NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

Fairfax and News deal extends future of print

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-18

Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia have struck a landmark deal to share some newspaper printing and distribution facilities in New South Wales and Queensland. Fairfax will print some News Corp publications on its printing presses in North Richmond, while News Corp will in turn print some Fairfax publications. The deal is expected to generate annual cost savings of $A15m for Fairfax, and CEO Greg Hywood says it will help ensure the long-term viability of print newspapers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Hard-hitting, trusted news still sells, in digital and in print

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Original article by Chris Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 25 & 26 : 14-May-18

Traditional news providers have allowed Facebook to "cherry pick" their content to provide news feeds that have the potential to undermine their business. News publishers have also allowed themselves to be blinded by technology, and have forgotten what good journalism is meant to be about, namely the provision of news and stories that matter to the general public. The Australian Competi­tion & Consumer Commission’s inquiry into digital platforms gives traditional publishers the opportunity to "fight back". The inquiry has shown that digital platforms should pay for the content they use from traditional news sources, and that they should be viewed as publishers, and therefore subject to the same laws as traditional publishers.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

It’s official: Newspaper masthead readership is up 3.2% to over 16 million!

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-May-18

Roy Morgan has released the latest readership report for Australian newspapers for the 12 months to March 2018. Some 16.1 million Australians aged 14+ (almost 80%) now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period either in print or online via website or app, an increase of 3.2 per cent from a year ago. Cross-platform audiences have increased for four out of Australia’s top five leading mastheads. "The Sydney Morning Herald" is still the most widely-read masthead, with a cross-platform audience of 4,269,000, up 0.6 per cent from a year ago. Meanwhile, "Good Weekend" remains Australia’s most widely-read newspaper inserted magazine, with print readership of 1,167,000 (down 10.2 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Stokes sees value in media mergers

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 4-May-18

Seven Group Holdings CEO Ryan Stokes says a merger between a newspaper publisher and a TV network could have synergies, although he argues that such deals should only proceed if they will deliver value for shareholders. Stokes notes that the cross-media model has worked well for Seven West Media, which owns newspaper assets in Western Australia. Stokes has also indicated that Seven Group is likely to eventually offload its investment portfolio and reinvest the proceeds in "active" assets.

CORPORATES
SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, SGH ENERGY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WESTRAC HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COATES HIRE LIMITED, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Hywood signals Fairfax open to merger with free-to-air television network

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 3-May-18

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood says the company is well-placed to capitalise on industry consolidation in the wake of cross-media ownership reforms. He has also argued that mergers between print and broadcasting companies are possible, although all interested parties would have to benefit from any such deal. Meanwhile, Fairfax has advised that group revenue fell by one per cent during the first 17 weeks of the second half of 2017-18; its Australian Metro Media division’s revenue was about two per cent lower than the same period in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN METRO MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, STUFF LIMITED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Seven cuts dividend to focus on debt

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 21-Feb-18

Seven West Media has posted a 2017-18 interim underlying net profit of $A100.7m, which is 5.2 per cent higher than previously. EBITDA was up 3.5 per cent at $A176.8m, but revenue fell 10.4 per cent to $A809.4m. The media group reduced its costs by $A13.8m during the first half, and it aims to cut costs by $A40m over the full year. CEO Tim Worner says dividends have been put on hold to enable Seven to reduce its debt and capitalise on potential merger opportunities in the wake of the federal government’s cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, YAHOO!7 COMMUNICATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Upbeat Miller sets digital course

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 12-Feb-18

News Corp Australia boasted 389,600 digital subscribers at the end of the December 2017 quarter, an increase of 26 per cent year-on-year. Executive chairman Michael Miller describes digital subscriptions as a "huge opportunity" for the media group, noting that this market is recording annual growth of 20 per cent. Millers adds that the merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports is progressing, while he also says News Corp is open to mergers and acquisitions, including free-to-air TV networks.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL MEDIA, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Newspaper masthead readership grows to 15.9 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Feb-18

Roy Morgan has released the latest readership report for Australian newspapers for the 12 months to December 2017. Some 15.9 million Australians aged 14+ now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period either in print, or online via website or app. Cross-platform audiences have increased for four out of Australia’s top five leading mastheads, and for the first time four of the leading mastheads now have an audience of over three million Australians. "The Sydney Morning Herald" is still the most widely-read masthead, with a cross-platform audience of 4,255,000, up 0.4 per cent from a year ago.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Media buyers divided on News Corp’s pull from AMAA audit

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Original article by Zoe Samios
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 13-Dec-17

Nunn Media MD Chris Walton and Tom Rankin of 303MullenLowe are among media agency executives to have criticised News Corp Australia’s decision to withdraw its newspapers from the Audited Media Association of Australia’s circulation audit. Meanwhile, Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says there is a need for an independent research body to measure media. "I’m sure the AMAA will be described as unnecessary expenditure. But it comes at a time when advertisers and their agencies are crying out for truth and accuracy in measurement," Levine said. "The time for media and their industry bodies (OzTAM, EMMA etc) measuring themselves is fast drawing to an end. The confluence of digital media, outdoor, direct, point of sale and traditional media means more than ever advertisers and their agencies want , and need, a single source of truth – not media’s own claims or industry’s own claims."

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUDITED MEDIA ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NUNN MEDIA PTY LTD, 303 MULLENROWE, HAVAS MEDIA PTY LTD, PHD GROUP PTY LTD

Fairfax finds a friend on Google

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Dec-17

Fairfax Media has indicated that a deal for Google to sell and market programmatic advertising across the newspaper publisher’s websites will have limited impact on its sales team. Meanwhile, Fairfax CEO Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood says the deal may allow the media group to increase its investment in journalism. Google is believed to be holding discussions with other media companies regarding similar partnerships. Fairfax already uses Google’s Ad Exchange program to sell online advertising inventory.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GROUPM COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, WPP PLC