STREAMING VIDEO – AUSTRALIA

Video-on-demand surges

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 26 : 4-Mar-19

New data shows that Australians viewed 2.9 billion minutes of TV programs and movies via broadcast video-on-demand platforms in February 2019, compared with two billion minutes during the same month in 2018. The figures also show that there was a 41 per cent increase in the number of viewers who watched a program live, while the number who watched content when it suited them rose by 44 per cent year-on-year. ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate says BVOD is more effective for advertisers than other social video platforms, and she notes that 500 advertisers opted to use BVOD for the first time in 2018.

CORPORATES
THINK TV, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, 9NOW, 7PLUS, 10 PLAY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CBS CORPORATION

Stan tipped for subscriber lift from Disney deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 19-Feb-19

Fraser McLeish of MST Marquee expects subscription video-on-demand provider Stan to have enjoyed strong growth in its customer base over the 2018-19 summer, following its content deal with Walt Disney Company in December. Nine Entertainment Company will shortly release the first subscription data for Stan since August, when it had 1.1 million active subscribers. MST Marquee values Stan at $500m, and McLeish believes that the SVOD provider’s value is not being reflected in Nine’s share price.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MST MARQUEE, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD

Foxtel’s Kayo quick off the blocks

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 9-Jan-19

Foxtel’s subscriber churn rate rose to 15.6 per cent in the December quarter, compared with 12.9 per cent in the three months to September. News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson attributes the rise in customer churn to an increase in the cost of traditional Foxtel services, but he stresses that the Kayo sports streaming service is not cannibalising pay-TV customers. Thompson adds that Kayo has attracted 115,000 subscribers – including 100,000 paying customers – since its launch in November.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

UBS upbeat Foxtel is pressing right buttons on Kayo launch

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Jan-19

Foxtel launched its Kayo Sports streaming video service in November, allowing consumers to access it without the need for a pay-TV subscription. UBS believes that Kayo Sports could enable Foxtel to increase its market penetration, which has remained at around 30 per cent for the last decade. The UBS analysts concede that Kayo is likely to cannibalise Foxtel’s subscriber base, but they say that this will be offset by increased revenue and gross margins as Foxtel’s overall market penetration rises.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Ten faces uphill task against Netflix, Stan

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 22 : 5-Dec-18

US media giant CBS Corporation has officially launched its subscription video-on-demand service in Australia. Consumers will be offered a one-month free trial of 10 All Access, which will then cost $9.99 per month. It will provide advertising-free access to a library of 7,000 titles from CBS and the Ten Network. However, rival SVOD service Stan has an exclusive agreement for content from CBS-owned Showtime. Brian Han of Morningstar says gaining a foothold in the local market will be a challenge for 10 All Access.

CORPORATES
CBS CORPORATION, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, 10 ALL ACCESS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, SHOWTIME, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL NOW, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

Seven welcomes YouTube’s TV challenge

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Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 4-Dec-18

Seven West Media’s chief digital officer Clive Dicken is not unduly concerned about YouTube’s decision to provide free access to its original TV content. Dickens says traditional TV broadcasters are looking to adopt YouTube’s advertising-supported model for streaming video. He also notes that all forms of TV are growing, despite initial fears that subscription video-on-demand services would result in the demise of traditional broadcasters. YouTube’s premium content will be viewable for free on smart TVs from 2019.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, HULU LLC

Telstra to offer Kayo Sports streaming service

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 24 : 28-Nov-18

Telstra has advised that Foxtel’s new Kayo Sports video-on-demand service will be available to users of its own streaming platform. Telstra’s Michael Ackland says the telco does not expect Kayo to cannibalise the audience for its own sports streaming content, which includes AFL, NRL and A-League matches. Kayo subscriptions are priced from $25 per month, but Ackland notes that Telstra’s Live Pass subscribers will be able to access Kayo for free. It will also be available via the Telstra TV device.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Kayo enters the streaming arena

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Nov-18

Participants in the beta-testing phase of Kayo Sports were generally positive about Foxtel’s new dedicated sports streaming video-on-demand service. Kayo Sports CEO Julian Ogrin says the subscription service was rigorously tested prior to its official launch, and he is confident that it will not experience the problems that plagued Optus’s live streams of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

CORPORATES
KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Catalano reveals plans for $800m Fairfax asset sales

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has outlined his strategy for Fairfax Media if his legal challenge to its merger with Nine Entertainment Company succeeds. Catalano has proposed to divest the bulk of Fairfax’s assets, allowing it to focus on core assets such as its metropolitan mastheads and its controlling stake in Domain. Amongst other things, Catalano estimates that streaming video service Stan could fetch around $300m and Fairfax’s stake in Macquarie Media could be sold for at least $180m.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED – ASX TEK, UPDATER INCORPORATED

Fairfax, Nine deal set to get the nod

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Nov-18

Brian Han of Morningstar expects the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media to receive regulatory approval on 8 November. Han says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is likely to take into account the impact of digital on traditional media when deciding whether to approve the $4bn deal. Nine Entertainment posted a 2017-18 net profit of $209.7m, while Fairfax made a loss of $63.8m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED