Foxtel, NRL, AFL face US privacy suit

August 21, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 19 : 21-Aug-24

Pay-TV group Foxtel has been accused of breaching the US Video Privacy Protection Act by using Meta’s tracking pixel to send targeted advertising to people outside of Australia who subscribe to its streaming video services. The AFL and the NRL have also been named as defendents in two separate class actions, which are being heard by the US District Court of California. The class actions centre on allegations that the Watch AFL and Watch NRL websites use the tracking pixels to send data to Facebook about the content the user is watching, even if they are not logged into the social media site.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, DISTRICT COURT OF UNITED STATES

Readership of magazines is up from a year ago with over 11.5 million Australians now reading print magazines

August 21, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Aug-24

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to June 2024 shows that more than 11.5 million Australians aged 14+ (51.6%) now read print magazines, up 0.5 per cent on a year ago. This market broadens to 15 million Australians aged 14+ (66.6%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app. Print readership increased for seven magazine categories compared to a year ago. The increases in readership were widespread, with seven magazine categories increasing their readership – including five of the top 10 categories with readership of at least 500,000. The most widely read magazine category continues to be Food & Entertainment Magazines, with a massive readership of 7,396,000 (up 0.3 per cent on a year ago, and reaching a third of the population). Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with print readership of 1,793,000, ahead of The Australian Women’s Weekly on 1.2 million. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,708 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to June 2024.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

News publishing deeply engrained in Australians’ lives with 21.7m readers and nine in ten engaged by up to four different titles every month

August 20, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Aug-24

Total News Publishing readership figures from Roy Morgan show that news now reaches 21.7 million Australians aged 14+ each month, with strong readership across every profile group. The Roy Morgan data shows the depth and breadth of engagement Australians are having with news, with 67 million interactions per week. General News remains the most read category at 93% of the population, but there is high readership across other categories, including property, sport and travel. Some 64% of Australians read three or more content categories each month, while 91% read up to four titles every month. The data also shows that high net worth Australians are 28% more likely to read the news than the average Australian. It also shows that paying news readers are 24% more likely than the general population to be homeowners, more likely to experiment with new products and services, and 25% more likely to be big spenders.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

TV ad revenue tanks but broadcast video on demand offers hope

August 14, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: Online : 14-Aug-24

Data from ThinkTV shows that the combined advertising revenue of Australia’s commercial free-to-air broadcasters fell by 8.1 per cent in 2023-24, to $3.3bn. The figures cover metropolitan and regional free-to-air networks, plus their broadcast video-on-demand services; advertising-supported public broadcaster SBS is not included. The advertising revenue of metro and regional FTA networks fell by 12 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively. However, this was partially offset by a 12.7 per cent increase in BVOD ad revenue.

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THINK TV

Four Corners investigation alleges culture of fear, misogyny, bullying at Seven Network

August 13, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 13-Aug-24

Former Seven Network regional reporter Olivia Babb has told the ABC’s ‘Four Corners’ program that Seven is "one of the most degrading, soul-crushing places you can work". Babb is one of a number of current and former Seven staff who took part in the program, which alleged that the television network has a culture of bullying, harassment and misogynistic treatment. Employment lawyer Josh Bornstein told the program that there had been a noticeable pattern of hostility towards women at the network. Babb said that she was paid so little that she and other colleagues were often "one or two paychecks from homelessness".

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Why this could be Murdoch’s last chance to sell Foxtel

August 13, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elizabeth Knight
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 13-Aug-24

Foxtel had been estimated to be worth between $1.2bn and $2bn when an IPO was being considered in 2021. However, an IPO now appears to be highly unlikely, and selling Foxtel may be the best option for News Corp and Telstra. Foxtel’s traditional pay-TV business now boasts about 1.2 million subscribers, well below the peak of 2.9 million in 2015; retaining as many of these customers as possible could be crucial to getting a decent price for Foxtel, given that they pay an average of $90 per month. Foxtel’s own streaming services Kayo and Binge have much lower monthly revenue per customer, and their subscriber growth is also slowing amid growing competition in the streaming sector.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, KAYO SPORTS, BINGE

Nine Entertainment CEO returns to office after Olympics trip as five-day strike comes to end

July 31, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has advised that journalists from Nine Entertainment’s publishing division will return to work at 11am on Wednesday. The end of the five-day industrial action by about 500 journalists will coincide with the return of Nine’s CEO Mike Sneesby, after a week in Paris where he entertained corporate clients and attracted scrutiny for participating in the Olympic torch relay amid the turmoil in the company’s newsrooms. Michelle Rae from the MEAA says Nine’s management has committed to resuming negotiations with journalists when they return to work.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Streaming ad revenue set to eclipse TV

July 30, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Jul-24

A report from PwC notes that revenue across Australia’s media industry has risen to $62.3bn in the last year, although growth in revenue slowed from 6.6 per cent to just 2.8 per cent. Meanwhile, PwC estimates that digital revenue now accounts for 70 per cent of advertising spending in the media sector, compared with 54 per cent in 2019; the firm has also forecast that this will increase to 79 per cent by 2028. PwC in turn expects advertising revenues from traditional TV broadcasts to fall to around $3.5bn by 2028, while revenue from subscription and ‘catch-up’ services is forecast to rise to a similar level within four years.

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PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

ABC cops Buttrose blast over news bias

July 30, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 5 : 30-Jul-24

Media industry veteran Ita Buttrose says the ABC needs to present both sides of an argument, contending that this is "much better" for the viewer or the listener. However, Buttrose adds that some ABC interviewers are reluctant to tell both sides of a story; she also says that if the public broadcaster’s journalists cannot take criticism they should just "give up". Buttrose’s five-year term as the ABC’s chair ended in March. Meanwhile, she says the strike action by Nine Entertainment journalists on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games was an "unwise decision", given that the Olympics is a major investment for the company.

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

Union fury at Nine chief’s torch run amid jobs row

July 24, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has criticised Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby for attending the Paris Olympic Games during enterprise agreement negotiations at its publishing division. The union is seeking a pay rise of 20 per cent over three years for employees of the division, and Nine’s staff have voted to take strike action for five days from Friday, which will coincide with the start of the Games. Sources have indicated that Nine’s journalists were also not impressed by footage of Sneesby participating in the Olympic torch relay, given that the division is expected to shed about 90 jobs as part of a broader restructuring program at Nine.