This Month
Showtime! Media CEOs’ last stand with Foxtel over future of TV
Years of lobbying by free-to-air networks and Foxtel have come down to this week, when two crucial pieces of legislation are set to go before the Senate.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
‘Intense’ News Corp restructure to target premium content
A challenging ad market dragged down News Corp’s news publications, but CEO Robert Thomson said it had extended a lucrative commercial deal with Google.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Tax Office investigating Lachlan Murdoch’s Nova radio assets
The parent of SmoothFM revealed it is under an ATO microscope, hauling in PwC for tax compliance services.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
April
Foxtel faces its streaming apocalypse
Once the country’s most profitable media group, Foxtel is losing subscribers and is facing a mega-sports rights bill. Will it make it through?
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- Media & marketing
Inside Tabcorp’s CEO search
Recruiters for the wagering group have a long list of potential candidates - including Patrick Delany, the chief executive of Foxtel.
- Updated
- Sam Buckingham-Jones and Zoe Samios
Top Binge executive quits Foxtel as end of HBO deal nears
Amanda Laing, who has been a senior content and commercial executive at Foxtel for six years, will leave in September, the company has told staff.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
TV networks have lost 83pc of young viewers to TikTok, YouTube
The Seven, Nine and Ten networks are trying to convince the government to protect their role in airing sport for free, as global competitors lure away viewers.
- Updated
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
How Macquarie’s $46m investment in an Aussie tech firm turned into $1
Macquarie Capital poured $46m into Plutora, but sold its stake for a dollar, and administrators have met to try to figure out what is left in its operations.
- Paul Smith
March
Fans pile into Las Vegas stadium for NRL season opener
More than 40,000 tickets were sold for the inaugural launch of the NRL season in Las Vegas, most of them paid for by fans who do not live in Australia.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
February
‘Scandalous’: free-to-air networks lash TV makers for demanding a cut
Whether TV network apps appear on new TVs is an “existential” threat to broadcasters, CEOs told senators. Tech giants are demanding to clip the ticket.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- Retail
Woolies CEO says shoppers want ‘value’ not ‘broader conversations’
After a bruising political bunfight over Australia Day merchandise, the Woolworths boss says shoppers want the retail giant to “focus on delivering value”.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Jemima Whyte
After worst TV market fall in history, Seven waits for a rebound
Outgoing chief executive James Warburton’s last results were hit by a market-wide downturn. He says the company is primed for TV’s recovery.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
December 2023
Amazon snaps up rights to cricket World Cups until 2027
The deal means major tournaments including the T20 World Cups – previously aired by Foxtel, Nine and Seven West – will instead be consolidated at Prime Video.
- Zoe Samios
Foxtel boss braces for ‘bumpy summer’ of sport without India, Poms
The West Indies and Pakistan tours will not draw the kind of TV audiences that India and England series do, says Patrick Delany.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
November 2023
Nine retains English Ashes contests until 2031 in new deal
The 2027 and 2031 contests between England and Australia will remain on Nine, which will pay north of $40 million for the rights.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones and Zoe Samios
October 2023
The ABC can make more money, says its new ex-Netflix content boss
Chris Oliver-Taylor wants to create fewer and better TV shows and films – and find ways to make more money by selling them abroad.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Warner Bros streaming boss flags local Max rollout in blow for Foxtel
A launch in Australia would likely see some of the most popular shows – including The Last of Us, Succession and The White Lotus – pulled from other platforms.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
September 2023
- Analysis
- BOSS Most Innovative Companies
Innovation is change that adds value
A panel of industry experts evaluates the innovation based on the problem it solves, and the impact it had, among other assessment criteria.
- Amantha Imber
‘Feeding frenzy’ of laws unfairly hit Foxtel, Delany says
The boss of the News Corp-owned pay TV business says a suite of media reforms on the government’s agenda favour the free-to-air networks.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What Lachlan Murdoch told fundies in Sydney two weeks ago
Lachlan Murdoch’s been in and around Australian business circles for most of his working life, but had little to do with the country’s big investors. Until a few weeks ago.
- Anthony Macdonald
