VIDEO-ON-DEMAND – AUSTRALIA

Seven welcomes YouTube’s TV challenge

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 4-Dec-18

Seven West Media’s chief digital officer Clive Dicken is not unduly concerned about YouTube’s decision to provide free access to its original TV content. Dickens says traditional TV broadcasters are looking to adopt YouTube’s advertising-supported model for streaming video. He also notes that all forms of TV are growing, despite initial fears that subscription video-on-demand services would result in the demise of traditional broadcasters. YouTube’s premium content will be viewable for free on smart TVs from 2019.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, HULU LLC

Telstra to offer Kayo Sports streaming service

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 24 : 28-Nov-18

Telstra has advised that Foxtel’s new Kayo Sports video-on-demand service will be available to users of its own streaming platform. Telstra’s Michael Ackland says the telco does not expect Kayo to cannibalise the audience for its own sports streaming content, which includes AFL, NRL and A-League matches. Kayo subscriptions are priced from $25 per month, but Ackland notes that Telstra’s Live Pass subscribers will be able to access Kayo for free. It will also be available via the Telstra TV device.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Kayo enters the streaming arena

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Nov-18

Participants in the beta-testing phase of Kayo Sports were generally positive about Foxtel’s new dedicated sports streaming video-on-demand service. Kayo Sports CEO Julian Ogrin says the subscription service was rigorously tested prior to its official launch, and he is confident that it will not experience the problems that plagued Optus’s live streams of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

CORPORATES
KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Catalano reveals plans for $800m Fairfax asset sales

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has outlined his strategy for Fairfax Media if his legal challenge to its merger with Nine Entertainment Company succeeds. Catalano has proposed to divest the bulk of Fairfax’s assets, allowing it to focus on core assets such as its metropolitan mastheads and its controlling stake in Domain. Amongst other things, Catalano estimates that streaming video service Stan could fetch around $300m and Fairfax’s stake in Macquarie Media could be sold for at least $180m.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED – ASX TEK, UPDATER INCORPORATED

How local producers survived the Netflix streaming tsunami

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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