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Current share price for Channel seven is 11 cents. Their will be no recovery and the market prices Seven as 'dead'. So what this means the ALF's new contract (2022) from sevens point of view be substantially lower IF at all. The NRL just has to hold water and we will be number one.Big NEWS negotiations
The Australian says NRL got a 250 million drwn down loan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...l/news-story/ecbf5760aa2dd8bc0b4a20faf3ff5378
The Australian
- John Stensholt
Editor, The List
@JohnStensholt
Brent Read
Senior Sports Writer
@brentread_7- 11:43PM April 14, 2020
The NRL has struck a deal for a $250m lifeline from a group of London banks and financial institutions, giving rugby league both financial breathing space and leverage in its negotiations with broadcaster the Nine Network.
A huge line of credit, which could also come with support from the federal government, will be drawn down by the sport’s governing body and dispersed to needy NRL clubs within weeks, staving off the need for funds from Nine before the competition resumes.
The money will be secured against future income the sport receives, including broadcast and sponsorship revenue under contract until at least 2022, rather than a particular asset.
The NRL had to go offshore to secure its life-saving funding package — unlike the AFL, which last month used its ownership of Marvel Stadium in Melbourne as security on a $600m loan facility from NAB and ANZ.
The $250m line of credit for rugby league, brokered by London firm Oakwell Sports Advisory, will mean the code is less reliant on funding from its broadcasters in the short term as it battles to keep the sport afloat financially during the coronavirus pandemic.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys emerged from a key meeting with Nine chief executive Hugh Marks on Tuesday in Sydney, saying he was “buoyed by Mr Marks’s support for rugby league and his commitment to the game”.
ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys. Picture: AAP
READ MORE:Peace talks pave way for NRL kickoff|V’landys ‘buoyed by Nine’s commitment’|Stop the scare campaign, says V’landys|Why Nine is trying to kill NRL Island|Barilaro supports comeback for NRL
Nine last week took the unusual step of publicly criticising NRL management for what a network spokesman said was a mishandling of the game and the wasting of the millions the TV network had invested in the sport.
Mr V’Landys has set a target of May 28 for the NRL to return to action on the field, although the games will be played without crowds for the foreseeable future.
Nine and Fox Sports are contracted to pay the NRL about $300m a year, combined, through to the end of the 2022 season, although there has been speculation that Nine would be happy if rugby league did not return in 2020.
Oakwell and the NRL are set to sign off on the deal within days, and there is an expectation within rugby league circles that the sport will receive $100m to start with and then have a further $150m to draw down if needed.
An interest rate at general market rates for relatively short-term lending will be struck, but that rate will be halved, in effect, if the NRL is able to secure support from the federal government for the loan.
The NRL will disperse the money to clubs on a case-by-case basis, opening the way for some of the poorer clubs to potentially receive more funds than their richer counterparts under strict conditions set by the code’s head office.
It could be a similar move as that undertaken by the AFL, which is imposing strict conditions on most of the clubs in its league, including having each of them report to head office regularly about their balance sheets and their overall financial situation.
Some AFL clubs have said they would not need additional funding from the AFL, including the likes of Hawthorn and Collingwood, while the Adelaide Crows have expressed a preference for sourcing their own financing.
NRL clubs have different funding sources, with half the competition owned by private individuals or groups — or, in the case of the Brisbane Broncos, being listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Other clubs are reliant on funding from their licensed clubs, which have all been shut down during the pandemic.
Oakwell has previously brokered deals for investments in sport, such as private equity firm CVC Capital Partners buying 27 per cent of top-flight rugby union in England in a £200m deal in 2018. CVC has reportedly been linked to other rugby union deals around the world, including a potential play for a stake in southern hemisphere rugby.
A source told The Australian CVC was not among the financial institutions that agreed to lend money to the NRL. END OF STORY*************
I just hope that they don't waste it. Typical Australian story with going on about AFL which I am f**king has enough of. Something to lift NRL's hearts old Channel 7 AFL's free to air sponsor/broadcaster is in serious trouble. Falling revenue and loans of over 500 millions. The writing on the board Kerry tokes with 41 % won't be able to save seven. So long seven and AFL's broadcaster bankruptcy await.
The market now values Seven West Media at less than its net debt
https://www.adnews.com.au/news/the-market-now-values-seven-west-media-at-less-than-its-net-debt
Lots of infoSports TV rights need fundamental reset: News Corp
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson. Picture: AFP
News Corp has reported an 8 per cent decline in revenues compared to the same quarter last year on the back of a particularly difficult advertising market and a negative impact from currency fluctuations, showing the early impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the global media company.
