MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Job losses and potentially dire impact on regional media from Meta’s news exit

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 8-Mar-24

Australian Community Media executive chair Antony Catalano contends the decision by Meta to refuse to pay for Australian news content could have a "dire impact" on what is Australia’s largest regional newspaper publisher. Catalano said there would certainly be job losses at ACM if an alternative source of funds cannot be found, while he says he always felt as if Meta was not committed to the media content funding deals. Public Interest Journalism Initiative CEO Anna Draffin has suggested that tax reform could help make up the revenue gap resulting from Meta’s decision, suggesting it could take the form of a research and development-style rebate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, META AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM INITIATIVE

Southern Cross rejects ARN Media takeover

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-24

Southern Cross Media Group has formally rejected a takeover offer from ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners, contending that it undervalues the TV and radio stations group. However, chairman Rob Murray has indicated that Southern Cross would be open to a revised offer. He adds that the group’s radio stations and digital audio platforms are its key focus; it owns 99 radio stations across Australia, while ARN Media owns 58 radio stations.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Facebook ‘damaging communities’: News Corp CEO

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Mar-24

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson has criticised Meta Platforms for opting against renewing its revenue-sharing deals with Australian news publishers. Thomson has told a media and telecom conference in San Francisco that Meta’s decision shows a blatant disregard for the Australian community, especially as Meta is a company that talks about ‘community’. Thomson has also questioned Meta’s claim that news comprises less than three per cent of the content people see on their Facebook feed; he contends that while there is core news, 100 per cent of the contemporary factual information on Facebook is news, and this is what Meta should be focusing on.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK

Tabcorp to pull form guide from three News Corp papers

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 28-Feb-24

News Corp Australia may cease publishing racing form guides in the print editions of its metropolitan mastheads in Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin. Tabcorp currently sponsors the form guides, and the wagering group has indicated that it wants to redirect this expenditure elsewhere; however, sources have indicated that it is likely to keep spending the same amount at News Corp. Tabcorp will also continue to sponsor the form guides in News Corp’s newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Meanwhile, News Corp may be open to deals for non-wagering companies to sponsor its form guides in Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH

Readership of magazines is up 3.6% from a year ago with increases for 12/16 magazine categories

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Feb-24

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to December 2023 shows that 11.7 million Australians aged 14+ (53.0%) now read print magazines, up 3.6 per cent on a year ago. This market broadens to 15.1 million Australians aged 14+ (68.6%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app, which is up 0.8% on a year ago. The increases in readership were widespread over the last year, with a large majority of magazine categories (12 in total) increasing their readership. Nine of the top 10 most widely read magazines increased their print readership over the last year, as did 21 out of the top 25. Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with print readership of 1,832,000 (up 8.5 per cent on a year ago), ahead of The Australian Women’s Weekly on 1,299,000 (up 3.3 per cent). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,994 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to December 2023.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Written news reaches an incredible 97 per cent of Australians aged 14+ each month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

The latest readership figures from Roy Morgan show that written news reaches 97% of Australians aged 14+ (21.4 million) each month. The figures for the 12 months to December 2023 reflect the evolving and deepening landscape of news media titles and readership behaviours across print and digital formats. The figures also highlight ongoing affinity in Total News Publishing, as readers across all demographics actively lean into the channel, with 68 million interactions per week. Further analysis of the results reveals that state/territory mastheads are enjoying large readership numbers outside their local markets, due to digital accessibility. Most state/territory mastheads effectively double their reach with inter-state audiences, demonstrating the large national interest in state/territory mastheads and the additional media value home-grown titles can provide advertisers beyond their local markets.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Tabcorp to pay $35m-$40m for Melbourne Cup broadcast rights in new deal

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 17 : 21-Feb-24

Tabcorp will sub-licence the free-to-air broadcasting rights to the Melbourne Cup to Nine Entertainment Company. Tabcorp has finalised a six-year deal with the Victoria Racing Club for exclusive broadcasting rights for the Melbourne Cup Carnival, at a cost of between $35m and $40m a year. Tabcorp was required to secure a sub-licensing deal with a free-to-air network to comply with the anti-siphoning laws for major sporting events; the Melbourne Cup will also be broadcast on Tacorp’s Sky Channel service. Nine’s deal with Tabcorp will commence with the 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival; the rights were previously held by the Ten Network.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, SKY CHANNEL, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Seven eyes rebound after worst TV market fall ever

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 14-Feb-24

Seven West Media has posted a 2023-24 interim net profit of $54m, which is 53 per cent lower than previously. EBITDA was down 40 per cent at $124m, and revenue was fiver per cent lower at $775m. Recent data from ThinkTV shows that television advertising revenue fell by 10.4 per cent in 2023, amid an economic slowdown and rising interest rates; Seven’s outgoing CEO James Warburton notes that TV revenue is typically the first to decline in a crisis and the first to rebound. CFO Jeff Howard is slated to succeed Warburton by the end of the financial year.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, THINK TV

ABC accused of bias over Israel-Hamas war

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 14-Feb-24

The ABC has received more than 3,000 complaints about its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war since the conflict began in October. The public broadcaster’s editorial director Gavin Fang notes that the majority of complaints were about the ABC’s alleged bias, with a similar proportion of viewers accusing it of being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. Meanwhile, MD David Anderson has emphasised the importance of the ABC’s impartiality and objectivity in an appearance before a Senate estimates hearing.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Catalano and Waislitz take fight to Seek in regional Australia

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 7-Feb-24

Australian Community Media’s owners Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz will launch a new job listings website in partnership with SpotJobs’ co-founder Lewis Romano. ViewJobs is slated to be launched in early March, and will focus on job vacancies in regional areas. Romano says most of the existing sites do not necessarily cater to the requirements of regional and rural employers; he notes that there has been five per cent growth in regional job advertisements in recent months, while job ads in metropolitan areas have fallen by 10 per cent. ACM will use its portfolio of regional newspapers to promote ViewJobs, which is jointly owned by Catalano and Romano.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, SPOTJOBS PTY LTD, VIEWJOBS