Media Eye: O’Reilly interested in Fairfax deal Philip Luker
O’Reilly back here
Sir Tony O’Reilly, the Irish media magnate who controls APN News and Media, is back in Australia, which revives speculation of a joint APN-Rural Press bid for Fairfax before relaxed media laws open the door to others.
Last September (Media Eye, September 6), Rural Press chairman John B Fairfax, whose family controlled Fairfax before his young half-brother Warwick sent it into receivership in 1991, did not rule out a bid. He added, “One thing at a time. But if you suggest a combined APN and Rural Press would be good, we have always said that”.
An APN-Rural Press bid for Fairfax would not break cross-media rules but would need Federal Government approval, as 45% of APN is owned by O’Reilly’s Independent Newspapers, of Ireland.
O’Reilly said last July, on a previous visit, “Our interest and admiration for Fairfax continues and if an opportunity occurs, we’d certainly be at the party. So would a great number of others”.
This point—that relaxed media laws would start a bidding war for Fairfax from Kerry Packer and others—has added impetus to new O’Reilly-John B Fairfax discussions. Last week Rural Press announced a 24% rise in interim net profit to $35.2m and a 5.6% rise in sales to $239m.
TV irony
Two years ago, a rumour at the then-stable Nine Network was that John Stephens, the program director, or Peter Meakin, the executive director of news and current affairs, would replace David Leckie when Leckie chose to retire as chief executive. But Kerry Packer decided Leckie should go much sooner, and now both Stephens and Meakin have also gone—to the Seven Network.
Seven used to make all the news about executives leaving, but since November, Nine has. Stephens has just started work as Seven’s director of programming strategy and acquisitions; Meakin will become Seven’s news and current affairs director in May.
Some people at Nine believe John Alexander, the PBL CEO, went over Meakin’s head in hiring and firing news and current affairs people without consulting him because he wanted Meakin to quit and save Nine about $750,000 of the $30m Packer has told him to save. But Alexander asked Meakin several times to re-sign his contract. He has not been replaced and might not be.
He told Media Eye on Monday he is not doing anything during the three months’ notice he has given Nine.
2GB sales up 300%
2GB’s sales have risen by 300% since Alan Jones switched from 2UE to 2GB breakfast, Macquarie Radio CEO George Buschman told Media Eye on Monday. Industry revenue had risen only 6%.
In reply to Southern Cross Broadcasting MD Tony Bell predicting (Media Eye, last week) that Steve Price on 2UE mornings would gain from Alan Jones at 2GB, Buschman said, “Unlike Tony Bell, I have not psychic powers to predict this year’s rating results. But he has given me renewed enthusiasm to continue 2GB’s dominance of Sydney talk radio.
“Two years ago, 2GB had 3%-4% of breakfast, compared with 15% now. All 2UE has done is lose breakfast share from around 20% to 8.5%. We are pleased Mr Bell is so delighted to lose Alan Jones. We wonder if his shareholders are as thankful as ours.”
Tuesday sales up
The Courier Mail’s new weekly 20-page colour tabloid Good Life section (Media Eye, October 25) has already raised circulation on usually-slow Tuesdays, the newspaper’s editor, David Fagan, told Media Eye on Monday.
A low-key cooking-knife competition attracted 4,500 entries, he said.
“We have launched Q Confidential, an inside information and meaty gossip column, and also obituaries, with a Queensland bias.
“Hedley Thomas, the investigative reporter whose house was fired at (Media Eye, November 15), has been made an associate editor and is also doing several investigative reports. No arrest has been made yet about the shots fired at his house.”
Ray Martin’s Affair
The first A Current Affair hosted by Ray Martin for five years averaged 1,318,372 viewers across the five cities surveyed by OzTAM, compared with 1,339,000 the same week last year and the 2002 average of 1,464,000. Today Tonight averaged 1,208,431 in the first ratings week, to February 15.
The first seven programs in the same week were Nine’s: Friends, Backyard Blitz, Malcolm in the Middle, 60 Minutes, Sunday News, Cricket World Cup (Australia vs Pakistan), and the movie Looking for Alibrandi. The next three were Seven’s: Better Homes & Gardens, 24, and Blue Heelers.
Nine had 32.0% of all viewers (3.0 points up on the same week last year), Seven had 25.7% (2.6 down), Ten had 23.4% (0.3 up), the ABC had 14.2% (0.7 down) and SBS had 4.8% (0.1 up).
More watch pay TV
Pay TV’s share in pay-TV homes, surveyed by ACNielsen, was, at 51.4%, 7% higher than in the week to February 15 last year. Fox Sports 2 had its highest-ever share of 4.9%, reaching a record 1,437,000 viewers, especially because of its World Cup cricket coverage.
January ‘slow’
DMG Radio’s CEO Paul Thompson told Media Eye last week, “We had a relatively disappointing January because it’s a time when the market discounts and we didn’t. So our rates were even more expensive than usual.
“February and March are better and the year looks promising. We are committed to no more than two ads in a row. We expect Nova will be number one in its target audience of 18–34 year-olds in both Sydney and Melbourne this year.
“The ABA will auction FM licences in Adelaide late this year and in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane next year.”
DMG had to sell 4BH Brisbane because it already owns half of 97.3FM with ARN and last year bought a new FM licence on the Sunshine Coast, which the ABA says is in the Brisbane market area.
Southern Cross Broadcasting bought 4BH last week and will move its 4BC talk station into 4BH’s premises to save costs, but will keep 4BH’s easy-listening format.
People in the news
Reuben Buchanan’s background is investment sales and he has never been a journalist or publisher but he looks like he’s succeeding with Wealthcreator, published every second month at $5.95 and now in its third issue with 40% ad content. “I just though it would be a good idea to start a magazine based on interviews with young millionaires rather than articles by people telling you how to make money,” he told Media Eye. He is the owner, editor, chief writer and ad manager. The National Investment Institute takes 50,000 copies for its clients; newsagents sold 43% of the 7,000 copies they received of the first issue and are receiving 26,000 copies of the third.
Richard Mercer, ‘The Love God’ from 8pm to midnight on Mix 106.5 Sydney, has been successful enough for ARN to network his Love Song Dedications to Mix Adelaide and Melbourne, including local phone calls from love-sick listeners.
Newspaper magazines
West Australian Newspapers is known to be planning to launch three stand-alone non-inserted magazines, but won’t talk about it. The $2 weekly classified-ad magazine Quokka it bought last year gained 10.45% in circulation to 57,660 in the year to December.
Magazine ups, downs
Who Weekly, which lost 19,600 audited Australian sales between December 2001 and June 2002, lost another 10,914 to 141,019 in December 2002 through discontinued, unfinancial subscriptions, and promotional sales above the 1% of total circulation now allowed by the ABC.
FPC Magazines’ Delicious started with a bang and many cheap subscriptions at 88,620 Australian sales last June but added only 224 to December, as many initial subscribers didn’t renew, according to a rival publisher. Also, Fairfax “doesn’t know how to promote subscriptions,” the publisher said, commenting on BRW’s further 2.68% fall in Australian sales to 54,145, of which about 15,000 are retail.
Pacific’s B has reversed its fall from 125,000 in December 2001 to 90,000 last June with a slight rise to 90,052 in December, since the new editor Eliza O’Hare made it bolder but more friendly (Media Eye, September 6). See B&T’s full circulation wrap starting on page 15.
Philip Luker’s Media Eye appears in B&T every week. T: (02) 9328 1741 F: (02) 9328 4808 Mail: PO Box 475 Woollahra, NSW, 1350. E: philip.luker@bigpond.com.au
