MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC calls for mandate to ensure it hosts federal election debate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

A parliamentary committee is examining the conduct of the 2022 federal election, and is looking at issues such as voting rules and political donation laws. In its submission to the committee’s inquiry, the ABC has called for legislation that would see it host and broadcast at least one leaders’ debate during a federal election campaign. Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison accepted invitations to take part in debates with Anthony Albanese on the Seven and Nine networks and Sky News Australia during the 2022 election campaign, but refused to appear on the ABC. In arguing its case for at least one debate, the ABC noted in its submission that research has revealed it is the most trusted media brand, while it also pointed out it has Australia’s biggest "broadcast footprint".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SKY NEWS

Low TV crowd for all-Sydney decider

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 4-Oct-22

Ratings data from OzTAM shows that the National Rugby League grand final boasted a total audience of just 2.76 million viewers. This compares with 3.2 million in 2020 and 3.6 million in 2021, with COVID-19 restrictions boosting the audience in both years. The Nine Network’s coverage of the 2022 premiership decider had an average audience of 1.67 million metropolitan viewers, plus 696,000 viewers in regional areas; an additional 389,000 people watched the grand final on the 9Now app.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Millions tune in to Queen’s farewell

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 9 : 21-Sep-22

Data from OzTAM shows that 3.897 million Australians watched the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on free-to-air networks and Sky News Australia. The Seven Network’s coverage was watched by 975,000 viewers in metropolitan areas and 413,000 in regional areas, ahead of Nine with 879,000 viewers in capital cities and 223,000 in regional areas. Some 188,000 people watched the state funeral on Sky News. Meanwhile, the Ten Network relegated the funeral to a secondary channel, and just 185,000 people watched The Amazing Race Australia on its primary channel.

CORPORATES
OZTAM PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA

ABC criticised for massive coverage of Queen’s death

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by George Hyde
The New Daily – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

The ABC has defended its broadcast and online coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, amid claims that it has been excessive. Former ABC broadcaster Quentin Dempster says that while there is strong residual regard for the Queen as Australia’s head of state, her death is not the top story at the moment; he argues that climate change is the biggest story, followed by the war in Ukraine and the potential threat of nuclear war. The ABC will have 29 employees in Britain for its coverage of the Queen’s funeral, although this includes two Europe-based correspondents who are also reporting on other stories.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Six magazine categories enjoy growth over the last year led by Health & Family, Food & Entertainment, Women’s Lifestyle and Motoring – all with readership up on 2021

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-22

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to June 2022 shows that 11 million Australians aged 14+ (52.1%) read print magazines, down 0.9% on a year ago. This market broadens to 14.7 million Australians aged 14+ (69.5%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app, a small drop of 3.1 per cent from a year ago. There were increases in print readership for six of the 17 magazine categories over the last year, despite the easing of COVID-19 restrictions allowing Australians to spend their money more widely so far during 2022. Nearly half of the top 10 most widely read magazines increased their print readership over the last year, as did eight out of the top 25. Better Homes & Gardens is Australia’s most widely read paid magazine with print readership of 1,574,000 (ahead of the Australian Women’s Weekly with a print readership of 1,202,000). Australia’s two most widely read free magazine is Coles magazine with a print readership of 4,829,000 – just ahead of Fresh Ideas (from Woolworths) with a readership of 4,725,000 (up 2.8 per cent). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 65,321 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to June 2022.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Crikey: small independent news website challenges Lachlan Murdoch to sue it for defamation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Doherty
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Aug-22

Private Media has taken out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times in which it challenges Lachlan Murdoch to sue for defamation. Private Media is the publisher of the Crikey news website, which has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Murdoch over an article written by political editor Bernard Keane that linked the Murdoch family to the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol building. The article referred to the name "Murdoch" several times in both the title and text, but Crikey has contended that Lachlan Murdoch is not specifically named at any time, and that any defamation action "is bound to fail". Murdoch’s lawyers in turn have argued that the article and associated social media posts contain "scandalous allegations of criminal conduct and conspiracy" and "highly defamatory and false imputations" about him.

CORPORATES
PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, CRIKEY.COM.AU

Seven West optimistic of securing AFL rights

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Di Stefano, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Aug-22

The Australian Football League was hoping to finalise its next broadcasting rights deal after the last round of the home-and-away season this weekend. However, insiders have suggested that the AFL will not rush a deal in order to secure the best outcome. The AFL Commission discussed the competing bids on Monday, and it hopes to sell the broadcasting and streaming rights for around $3bn. Incumbent free-to-air rights holder Seven West Media is confident that its deal will be renewed, with CEO James Warburton noting that it has a "very strong" relationship with the AFL.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

Australian streaming apps from TV brands chip away at Netflix dominance

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

Data from Sensor Tower shows that the Disney+ app was downloaded almost two million times in Australia during the last 12 months. Disney+ retained its status as the top downloaded entertainment app in Australia, ahead of Amazon, TikTok and Netflix. The streaming apps of local companies Nine, the ABC, Seven and Stan were also among the 10 most-downloaded apps during the last year. Sensor Tower’s data is based on the number of new downloads from the Apple and Android stores. Netflix still dominates Australia’s streaming video sector; research by Roy Morgan in February found that Netflix has more than 12 million subscribers nationwide.

CORPORATES
SENSOR TOWER, DISNEY+, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, TIKTOK, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Seven’s streaming arm fuels success

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Jun-22

Seven West Media’s 7plus broadcast video-on-demand platform recorded year-on-year growth of 57 per cent in 2021. Seven’s chief digital officer Gereurd Roberts recently indicated that 7plus accounted for 45 per cent of all BVOD streaming minutes in the free-to-air sector during the year, while Seven CEO James Warburton wants BVOD viewing numbers to be included in the official ratings data. Seven has dominated the ratings so far in 2022, winning 13 of the 17 weeks in metropolitan areas and every week in regional areas.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, 7PLUS

Wilkinson warned over Higgins speech

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Ison, Emily Kowal
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jun-22

The ACT Supreme Court has indefinitely delayed the trial of a man who allegedly raped former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra. Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said the trial will have to be postponed after Ten Network presenter Lisa Wilkinson referred to Higgins in her Logies acceptance speech on Sunday night. Wilkinson won a Logie award for her interview with Higgins in 2021. Justice McCallum warned that the publicity generated by the speech had ‘obliterated’ the distinction between an allegation and a finding of guilt. The court heard that ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold had told Wilkinson the case could be postponed if she referred to it at the Logies.

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED