Ten Network Sells EYE Corp

Australia’s least favourite television network – Ten Network – has announced the sale of its EYE Corp outdoor advertising business to Champ Private Equity for up to $AU145 million. The sale will proceed via Champ’s outdoor media interest Outdoor Media Operations – OMO – owner of oOh!media.

Ten will receive $120 million cash on completion of the sale, with $AU25 million deferred for three years, the full payment of which will depend on various factors. One of those factors is the price that OMO can get for EYE’s United Kingdom and US businesses, which intends to sell off immediately. Ten may also choose, or be required, to repurchase those businesses if they are not sold within an agreed timeframe.

Ten is also keeping oround $AU16 million worth of “onerous contracts”, but subcontracting the operation of them to OMO. The  Ten statement notes certain of EYE’s Australian contracts will be retained by Ten, but the operation of the relevant assets will be subcontracted to OMO. The net present value of these contracts is estimated at around $AU16 million :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED: News Limited Shakes It ALL Up

Australia’s media landscape has been through the ringer over the past few weeks, the ground is changing at a pace not seen since the eighties. The latest shake-up comes from the ever stoic News Limited – the Australian arm of News Corporation – the company has announced a massive restructuring of the way it delivers news.

The announcement on last week, which included job cuts and a reduction in east coast operations from 19 divisions to five, came days after Fairfax Media outlined plans to axe 1,900 staff, move jobs offshore, close two major printing presses and downsize its flagship newspapers to tabloids, as well as it’s ongoing boardroom battles with billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Despite the cuts, News Limited CEO Kim Williams has told staff that the organisation remains committed to print :: Read the full article »»»»

Distraction: Mark Curtis

It’s no secret – our love of the blogsphere – every now and then however, we stumble across bloggers that can ounly be described as standout! An example at hand is http://letterstoamerica.blogs.com/ Mark Curtis, author of ‘Distraction‘ has penned an uberool post on social theorist Robert Putnam.

Curtis is obsessed with what we can do with our mobile phones and the web, “it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, because so much is changing and so fast, we are distracted by it.” His book steps back to look at our use of new technology and draws some uncomfortable and challenging conclusions about what society may need to do to get the best, not the worst, out of the digital era.

Post Breakout: Despite the extraordinary and rapid advances made by the Internet and mobile telephony, television remains the most successful mass medium yet known to man. Yet it has had some powerful, and I believe detrimental effects on society. Read the full article »»»»

Nine Network On Brink

Australia: The owners of television network Nine Entertainment are meeting bankers to seek more time to pay off debts of more than $2.7 billion. Media analysts predict the owners, private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific, will get short shrift, which means the network is one step closer to a crisis not seen since entrepreneur Alan Bond took Nine to the brink of financial ruin. Shareholder activist Stephen Mayne says TV network owners have a habit of borrowing too much money. That, in hindsight, seems to be the problem besetting Nine.

“In the early 1990s all three networks were owned by the banks… these things come and go and ultimately they are profitable businesses,” Mr Mayne said. ”Sometimes the owners get into trouble because they borrow too much money.” Read the full article »»»»