Business of Media
Foxtel readies banks for new debt deal, big maturities in 2024
News Corp and Telstra-owned Foxtel is set to go cap in hand to banks for fresh debt funding, in a bid to lock in capital that could get it through to its long-planned (and delayed) initial public offering, report Nine Publishing’s Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson, and Kanika Sood.
It is understood Foxtel is preparing to existing lenders first to lock in early support, and will seek to refinance as much of its debt as possible in the bank market.
Foxtel had $1.93 billion in drawn and outstanding debt as at June 30 last year, according to its most recent annual financial report, the bulk of which was due to mature in 2024.
Borrowers, such as Foxtel, typically like to refinance debts at least 12 months prior to their maturity, to stop them being classified as “current” liabilities and blowing out working capital calculations.
Foxtel had a $610 million multibank syndicated facility and a separate $250 million syndicated term loan facility as at its most recent balance date, both due in 2024.
The not-so-secret rise and rise of retail media networks
Major retailers have always had a powerful and, some would say dominant, relationship with brands, and the rise of so-called retail media networks has marketers asking if that power imbalance is going to grow, reports The Australian’s Kate Racovolis.
According to its latest results, issued last Wednesday, Woolworths saw the sales from its digital division WooliesX (which includes e-commerce) drop more than 4 per cent, but revenue from its digital and media division, which includes retail media arm Cartology, recorded revenue growth of 8 per cent.
While that line item on the profit report is just $675m versus overall Woolworths sales of $33bn for the half, there is a strong precedent for the company to see Cartology as a future driver of growth. Retailers globally have been investing in building out their own advertising networks – called Retail Media Networks (RMNs) – and are enjoying significant margin benefits as a result.
New data from the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), estimates global retail media is forecast to be the fastest-growing channel in 2023, reaching $122bn.
Network 10 files defence in defamation case, including questions media outlet says it sent to Bruce Lehrmann
Network 10 has laid out its defence in defamation proceedings brought by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann over an interview on The Project alleging the rape of Brittany Higgins, report the ABC’s Elise Pianegonda and Elizabeth Byrne.
In its defence to the defamation action filed on Tuesday, Network 10 said it would seek to establish that the reporting was true and also rely on the defence of qualified privilege in the case.
The media company also responded to claims from Lehrmann that he was not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations prior to the interview — believed to have been viewed by 720,000 people — going to air.
As part of its defence, Network 10 said it made “reasonable attempts” to obtain Lehrmann’s side of the story, including by calls, via a text message and through emails.
Court documents contain an email sent by a producer of The Project setting out a series of 16 questions for Lehrmann, including “Did you rape Brittany Higgins as alleged?” and “Are you available for an interview with the Project?”.
10’s defence documents say Lehrmann did not respond to any of its attempts to contact him.
Spotify listeners cross half a billion mark
Spotify Technology said on Wednesday it would roll out new features like smart shuffle and previews of podcasts and music playlists on its audio streaming platform, as it crossed 500 million in monthly active listeners, reports Reuters.
The Swedish company, which has invested heavily in building up its podcast and audiobooks business in recent years in a bid to attract users and advertisers, announced the “new re-imagined user interface” at its Stream On event.
Spotify also shared an update to its annual music royalties report, noting that the number of artists making over $1 million as well as those generating over $10,000 had more than doubled in the past five years.
News Brands
Embattled news start-up chases former staff for alleged confidentiality breaches
Two media companies with ties to embattled start-up News.net are threatening to sue its former employees and file a report with police, alleging staff breached confidentiality provisions by leaking emails and private information while they were still employed, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
Global News and Sport (the business behind News.net) and Australia News, which both list Brendt Munro as sole director, have issued anonymised letters to staff in the past three weeks offering to pay the thousands of dollars News.net owes some employees over an 18-month period. The letters also ask people to confess to breaching confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in their contracts to avoid being sued for damages.
Letters sent to staff, seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, allege employees failed to fulfil basic duties such as updating the website, and misled the company about the number of advertisers onboard (claims which staff deny). A letter by Australia News sent on March 3 threatens staff with legal action but also offers to pay money owed to them over an 18-month period.
Munro denied the correspondence came from him. “I don’t know the content. My focus is getting funds from the parent [sic],” he said.
‘The whole thing seems insane’: New documents on Fox and the US election
It had been more than a week since the news networks projected that Joseph R. Biden Jr. would become the next president. And Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham were at a loss about what to say on the air, reports the New York Times’ Jeremy W. Peters and Katie Robertson.
“What are we all going to do tmrw night?” Ingraham, the host of the 10 p.m. show on Fox News, asked her colleagues in a text message chain on Nov. 16, 2020.
Carlson responded that he planned to devote a significant chunk of his program to a little-known voting technology company that had become a target of Trump supporters who suspected the election had been rigged: Dominion Voting Systems.
“Haven’t said a word about it so far,” Carlson said, acknowledging that the conspiracy theories about Dominion’s purported role in a fictitious plot to siphon away votes from President Donald J. Trump were making him uneasy.
“The whole thing seems insane to me,” he wrote. “And Sidney Powell won’t release the evidence. Which I hate.” Powell, a legal adviser to the Trump campaign, was “making everyone paranoid and crazy, including me,” Carlson added.
Text messages like these, released on Tuesday evening as part of Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, offer some of the clearest evidence yet about the serious misgivings that many inside the network expressed to one another even as they told their audiences of millions a very different story of fraud and malfeasance at the polls.
Television
ABC host Lisa Millar hits out at ‘disgusting’ online trolls and criticises media coverage
ABC News Breakfast host Lisa Millar has unleashed on “disgusting” online trolls while also criticising media coverage of the abuse about her appearance, reports news.com.au.
In a furious statement on Wednesday morning, the ABC News Breakfast anchor took aim at news outlets including news.com.au and The Daily Mail, saying she was “angry” about how they covered the story.
“I’d like to take a minute to talk about what went on during the last 48 hours. If you’re blessedly oblivious, and you’ve just been getting on with your life — great — I won’t dwell on it,” she said.
“The fact that what I wore on Monday attracted obnoxious commentary on Twitter — foul, disgusting personal abuse that I couldn’t and wouldn’t repeat — was upsetting.
“That it then ended up online on some news sites where the photos and the abuse were republished made me angry. Thanks for all the support, you’ve all been awesome and some of you pretty funny, [with] some of you suggesting if we all turned up in pyjamas you’d still be fans of the show.
“I am angry though, on this International Women’s Day, on behalf of myself, but also on behalf of other women, young women, who see those stories and see someone like me being violently abused day after day for whatever reason bullies can find.
“I worry it might make you think that no progress has been made and that it’s not worth it to be a woman in the public arena.”
WTFN looks to new horizons with Guinness World Records
Melbourne based production company WTFN is expanding its slate from factual television to shiny floor after gaining Australian rights to one of the most recognised entertainment brands in the world: Guinness World Records, reports TV Tonight.
In its 20th anniversary year, WTFN is now in discussions with Australian broadcasters for Guinness World Records: Australia vs The World.
The title marks a marked shift from its traditional output, largely in factual and lifestyle television.
The deal was brokered by WTFN’s head of development, Stephen Peters, who coincidentally produced the last Guinness World Records series in Australia in 2010.
“More and more, the company has been looking into different areas than traditionally what we’re known for right now: factual programming like Emergency, Paramedics, Code 1: Minute by Minute and those sorts of shows. So it’s exciting to be given the opportunity by Guinness, to trust us with their brand,” he tells TV Tonight.