. Meanwhile, ACMA investigated 25 complaints about the Seven Network and upheld six, while 17 of the 24 complaints against the Nine Network were dismissed

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ABC TV, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD

Ratings lift Ten’s hopes of new deal

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 18 : 20-Jan-15

Coverage of the Twenty20 Big Bash League cricket competition has boosted the audience ratings of commercial free-to-air TV group Ten Network, to a 10-year high of 730,000 for the summer 2014-15 season. The gain of 5.9% in the 25-to-54-year-olds age bracket will strengthen Ten’s position as it resumes takeover talks with suitors such as Anchorage Capital, Saban Capital, and a consortium of Foxtel and Discovery Communications. The latter are offering $A0.23 a share

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SABAN CAPITAL GROUP INCORPORATED, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, OZTAM PTY LTD, KFC, YUM! RESTAURANTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Ten’s ad share in decline, rivals up

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Original article by Lara Sinclair
The Australian – Page: 18 : 16-Jan-15

Data from SMI shows that the Seven Network had a 41 per cent share of metropolitan TV advertising revenue in calendar 2014, compared with 40.3 per cent previously. The Nine Network lifted its share of ad revenue from 37.6 per cent to 38.7 per cent, while the Ten Network’s share was down from 22 per cent to 20.3 per cent. TV accounted for 47.2 per cent of Australia’s total advertising market, down from 48.8 per cent in 2013

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Fairfax plans triple treat of deals before tackling free-to-air TV merger

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Dec-14

Insiders claim that Fairfax Media is preparing a suite of divestments to prepare itself for a merger in 2015 with a free-to-air TV network. The newspaper publishing group will combine most of its radio assets, which under current media ownership laws prevent it from joining a TV broadcaster, with those of rival Macquarie Radio in a move worth $A200m. Fairfax CEO executive Greg Hywood also wants APN News & Media’s Australian Radio Network to acquire his company’s Perth station. At the same time Fairfax is about to pay $A75m for the remaining stake in ­Melbourne business Metro Media Publishing

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE RADIO NETWORK LIMITED – ASX MRN, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, METRO MEDIA PUBLISHING PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CITIGROUP PTY LTD