TELEVISION BROADCASTING OF SPORTS – AUSTRALIA

Ten to give A-League ‘maximum exposure’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Oct-17

Ten Network hopes its coverage of A-League soccer will be as successful as its broadcasts of the Big Bash League domestic Twenty20 competition in recent years. Ten has committed to providing live coverage of one A-League match each week, beginning on 7 October, while it will also broadcast the A-League finals and grand final. The two-year deal to simulcast Fox Sports’ coverage will be the first the time that A-League matches have been broadcast on a commercial free-to-air network.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, BIG BASH LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, CBS CORPORATION, MELBOURNE VICTORY FOOTBALL CLUB PTY LTD, SYDNEY FOOTBALL CLUB

Ratings fail to capture full picture of Grand Final viewership

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-17

Two Roy Morgan Snap SMS surveys taken after the weekend’s AFL and NRL Grand Finals show that millions more Australians watched the two showpiece events than were captured by conventional "5 City Metro’ ratings figures. A Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey taken on Sunday showed that 8.4 million Australians aged 18+ (44.5%) watched the AFL Grand Final, which is much higher than suggested by the official Channel 7 "5 City Metro" ratings of 2.7 million. A further Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey taken on Monday showed that 6.5 million Australians aged 18+ (34.5%) watched the NRL Grand Final; again, this is much higher than suggested by the official Channel 9 "5 City Metro" ratings of 2.3 million. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the good news for Grand Final advertisers and sponsors is that millions of Australians watched the games on TV outside the traditional "5 City Metro" markets, and millions more watched the games at a friend’s house, in a pub or hotel, at the ground or streaming via an app or website.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Telstra, News in Foxtel deal ahead of float

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 18-Aug-17

Telstra and News Corp aim to secure regulatory approval for a proposed merger of Foxtel and Fox Sports by April 2018. They each own 50 per cent of Foxtel at present, but Telstra would reduce its stake in the combined Foxtel-Fox Sports to 35 per cent if the deal proceeds. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson says the merger would unlock value for the media group, which would have a 65 per cent stake in Foxtel-Fox Sports. The deal would enhance Foxtel’s ability to bid for sports broadcasting rights amid growing competition.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ESPN INCORPORATED, BEIN SPORTS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Nine kicks a ratings winner with Origin

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 3 : 14-Jul-17

Data from OzTAM shows that the Nine Network’s broadcast of the third rugby league State of Origin match boasted an average national audience of 3.66 million people on 12 July. This includes 2.49 million viewers in the five major capital cities and 1.12 million in regional areas. Nine lifted its audience share to 40.5 per cent as a result of the rugby league coverage, while Seven Network had a 10.8 per cent share of viewers.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Nine puts hard word on CA for new rights deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Jul-17

Nine Entertainment Company is said to be keen to secure a broadcasting rights deal for all cricket formats before the end of 2017. The Nine Network’s head of sport, Tom Malone, does not expect Cricket Australia’s pay dispute to have an impact on negotiations over broadcasting rights, which Nine wants to finalise quickly. Cricket Australia had expectations that the next five-year deal could be worth up to $A900m, although broadcasting rights experts suggest that about $A700m is more likely. The current deal is worth about $A600m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, BIG BASH LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS’ ASSOCIATION

Cricket rights set for delay amid pay war

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 24 : 3-Jul-17

Negotiations for a new cricket broadcasting rights deal are expected to be put on hold until 2018. Cricket Australia had commenced preliminary talks with TV networks, but factors such as the pay dispute with top cricketers and the collapse of the Ten Network may prompt a final deal to be delayed. Cricket Australia had been aiming to gain around $A900m for the next five-year rights deal, compared with about $A600m under the current deal. However, sports rights experts say Ten’s collapse means that around $A700m is more likely.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, BIG BASH LEAGUE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PPB ADVISORY, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TENNIS AUSTRALIA

Reform package boosts shares

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 9-May-17

The Federal Government’s latest media reform proposals prompted a rally in the share prices of listed media groups on 8 May 2017. In addition to abolishing the "reach rule" and the "two out of three rule", the Government plan to replace TV broadcasting licence fees with an annual spectrum fee and ban gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts prior to 8:30pm. Macquarie Group says the proposed reforms are positive for TV networks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, TPG CAPITAL LP, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Nine ‘stretched to the limit’ on cricket rights

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-May-17

Nine Entertainment Company CEO Hugh Marks says cricket coverage is still important to the Nine Network, but he concedes that the group can only afford to pay so much for the broadcasting rights. Marks adds that unlike sports such as AFL and NRL, cricket does not have a fixed scheduled each year and matches are often affected by the weather. He also says Nine must start delivering a return on its investment in other sports.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, BIG BASH LEAGUE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Don’t get caught by cricket deal, Nine told

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 20 : 27-Apr-17

Nine Entertainment Company’s broadcasting rights deal with Cricket Australia expires at the end of 2017. Sources have indicated that Nine will only strike a new deal that represents "fair value" for shareholders. Nine paid $A450m for its current five-year deal, and some analysts believe that it is losing between $A30m and $A40m a year as a result of the deal. Eric Choi of UBS says Nine should abandon the broadcasting rights or push for a deal that provides additional matches at no extra cost.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Opponents line up to resist Tabcorp deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 24-Apr-17

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’Landys rejects suggestions that a merger between Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group would reduce competition for broadcasting rights for horse racing. Some submissions to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission have expressed concern that the merger would increase the market power of Tabcorp-owned Sky Racing at the expense of rivals such as Racing.com, which is a joint venture between Seven West Media and Racing Victoria.

CORPORATES
TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, SKY RACING, RACING.COM, RACING NSW, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, RACING VICTORIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CROWNBET PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PACIFIC CONSORTIUM