MASS MEDIA – UNITED STATES

Starboard pushes News Corp to sell REA Group stake

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Original article by Crystal Tse
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 18-Oct-23

Starboard Value has used an investor presentation to argue that News Corporation is significantly undervalued. The activist investor contended that News Corp could unlock more than than $US7bn ($11bn) for shareholders by divesting its 61 per cent stake in Australian-listed REA Group. The firm argued that doing so would also highlight the value of News Corp’s other assets, and it values the media group’s assets at around $US33 per share overall. News Corp’s US-listed shares are currently trading at around $US22.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, STARBOARD VALUE LP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Hollywood writers in deal to end strike

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Original article by Geordie Gray
The Australian – Page: 8 : 26-Sep-23

The Writers Guild of America has advised that it has reached a deal to end Hollywood’s 146-day writer’s strike. The ‘tentative’ three-year deal follows five days of negotiations with film studios and production companies. However, the WGA has emphasised that the strike will continue until members vote on the deal and it is ratified. Amongst other things, WGA members will receive increased royalty payments for streaming content and guarantees regarding the use of artificial intelligence to generate content. Separate industrial action by Hollywood actors is continuing, and no talks between the actors’ union and film studios are currently scheduled.

CORPORATES
WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp

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Original article by Liana Walker
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 22-Sep-23

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch says the time is right for him to take on new roles at News Corp and Fox Corp. The 92-year-old has advised that he will formally step down as chairman of both companies at their AGMs in November. Murdoch will become Chairman Emeritus at both companies, and he emphasises that he will continue to take an active role in the "contest of ideas" at the media groups. His son Lachlan Murdoch will become the sole chairman of News Corp and continue in his role as executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp. Rupert Murdoch says both himself and the companies he founded are in "robust health". However, he warns that the battle for freedom of speech and freedom of thought has never been more intense.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION

Netflix password crackdown finally hits Australia, two months later than planned

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 25-May-23

Streaming video giant Netflix has belatedly commenced enforcing its policy on password-sharing in Australia. Netflix had been slated to begin the local crackdown in March, after introducing the new policy in countries such as New Zealand in February. Netflix will offer a number of options for people who have previously shared their password with friends and family in other households; these include taking out a new subscription for a ‘freeloader’ or adding a non-household member to an existing account for an additional fee. Netflix has estimated that about 100 million people access its service using a shared password.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Fox and Dominion settle for $US787.5m in defamation lawsuit over election lies

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Original article by Sam Levine, Kira Lerner
The Guardian – Page: Online : 19-Apr-23

Fox Corporation has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Dominion Voting Systems regarding the latter’s $US1.6bn defamation case. The legal action centred on claims made by Fox News presenters that Dominion’s voting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 US presidential election. The parties reached a settlement shortly before the six-week jury trial was scheduled to begin. The terms of the $US787.5m ($1.17bn) settlement have not been disclosed. Fox Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch is amongst those who had been called to testify.

CORPORATES
FOX CORPORATION, FOX NEWS, DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS CORPORATION

Murdoch said Fox hosts endorsed idea of stolen election

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Court documents released in the US show that Fox Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch and other executives of the media group believed that Joe Biden had fairly won the 2020 presidential election. The documents also show that Murdoch had acknowledged under oath that some Fox hosts had "endorsed" the notion that Biden had "stolen" the election. Dominion Voting System is suing Fox Corp for defamation over Fox News’s coverage of the election. The voting technology company has argued that internal communications and depositions by Fox personnel prove that the network had knowingly spread falsehoods about Donald Trump election loss in order to bolster its ratings.

CORPORATES
FOX CORPORATION, FOX NEWS, DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS

Battle of the Murdochs

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Original article by Alex Barker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 & 37 : 11-Jan-23

The future of the Murdoch family’s media empire is under scrutiny in the wake of a proposal to reunify News Corp and Fox Corp. Succession planning has emerged as a key issue, with patriarch Rupert Murdoch in his 90s and eldest son Lachlan Murdoch widely seen as the heir apparent. However, the question arises as to whether the Murdoch family will allow Lachlan to take over. For most of his career, Rupert Murdoch did not have control of the family business, as he could be outvoted by his siblings. Lachlan may face the same situation, given that his own siblings have equal stakes in the media empire.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION

Rupert Murdoch to testify in Dominion voting machine defamation case

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Original article by Richard Luscombe
The Guardian – Page: Online : 7-Dec-22

Media baron Rupert Murdoch has been issued with a subpoena to give evidence in a lawsuit over his Fox network’s reports on a conspiracy theory regarding the 2020 US presidential election. Dominion Voting Systems has launched a $US1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News and parent company Fox Corp for broadcasting allegations that the voting machines company had rigged the election. Murdoch is the most senior executive of Fox to have been served with a deposition; his son Lachlan Murdoch gave evidence in the case on Monday.

CORPORATES
FOX NEWS,{SPAC}FOX CORPORATION,{SPAC}DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS

Activist investor aims to scuttle Murdoch’s $39b megamerger

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Original article by Elizabeth Knight
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

Irenic Capital owns two per cent of News Corporation’s Class B shares. The activist investor opposes Rupert Murdoch’s proposal to merge News Corp and Fox Corp, warning that reunifying the two companies would be expensive and distracting. He has written to the committee of News Corp directors that is assessing the merger proposal, urging them to recommend not proceeding with the deal. Irenic instead is of the view that News Corp should spin off its real estate assets, which include a 61 per cent stake in realestate.com.au owner REA Group.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, IRENIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU

The hidden message in Rupert Murdoch’s latest manoeuvre

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Original article by John McDuling
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

Rupert Murdoch’s proposal to reunify News Corp and Fox Corp is worthy of scrutiny. Both companies have changed significantly since being split in 2013. News Corp now derives the bulk of its revenue from digital real estate advertising rather than newspapers; likewise, Fox Corp’s focus has shifted to live news and sports after selling most of its entertainment assets to Disney. Combining the two companies makes some strategic sense, with the potential for greater cross-promotion across media platforms. Meanwhile, Barclays analysts have speculated that the reunification proposal may be aimed at preparing the companies for even more challenging economic conditions.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, BARCLAYS BANK PLC