TELEVISION BROADCASTING – AUSTRALIA

Former ACCC head believes Ten, Foxtel deal likely to go ahead

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jun-15

The proposed equity deal between Ten Network and Foxtel will have to be approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Former chairman Allan Fels says the growth of internet-based streaming video services should ensure that the deal is not blocked on competition grounds. John Kettle of law firm McCullough Robertson also expects the deal to be approved, and he says contractual arrangements between Ten and Foxtel are likely to attract the most scrutiny.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, McCULLOUGH ROBERTSON, STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Murdoch tightens Ten grip

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 16-Jun-15

Pay-TV group Foxtel will acquire a stake of around 15 per cent in the Ten Network, paying $A0.15 per share, which equates to about $A77m. Ten shareholders will also be offered additional stock at $A0.15, with the free-to-air broadcaster raising $A154m in total via the share placement. Meanwhile, Ten will take a 24.99 per cent stake in Foxtel’s Multi Channel Network advertising sales company, which will in turn merge with Ten’s advertising department.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SKY PLC, 20TH CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED

Nine plans local shift

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 15-Jun-15

Nine Entertainment Company will increase its investment in Australian drama, after deciding not to renew its content deal with US-based Warner Bros. Nine Network programming director Andrew Backwell says local drama is generally rating well, while the plethora of options available for viewing US drama means such shows no longer attract large audiences in Australia. He adds that piracy is not such a big issue with local drama. Nine will continue to buy current TV shows from Warner Bros.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WARNER BROS, ENDEMOL ENTERTAINMENT HOLDING NV

Television keeps pretenders at bay as king of screens

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Jun-15

A new report shows that Australian consumers still prefer to watch video content on TV rather than mobile devices or PCs. The Australia Multi-Screen Report indicates that Australians typically watched more than 89 hours of TV each month in the last year, compared with just over 93 hours previously. The average amount of time Australians spend each month watching video content on a computer device fell slightly in the last year. The report also shows that the 65+ age group tends to watch the most TV, while those aged 13-17 watch the least.

CORPORATES
OZTAM PTY LTD, THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, REGIONAL TAM PTY LTD

Networks rely on sports for ad dollars

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 10-Jun-15

Concerns about an uncertain outlook for the advertising market prompted investors to sell down Australian media stocks on 9 June 2015. Nine Entertainment Company has partially attributed an earnings downgrade to slowing ad revenue. Ben Willee of Spinach Advertising notes that TV ad revenue is being affected by the growing use of mobile devices to access media content, while Starcom MediaVest Group CEO Chris Nolan says sports broadcasts are becoming a key source of viewers and ad revenue for TV networks.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SPINACH ADVERTISING PTY LTD, STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OPTIMUM MEDIA DIRECTION PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Shareholder backs Nine despite downgrade

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Jun-15

Nine Entertainment Company has attributed a profit downgrade to a subdued TV advertising market in the second half of 2014-15. The media group has advised that its full-year EBITDA will be within the range of $A285m to $A290m, compared with earlier guidance of $A311m. Entcho Raykovski of Deutsche Bank expects free-to-air ad revenue to be three per cent lower in the second half.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WARNER BROS

Blackley back on board for SCM M&A bonanza

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Jun-15

Southern Cross Media Group chairman Peter Bush expects mergers in Australia’s media sector if cross-media ownership laws are changed. He says the industry expertise of new CEO Grant Blackley will be an asset when dealing with the new media landscape. Bush adds that one of Blackley’s key tasks will be to assess the group’s "peak value". Blackley is a former CEO of the Ten Network.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KEYSTONE GROUP PTY LTD

Blackley to work on keeping Ten

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 29-May-15

Former Ten Network CEO Grant Blackley will become CEO of Southern Cross Media Group on 29 June 2015. He has indicated that the regional broadcaster will seek to negotiation a new affiliation agreement with Ten as quickly as possible, but has not ruled out ending the alliance. Blackley will receive a base salary of $A1.05m at Southern Cross, plus an incentives package.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KIIS1065, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, KEYSTONE GROUP PTY LTD, FOUR SEASONS MEDIA PTY LTD

Southern Cross wants CEO ready for deals

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 12-May-15

Heidrick & Struggles has been hired to find a successor to Southern Cross Media Group CEO Rhys Holleran, who will step down on 31 July 2015. Non-executive chairman Peter Bush will take up the role of executive chairman until Holleran’s replacement is appointed. Bush says priorities for the new CEO will include reversing a downturn in revenue and preparing the group for potential cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, HEIDRICK AND STRUGGLES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KIIS1065, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Foxtel fights back as streaming services tempt subscribers

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 23-Mar-15

A Venture Consulting surveys shows that around 250,000 of Foxtel’s customers intend to cancel or reduce their pay-TV subscription and start using a video streaming service in the next three months. Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein is confident that the company’s subscriber base will not be unduly affected by the growth of video streaming. Foxtel has joined forces with Seven West Media to establish its own streaming service

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VENTURE CONSULTING PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, STAN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, APPLE INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED