MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Cricket Australia discussed shifting broadcast rights to Nine

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 21-Dec-20

Sources have indicated that the bitter legal dispute with Seven West Media prompted Cricket Australia to hold informal talks with Nine Entertainment about taking over the broadcasting rights. The informal talks are believed to have ended when Cricket Australia recently received a $12.5m instalment payment from Seven. The media group pays about $70m a year for the free-to-air rights, as part of a six-year deal with Cricket Australia and pay-TV group Foxtel. Amongst other things, Seven is seeking a discount of about 20 per cent due to coronavirus-induced changes to the cricket schedule for the 2020-21 summer.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

March court start for Seven’s cricket battle

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 16-Dec-20

The legal dispute between Seven West Media and Cricket Australia will be heard by the Federal Court in mid- March. Seven may seek damages or an order to terminate its broadcasting rights deal if the court rules in its favour. The case centres on CA’s changes to its itinerary for the 2020-21 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Seven contends that it was commercially disadvantaged by CA’s decision to start the season with three one-day international matches against India, which were broadcast exclusively by Fox Sports.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Fletcher rules out sacking Buttrose over ABC investigation

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Dec-20

The ABC continues to attract scrutiny in the wake of a controversial ‘Four Corners’ report on the personal lives of two federal government ministers. However, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has refuted suggestions that the government could sack ABC chair Ita Buttrose, stating that he has confidence in the way she is handling a "challenging and very important job". Fletcher has also defended his decision to send a letter to the ABC board in late November querying the decision to broadcast the news story in question.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Nine opposes concession to tech giants

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Original article by Max Mason, Natasha Gillezeau, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Dec-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government’s mandatory news media bargaining code for digital platforms is a "world-first". He has dismissed suggestions that the government has made too many concessions in the final version of the code to gain the support of digital giants such as Google and Facebook. These include adding a ‘two-way value exchange’ clause which reflect the benefits that news publishers receive from having digital platforms direct users to their content. A Nine Entertainment spokesman says this will merely entrench both the monopoly powers of digital companies and the unfair imbalance in media regulation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Seven aims to make cricket pay

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Original article by Ben Horne, Peter Lalor
The Australian – Page: 24 & 22 : 2-Dec-20

The Seven Network alleges that it has suffered significant commercial damage due to Cricket Australia’s changes to its match schedule for the 2020-21 summer. Australia was originally slated to play three Tests against India before Christmas, but CA has delayed two of these matches until the new year, while the revised schedule saw the cricket season begin with a six-match One-Day International series that is exclusive to Fox Sports. CA has cited the coronavirus pandemic as the key reason for changes to the schedule, but Seven contends that the Board of Control for Cricket in India exerted pressure to make the changes.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, BOARD OF CONTROL FOR CRICKET IN INDIA

Open delay a serious blow to Nine’s plans for the year

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Original article by James Madden, Emily Ritchie
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Nov-20

The prospect of the Australian Open being delayed due to coronavirus restrictions could prove costly for Nine Entertainment. The grand slam tournament is traditionally a key vehicle for the host broadcaster to promote its program line-up for the new year. Audience numbers are also likely to be affected if the Open is shifted from mid-January to late February or March, when the official ratings year will have begun. Media analyst Martin Hickson of 1851 Capital says Nine should seek to renegotiate its broadcasting rights deal with Tennis Australia. Some top tennis players have warned that the Open will have to be cancelled if training is prohibited during the mandatory quarantine period.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, 1851 CAPITAL PTY LTD, TENNIS AUSTRALIA

News firms in stand for fairer future

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Nov-20

Some of Australia’s top media industry executives have jointly signed an ‘open letter’ to the federal government expressing support for its proposed media bargaining code. The letter also outlines the features that must be included in the code to ensure a level playing field between traditional media companies and digital platforms such as Facebook and Google. Seven West Media CEO James Warburton, News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller and Free TV CEO Bridget Fair are amongst those who signed the letter, which will be published in all major metropolitan newspapers on 23 November.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Viewers take slow track for Melbourne Cup

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 22 : 5-Nov-20

The Ten Network’s coverage of the 2020 Melbourne Cup attracted about 1.41 million viewers across the five major metropolitan markets, compared with 1.44 million in 2019. OzTAM’s figures also show that the national audience for the Melbourne Cup was 1.86 million viewers, down from 1.92 million in 2019. Ten’s coverage of the iconic horse race also attracted 144,000 viewers on its 10 Play broadcast video-on-demand service.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, OZTAM PTY LTD, THE LEXUS MELBOURNE CUP

Kevin Rudd petition seeking royal commission into Murdoch media nears 500,000 signatures

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Nov-20

More than 475,000 people have now signed a petition calling for a royal commission to ensure a strong, diverse Australian news media. The petition, which is specifically targeting the media outlets of Rupert Murdoch, was posted on the parliamentary website by former prime minister Kevin Rudd. Although the petition is unlikely to achieve its aim, Rudd says his main goal is to start a national conversation about News Corp’s negative impact on Australia.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

AFL wins TV war with NRL

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Original article by Scott Gullan
Herald Sun – Page: 59 : 27-Oct-20

Ratings data from OzTAM shows that the 2020 AFL grand final attracted 3.812 million viewers nationwide, which is the largest audience for an AFL match in four years. The Seven Network boasted an audience share of 65.8% for its coverage of the premiership decider. The AFL is likely to come under growing pressure to move the grand final to a prime-time slot permanently due to the strong ratings. Meanwhile, the Nine Network’s coverage of the NRL grand final was watched by 2.967 million viewers, compared with 2.65 million in 2019.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, OZTAM PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE