MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Buyer eyes Fairfax Media events arm

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Aug-18

US-based Motiv has declined to comment on reports that it has made an informal approach to acquire Fairfax Media’s events business, which Macquarie Equities values at about $60m. Fairfax’s proposed merger partner, Nine Entertainment Company, divested its own events business in 2015. A Nine spokeswoman says it is too soon to comment on potential asset sales. There has been speculation that Nine could divest other Fairfax assets, including its regional newspapers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MOTIV, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, STUFF LIMITED, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN METRO MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AFFINITY EQUITY, TEG PTY LTD

Addressable TV advertising technology already reaches over 9 million Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Aug-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that over nine million Australians are already using the devices and services that addressable TV advertising technology requires, like smart TVs and streaming devices. However, broadcasters are only just starting to mature their own technologies and data stacks to be able to leverage connected devices such as smart TVs, streaming and set-top boxes to deliver personalised advertising. The services Australians already watch and that have the potential to deliver addressable TV today include Foxtel, Foxtel Now, Foxtel on Demand, Fetch, Google Play, 9Now, SBS on Demand, TENplay and 7Plus. Additional services that have the potential to deliver addressable TV but due to business decisions do not currently carry advertising and are watched by over 14.5 million Australians include Netflix, Stan, ABC iView, Quickflix, Ozflix, Bigpond movies, Dendy Direct, iTunes, Sports streaming, YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime Video. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the increasingly fast rate at which Australians adopt a multitude of new technologies does give great hope to traditional broadcasters developing addressable TV as a viable competitor to newer digital-centred services. Australians have shown an increasing willingness to try out new technologies and all the evidence from the marketplace shows that if done correctly addressable TV can be a formidable step forward for traditional broadcasters.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Ironic tryst: TV benefits as tech giants spend to lift image

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 27-Aug-18

Standard Media Index data shows that digital companies’ expenditure on TV advertising rose to $24.9m in 2017-18, an increase of 603 per cent. This includes digital disrupters such as Facebook and Google, but Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks notes that all companies that are aiming to lift their digital audience have ramped up spending on TV advertising. Overall expenditure on TV advertising rose by 1.8 per cent to $1.98bn in the first half of 2018, with the free-to-air sector’s share of revenue up 3.81 per cent to $1.36bn.

CORPORATES
SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, TRIVAGO PTY LTD, THINK TV, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRTASKER PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BIG BASH LEAGUE, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN STUDIOS PTY LTD

Viewers turn to Seven to watch Libs decide leadership

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 24 : 27-Aug-18

The Seven Network’s rolling coverage of the Liberal Party’s leadership spill on 24 August boasted an average audience of 165,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, and a combined audience of 252,000 in both metropolitan and regional areas. The ABC’s coverage attracted 167,000 metropolitan viewers and a combined audience of 248,000. Seven also had the highest-rating evening news bulletin. Meanwhile, Sky News Live’s coverage of the leadership crisis had an average audience of 96,183, which is a record for the pay-TV channel.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SKY NEWS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Content and data to underpin Nine growth

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Aug-18

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2017-18 underlying net profit of $156.7m, which is 26.8 per cent higher than previously. Underlying EBITDA was up 25.1 per cent at $257.2m and revenue rose 6.5 per cent to $1.3bn. Nine boasted a 38.6 per cent share of free-to-air metropolitan advertising revenue in 2017-18, ahead of Seven West Media with a 38.1 per cent share. Nine CEO Hugh Marks is upbeat about the media group’s outlook, highlighting its capabilities in delivering content across media platforms and targeted advertising via its addressable TV technology.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, 9NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT

Seven West open to closer News Corp ties

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 22-Aug-18

Seven West Media has posted a 2017-18 net profit of $135.8m, following a $744.3m loss in the previous financial year. Revenue was 3.2 per cent lower at $1.6bn and underlying EBIT fell 9.9 per cent to $235.6m, while Seven forecasts growth in underlying EBIT of 5-10 per cent in 2018-19. CEO Tim Worner says Seven may seek to strengthen its commercial partnerships or forge new deals in the wake of Nine Entertainment’s proposed merger with Fairfax Media. He notes that Seven already has an alliance with News Corp, but he has downplayed suggestions of a merger.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, YAHOO!7 COMMUNICATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

News boss blames tech giants for erosion of trust in journalism

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-Aug-18

Campbell Reid of News Corp does not believe that consumers’ trust in journalism has declined in recent years. However, he says that technologies companies such as Google and Facebook are solely responsible for any such decline in trust, and they need to take action to address this issue by removing fake news and ensuring that trusted news sources are given prominence on their platforms. Reid will be part of a panel discussion on trust in journalism at a conference in Hobart in September.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Sky ban like a Soviet gag: Fifield

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Aug-18

The Victorian Government’s decision to ban Sky News content from video screens on Melbourne train station platforms has been criticised by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield. Fifield has likened the state’s ban to the censorship policies of the Soviet Union, and says it undermines media reforms which are aimed at ensuring the viability of Australia’s media industry. The ban was imposed in response to a Sky News interview with far-right extremist Blair Cottrell, which Sky claims was not broadcast on train station platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, SKY NEWS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, METRO TRAINS MELBOURNE PTY LTD, TRANSPORT FOR VICTORIA, PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA (PTV)

Fairfax bets on merger as regionals hit profit

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Aug-18

Fairfax Media has posted a 2017-18 net loss of $63.8m, compared with a $83.9m profit previously. The latest result was affected by writedowns associated with Fairfax’s regional newspapers and its New Zealand division, while revenue was down 2.8 per cent. Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood says the proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company will allow the combined group to increase its audience reach and marketing inventory.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STUFF LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

‘TV like never before’: Foxtel launches 4K

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Original article by Chris Griffith
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Aug-18

Pay-TV company Foxtel has launched its new iQ4 set-top box, which will support the 4K ultra-high-definition technology. As part of the launch, Foxtel has announced that it will offer a new channel that will exclusively broadcast content in 4K resolution. This includes Foxtel’s upcoming coverage of the Test cricket series between Australia and South Africa. The channel will also feature other sports, as well as movies, music and documentaries. However, the 4K channel will be broadcast solely via satellite

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD