MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Fairfax-Nine rumours quashed

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-Aug-14

The combined stake of 36% in Nine Entertainment held by US-based hedge funds Oaktree Capital and Apollo Global Management will come out of escrow on 28 August 2014. There have been claims in News Corporation newspaper "The Australian" that rival publisher Fairfax Media is preparing to acquire a major holding in Nine. However due to current cross-media ownership laws it would only be able to purchase 14.99% of the free-to-air TV group, and Fairfax has rejected the speculation

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Seven grabs Comm Games

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 20-Aug-14

Seven West Media hopes to emulate the Nine Network’s ratings success with the most recent Commonwealth Games that were held in Australia in 2006. Seven is believed to have paid $A43m for the traditional and digital media rights to the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Seven CEO Tim Worner says that securing the broadcasting rights for the Olympic Games until 2020 prompted the decision to bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

TV networks not on the same wavelength: Why NRL clubs want more Sunday games

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Original article by Brad Walter
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 46 : 19-Aug-14

The Nine Network and Fox Sports like National Rugby League (NRL) matches to be scheduled on Thursday nights, as the timeslot attracts high ratings. However, attendance at Thursday night matches tend to be low, and NRL teams suggest that playing matches on Sunday afternoons would draw a much bigger crowd. Likewise, Monday night matches are popular with TV viewers but often attract low crowd numbers

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BULLDOGS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, SOUTH SYDNEY RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB, BRISBANE BRONCOS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, SYDNEY ROOSTERS RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL, GOLD COAST TITANS, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS, PARRAMATTA RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB, GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB, CARLTON FOOTBALL CLUB, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, MANLY WARRINGAH DISTRICT RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL CLUB, NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS LIMITED, NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS LIMITED

Ten taps Foxtel for stream service

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 18-Aug-14

Australian free-to-air TV network Nine Entertainment is tipped to roll out its new streaming service by late 2014. In response pay TV operator Foxtel launched its Presto video-on-demand offering, and it has now cut the price by 50% to $A9.95 a month. Foxtel has also been named by Rebekah Horne, the chief digital officer at Ten Network, as a likely partner for that group’s streaming plans. She noted that Foxtel uses software from major supplier Ooyala. Horne also said Ten may choose to charge users for the special content to be available under the new Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV system, expected to arrive in September or October

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, OOYALA INCORPORATED, FREEVIEW AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Fairfax eyes more cuts in the race to stem revenue bleed

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Aug-14

Fairfax Media has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit of $A224.4m post-tax, after a 2012-13 loss of $A15.5m. Excluding abnormal gains from the divestment of the Stayz and InvestSmart businesses, the operating earnings were up 1.8% to reach $A306.4m. Revenue in the newspapers division was down 9.2% to $A803.2m, and that of the radio assets 6% to $A103.8m. However at the Domain property wed site unit it grew 15.5% to $A146.6m. CEO Greg Hywood signalled further cost reductions, and investors pushed Fairfax shares $A0.06 higher to a close of $A0.94 on 14 August 2014

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, STAYZ PTY LTD, INVESTSMART FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Stokes after gold on all mediums

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 18 : 6-Aug-14

Seven West Media has finalised a $A190m deal to be the Australian broadcaster of the summer and winter Olympic Games until 2020. The rights cover TV, radio, digital and mobile broadcasts, and includes an option for the Games in 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, Seven West chairman Kerry Stokes has not ruled out buying a radio network by 2020, although under current media ownership laws it would not be allowed to buy a radio station in Perth

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Crackdown on net piracy

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 4-Aug-14

The Australian Government plans to hold a forum with the CEOs of media groups and ISPs on the issue of illegal downloading of copyrighted material. It follows the release of a discussion paper by Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which examines options for combating the problem of internet piracy. The forum is likely to be held later in August 2014

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RADIO NATIONAL AUSTRALIA, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Ten loses share of free TV as Seven and Nine surge

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Jul-14

Seven West Media boasted a 41.3 per cent share of metropolitan TV revenue in the first half of 2014, which is 0.8 per cent higher than previously. Nine’s revenue share rose by 0.9 per cent to 38.6, but the Ten Network’s share was 1.8 per cent lower at 20.1 per cent. Ten’s Louise Barrett notes that the network’s ratings have risen markedly in recent months after a poor performance earlier in the year

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Seven West’s video-on-demand puzzle

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 28-Jul-14

Nine Entertainment Company plans to launch a subscription video-on-demand service, potentially before the end of 2014. At one stage it appeared that Nine and arch-rival Seven West Media could have jointly developed the StreamCo product, and this may still be a possibility. StreamCo’s main competitor is likely to be US-based Netflix, which is expected to debut in Australia in 2015. Nine has also bought redeemable preference shares in Quickflix

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOYTS GROUP PTY LTD, HBO, HULU LLC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

US giant wants a piece of Quickflix

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann|Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 24-Jul-14

Following news that free-to-air TV group Nine Entertainment had acquired a stake of 8% in listed DVD rentals and video streaming provider Quickflix, the latter has become a target for other media sector groups as well. It is believed that US-based Netflix, which operates a business similar to that of Quickflix but far larger, has approached the Australian company with an offer. Netflix is set to enter the local market soon. Stephen Langsford, CEO of Quickflix, has also sought to attract News Corp Australia and Seven West Media as investors

CORPORATES
QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX|NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC|SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM|NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS|NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD|NETFLIX INCORPORATED|FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD|TIME WARNER INCORPORATED|HOME BOX OFFICE|TOURNAMENT FIELD