- Leo Shanahan
Media Editor
@_leo_s- 2 hours ago May 8, 2020
- 4 Comments
In a conference call from New York on Friday (AEST) News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson reported third quarter total segment EBITDA of $US242m ($371.8m), a 2 per cent decline compared to $US247m in the prior year.
Mr Thomson foreshadowed a “fundamental reset” of sports rights in the longer term following the COVID-19 outbreak, which has had a material impact on subscribers to the company’s sports streaming service Kayo.
News Corp is publisher of The Australian.
While Foxtel’s sports streaming service Kayo had reached 470,000 subscribers by March 22, suspensions of the NRL, AFL and US NBA season have severely impacted numbers, which had dropped to 272,000 by May.
Mr Thomson said there would need to be a “fundamental reset” in terms of the amount paid for broadcast rights for sports such as the NRL and AFL.
READ MORE:Murdochs take pay cuts at Fox Corp
“There obviously needs to be a fundamental reset, the idea that things will return to normal this season is absurd.
“It’s not just the quantity of games it’s the quality of experience and that has obviously been diminished. And that reset has to apply longer term to us in Australia.”
The NRL and broadcast partners Foxtel and the Nine Entertainment are hoping to finalise a reduced broadcast deal for the 2020 season this week.
News Corp’s net loss was $US1bn mostly due to writedowns of goodwill and intangible assets at Foxtel and also a writedown in the former News America Marketing business, the sale of which was finalised last month.
The Foxtel writedown of $US931m by News – the 65 per cent owner of the subscription TV buiness – also triggered a $300m writedown by Telstra on Friday which owns the remaining Foxtel stake. Telstra said it would make the non-cash writedown in its full year results.
News’ Mr Thomson said the third quarter results were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, but would be hit even more in the fourth quarter.
Mr Thomson said News Corp’s executive leadership, including executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, would forgo bonuses.
“Pay reductions will be led by our executive chairman, Rupert Murdoch, who is voluntarily forgoing his entire cash bonus for the current fiscal year, and as chief executive I will forgo 75 per cent of my annual cash bonus. The collective cuts in bonuses and other cost initiatives will have a positive impact on profitability and our cash position.”
Mr Thomson paid tribute to the work of News Corp journalists during the pandemic. Mr Thomson paid particular tribute to New York Post photographer Anthony Causi, who died as a result of COVID-19 at the age of just 48.
“We are operating in a different, difficult time,” he said. “Every business and family is facing challenges and our thoughts, in particular, are for those who are suffering deeply and personally from the impact of COVID-19.”
The third quarter result also reflects a $US14m, or 6 per cent, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations. Adjusted total segment EBITDA actually increased 1 per cent.
Mr Thomson reiterated the cash position of News Corp and said the company was anticipating no debt covenant issues at Foxtel in the next 12 months.
“Our fiscal third quarter results demonstrate the strength of News Corp and the power of our premium content,” he said.
“We also maintained a robust balance sheet, with $US1.4bn in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31st and an untapped $US750m corporate revolving credit facility, providing a strong foundation for the company’s future.”
Strong growth was reported in digital subscriptions, with digital advertising at the Wall Street Journal - Dow Jones up 25 per cent.
Digital subscribers at News Corp Australia’s publications surged, led by The Australian, with the subscriber base growing to 613,000 from 493,000 at the same time last year growing 24 per cent.
Two thirds of subscriptions at The Australian are now digital only.
The company’s Australian publishing business, which also includes metro mastheads, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, experienced revenue headwinds from a soft advertising market.
The News Corp CEO also welcomed the decision by the Australian government to instruct the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to force Google and Facebook to come to a revenue sharing agreement with Australian media companies.
“It is absolutely crucial that more be understood about the character, the power and the potential manipulation of algorithms and data,” Mr Thomson said.
Mr Thomson said Dow Jones had set new performance records in the third quarter of fiscal 2020.
“These Dow Jones numbers are vastly superior to those announced by The New York Times yesterday. Digital advertising increased by 25 per cent at Dow Jones, while it fell during the same quarter by 8 per cent at The New York Times.
“And while year-on-year profitability declined double digits at the NYT, it rose at Dow Jones, and was a key contributor to our news and information segment’s 15 per cent increase.
“Revenue growth at Dow Jones in the quarter, at 5 per cent, also outpaced the NYT’s 1 per cent increase,” Mr Thomson said.
In March, News Corp Australia announced that it would suspend publication of 60 community newspaper with a strategic review of News Corp’s community and regional mastheads “well advanced”, Mr Thomson said.
