STREAMING VIDEO – AUSTRALIA

How local producers survived the Netflix streaming tsunami

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Original article by Justin Burke
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 8-Oct-18

The growth of subscription video-on-demand services in Australia has prompted local TV production companies to embrace co-productions. Fremantle Australia CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor says such deals will ensure that the local market remains viable. The ABC in particular has embraced SVOD co-productions, and it now makes a number of shows in partnership with Netflix. Meanwhile, Netflix will launch its first original Australian production in late 2018. Data from Roy Morgan shows that 10 million Australians now have access to Netflix at home, an increase of 30 per cent in the last 12 months.

CORPORATES
FREMANTLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), CORDELL JIGSAW ZAPRUDER

Sport can save free-to-air: Netflix founder

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 24-Sep-18

Marc Randolph, the co-founder of subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix, says commercial free-to-air TV networks must adapt to changes in how consumers view content. Randolph notes that consumers increasingly prefer to binge-watch content such as drama; he has also stressed the importance of live content such as sports for traditional broadcasters, noting that viewers have not yet embraced such content via Netflix. Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner says that while live content is important for TV broadcasters, general entertainment remains a key element of the Seven Network’s programming.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, OVO MOBILE

4K AFL on Foxtel’s Netflix of sport

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 21-Sep-18

Foxtel has advised that it will broadcast some Australian Football League matches in the 4K ultra-high-definition format during the 2019 season. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says one match per round is likely to be initially broadcast in the new format, with additional 4K coverage to be added as more of the high-definition cameras become available in Australia. Delany has also indicated that Foxtel will unveil details of a new sport-focused streaming video service in the next several months.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Nine Network (+ Stan) will close gap on Seven Network

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Sep-18

Research from Roy Morgan shows that almost 11.9 million Australians watch the Nine Network across broadcast and Catch Up platforms in an average week, while nearly 12.5 million watch the Seven Network and almost 11.3 million watch the ABC. Nine Entertainment’s merger with Fairfax Media will bring together two of Australia’s leading media companies, as well as their 50:50 joint venture subscription video-on-demand service Stan (which is watched by over 2 million Australians in an average four weeks). The merger will boost the combined viewership of Nine Entertainment platforms to over 12.2 million, within reach of the Seven Network. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that although some have expressed concerns about the potential lessening of competition the merger may bring, the proliferation of competing Pay TV and SVOD services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium, Fetch and others, suggests that competition in the viewing space is intensifying rather than reducing.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME, YOUTUBE PREMIUM, FETCHTV PTY LTD

CBS gears for Ten All Access streaming service launch

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: Online : 10-Sep-18

CBS will enter the Australian streaming market in December with the launch of Ten All Access. Its US equivalent CBS All Access costs $US5.99 with advertisements a month, and it is expected that Ten All Access will cost between $6 and $7 a month. Meanwhile, chief content officer Beverley McGarvey says Ten’s plans for 2019 include renewals for "The Bachelor" and "Survivor", while she has denied reports that CBS wanted some of Ten’s news personalities to have voice coaching.

CORPORATES
CBS CORPORATION, CBS ALL ACCESS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Addressable TV advertising technology already reaches over 9 million Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Aug-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that over nine million Australians are already using the devices and services that addressable TV advertising technology requires, like smart TVs and streaming devices. However, broadcasters are only just starting to mature their own technologies and data stacks to be able to leverage connected devices such as smart TVs, streaming and set-top boxes to deliver personalised advertising. The services Australians already watch and that have the potential to deliver addressable TV today include Foxtel, Foxtel Now, Foxtel on Demand, Fetch, Google Play, 9Now, SBS on Demand, TENplay and 7Plus. Additional services that have the potential to deliver addressable TV but due to business decisions do not currently carry advertising and are watched by over 14.5 million Australians include Netflix, Stan, ABC iView, Quickflix, Ozflix, Bigpond movies, Dendy Direct, iTunes, Sports streaming, YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime Video. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the increasingly fast rate at which Australians adopt a multitude of new technologies does give great hope to traditional broadcasters developing addressable TV as a viable competitor to newer digital-centred services. Australians have shown an increasing willingness to try out new technologies and all the evidence from the marketplace shows that if done correctly addressable TV can be a formidable step forward for traditional broadcasters.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Content and data to underpin Nine growth

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Aug-18

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2017-18 underlying net profit of $156.7m, which is 26.8 per cent higher than previously. Underlying EBITDA was up 25.1 per cent at $257.2m and revenue rose 6.5 per cent to $1.3bn. Nine boasted a 38.6 per cent share of free-to-air metropolitan advertising revenue in 2017-18, ahead of Seven West Media with a 38.1 per cent share. Nine CEO Hugh Marks is upbeat about the media group’s outlook, highlighting its capabilities in delivering content across media platforms and targeted advertising via its addressable TV technology.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, 9NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT

Pay TV service Fetch breaks through 700,000 subscribers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 13-Aug-18

FetchTV boasted revenue in excess of $155m in 2017-18m, and the number of transactions on its platform grew by 50 per cent to 2.5 million. Fetch gained around 160,000 subscribers during the financial year, and its customer base now exceeds 700,000. CEO Scott Lorson says Fetch is on track to having one million customers, although it lags well behind Foxtel with 2.8 million subscribers. He notes that Fetch is benefiting from global trends such a growing range of content options and fast broadband with limitless data.

CORPORATES
FETCHTV PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, IINET LIMITED, IPRIMUS, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD

Optus app’s cup woes not demand-related

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-Aug-18

Optus will continue to pursue deals for live streaming of soccer matches despite the technical problems that marred its coverage of the FIFA World Cup. Optus CEO Allen Lew has attributed the problems with its Optus Sports app to "compatibility issues" rather than the impact of customer demand on its network. He adds that the app has undergone rigorous testing and describes it as "world class". Optus’s net profit after tax fell by 3.5 per cent to $154m in the June quarter, while operating revenue was six per cent higher than previously at $2.2bn.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), UNION EUROPEENNE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Fairfax-Nine merger to fight Facebook, Google

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Original article by Jemima Whyte, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 19 : 27-Jul-18

Chris Stott of Wilson Asset Management estimates that the proposed $4.2bn merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media will generate cost and revenue synergies of at least $100m. The deal is the first since the changes to cross-media ownership laws, and there is speculation that there will be further consolidation in the sector. Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks will head the new company, which will combine print and broadcasting assets, as well as the Stan streaming video service and a 60 per cent stake in the Domain real estate listings business.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, THORNEY INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ISPT PTY LTD