MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC’s login plan to stem exodus fuels privacy fears

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Original article by Tom Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Feb-22

The ABC has defended its decision to require mandatory logins for users of its iview platform from 15 March. Amongst other things, the public broadcaster argues that personalised iview services will allow users to receive program recommendations and resume watching a show at any time and on any device. The ABC also claims that a more personalised iview experience could prevent the loss of younger audiences, which it says appear to favour the enhanced platform offerings of international video-on-demand services. However, privacy advocates have expressed concern about the ABC’s push for iview logins.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, IVIEW

7.5 million Australians are now watching Broadcast Video on Demand such as 7plus, 9Now, 10 Play and ABC iView

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Feb-22

New data from Roy Morgan shows that 7.5 million Australians now watch ‘Broadcast Video on Demand’ (BVOD) services. Viewership of BVOD services grew strongly during the early stages of the pandemic, with an increase of around 2.1 million viewers (+39.5%) in 2020 compared to the December 2019 quarter. This level of growth was always going to be hard to maintain and over the last year an additional 130,000 viewers streamed BVOD services, an increase of 1.8% on 2020, for a total of over 7.5 million viewers (35.5%). ABC iView continues to be the clear market leader with 4.13 million viewers in an average four weeks, up 985,000 (+31.3%) from two years ago, although down 633,000 (-13.3%) on a year ago. SBS On Demand remains in second place and is now viewed by 2.86 million Australians representing an increase of 217,000 (+8.2%) from two years ago although down 653,000 (-18.6%) from a year ago. The leader of the three traditional commercial broadcasters is the Seven Network’s 7plus which is now viewed by 2.6 million Australians, an increase of 727,000 (+38.8%) from a year ago. Close behind are the Nine Entertainment Company’s 9Now which is viewed by 2.38 million Australians, up 318,000 (+15.4%) on a year ago and Network 10’s 10 Play, now viewed by 1.7 million Australians, up 358,000 (+26.7%). This new data comes from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most comprehensive consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Chinese hackers attack local media group

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Feb-22

Cybersecurity firm CyberCX has revealed that a major Australian media company was targeted by hackers on 10 December, immediately after the ‘Log4j’ vulnerability was exposed. CyberCX’s chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon says the hackers used techniques that are consistent with Chinese ‘state-sponsored actors’. He adds that media companies are attractive targets for such hackers because they receive and analyse information that has intelligence value. The media company has not been identified, although it is not News Corp; it is also not believed to be Nine Entertainment, which was targeted by a cyber attack in March 2021.

CORPORATES
CYBERCX, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

The ABC’s budget hasn’t been restored – it’s still facing $1.2 billion in losses over a decade

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Original article by Alexandra Wake, Michael Ward
The New Daily – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The ABC’s management has welcomed the federal government’s new three-year funding package and the abolition of the budget indexation freeze that was imposed in 2018. The ABC will receive $3.284bn over the three years from 2022-23, including $45.8m to continue its enhanced news gathering program for local public interest journalism in regional areas. However, analysis shows that the ABC’s funding has been cut by $783m in total since 2014, and it faces accumulated funding cuts of $1.201bn over the period from 2014-15 to 2024-25.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Anger after News Corp and Google Australia set up journalism academy at university business school

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Feb-22

News Corporation executive Campbell Reid will be the inaugural head of the Digital News Academy, which is a joint venture between the media giant and Google Australia. Reid says the University of Melbourne’s business school was selected to provide the nine-month course because it is "unashamedly about the business of journalism". However, the decision to offer the course via the business school has been criticised by Andrew Dodd, the director of the university’s Centre for Advancing Journalism. He says it reflects News Corp’s long-standing antagonism for university journalism programs. Dodd adds that he was not aware of the new initiative until he read about it in a press release.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. CENTRE FOR ADVANCING JOURNALISM

Prime Media welcomes Seven, castigates the Nationals

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 25-Nov-21

Prime Media Group’s CEO Ian Audsley says the proposed takeover by Seven West Media is in the best interests of the regional affiliate’s shareholders. He has told Prime’s AGM that digital disruption has had an "irreversible and negative" impact on traditional media businesses in regional Australia. Audsley also warned that Prime’s future would be uncertain if the merger does not proceed. In addition, he has criticised the federal government – and the National Party in particular – over its failure to pursue further media reforms.

CORPORATES
PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Slow-motion tax reform threatens film industry

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Nov-21

Australia’s film and television industry is lobbying the federal government to increase the producer offset rate before parliament rises for the year. The offset was slated to rise from 20 per cent to 30 per cent from 1 July, and the industry has warned that some $400m worth of spending in the sector will be at risk if the legislation is not passed. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the government of attempting to "play political games" with the legislation, and called for it to be put before the Senate immediately.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Senate shoots down Bragg’s ABC complaints inquiry

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-21

A motion to suspend a Senate committee’s inquiry into the complaints handling processes of the ABC and SBS has been passed by one vote in the upper house. Three independent senators backed the motion that had been put forward by Labor and the Greens. The inquiry had been launched by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who says the ABC’s own independent inquiry into its complaints system is not as strong as the proposed Senate probe. The inquiry will be put on hold until after the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Australians re-discover love of magazines during 2021 with Food & Entertainment, Home & Garden, General Interest and Mass Women readership up year on year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Nov-21

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2021 shows that over 11.2 million Australians aged 14+ (53%) now read print magazines, an increase of 2.2% from a year ago. This market broadens to 15.2 million Australians aged 14+ (71.8%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app (down 3.3 per cent from a year ago). The overall magazine industry readership figures are up compared to a year ago with the rebound out of the 2020 lockdowns earlier last year providing a boost to key magazine categories. Of the 15 categories measured over the last two years, two-thirds (10 magazine categories) are up and only five are down. The print readership of all four of the most widely-read magazine categories increased significantly from a year ago. Readership of the Food & Entertainment category increased 12.7 per cent to over 7.2 million, General Interest was up 9.1 per cent to over 4.1 million, Home & Garden increased by 12.2 per cent to almost 3.8 million and Mass Women’s was up 4.1 per cent to around 3 million. There were also impressive increases in readership for the magazine categories covering Motoring, TV, Sports, Music & Movies, Fishing and Motorcycles. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,972 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2021.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Nine boss doesn’t see need to buy WIN TV

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 17-Nov-21

Nine Entertainment Company has ruled out following rival Seven West Media in seeking to acquire its regional television affiliate. Nine CEO Mike Sneesby says the media group is gaining significant benefits from its "very close commercial partnership" with WIN Corporation without the need to buy the regional affiliate. Nine recently revealed plans to integrate the two companies’ sales teams, just months after the new affiliation agreement began in mid-2021. Sneesby has also flagged a push to increase Nine’s digital presence across its business.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC,NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED,WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD,SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM,PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT