MASS MEDIA – UNITED STATES

Is Netflix falling out of favour? US viewers are shunning the streaming platform

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Original article by Zona Black
The New Daily – Page: Online : 19-Jul-19

Subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix had forecast that it would add 300,000 new US customers in the June 2019 quarter, but the number of subscribers fell by 130,000. The decline coincided with an increase in Netflix’s monthly fee, although it is also facing growing competition in the streaming video market. However, Netflix expects US subscriber numbers to rebound on the back of new content. Netflix had some 11 million paid subscribers in Australia in February, according to research by Roy Morgan, with year-on-year growth of 25.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Disney in Comcast deal to take control of hot property Hulu

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Original article by Joe Flint
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-May-19

US media group Comcast has struck a deal to sell its one-third stake in streaming video service Hulu to Walt Disney Company. The deal could allow Disney to assume full ownership of Hulu in 2024. Hulu boasted more than 25 million subscribers in 2018, compared with just six million in 2014, and Disney has forecast that Hulu’s domestic operations will become profitable in fiscal 2023 or 2024. Disney plans to launch its own streaming service, which expected to target a different audience to Hulu.

CORPORATES
HULU LLC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, COMCAST CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Netflix subscribers on rise, but growth slows at home

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Original article by Joe Flint, Micah Maidenberg
The Australian – Page: 21 : 18-Apr-19

US-based subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix boasted 148.9 million paying subscribers worldwide at the end of March, exceeding its own forecast of 148.2 million. However, Netflix added just 1.7 million new customers in the US during the March quarter, compared with overall customer growth of 9.6 million. Netflix has forecast that subscriber numbers will grow by five million in the June quarter, including 300,000 in the US. Netflix is facing growing competition from rival streaming services.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AT&T CORPORATION, HBO, APPLE INCORPORATED, CBS CORPORATION, SHOWTIME, WARNERMEDIA, COMCAST CORPORATION, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED

Lachlan could reunite Murdoch family empire

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 25-Mar-19

Lachlan Murdoch has taken over as CEO of Fox Corporation, while he remains co-chairman of News Corporation. There is speculation that he may seek to re-combine the two Murdoch family businesses, but any action on this front would be unlikely to occur for at least another two years. Like his father Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch is regarded as being passionate about publishing; he began his involvement with News Corp at the age of 16 when he cleaned printing presses in Queensland.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Digital market abuse almost limitless: News

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 27 : 9-Feb-19

News Corporation has posted revenue of $US2.63bn ($3.7bn) for the December 2018 quarter, an increase of 21 per cent. EBITDA rose by 13 per cent to $US370m following the merger of Foxtel and Fox Sports, while the media group’s net profit of $US119m compares with a loss of $US66m for the same period in 2017. Meanwhile, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson has criticised the growing dominance of digital platforms in the US audiobooks market. He has called for a "regulatory reckoning" to address the issue.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, HARPERCOLLINS, DOW JONES AND COMPANY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

BuzzFeed set to discard a quarter of local staff

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 30-Jan-19

Digital media company BuzzFeed has confirmed that 11 of its employees in Australia will be retrenched following a period of consultation. Simon Crerar, the general manager of BuzzFeed’s local arm, had initially indicated that 25 jobs would be cut. US-based BuzzFeed has about 40 employees in Australia and 1,300 worldwide. It recently announced plans to cut its global headcount by 200.

CORPORATES
BUZZFEED INCORPORATED, BUZZFEED PTY LTD, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, HEARST VENTURES, ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ

Pollak sceptical about Disney’s deal with Fox

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Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 18-Jan-19

Loftus Peak’s chief investment officer Alex Pollak has queried Disney’s decision to pay $US71.3bn ($97bn) for 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2018. He notes that both Disney and Fox largely generate their revenue streams from the sale of content to cable and pay-TV companies, but these sources of revenue are under increasing threat from video-on-demand services like Netflix. Pollak says Rupert Murdoch sold 21st Century Fox because he decided that it could not compete with companies like Netflix and Amazon.

CORPORATES
WALT DISNEY COMPANY, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, COMCAST CORPORATION, LOFTUS PEAK

Foxtel’s critical year: News Corp has Plan B

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 15-Oct-18

News Corporation has declined to comment on suggestions that it could divest Foxtel if the pay-TV company’s financial performance does not improve. Kane Hannan of Goldman Sachs recently met with News Corp executives in the US, and he has told clients that he was left with the firm impression that the media giant may be open to selling Foxtel. The upcoming launch of Foxtel’s sports-focused streaming video service is likely to be crucial to any turnaround. Hannan expects Foxtel’s average revenue per user to fall by six per cent a year to $57 by 2022-23, compared with around $77 in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AMPLIFY, MYSPACE

Comcast outbids Fox and Walt Disney Co. with $40-billion offer for Europe’s Sky TV

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Original article by Meg James
Los Angeles Times – Page: Online : 22-Sep-18

The independent directors of pan-European satellite broadcaster Sky plc have endorsed Comcast’s successful bid in a corporate auction that was organised by the UK’s Takeovers Panel. Comcast offered $US22.75 per share for Sky, valuing its bid at nearly $US40bn. The rival bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox – which has a 39 per cent stake in Sky – was $US20.63 per share, which equates to about $US35bn. The auction followed a protracted bidding war for Sky, and Fox’s deal to sell the bulk of its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Company.

CORPORATES
SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, GREAT BRITAIN. THE TAKEOVER PANEL, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, HULU LLC

Comcast surrenders to Disney in bid for 21st Century Fox

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Original article by Anousha Sakoui, Gerry Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 20-Jul-18

Comcast will press ahead with its takeover bid for pan-European broadcaster company Sky after withdrawing from the bidding war for the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. Comcast’s cash offer of $US65bn for the Fox assets forced rival bidder Walt Disney Company to increase its offer to $US71bn. Disney’s bid has received clearance from antitrust regulators.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, SKY PLC, AT&T CORPORATION, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NBC TELEVISION NETWORK, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED