TELEVISION BROADCASTING – AUSTRALIA

Producers add voice to deregulation calls

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 23 : 25-Jan-16

FremantleMedia Australia CEO Ian Hogg supports the push for changes to cross-media ownership laws, arguing that the current regime is "archaic". He has also backed recent calls for an increase in the offset for TV producers. Meanwhile, FremantleMedia COO Simon Rabbitt says TV ratings demonstrate that Australian viewers want to watch local content. He has also criticised current rules which allow New Zealand TV programs to be treated as local content.

CORPORATES
FREMANTLEMEDIA LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

TV on track for licence fee cut

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 25-Jan-16

The Department of Communications has recommended a reduction in the annual licence fee paid by Australia’s free-to-air TV networks. Such a move could increase industry support for proposed changes to cross-media ownership laws, although Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has warned that any reduction in licence fees would have to be accompanied by increased revenue or measures to cut costs elsewhere.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Media rules bickering a distraction: Worner

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Jan-16

The "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule" have been the focus of the Australian Government’s proposed changes to cross-media ownership laws. However, Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner believes that the issue of TV licence fees – which are the world’s highest – should be the highest priority in any reform agenda. He argues that this will encourage TV networks to invest in the industry and local content.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Gordon’s top-up sealed Nine deal

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 18-Jan-16

Nine Entertainment Company will continue to receive 39 per cent of WIN Corporation’s advertising revenue under a six-month extension of their affiliation agreement. However, it is believed that Nine will receive an additional payment from Birketu, the private investment company of WIN owner Bruce Gordon. This will lift Nine’s share of its regional affiliate’s ad revenue to around 47 per cent.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Netflix a ‘threat to jobs’ without media reforms

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Jan-16

Changes to cross-media ownership laws remain on the Australian Government’s agenda, and Nine Entertainment Company CEO Hugh Marks argues that reforms are necessary for local companies to compete effectively against offshore groups like Netflix. He notes that the subscription video-on-demand provider is not subject to the same regulations and does not pay a licence fee. Marks adds that lack of reform will threaten jobs in the industry and the production of local content.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Nine strikes a secret cricket deal with SBS

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 18-Dec-15

Regional broadcaster WIN Corporation has yet to finalise a new affiliation agreement with Nine Entertainment Company, with the existing deal set to lapse at the end of 2015. It has been revealed that Nine has negotiated a deal for public broadcaster SBS to televise its cricket coverage in regional areas if WIN does not renew its affiliation agreement. Nine’s broadcasting deal with Cricket Australia requires it to provide all Australians with access to its cricket coverage.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Obsolete media rules shackle Foxtel, says Ten chairman

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Original article by Dominic White, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-Dec-15

Shareholders at Ten Network’s 2015 AGM have voted in favour of a deal for Foxtel to acquire a 15 per cent stake in the free-to-air broadcaster. Meanwhile, Ten chairman David Gordon has urged the Australian Government to abolish cross-media ownership rules, noting that the growth of digital media groups has made the rules redundant. He has also called for TV broadcasting licence fees to be scrapped, arguing that digital rivals have a competitive advantage.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL

Ten delays on third billionaire nominee

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 16-Dec-15

Lachlan Murdoch and Gina Rinehart are expected to retain their nominees on the new six-person board of Ten Network. The free-to-air broadcaster has allocated three seats to representatives of its four billionaire shareholders. However, Ten is not keen to appoint a nominee of WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon, as he also holds a stake in Nine Entertainment Company. WIN’s affiliation agreement with Nine ends on 31 December 2015, and Nine is seeking an increase in WIN’s advertising revenue under a new deal.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, BIRKETU PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Ad market set for election bounce in 2016, say sales bosses

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 7-Dec-15

Australia’s commercial TV networks are upbeat about the outlook for the advertising market in 2016. Seven West Media’s chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette notes that there was 11 per cent growth in the ad market in 2004, which is the last time the Olympics and a federal election were held in the same year. Optimism about the ad market in 2016 will also be bolstered by the national census in August.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YAHOO!7 COMMUNICATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, OZTAM PTY LTD

Media reform decision imminent

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 4-Dec-15

Communications Minister Mitch ­Fifield says technology has made Australia’s existing cross-media ownership laws redundant. He has also given indications that any reforms will include measures to ensure that local TV news services are retained in regional areas if merger rules are relaxed. The Coalition’s partyroom discussed abolition of the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three" rule on 2 December 2015, and the issue is also likely to be on the agenda at the final meeting of cabinet ministers for the year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PIN PAYMENTS, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, IMPARJA TELEVISION PTY LTD