Foxtel-Fox Sports merger hails new era in content

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Mar-18

Foxtel customers will have access to 201 channels after joint owners News Corp Australia and Telstra finalised a deal to merge the pay-TV company with News Corp’s fully-owned Fox Sports. Telstra will reduce its stake in Foxtel to 35 per cent as a result of the deal. Meanwhile, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney has flagged plans to launch a series of genre-based streaming video services, with the aim of targeting consumers who have shunned its traditional broadcast products.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Australian talent misses out as Netflix ramps up

Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: 15 : 2-Mar-18

Netflix intends to spend around $US8 billion ($A10.27 billion) on content in 2018, but Australian film and television producers are yet to see much of that investment. Thus far, fantasy/crime program "Tidelands" is the only Australian program that Netflix has commissioned. Although around 30 per cent of Australian households subscribe to Netflix, a survey presented to a review of Australian and children’s screen content in September found that only between two and 2.5 per cent of the content shown on Netflix in Australia was of local origin.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, RMIT UNIVERSITY, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Netflix hits top ranking in Australian brand survey

Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 22 : 29-Jan-18

Netflix and YouTube have topped YouGov’s annual list of the top 10 consumer brands in Australia. Other brands in the YouGov BrandIndex 2017 include Aldi, Kmart, Google, Bunnings and Coles. Netflix entered the Australian market in 2015, and while it does not provide data on local subscription numbers, Roy Morgan estimates that about three million Australian households subscribe to the streaming video service.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, YOUGOV LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN

Sport proves a winning formula for Seven West Media

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 41 : 25-Jan-18

Seven West Media hopes to retain tennis broadcasting rights when its current contract expires in 2019. Data from Seven shows that audiences for its TV coverage of the 2018 Australian Open are six per cent higher than in 2017, while there has been 135 per cent growth in the number of minutes of Open coverage streamed via its 7Tennis app. Seven CEO Tim Worner argues that free-to-air TV still attracts the largest audiences for live sports coverage.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Long queue forming as Australian cricket rights go up for grabs

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Jan-18

Cricket Australia expects all three free-to-air networks to bid for the Big Bash League broadcasting rights, with the Nine Network tipped to retain rights to Test and one-day international matches. Fox Sports could also bid for the cricket rights in partnership with a free-to-air network, while potential contenders for digital broadcasting rights are said to include Optus and YouTube. Cricket Australia is expected finalise a new rights deal by April.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Foxtel, Telstra and Apple launch TV-streaming devices to beat the Christmas non-ratings period

Original article by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
The Weekly Times – Page: Online : 19-Nov-17

Foxtel, Telstra and Apple all intend to launch new set-top boxes prior to the commencement of the Christmas non-television ratings period. All three devices will provide access to a range of video streaming services, and media analyst Peter Cox notes that Australian consumers have been very quick to adopt video streaming for both films and television. Roy Morgan Research has found that over seven million Australians had used Netflix as of June 2017, while Telstra research shows that more than 60 per cent of Australians are streaming their entertainment.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, APPLE INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Optus hails EPL growth, sweats on Socceroos

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 13-Nov-17

Optus CEO Allen Lew has downplayed suggestions that it may allow customers of rival telcos to subscribe to its exclusive coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Lew says Optus is not yet ready to announce details of its World Cup packages. Optus will be hoping that the Socceroos win their upcoming qualifying match against Honduras, although Lew notes that the World Cup will be popular with many dual nationals in Australia. Soccer is a key element of the Optus Sport service.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SOCCEROOS, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Foxtel pulls new service out of box

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Nov-17

Pay-TV group Foxtel has officially launched its new streaming "puck" device. The Foxtel Now puck will be available to purchase from 10 November and provides streaming access to Foxtel’s pay-TV service as well as free-to-air channels. Users can also install apps to access rival streaming services such as Stan. Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh says the Foxtel Now puck is aimed at younger customers than its traditional cable and satellite TV service.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Telstra TV reboots streaming push

Original article by Supratim Adhikari, Chris Griffith
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Oct-17

The new version of Telstra’s streaming video device provides access to free-to-air networks and their "catch-up" services, as well as subscription video-on-demand providers such as Netflix and Foxtel Now. Jo Pollard, Telstra’s head of media, says the Telstra TV2 device uses high efficiency video coding, so broadband speed limitations should not be an issue for users. Pollard adds that the proposal to merge Foxtel with Fox Sports will be a "net positive" for the telco, which will hold a 35 per cent stake in the merged entity.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL NOW, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, HAYU, BIGPOND MOVIES, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

League Cup leads Seven’s switch to tailor livestream viewer ads

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Oct-17

Seven West Media is expected to announce at least eight new TV shows at its annual "upfronts" on 27 October. The media group will also reveal plans to offer targeted advertising on the live streaming versions of its TV channels, which will allow viewers to see ads based on their preferences. The "addressable television" product will be launched with Seven’s coverage of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Meanwhile, Twitter will expand its live coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival in a deal with Seven and the Victoria Racing Club.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED