THE ACCC has announced it will not oppose the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment (ASX: NEC) and Fairfax Media (ASX: FXJ/DHG).

The ACCC examined a number of markets affected by this proposed merger. Australian news, including online news, current affairs reporting and investigative journalism, was the key issue, and in particular whether the merger would substantially lessen competition in the creation and provision of Australian news content.

The merger investigation was extensive and involved contact with hundreds of stakeholders, consideration of the more than 1,000 submissions, and examination of internal documents the ACCC compelled from both Nine and Fairfax.

“While the merger between these two big name media players raised a number of extremely complex issues, and will likely reduce competition, we concluded that the proposed merger was not likely to substantially lessen competition in any market in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

“This merger can be seen to reduce the number of companies intensely focusing on Australian news from five to four. Post the merger, only Nine-Fairfax, News/Sky, Seven West Media and the ABC/SBS will employ a large number of journalists focussed on news creation and dissemination.

“With the growth in online news, however, many other players, albeit smaller, now provide some degree of competitive constraint. These include, for example, The Guardian, The New Daily, Buzzfeed, Crikey and The Daily Mail,” Mr Sims said.

“While there are important barriers to building trust and scale, significant new entry into the Australian online news market has already occurred and made a noticeable difference. Due to the difficulties in monetising journalism online, however, it is hard to predict the future landscape with any certainty.

”The ACCC also found that Nine’s television operations and Fairfax’s main media assets generally do not compete closely with each other. Nine’s news and current affairs programs target a mass market audience while Fairfax’s print and online publications tend to provide more in-depth coverage, targeting the demographic of its subscription audience. However, one area of more direct overlap is online news, where both Fairfax and Nine have invested significantly.

“By most measures, a combined Nine-Fairfax will likely become one of the largest online providers of Australian news, alongside News Corp Australia and ahead of the ABC, so this was another area of great focus. We found that while Nine and Fairfax online sites currently did not constrain each other much, other news websites would likely competitively constrain the combined Nine-Fairfax,” Mr Sims said.

The ACCC also investigated potential competition issues in the provision of regional news. In particular, concerns were raised about combining the two key newsrooms in the Hunter/Newcastle region. It determined, however, that in the Hunter region, Fairfax and Nine do not compete sufficiently closely with each other.

When the ACCC considers mergers, it compares the future with the merger to the future without the merger. Many submissions argued that this proposed merger will change Fairfax’s culture and result in less investment in journalism. In particular, market participants raised concerns about losing a brand that is known for independent investigative journalism.

The ACCC understood these concerns.

“Media markets are highly dynamic. The shift to online and the huge reduction in hard-copy classified advertising revenue have changed the media landscape irrevocably,” Mr Sims said.

“The impact of some of these changes is demonstrated in the approximate halving of advertising revenue from Fairfax’s digital and print mastheads in the last five years,” Mr Sims said.

“The ACCC recognises there will likely be changes to the way Fairfax and Nine operate in future, either due to the changing media landscape more generally or due to the merger itself. However, we reached the conclusion that if such changes do occur, they would not be, to a significant extent, caused by the merger lowering the level of competition,” Mr Sims said.

The ACCC also considered the potential impact of the proposed merger on competition in advertising markets, content acquisition markets and markets for the provision of non-news content to the public, as well as the potential impact of cross-promotional activity and bundling.

In relation to advertising markets, content acquisition markets and non-news content markets, Nine and Fairfax do not currently compete strongly against each other, and would continue to face a range of competitive constraints after the merger.

Cross-promotions and bundling of advertising were considered likely to occur within a combined Nine-Fairfax, but the ACCC did not consider such behaviour would be likely to substantially lessen competition.The ACCC has noted the speculation about future media mergers.

“Each merger or acquisition is assessed by the ACCC individually taking into account its particular circumstances," Mr Sim said. "Today’s decision not to oppose the Nine-Fairfax merger is not indicative of what the ACCC may conclude in respect of any future proposed media merger or acquisition."

According to the ACCC, some submissions suggested that the ACCC should consider the proposed merger under the merger authorisation “net public benefit” test. Nine and Fairfax did not apply for merger authorisation and the ACCC cannot compel merger parties to do so. In any case, merger authorisation may be granted if either the acquisition is not likely to substantially lessen competition or the proposed acquisition would be likely to result in net public benefit. Accordingly, the final outcome would have been the same had the ACCC been applying the merger authorisation test.

Further information is available at Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Limited (Nine) - proposed merger with Fairfax Media Limited (Fairfax)

NINE

NineNine is an ASX-listed Australian media and entertainment company. Its main business activities involve its free-to-air television business, digital publishing assets, on-demand video services (including a 50% share in Stan) and television content production and distribution.Nine sells advertising opportunities across its free-to-air television, digital and video media assets, including premium offerings (which typically involve advertising across platforms and integration into content). It operates an advertising sales platform, 9Galaxy, which automates the buying and selling of non-premium television airtime, and will be expanded to also cover broadcast video on demand (BVOD) and streaming inventory.

FAIRFAX

Fairfax is an ASX-listed company with a portfolio of news, marketplace and entertainment assets. It publishes metropolitan, agricultural, regional and community newspapers, financial and consumer magazines. Its print mastheads include The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and a range of other daily newspapers, as well as corresponding websites. The group also includes several classified (including a 59.4% shareholding in Domain), transaction and social websites. It sells subscriptions, as well as advertising opportunities to advertisers across its platforms.Fairfax also has a 54.5% interest in radio broadcaster Macquarie Media Limited, a shareholding of approximately 47% in Australian Associated Press Pty Limited, and is a 50% joint venture partner (with Nine) in subscription video on demand (SVOD) service Stan.

www.accc.gov.au

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THE National Measurement Institute (NMI), Australia’s authority on measurement, today announced a two week ‘blitz’ in the lead up to Christmas on compliance with trade measurement regulations in Australia’s major supermarkets.

As the national regulator of trade measurement, NMI has released its 2018-19 National Compliance Plan, outlining a program of compliance activities across the economy covering both wholesale and retail sales.

General manager for legal metrology at NMI, Bill Loizides, said, “Australia’s trade measurement laws ensure consumers can make informed purchasing decisions and that they get what they pay for when they buy products by weight, volume or number. Australia’s major supermarket chains have assured us that they have robust quality assurance programs in place to comply with these laws.

“We have put the major supermarkets on notice that the concentrated national audit program will be taking place and that they can expect a vigorous approach to enforcement action should serious or persistent non-compliance be found during our trade measurement inspections.

“While we recognise that most businesses want to do the right thing, there are penalties for businesses that breach the law. NMI can issue infringement notices with fines of $1,050 per offence. If the matter is serious enough for a prosecution, the maximum fines are $210,000 per offence as a company or $42,000 per offence as an individual.”

NMI’s major supermarket audit will run from November 12 to 23, 2018 and include:

• auditing 1000 individual business premises
• inspecting 2000 measuring instruments, usually scales, for compliance with regulations
• checking 25,000 pre-packed article lines for correct weight/volume and measurement labelling
• conducting 500 ‘secret shopper’ trial purchases to ensure proper business practices, such as accounting for the weight of packaging, are being followed in over-the-counter transactions.

“Consumers need to be confident that packaged goods contain the amount stated on the label. Any business that uses a measuring instrument such as a scale to determine a price must ensure that instrument is an approved type and accurate at all times,” Mr Loizides said.

Mr Loizides said that consumers or businesses that wanted more information or to report a suspected breach of the rules should contact the national trade measurement hotline on 1300 686 664 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed the decision by Brisbane-based Senex to start construction at the company’s Roma North natural gas development.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the job creating project 30km north of Roma would provide a much needed boost to the local economy.

“By awarding the construction contract to Wasco, which has a place of business in Roma, there will be local employment opportunities in the 50 jobs to be created directly, and more roles indirectly,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Roma North is part of Senex’s Western Surat Gas Project and is a flagship example of industry and government working together to produce more natural gas, with benefits for Queensland.

“Queensland’s resources industry has a proven track record of attracting new investment and creating new jobs because of the clear and stable regulatory environment in which it operates. It is essential that we have stable and reliable regulation for our resources sector to continue to attract the investment that builds our State and delivers for every Queenslander.”

According to the QRC, the Queensland resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

www.qrc.org.au

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ENERGY Networks Australia has welcomed the NSW Transmission Infrastructure Strategy released today by the NSW Government.  

The strategy sets out to boost NSW's interconnection with Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, increase energy capacity and streamline regulation for a modernised grid.

Energy Networks Australia CEO Andrew Dillon said the NSW plan was a vital step towards a more integrated energy system that would deliver greater benefit to customers through a more resilient grid and more competitive wholesale markets. 

“Around the world, modern energy systems are responding to more variable renewable generation by ensuring greater connection between generation sources and customers,” Mr Dillon said. 

“NSW sits at the centre of the National Electricity Market (NEM) and is critical to the development of a more connected energy future.

“Fast-tracking the four key projects outlined in the strategy will bolster the grid's capacity and put downwards pressure on prices – a priority for network businesses across Australia.”

Mr Dillon said the sequential nature of current regulatory arrangements was slow and unsuited to the transformation underway in electricity generation. 

“By providing a funding guarantee for preliminary planning work, the NSW Government can fast-track priority projects while ensuring projects will only proceed where the benefits for consumers clearly outweigh the costs,” he said.

“Networks want to keep costs as low as possible while ensuring new renewable generation can be reliably integrated into our grid. The NSW plan will help achieve this.”  

About Energy Networks Australia

Energy Networks Australia represents Australia’s electricity transmission and distribution networks and gas distribution networks. Members provide energy to virtually every household and business in Australia.

www.energynetworks.com.au

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