MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Murdoch, Gordon in Ten deal

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 15-Jun-17

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says the Ten Network’s descent into voluntary administration has demonstrated the need for cross-media ownership reforms. Meanwhile, the struggling free-to-air broadcaster could potentially be privatised after shareholders Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon joined forces to develop a plan to refinance Ten. Their combined stake in Ten exceeds 22 per cent, but the joint venture arrangement does not breach media ownership or takeover laws.

CORPORATES
TEN REN TEA (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, CBS CORPORATION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Ten board mulls putting network into administrator’s hands

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 14-Jun-17

Ten Network’s shares went into a trading halt on 13 June 2017, pending a board meeting to discuss the free-to-air broadcaster’s future after three key shareholders elected not to guarantee a new loan facility. KordaMentha is expected to be appointed as administrator following the decision by Lachlan Murdoch, Bruce Gordon and James Packer, who had guaranteed the current $A200m loan facility that expires in late 2017. Murdoch and Gordon have been touted as potential bidders for Ten if cross-media ownership laws are relaxed.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MOELIS AND COMPANY, CBS CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD

Keeping Ten afloat relies on new deals

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 13-Jun-17

Moelis & Company is said to be confident of securing a new $A250m financing deal for Ten Network after Bruce Gordon, James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch chose not to back it. They had guaranteed the network’s existing $A200m loan facility, which expires in late 2017. Murdoch and Gordon are seen as potential buyers of Ten if it goes into receivership, although they would require changes to cross-media ownership laws. Meanwhile, Ten is seeking to reduce costs by renegotiating US content deals with CBS and 21st Century Fox, which are worth about $A150m a year.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, MOELIS AND COMPANY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, LAZARD ASSET MANAGEMENT PACIFIC COMPANY

GetUp! to pay for journalist’s tax expose

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Jun-17

It has been revealed that activist group GetUp is helping to finance an investigation by journalist Michael West into alleged tax avoidance by large multinationals. GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath was recently appointed to the Australia Press Council’s board, a decision that has caused some controversy and prompted News Corp’s newspapers to boycott any Council hearings in which she participates. Concerns have been raised that McGrath may be involved in hearing complaints against companies that West is investigating.

CORPORATES
GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ESSENTIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Ad execs overestimate public use of social media

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 8-Jun-17

The AdNation 2017 has found that people who work in the advertising, marketing and media sector believe that 100 per cent of ordinary Australians used Facebook in the last week and 94 per cent used YouTube. In contrast, 79 per cent of ordinary Australians who were surveyed had used Facebook in the last week, and 61 per cent had used YouTube. There was a similar divergence for other social media platforms. The survey, which was undertaken on behalf of Think TV, also highlights the continued popularity of TV among ordinary Australians.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, THINK TV, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Activist’s press role a bad call, says ALP

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 8-Jun-17

The Australian Press Council is facing growing scrutiny over the appointment of GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath to its board. Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says confidence in the APC may be undermined by the appointment of a senior member of the political activist group, and she has stressed the need for the APC to ensure that it avoids any conflicts of interest. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is a former director of Getup.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

GetUp! and go, Xenophon tells APC’s McGrath

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 10 : 7-Jun-17

Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the Australian Press Council’s independence has been undermined by the appointment of GetUp chair Carla McGrath to its board. He says McGrath should resign, as she cannot be a board member of both the APC and the political activist group. The APC has responded to a boycott of its rulings by leading newspapers by issuing a statement in which it stresses that McGrath will not adjudicate any complaints against publishers in which there is the potential for a conflict of interests.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Foxtel’s rebranding to help boost subscribers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Jun-17

Foxtel has confirmed that its Foxtel Play subscription video on-demand service will be relaunched as Foxtel Now, as part of a major overhaul of the pay-TV group’s branding. Foxtel will also launch a "puck" streaming device in the second half of 2017, which may provide access to rival services such as Netflix and Stan. Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh says Foxtel Now is unlikely to gain customers at the expense of its traditional pay-TV service, as they target different segments of the market. Foxtel’s rebranding includes a new logo.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL NOW, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Boycott grows over judgment by activist

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Jun-17

Herald & Weekly Times MD Peter Blunden has advised that its newspapers will boycott all Australian Press Council rulings in which new board member Carla McGrath participates. The boycott was initiated by HWT parent News Corp Australia in response to the appointment of McGrath, who also chairs political activist group GetUp. Community Newspapers of Australia has indicated that it may also boycott APC rulings.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HERALD AND WEEKLY TIMES LIMITED, COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED

Rebel told me lies, journalist tells court

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 6-Jun-17

The Victorian Supreme Court is continuing to hear a defamation case brought by actress Rebel Wilson against Bauer Media. Wilson contends that her career in Hollywood was tarnished as a result of articles about her in Bauer’s magazines in mid-2015 that alleged she had lied about her age and other parts of her life. Caroline Overington, who wrote a magazine story about Wilson that was published in January 2015, told the court that she based her story on what Wilson had told her, and that she was "shocked" to subsequently learn that much of it was untrue.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA