MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Stump up or miss out: first cricket games all on pay-TV

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Age – Page: 3 : 1-May-18

Fans of Australian men’s international cricket who only have free-to-air TV will not be able to see any matches in the 2018-19 fixture until 6 December. Cricket Australia announced its upcoming fixture on 30 April, with the first seven men’s international games either being one day games or Twenty20 matches, with all seven games only being shown on pay-TV network Foxtel. Seven West Media, which teamed up recently with Foxtel to secure the rights to broadcast Australian cricket matches for six years in a $A1.2 billion deal, will not broadcast a men’s game until the First Test.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Sky changing the way it delivers news, digitally

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 30-Apr-18

Pay-TV provider Sky News Australia hopes to expand its audience by introducing content on its website that can be accessed only by registered users. There is speculation that Sky News could eventually adopt a pay-wall model for its online content. Meanwhile, Sky News will launch a dedicated Sky News UK channel in late May, which will replace the existing "red button" news service, while the A-PAC public affairs channel will be relaunched as Sky News Extra.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Regional TV urges more deregulation

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 30-Apr-18

WIN Corporation, Prime Media and Southern Cross Austereo want the Federal Government to further relax cross-media ownership laws by scrapping the rule that a company can own just one TV broadcasting licence in a single market. This would enable regional broadcasters to merge, which Prime CEO Ian Audsley warns is crucial to the sector’s survival. He notes that the cost of buying content is rising while audiences and advertising revenue are fragmenting. Regional broadcasters have also called for the "two radio licences to a market" rule to be scrapped.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

ABC gives soft-sell China website the chop

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Apr-18

The ABC will shut down a series of news websites that are published under the Australia Plus banner, including a Mandarin-language version of the site. There have been allegations in the past that a version of the site that is accessible in China has censored content that is critical of the Chinese government. A spokesman for the public broadcaster said the closure of the Australia Plus sites is in response to a review of the ABC’s digital assets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Seven takes battle to tech giants

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 23-Apr-18

Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes says digital giants Google and Facebook should be subject to the same regulatory regime as Australian media companies, to ensure a level playing field in the advertising market. Seven’s submission to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on the media and advertising markets has recommended that Facebook and Google should pay a fee for distributing content from traditional media companies. Seven also argues that audience measurement data for ads on Google and Facebook should be subject to independent audits.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Cricket Australia tunes into radio rights in wake of $1.2b TV deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 23-Apr-18

Cricket Australia will issue tender documents for its radio broadcasting rights in coming weeks, with a view to finalising a new deal quickly. CA officials are expected to hold talks with the ABC in coming days, while discussions have commenced with fellow cricket broadcasters Southern Cross Austereo and Macquarie Media. Sports Entertainment Network owner Crocmedia is also believed to be interested in broadcasting rights. All four broadcasters could potentially secure some rights.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, CROCMEDIA PTY LTD, SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK PTY LTD, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE SPORTS RADIO, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, BIG BASH LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Wilson confident she can defeat Bauer Media appeal over payout

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Original article by Broede Carmody
The Age – Page: 5 : 20-Apr-18

Bauer Media is challenging the size of its payout to actress Rebel Wilson after a Victorian jury found in 2017 that it had defamed her. Justice John Dixon awarded Wilson damages of $A4.5 million, which Bauer is now contesting in the Court of Appeal. Media is not challenging the judgment, but only the amount, which it claims is "manifestly excessive". It is also contesting Justice Dixon’s finding that Wilson should be compensated for roles she claims to have missed out on because of its actions, claiming that there was insufficient evidence on this issue.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Cricket loss not all bad for Nine

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Original article by Samantha Bailey, Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Apr-18

Tennis and cricket broadcasting rights generate a loss for the Seven and Nine networks, and this is likely to continue when the sports change networks. Nine is estimated to have lost around $A50m a year from its cricket coverage, but Citigroup forecasts that its annual losses from tennis broadcasts will be within the range of $A20m to $A30m. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that Seven will gain an increased share of advertising revenue at the expense of Nine and Ten following their loss of cricket broadcasting rights.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Nine hopes for early tennis break

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 16-Apr-18

The Nine Network will not broadcast any major sporting events during the 2018-19 summer after losing cricket broadcasting rights. A spokesman says the network will shortly decide on its summer schedule, and it has not ruled out approaching rival Seven about taking over tennis broadcasting rights a year ahead of schedule. Seven’s deal to acquire cricket rights in partnership with Foxtel means that it will broadcast both cricket and tennis for the next two summers, unless it strikes a deal with Nine and Tennis Australia to exit its contract early. Ten will also lack a major summer sport after losing the Big Bash League rights.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TENNIS AUSTRALIA, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

New whistleblower bill unworkable

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 16-Apr-18

Griffith University’s Professor A.J. Brown has criticised proposed laws that aim to protect whistleblowers. He says a major flaw is that a whistleblower would essentially have to reveal themselves to be the source of information that was leaked to journalists in order to be protected by the legislation. He adds that as presently drafted, such protection would still only apply if they had gone public about an "imminent risk" of danger to public health or safety or to the financial system. Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy has also questioned the merits of the proposed laws.

CORPORATES
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SECURENCY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD