MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Nine, Fairfax cuts won’t hit newsrooms

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 15-Oct-18

Grant Samuel & Associates has deemed Fairfax Media’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company to be in the best interests of the newspaper publisher’s shareholders. The scheme booklet for the merger indicates that the deal is expected to generate cost synergies of about $50m a year, primarily by combining the sales teams and back-office functions, and by using shared technology platforms. The scheme booklet has emphasised that there are no plans to combine the Fairfax and Nine newsrooms or retrench journalists. However, it concedes that job losses in other areas are likely.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

TV main source of news – and most trusted

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that over 13 million Australians (65.6%) now say TV is a main source of news. This includes over 12.6 million (62.3%) who specifically nominate free-to-air TV. The internet is used as a main source of news by 11.7 million Australians (57.8%); social media is the leading source of online news, used by 7.5 million (36.7%). Printed newspapers are used by 6.3 million (31.1%) while 5.5 million (27.3%) mainly get their news via newspaper or other news websites or apps. Radio is nominated by 9.2 million Australians (45.5%) as a main news source. Meanwhile, TV is regarded as the most trusted source of news by nearly 7.5 million Australians (36.7%), followed by radio (15.9%), news and newspaper websites/apps (12.3%) and print newspapers (11.2%). Only 4.3% consider social media to be their most trusted source of news. This is in line with Roy Morgan’s research of "Trust" and "Distrust", which showed that social media is the least trusted media.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Glencore: AFR must remove articles

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Oct-18

Lawyers acting on behalf of Glencore have asked Fairfax Media to remove documents from its website which are claimed to be subject to legal privilege. The documents in question are associated with an article published by the "Australian Financial Review" with regard to Glencore’s restructuring of its Australian division in 2014, which is under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. Fairfax has rejected suggestions that it has infringed on the miner’s legal rights.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GLENCORE PLC, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION

It’s cricket, but not as we know it

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 10-Oct-18

Foxtel will broadcast 97 days of cricket during the 2018-19 summer, including exclusive coverage of some matches. The Fox Cricket channel was officially launched on 9 October, and to date Foxtel has secured eight premium sponsors for its cricket coverage. CEO Patrick Delany says live coverage will be advertisement-free, and ads will only be shown during lunch and tea breaks. Foxtel currently has about 5.4 million subscribers, while data from Roy Morgan shows that about 10 million Australians now have access to a Netflix subscription.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX CRICKET CHANNEL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Ten lines up rebrand ahead of upfronts

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 8-Oct-18

The Ten Network is expected to release details of its strategy under new owner CBS Corporation at its annual "upfronts" on 31 October. Ten is preparing an overhaul of its branding, which is said to include minor changes to its logo and a repositioning of its digital channels with a view to targeting specific audiences. The network will also launch its Ten All Access subscription video-on-demand service later in 2018, while Ten is also establishing an in-house advertising sales team.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

How local producers survived the Netflix streaming tsunami

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Original article by Justin Burke
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 8-Oct-18

The growth of subscription video-on-demand services in Australia has prompted local TV production companies to embrace co-productions. Fremantle Australia CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor says such deals will ensure that the local market remains viable. The ABC in particular has embraced SVOD co-productions, and it now makes a number of shows in partnership with Netflix. Meanwhile, Netflix will launch its first original Australian production in late 2018. Data from Roy Morgan shows that 10 million Australians now have access to Netflix at home, an increase of 30 per cent in the last 12 months.

CORPORATES
FREMANTLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), CORDELL JIGSAW ZAPRUDER

Coalition ignored best ABC choices

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 3 : 2-Oct-18

The process for selecting ABC board members has come under scrutiny following the resignation of chairman Justin Milne. In announcing his appointment, the government had said that the independent nominations panel had recommended Milne for the role. However, former panel member Neil Brown says the panel had nominated five contenders and said they were all qualified for the role, but this had not constituted a recommendation. Brown notes that some ABC board members were also appointed despite not having been nominated by the panel. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the next ABC chairman must have bipartisan support.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Senior ABC executive plans departure

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Oct-18

Sources within the ABC have indicated that the public broadcaster’s editorial director Alan Sunderland intends to retire in the next six months or so. He stresses that his impending retirement is not related to the recent management upheaval at the ABC. Sunderland was appointed to the position in April 2013, and he says that he had always intended to be in the role for no more than five years. Sunderland has effectively been editor-in-chief at the ABC, and former MD Jonathan Shier says the two roles should be separate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Negotiators go toe to toe for Foxtel-AFL rights deal

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Oct-18

Australian Football League CEO Gillon McLachlan says broadcasting rights deals such as the $2.5bn deal struck in 2015 are very stressful when they are being negotiated. He notes that the landmark rights deal with Seven West Media, Foxtel and Telstra took years to negotiate, but it was only finalised at the last minute. The record deal was announced at a press conference which was attended by senior executives from the AFL, Seven, News Corp Australia and Telstra.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Worner sings praises of live sport after surge in ratings

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Oct-18

The Seven Network’s coverage of the 2018 Australian Football League Grand Final boasted an average audience of 3.38 million, compared with 3.54 million in 2017. The audience peaked at around 4.3 million, up from 4.19 million in 2017. Seven’s broadcast of a Twenty20 women’s international cricket match also attracted a big audience. Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner has stressed the importance of live sports for the network, adding that sports broadcasting rights will become even more valuable in the future. Foxtel also recorded strong growth in audience numbers for its AFL coverage in 2018.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WEST COAST EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB, RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB, SYDNEY ROOSTERS RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, BRISBANE BRONCOS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS, SOUTH SYDNEY RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY FOOTBALL CLUB