The Daily Mail comes to Oz

The Daily Mail is the latest British news giant to eye Down Under, with the publication to have an Australian Daily Mail website by early 2014.

The site will be brought to Australia in a joint venture between Mi9 and DMG media.

Mark Britt, CEO, Mi9 and Martin Clarke, publisher, MailOnline, Daily Mail Group today told a press conference today that the new online paper would employ up to 50 journalists locally.

With the major media houses in Australia doing around 2.7-3.0 million unique users a month online, Britt said "no-one in Australia is doing true mass media". The JV has set its sites on that goal.

The Australian version of Mail Online will be housed within the NineMSN set of sites.

This year The Guardian also set up shop locally.

Here's the official release:

“Mark Britt, CEO, Mi9 and Martin Clarke, Publisher, MailOnline, Daily Mail Group today announced that Mi9 and the Daily Mail Group have agreed to form a joint venture to bring the Daily Mail to Australia in early 2014. dailymail.com.au will provide original Australian content while leveraging the global resources of the Daily Mail Group, Mi9 and the Nine Entertainment Company.

The Daily Mail’s global website MailOnline is the world’s biggest English-language newspaper website with 57.3 million monthly unique visitors globally, according to comScore.

“The Daily Mail has been one of the world’s most influential and trusted news brands since its launch in the United Kingdom more than a century ago. I’m excited that we can now offer Australians a local version with a strong focus on editorial integrity and campaigning journalism,” said Martin Clarke, Publisher, MailOnline.

“This partnership with Mi9 makes complete sense to us. Two trusted brands with a commitment to journalism will offer stories that will set the agenda in Australia. We’ve had Australian readers for many years now, being able to provide them with the latest local news alongside the stories that matter from the Daily Mail’s reporters from around the globe, is extremely important to us,” said Mr. Clarke.

“With the Daily Mail Australia operating alongside the ninemsn team, we’re aiming to create the largest digital news team in the country. This will provide Australians with a richer offering of news, lifestyle and entertainment stories in the unique MailOnline style. Most importantly, just like ninemsn.com.au, the Daily Mail Australia won’t sit behind a paywall,” said Mark Britt, CEO, Mi9.

“At Mi9 we’re committed to the future of digital media in Australia. While many of the industry’s players have been cutting back their editorial resources, we’re excited to be increasing our editorial footprint online,” said Mr. Britt.

David Gyngell, Chief Executive, Nine Entertainment Co (NEC), parent company of Mi9, welcomed today’s announcement.

“At NEC we want to entertain and inform Australians. We’re no longer just a television network on the East Coast of Australia, but a diverse national digital media, entertainment and events company. We’re proud to offer leading television programming through Channel 9, Gem and Go, and the most trusted and timely news coverage across Nine News, ninemsn and in early 2014, Daily Mail Australia.”

“This joint venture, the recent acquisitions of the WIN television stations in Adelaide and Perth, and taking control of Mi9 have reinforced our strong commitment to providing a continuous source of news and entertainment across Australia,” said Mr. Gyngell.

The Daily Mail Australia will be based out of NEC and Mi9’s offices in Sydney. Recruitment commences immediately for the Daily Mail Australia editorial team. The Mi9 Media team will sell its advertising alongside Mi9’s other digital properties including ninemsn, Xbox, Skype and outlook.com.

The Daily Mail Australia will launch in early 2014 at www.dailymail.com.au

The above arrangements are not expected to impact the FY14 financial forecasts contained in the Prospectus in relation to NEC’s initial public offering (IPO).”

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