MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Court action looms after Fairfax shareholders vote for Nine merger

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 20-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Anthony Catalano has indicated that he will challenge the Nine Entertainment Company-Fairfax Media merger in court after 81.49 per cent of Fairfax shareholders voted in favour of the deal. Catalano had failed in a bid to have the shareholder vote delayed for two weeks to allow the Fairfax board to consider his alternative proposal. The merger will reduce the number of major media companies in Australia from five to four.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Antony Catalano in dramatic bid to scupper Nine, Fairfax merger

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Original article by John McDuling, Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Domain’s former CEO Antony Catalano has asked Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon to adjoin the 19 November shareholders’ vote on the proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company. The scrip component of Nine’s offer is 0.3627 per share; Catalano says this means it is a "terrible deal" given that Fairfax is trading at $0.61 per share, compared with $0.94 when the deal was announced. Catalano has also told Falloon that he may seek to buy up to 19.9 per cent of Fairfax shares at above market prices in order to block the deal. He holds stakes of about one per cent in both Fairfax and Domain.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Seven West tightens belt in slow ad market

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Nov-18

Seven West Media has advised that its net cost savings for 2018-19 will be within the range of $20m to $30m, compared with previous guidance of $10m to $20m. CEO Tim Worner says Seven will seek to capitalise on any opportunities that arise from the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media. Meanwhile, chairman Kerry Stokes has told Seven’s AGM that foreign digital platforms continue to have an advantage over traditional media companies in competing for advertising revenue.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, BIG BASH LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Kiwi publisher says consortium keen to buy Financial Review

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Nov-18

New Zealand businessman Todd Scott has expressed interest in buying "The Australian Financial Review" if Fairfax Media’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company proceeds. Scott owns "The National Business Review", a weekly business newspaper that boasts about 5,000 subscribers. He says a deal to acquire the AFR would be backed by a consortium of wealthy New Zealanders. Scott adds that the consortium would look at acquiring Fairfax’s NZ division, Stuff, if the AFR were not for sale.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STUFF LIMITED, TPG CAPITAL LP, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, COURT OF APPEAL (NEW ZEALAND), NEIGHBOURLY, MEDIAWORKS (NZ) LIMITED

Fairfax within reach as Nine sticks to script

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 15-Nov-18

Shareholders at Nine Entertainment Company’s AGM have been told that it will be better placed to compete with digital giants for advertising revenue if the merger with Fairfax Media proceeds. Nine chairman Peter Costello and CEO Hugh Marks expect Fairfax shareholders to approve the deal on 19 November, saying the feedback from Fairfax directors and investors has been positive. Costello has also stressed that Nine will retain all of Fairfax’s brands. Meanwhile, Nine has advised that it still expects 2018-19 earnings to be within the range of $280m to $300m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

ABC news chief backs staff amid Guthrie-Milne fallout

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Nov-18

The fallout from a "Four Corners" story on the ABC’s recent leadership crisis is continuing, with Liberal senator Eric Abetz saying it demonstrated that the public broadcaster is in "disarray". Amongst other things, former MD Michelle Guthrie alleged that ex-chairman Justin Milne had touched her inappropriately, while allegations were raised about political interference at the ABC. Meanwhile, director of news Gavin Morris has praised the ABC’s staff, noting their ­integrity and professionalism.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ABC execs paid bonuses to stay

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 12-Nov-18

Sources within the ABC have indicated that its board approved bonuses to retain a number of senior executives after Michelle Guthrie succeeded Mark Scott as MD in 2016. Acting MD David ­Anderson is said to be among the executives who received a retention bonus. Former COO David Pendleton, who resigned in 2017, is also said to have been offered such a bonus. Executive remuneration at the public broadcaster has come under scrutiny after its latest annual report showed that bonus payments exceeded $2m in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Nine-Fairfax deal has investor support

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Nov-18

Fairfax Media’s merger with Nine Entertainment Company will require the support of at least 75 per cent of votes cast at the newspaper publisher’s meeting of shareholders on 19 November. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors and leading proxy advisors are said to support the merger, although the proposed deal has been criticised by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. The merger is also subject to approval by the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

The launch of the new monthly Take 5 magazine has Take 5 readership over 1 million for first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that the launch of the new monthly "Take 5" magazine early in 2018 has proven a winner. Some 736,000 Australians read the monthly magazine in the four months to September, while readership of the traditional weekly magazine was 520,000. A total of 1,016,000 Australians read either the weekly or monthly magazine in the four months to September. The research also shows that only 242,000 Australians read both magazines, with the majority of readers of the new monthly magazine not being existing readers of the weekly magazine. A positive outcome from the launch of "Take 5 Monthly" is that the new magazine has attracted a far higher male readership; 28.8% of its readership are men, compared to only 19.4% of "Take 5 Weekly" magazine’s readership. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the positive impact that "Take 5 Monthly" has had so far shows that the ability to leverage a well-known title to launch a magazine with similar content and an existing audience can not only appeal to the traditional readers of a magazine but also attract a new readership willing to give an old favourite another look.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

News Corp in talks over content fee deal with Facebook, Google

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Nov-18

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson says it is holding discussions with Facebook, Google and Amazon over the payment by them of a content carriage fee for distributing its content. Thomson made his remarks as News Corp revealed revenue for its most recent quarter was up 23 per cent. He said the current financial year was off to "an impressive start", and that News Corp was continuing to focus on "digital development". News Corp’s shares rose by 4.2 per cent on 8 November on the back of its latest results announcement.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA