STRATEGIC ALLIANCES (BUSINESS) – AUSTRALIA

News Corp grabs stake in hipages

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 23 : 7-Dec-15

News Corp Australia executives Brett Clegg and Alisa Bowen are expected to become directors of hipages following a strategic alliance between the two companies. News Corp has bought a 25 per cent stake in the home improvement portal, which provides householders with free quotes from tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians. Hipages was founded in 2004 and now boasts 200 employees. Seven West Media and Fairfax Media were also interested in investing in hipages.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HIPAGES GROUP PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MAGAZINES, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SERVICE SEEKING PTY LTD, THUMBTACK, GOOGLE CAPITAL, SEQUOIA CAPITAL LLP, ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, RIGHT CLICK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

NAB does 10-year deal with Visa

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Nov-15

National Australia Bank has terminated its alliance with MasterCard in favour of rival credit card provider Visa. The two groups will co-operate in the development of new payment solutions as the trend toward the use of mobile devices for making payments gathers pace. Australian banks are also holding talks with Google regarding the introduction of its Android Pay system.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORPORATION, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Optus pads up with Cricket Australia

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 23-Oct-15

Singtel Optus has secured a three-year digital broadcasting rights deal with Cricket Australia, which will allow the telco’s customers to access the Cricket Australia Live Pass from late October 2015. Optus CEO Allen Lew says that in addition to live streaming of cricket matches, the telco plans to offer a range of interactive content. He has also signalled that Optus will pursue digital rights deals for other sports.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Acxiom & Roy Morgan Research partner with major media groups to unite data and digital capabilities – kicking off with Facebook

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Sep-15

Customer data solutions and marketing services provider Acxiom has announced a partnership with Roy Morgan Research and major media agency groups. As the offline and digital worlds become more connected for consumers, this partnership will give marketers an increased capacity to find and target their most valuable audiences on Facebook. This will enable marketers to go beyond standard online targeting options. By accessing insightful view of their customers, using Roy Morgan and Acxiom data, advertisers can bring media planning and buying in line with their cross-channel objectives. Dentsu Aegis Network and OmnicomMediaGroup are first to market with this solution.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, ACXIOM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Tugg brings indie films to streamers

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 8-Sep-15

Tugg Australia has secured an alliance with US digital film distributor GoDigital that will make independent Australian films available to a wider audience. GoDigital in turn has alliances with a number of key streaming video-on-demand services, such as Netflix and Hulu. About 100 films are currently available to view via the Tugg platform.

CORPORATES
TUGG AUSTRALIA, GODIGITAL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, HULU LLC, ITUNES, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, DISH, LEAP FROG FILMS, HOYTS CINEMAS LIMITED, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL

Ten CEO exit clears way for Foxtel

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 28-Jul-15

Ten Network COO Paul Anderson will succeed Hamish McLennan as CEO. McLennan has also stepped down as executive chairman in favour of an independent replacement, David Gordon. The departure of McLennan as executive chairman could increase the chances of Ten’s equity deal with Foxtel being approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, as he has strong links with the Murdoch family. SMI data shows that Ten’s share of advertising revenue was 23.1 per cent in June 2015.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FREEHILLS PTY LTD, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED

Telcos vie for Netflix as Singtel-Optus deal ends

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-Jul-15

Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia are believed to be seeking an alliance with Netflix following the end of a three-month deal between the US-based video streaming group and Singtel Optus. Customers of Optus received free access to Netflix during the joint marketing arrangement, which was used to officially launch Netflix in Australia. Telstra has expressed its desire to be an aggregator of content from all providers, despite owning 50 per cent of pay-TV group Foxtel.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SPOTIFY LIMITED

Alibaba pairs with Tourism Australia to attract travellers

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Jul-15

Tourism Australia has secured a three-year marketing deal with Alitrip, a travel software app that was launched by Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba in 2010. Tourism Australia and Alitrip will jointly promote Australia as a travel destination for independent travellers in China. Australia recorded 18 per cent growth in tourists from China in 2014, to a new high of 840,000.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALITRIP, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, JD.COM INCORPORATED, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, WOLF BLASS WINES PTY LTD, IRESEARCH

Take-off in US tourists tipped

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 22-Jun-15

Tourism Australia has secured a new marketing deal with Virgin Australia Holdings, after first joining forces to promote Australia in 2012. The two groups will jointly spend $A50m to promote the nation, with the US to be targeted initially. Meanwhile, Virgin CEO John Borghetti anticipates an upturn in tourists from the US due to the lower value of the Australian dollar. Tourism Australia has also renewed its marketing deal with Etihad.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, DELTA AIR LINES, AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED

China lobbies ACCC on Qantas alliance

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 2-Jun-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) opposes an alliance between Qantas and China Eastern Airline on competition grounds. However, Chinese ambassador Ma Zhaoxu has asked ACCC chairman Rod Sims to take into account the relationship between the two nations when deciding whether to block the alliance. He argues that the deal will have no impact on competition. The ACCC is concerned that the two carriers would dominate the Sydney-Shanghai route.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS LIMITED, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, JETSTAR HONG KONG AIRWAYS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIAN AND INTERNATIONAL PILOTS ASSOCIATION, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, ETIHAD AIRWAYS