Nine CEO met CoStar boss weeks before Domain bid

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 25-Feb-25

Nine Entertainment will release its half-yearly results today, with investors and analysts certain to question acting CEO Matt Stanton about CoStar’s bid for Domain. The US real estate firm has made a $2.40 per share for Domain, the online property classifieds platform that is 60 per cent owned by Nine and which is considered by many to be its most valuable asset. It can be revealed that CoStar founder Andy Florance met with Stanton when Florance was staying with former federal treasurer Joe Hockey in Sydney over the Christmas break, and that the two discussed possible opportunities involving CoStar and Domain.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, COSTAR GROUP INCORPORATED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

AFL fans expected to fork out as Saturday live coverage goes behind paywall in 2025

Original article by Jack Snape
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Feb-25

Foxtel and its Kayo Sports streaming service will have exclusive live broadcasts of AFL matches on Saturdays in Victoria and Tasmania during the 2025 season. The live and exclusive coverage will also apply to the first eight rounds of the home-and-away season in other states, under the new $4.5bn broadcasting rights deal between the AFL, Foxtel and the Seven Network that began this year. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany is confident that fans will be willing to pay to watch live coverage of AFL matches.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Tough advertising market smashes Seven West Media’s earnings

Original article by James Manning
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Feb-25

Seven West Media has posted a net profit of just $17.7m for the first half of 2024-25, which is 68 per cent lower than previously. Revenue was down 6.2 per cent at $727.3m and EBITA fell 26 per cent to $92m. Seven has noted that rival Nine Entertainment benefited from its coverage of the Paris Olympic Games during the half-year; Seven’s own financial results for the previous corresponding period had also been boosted by its coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Meanwhile, Seven’s share of the advertising market rose by 0.5 per cent during the half-year, to 41.5 per cent; its advertising share was 43.8 per cent in the December quarter.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Worst in 30 years: What Hottest 100 says about the state of Aussie music

Original article by Thomas Mitchell
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Jan-25

The ABC’s youth-focused radio station Triple J is under scrutiny after its annual Hottest 100 countdown featured just 29 Australian artists; this compares with 52 last year. The head of Triple J, Lachlan Macara, says Australian music discoverability is an issue, which has been exacerbated by the growing use of streaming music platforms. Local artists account for just 9.2 per cent of songs that are streamed in Australia, and Tim Kelly from the University of Technology Sydney notes that streaming platforms’ playlists are determined by algorithms rather than radio station programmers.

CORPORATES
TRIPLE J PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Australians who get most of their news from social media more likely to believe in climate conspiracy, study finds

Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Jan-25

Research undertaken by Monash University has found that people who use social media as their main source of news score lower on a measure of ‘civic values’ than those who rely on newspapers and non-commercial media for news and current affairs. The researchers also found that 25 per cent of respondents who primarily use social media for news content believe that climate change is a conspiracy. This compares with 37 per cent of those who use commercial TV and radio as their main source of news. In contrast, just six per cent of people who largely source their news content from public TV networks the ABC and SBS consider climate change to be a conspiracy.

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Former Foxtel chief executive Tonagh to join Nine board

Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 15-Jan-25

Nine Entertainment’s chair Catherine West says media industry veteran Peter Tonagh will be a valuable addition to the group’s board. Tonagh was previously the deputy chairman of the ABC; he is also a former CEO of both News Corp Australia and pay-TV company Foxtel. Nine is also believed to have recruited another former Foxtel executive, Amanda Laing; she is said to be set to be given oversight of Nine’s broadcast operations. Nine’s shares fell by nearly 40 per cent in 2024, although the stock has gained about four per cent so far in 2025.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Nine shoots higher as investors talk break-up

Original article by Valerina Changarathil
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-25

Nine Entertainment Company’s shares fell by 39 per cent in calendar 2024; however, the stock rose 5.6 per cent t to $1.32 on Tuesday, amid speculation that the diversified media group could be broken up. The recent emergence of Tanarra Capital on Nine’s share register has boosted such speculation; Tanarra is headed by John Wylie, who has successfully advocated for changes at companies such as Lendlease.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TANARRA CAPITAL PTY LTD

Ex-Nine CEO moving into the ABC hot seat

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-24

The ABC has advised that Nine Entertainment’s former CEO Hugh Marks will succeed David Anderson as the public broadcaster’s managing director. The appointment of Marks follows an extensive domestic and international search for Anderson’s replacement, after he resigned in March after just one year of his second five-year contract. The ABC’s chairman has praised Marks, saying he is the the right person to lead the public broadcaster as it pursues renewal and investment. Marks says the ABC needs to broaden its audience reach; he will take up the role in March.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

ABC to get extra $126m funding after election

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

The federal government will boost funding for the ABC in its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has advised that the public broadcaster will receive an additional $40.9m in 2026-27, $42.2m in the following financial year and $43m in 2028-29. Rowland has also indicated that the government will legislate five-year funding agreements for the ABC. The former Coalition government had significantly reduced the ABC’s funding.

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

ABC to get extra $126m funding after election

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

The federal government will boost funding for the ABC in its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has advised that the public broadcaster will receive an additional $40.9m in 2026-27, $42.2m in the following financial year and $43m in 2028-29. Rowland has also indicated that the government will legislate five-year funding agreements for the ABC. The former Coalition government had significantly reduced the ABC’s funding.

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