RADIO STATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Nine mulls future of talkback amid exits and cuts

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Dec-24

Nine Entertainment’s radio division posted revenue of $103m in 2023, compared with $131.8m in 2019. Nine Radio contributes less than four per cent of the listed media group’s overall revenue, and 1.6 per cent of group EBITDA. Nine’s flagship radio stations are focused on talkback, which is competing with podcasts and streaming music platforms for audiences. Nine Radio director Tom Malone is confident about the future of the group’s radio arm. However, further on-air changes at Nine’s radio stations are possible following an overhaul at 6PR in Perth, where a recent ‘reset’ resulted in several presenters being axed and the breakfast show being extended by an hour.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE RADIO PTY LTD, 6PR SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD

ABC and triple j revive One Night Stand music festival

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

The ABC’s youth-focused radio station triple j will team up with Music Australia to relaunch the One Night Stand music festival. The event was held annually from 2004 to 2019, but it was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Triple j will run a competition to decide which regional town will host the one-day festival in 2024. The decision to revive One Night Stand follows the cancellation of popular music festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo and the Falls Festival.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TRIPLE J PTY LTD, MUSIC AUSTRALIA

Southern Cross rejects ARN Media takeover

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-24

Southern Cross Media Group has formally rejected a takeover offer from ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners, contending that it undervalues the TV and radio stations group. However, chairman Rob Murray has indicated that Southern Cross would be open to a revised offer. He adds that the group’s radio stations and digital audio platforms are its key focus; it owns 99 radio stations across Australia, while ARN Media owns 58 radio stations.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Target wary of opportunistic ARN

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Oct-23

ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners are offering 0.753 ARN shares for each Southern Cross Austereo share, along with $0.296 in cash and $0.127 in franking credits. Southern Cross chairman John Murray has labelled the takeover bid "opportunistic", while describing it as quite complex and one that could take months to evaluate. Murray and Southern Cross CEO John Kelly have established a sub-committee of its board and management to assess the offer, while its shareholders are supportive of it considering the bid.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

ABC board lays down law on radio fix

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 18 : 3-Jul-23

The ABC’s senior management has been urged to take action to address the decline in the audience share of its radio stations. The ratings of both ABC Radio and Radio National have fallen sharply in the last 18 months or so, and an internal advisory group has made a number of proposals aimed at addressing this, including changes to its on-air presenters and an overhaul of internal reporting structures within the public broadcaster. The advisory group’s report was tabled at the ABC’s recent board meeting in Perth.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ABC RADIO, RADIO NATIONAL

ABC Radio listeners in key city tune out

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Jun-23

GfK’s latest radio ratings survey shows that the ABC’s audience share across all timeslots in Melbourne has fallen by 0.2 percentage points to 6.0 per cent. This compares with an audience share of 10.1 per cent in December 2021. ABC Radio Melbourne has shed an average of 26,000 listeners in the latest survey period, with the broadcaster’s flagship morning, afternoon and drive timeslots recording a loss of audience share. In contrast, ABC Radio Sydney’s audience share rose across the key timeslots; the ABC’s audience share in Adelaide and Perth also rose, but its audience fell across all timeslots in Brisbane. The GfK ratings include streaming data for the first time.

CORPORATES
GFK PTY LTD, ABC RADIO, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

KIIS FM boss plays down Seven West tie-up talk

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Feb-23

Listed media group HT&E has posted a statutory loss of $176.3m for calendar 2022. The result was marred by a $249.9m impairment charge on the value of its radio business. However, underlying EBITDA and revenue both rose by 53 per cent, to $91.8m and $344.9m respectively. There has been recent media speculation of a potential merger with Seven West Media, but HT&E CEO Ciaran Davis says he has not heard from Seven. He adds that HT&E would be an "absolute prime target" in the event of further consolidation in the media sector. Davis has also indicated that HT&E may look at divesting its Hong Kong-based Cody outdoor advertising firm later in 2023.

CORPORATES
HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CODY

Audiences, ads will return: NOVA chief

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Mar-21

The Australian radio industry’s advertising revenue across the five capital cities fell by 19 per cent over the six months to December. This was significantly down when compared to free-to-air television, which recorded an increase of 0.6 per cent. However, NOVA Entertainment chief executive Peter Charlton is optimistic of a recovery in radio advertising in 2021, with eight out of its biggest 10 advertisers spending the same or more in the first two months of 2021 as in the same period in 2020; the advertisers in question include Harvey Norman, Coles and Woolworths.

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NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Southern Cross hit hard by sell-off

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-19

Southern Cross Media Group has advised that EBITDA for the first half of 2019-20 is expected to be within the range of $60m to $68m, compared with $82m for the same period in 2018-19. The group has also reported that revenue for the first quarter was 8.5 per cent lower than previously, due to challenging conditions in the advertising market. CFO Nick McKechnie says the group has no plans for further asset sales after selling its broadcast transmission assets in August.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, BROADCAST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Carnegie finally tunes out of Macquarie

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 8-Oct-19

Nine Entertainment Company has reached the 90 per cent threshold to compulsorily acquire Macquarie Media, after venture capitalist Mark Carnegie accepted the offer of $1.46 per share. Carnegie says he had no option other than agreeing to the Nine deal, and he adds that radio – and news talk radio in particular – is a powerful media that will be a good fit for Nine’s other media assets. Nine CEO Hugh Marks has also stressed the power of talk radio and says he is looking forward to working with the Macquarie team.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED