Another day, another Ten suitor
US giant Time Warner is the latest to be linked with a takeover of Network Ten, just days after it emerged Discovery Channel and Foxtel were joining forces for a bid. According to the Australian Financial Review, Time Warner has floated in a non-binding offer of 25c per share, making the bid worth $680 million.
However, the bid which came in last month is only considered to be an opening move rather than a final bid.
New SBS chairman questioned
The Australian has raised questions of SBS's new chairman, especially his involvement with a firm which has no staff. The paper reported that new chairman Nihal Gupta is currently the managing director of Digital Electronics Corporation Australia, a company with no employees, a warehouse, or website.
However in response, Gupta said the company was a consultancy, which meant it didn't need ongoing employees but instead hired contractors by project.
M&C Saatchi chairman heads to US
Tom Dery is moving to Boston next month to help M&C Saatchi's fortunes in the US. He's moving to take up a year-long stint at the Harvard Business School's advanced leadership program, along with helping out the US arm of the advertising group according to the Australian Financial Review.
Dery and local group co-founder Tom McFarlane have sold their 20% stake in the local unit in favour of shares in the global company, severing ties from the Australian group. Despite this, Dery said he would ultimately return to Australia.
Broadcast TV? Just a phase
The global chief digital officer for GroupM says the age of broadcast television will eventually be seen as just a phase in media consumption rather than the norm.
Rob Norman told the Australian Financial Review ahead of an Australian visit that mass communication models would be a thing of the past as multiple mediums compete for attention and consumer consumption habits change.
“The broadcast days as we knew it – between 1955 when we had 50 per cent penetration of television and 2005 when we had 50 per cent broadband penetration – will in the long run be seen as an aberration,” Norman was quoted as saying.
Williams takes up ad role
Kim Williams is back in media, by way of a non-executive directorship at UK outfit Executive Channel.
According to the Australian Financial Review Williams had previously ruled out a return to the space, but his appointment demonstrates that maybe the appetite for the media space has not yet been sated. The company offers advertising space in offices.
A movie wildcard
China's largest e-commerce company Alibaba is aiming to beef up its investment in Hollywood, although it's aiming at the Chinese market rather than western audiences.
Bloomberg has reported the Chinese company is talking to Hollywood heavyweights about possible investment in movie franchises, as it seeks to up its entertainment offering to a target audience of 200 million.
Interestingly, a person familiar with the matter said Alibaba is keen to use customer shopping and viewing data to predict which productions will become a hit in China.
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