MASS MEDIA – UNITED STATES

Comcast takes on Fox, Disney with £22.1 billion bid for Sky

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Original article by Joe Mayes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Feb-18

US media giant Comcast is offering Stg12.50 per share for British pay-TV company Sky. Sky’s shares peaked at Stg13.55 in response to the Stg22.1bn ($A39.5bn) bid. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had previously offered Stg10.75 per share to assume full ownership of Sky. The Comcast bid also has implications for Walt Disney Company’s deal to acquire the bulk of Fox’s assets, including its stake in Sky. Fox had rejected Comcast’s offer in late 2017 to buy most of its assets for $US60bn in favour of the deal with Disney.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, ENDERS ANALYSIS LIMITED

Why Rupert is still in the news

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Original article by Con Frantzeskos
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 21-Dec-17

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to sell the bulk of 21 Century Fox’s assets to Walt Disney Company reflects that the fact that digital disruptors have largely only affected the channels for distributing content, rather than the content itself. Murdoch will retain TV assets that primarily broadcast live content, such as news and sport, in which digital players such as Facebook and Google have made relatively limited progress to date. Murdoch is also repositioning his media empire to focus on live news and sports at a local level, which has always been his forte.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, FOX NEWS, FOX SPORTS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Disney, Fox deal combines two of world’s biggest entertainment giants

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Original article by
CBS News – Page: Online : 15-Dec-17

Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Igor is confident that the group’s $US52.4bn deal to acquire key assets from 21st Century Fox will be cleared by regulators. The assets to be bought by Disney include the 20th Century Fox film studio and cable TV networks such as National Geographic, while assets to be retained by 21st Century Fox include the Fox free-to-air and pay-TV networks. These will be spun off into a new listed company. Igor has flagged the possibility of Fox CEO James Murdoch taking on a role at Disney.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL

Why Murdoch changed his tune on selling

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Original article by Amol Sharma, Joel Flint
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 7-Dec-17

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has a market capitalisation of about $US60bn ($A79.1bn). The proposal to sell the bulk of its assets to Walt Disney Company would allow Murdoch to achieve a premium price for those assets at a time when the traditional media industry is facing growing competition from companies such as Netflix and Google. A deal with Disney might also help resolve the issue of succession at 21st Century Fox, as there has been speculation that CEO James Murdoch could take up an executive role at Disney, leaving the way clear for Lachlan Murdoch to head Fox.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, COMCAST CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, METROMEDIA INTERNATIONAL, STAR INDIA, FOX NEWS, HARPERCOLLINS, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, HBO, AT&T CORPORATION, TESLA INCORPORATED, VICE MEDIA INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE

Murdoch beats the bushes for a deal

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Original article by Elizabeth Knight
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 7 : 18-Nov-17

Netflix has transformed the media industry in a little more than a decade, essentially because of all the content it possesses. It is the desire for more content of their own that is seeing companies such as Amazon and Verizon casting their eyes over the content assets owned by the Murdoch family’s 21st Century Fox. Investors clearly think that the Murdochs are interested in doing some type of deal, with shares in 21st Century Fox having risen by around 18 per cent in the last two weeks.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, FOX NEWS, FOX SPORTS, NBN CO LIMITED, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, HULU LLC, AT&T CORPORATION, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED

Murdoch’s Fox shares rise on talk of sale of key assets to rival Disney

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 8-Nov-17

The share price of 21st Century Fox has risen by more than nine per cent in response to media reports that it had held talks about selling most of its assets to the Walt Disney Company. The discussions were said to be preliminary and have been discontinued, but it is believed that the talks could resume. The reports suggested that Fox would sell assets such as its film and TV studios to Disney, while retaining its news and sports broadcasting assets. Fox has a market capitalisation of $US50bn, while Disney’s market capitalisation is $US155bn.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CNBC, GABELLI FUNDS, SKY PLC, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, AT&T CORPORATION, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, STAR INDIA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, HARPERCOLLINS

News Corp value down 50pc since spin-off four years ago

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 2-Nov-17

Morgan Stanley estimates that News Corporation is now valued at $US3.7bn, compared with $US7.3bn in 2013 when Rupert Murdoch’s media empire was demerged. News Corp shares have shed 17 per cent since the demerger, although the loss would have been much greater if it did not hold a 62 per cent stake in the strongly-performing Australian property listings group REA. Morgan Stanley also notes that News Corp shares are trading at a 15 per cent discount to the combined value of its businesses.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS, HARPERCOLLINS, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Sky’s the limit as Murdoch tries again

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Dec-16

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has approached UK pay-TV group Sky with a cash offer of Stg10.75 per share. Fox currently has a 39 per cent stake in Sky, and the proposed Stg11.2bn ($A19bn) bid values the target at $A31bn. Fox previously launched a takeover bid in 2011 but was forced to abandon it in the wake of the telephone hacking scandal in the UK. Any deal is likely to attract regulatory scrutiny given that Murdoch’s News Corporation owns several major British newspapers.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GABELLI AND COMPANY, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, LABOUR PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN), FOX NEWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS PTY LTD

Good news for Rupert Murdoch’s empire

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 18-Nov-16

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and 21st Century Fox will benefit from plans by president-elect Donald Trump to reduce the US corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 15 per cent. Trump’s vow to block the proposed merger of telco AT&T and media giant Time Warner will also be welcomed by Murdoch, who made an aborted takeover bid for the latter in 2014. Likewise, Trump’s election win has ensured that he will not establish a TV network that would target a similar audience to Murdoch’s Fox News.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, AT&T CORPORATION, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, FOX NEWS, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Content the future for telcos: media bosses

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 25-Oct-16

Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner says A&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner has major implications for both telcos and media companies. He believes that more deals of this nature are possible, noting the growing importance of content to telcos. Southern Cross Media Group CEO Grant Blackley says such deals could occur in Australia, and points out that under current media ownership laws his company could be acquired by Telstra but it could not merge with Fairfax Media.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, AT&T CORPORATION, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BEIN SPORTS, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED