Business
QMS closes the gap with oOh!media after Auckland win
QMS Media, once a COVID-era cautionary tale for Quadrant Private Equity, is finally having its comeback moment.
After a rocky $420 million buy-in, the outdoor ad player is starting to look like a serious competitor to oOh!media.
As Sam Buckingham-Jones reports in The Australian Financial Review, fresh off acquiring MediaWorks in New Zealand, QMS has now snatched a $25 million Auckland transport contract from under oOh!’s nose, adding another 2000 ad panels to its growing portfolio.
Bruce Gordon circles Nine as Domain deal nears completion
Bruce Gordon isn’t done with TV just yet.
The 96-year-old media baron and WIN boss is quietly weighing up how to tighten his grip on Nine Entertainment once its Domain stake is off the books and the market takes a breath.
He already holds just under 20 per cent via Birketu, but, as Tansy Harcourt writes in The Australian, come November, once some handy swaps convert, he’ll edge past 25 per cent.
REA Group cautions agents to keep pricing quiet
REA Group has quietly told real estate agents to keep their pricing details under wraps, asking them not to share documents revealing how much they pay the property listings giant.
As Sam Buckingham-Jones reports in The Australian Financial Review, The message, which appeared recently in the platform’s self-service portal, flags the information as “confidential and financially sensitive.”
That’s raised a few eyebrows, especially given the ACCC is currently sniffing around REA’s pricing practices.
Companies
Where News Corp really makes its money (hint: not news)
Crikey’s Daanyal Saeed has decided to crunch the numbers and the results are… interesting.
Despite the masthead, News Corp isn’t raking in the bulk of its profits from actual news anymore, and its latest investor update makes that clearer than ever.
The company this week launched a fresh US$1 billion share buyback program, signalling confidence in its stock price while quietly highlighting where the real money comes from.
Social Media
Albanese holds firm on social media age ban
Anthony Albanese isn’t budging on his plan to enforce a minimum age of 16 for social media use, brushing off growing pressure from tech giants to soften the proposal.
The Prime Minister says it’s about protecting kids, full stop, and he’s sticking to the December deadline.
In this exclusive by Clare Armstrong in The Daily Telegraph, the age restriction is set to apply to platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. YouTube, initially left out due to its educational content, is still being debated as part of a current review.
Blackstone steps back as TikTok deal drags on
Blackstone has quietly exited the group looking to buy a stake in TikTok’s US operations, pulling out of a long-delayed and politically fraught deal that’s been at the centre of US-China tensions.
The private equity heavyweight was meant to take a minority slice, but with timelines shifting and pressure mounting, it seems the uncertainty was too much.
According to Dawn Chmielewski and Krystal Hu in this Reuters exclusive, the remaining consortium, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, is still in play, with a proposal that would leave US investors holding 80 percent of TikTok’s stateside business.
Radio
Ray Hadley still raking it in, off-air and under wraps
Ray Hadley may have stepped away from the mic last December, but Nine Radio is still paying him millions to stay silent, and stay off any rival networks.
According to Steve Jackson in The Australian, the veteran broadcaster negotiated a hefty exit deal worth north of $2 million, despite walking away just six months into what was touted as one of talkback radio’s richest contracts.
While some sources say the payout is just a slice of his original $9 million package, the deal reportedly includes strict clauses: no media appearances elsewhere and no public pot-shots at Nine until 2027.
Television
Michael Usher reflects on a rough year and newsroom shake-ups
Michael Usher isn’t sugar-coating it, 2024 wasn’t exactly a banner year.
In a candid sit-down with The Daily Telegraph’s Nathanael Cooper , the veteran journo admitted the past 12 months were a challenge, marked by swirling rumours, newsroom shake-ups and more than a few “robust” chats with his old boss, Seven’s News Director Anthony De Ceglie.
Usher’s name popped up more than once as a possible casualty of De Ceglie’s rapid-fire reinvention of the newsroom, which included axing talent, adding comedy and astrology segments, and generally ruffling feathers. Usher, though, wasn’t buying into the drama, or the leaks.
Streaming
Bluey leads the charge as BBC Commercial hits revenue record
BBC Commercial is riding high, with CEO Tom Fussell confirming a record-breaking year, and yes, Bluey played a big role in the win.
As Georg Szalai reports in The Hollywood Reporter, The global hit show helped drive revenue to new heights, part of a broader push by the commercial arm of the UK broadcaster to double its 2021/22 revenue and profit by 2027/28.
Fussell’s been busy on the M&A front too, snapping up production companies and taking full ownership of BritBox International.
Vale
ABC farewells respected business journalist Peter Ryan
Veteran ABC journalist Peter Ryan has died at the age of 63, just weeks after stepping away from the broadcaster due to ill health.
As Kevin Perry reports on TV Blackbox, The news was shared by his long-time colleague Michael Rowland, who paid tribute to Ryan’s extraordinary legacy and impact on generations of journalists.
Rowland described him as a friend with “unrivalled contacts and a record of story-breaking,” noting his influence stretched far beyond the newsroom.