Media Wrap: SBS, Ten leaks, Foxtel woes, and Reuters hits the great wall

James McGrath
By James McGrath | 23 March 2015
 

SBS faces $28.5 million loss

Should a bill allowing SBS to add more primetime advertising not pass the senate, that's it.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, communications minister Malcolm Turnbull is not inclined to re-float the bill, should it not pass at the first hurdle.

This would reportedly leave SBS facing a $28.5 million loss over five years, although that figure is in dispute from Free TV.

Fury on leaks leaked

Members of the board at Network Ten have reportedly been asked to sign a statutory declaration that they are not behind a series of leaks to press surrounding an ongoing takeover saga, a piece of information which appeared in The Australian this morning.

The paper reports that chairman Hamish McLennan asked directors to sign the document late last year.

However, that has not stopped subsequent leaks, or today's report.

Foxtel faces SVOD distraction

According to a report from Venture Consulting, about 10% of Foxtel's subscribers are thinking of leaving the service, even after it slashed its pricing late last year.

The Australian Financial Review said the report found up to 250,000 subscribers were eyeing a switch to a subscription video on demand (SVOD) service while limiting their pay TV subscriptions within the next three months.

The report is the first to study the degree to which pay TV operators are under threat from cheaper SVOD options.

Reuters blocked in China crackdown

Reuters has become the latest high-profile news site to be blocked in China, despite the party making noises about wanting greater transparency in its regulation of overseas news sites.

According to a report in The Australian, access to the site appeared to be slow from last Friday, before access to the site was cut off entirely over the weekend.

The Chinese government has cut off access to the New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal intermittently in the past as they published stories critical of the Chinese government.

While it is believed Reuters had not published anything overly critical of the Chinese government in recent times, the blockage raises the question over whether or not Reuters had a high-level expose ready to go.

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