Nine in talks with Southern Cross Media on regional affiliate deal
Sources close to the two media companies confirmed that Nine and Southern Cross recently began talks on a potential affiliate deal that would see Nine dump long-term regional partner, Bruce Gordon's WIN Corp, and Southern Cross drop its embattled partner, Ten.
Such a deal is possible as Southern Cross' rights with Ten expire in June, while Nine has been on a rolling contract with WIN since their deal expired last year. Nine and WIN began talks only recently after Nine's new owners formally took control this month.
Sources denied that a closer relationship was planned between Nine and Southern Cross, despite the latter's share price rocketing 35 per cent in a matter of weeks on takeover speculation.
"I don't comment on speculation," Southern Cross chairman Max Moore-Wilton told BusinessDay on Thursday in response to the rumours. "If we've got something to say we'll put out a release."
Nine also declined to comment.
A merger between the two would not be possible at the moment due to the 75 per cent audience reach rule, although this is now under review.
Analysts have said mergers between TV networks and regional affiliates would make sense - if the audience reach rule was changed - due to the cost savings that could be extracted from combined operations.
Nine would still need a deal with WIN unless it was prepared to abandon the Perth and Adelaide markets where WIN owns the Nine Network stations.
Industry observers said this raised the prospect that talks could serve to extract better terms for Nine and Southern Cross as they negotiated with their partners.
Southern Cross, which sources the bulk of its programming from Ten under the affiliate deal, has suffered from Ten's poor ratings performance over the past year and reported television revenue was down 16.5 per cent to $113 million for the December half-year.
Southern Cross hands over 30 per cent of its television revenue to Ten as part of the deal, while Seven and Nine's regional affiliates pay fees of about 33 to 34 per cent.
Speaking at the company's first-half results last week, Southern Cross chief executive Rhys Holleran said he remained supportive of Ten.
"TV ratings are challenging, but we believe we are turning the corner and we remain supportive of our supply partner Network Ten," Mr Holleran said.
Late last week Ten sacked chief executive James Warburton and replaced him with the News Corp executive Hamish McLennan.
"Network Ten is in talks with Southern Cross Media about extending our current program supply agreement," a network spokesman said. "Those talks are, of course, confidential and we are not in a position to discuss them publicly."
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Reports say Nine Entertainment and Southern Cross Media have begun talks about an affiliate deal that could reshuffle relationships between major broadcasters and regional partners. The discussions could see Nine move away from long-term regional partner WIN Corp and Southern Cross step back from its current supply relationship with Network Ten — though both companies have declined to formally comment.
A full merger would be constrained by the current 75% audience reach rule, which would block combined reach above that threshold. The rule is under review, and analysts note mergers would make strategic sense if the rule changed because combined operations could deliver cost savings.
Timing matters: Southern Cross’s rights with Network Ten expire in June, while Nine has been on a rolling contract with WIN since its deal expired last year. Those expiry dates and rolling arrangements create an opening for new negotiations or partner changes.
Even if talks with Southern Cross progress, Nine would still need a deal with WIN unless it was willing to abandon the Perth and Adelaide markets, where WIN owns the Nine Network stations—so WIN remains an important player for Nine’s regional footprint.
Southern Cross’s share price rose about 35% on takeover speculation. Company sources have denied that a closer relationship with Nine was planned, Southern Cross’s chairman said he does not comment on speculation and would issue a release if needed, and Nine also declined to comment.
Southern Cross sources much of its programming from Network Ten and has been hit by Ten’s poor TV ratings. Southern Cross reported television revenue fell 16.5% to $113 million for the December half-year, and it hands over roughly 30% of its television revenue to Ten under their deal.
Network Ten recently sacked chief executive James Warburton and appointed News Corp executive Hamish McLennan as his replacement. Ten has said it is in confidential talks with Southern Cross about extending their program supply agreement.
Investors should monitor key dates (Southern Cross’s Ten rights expiring in June), any official releases from Nine, Southern Cross or WIN, updates on the 75% audience reach rule review, Network Ten’s ratings and revenue trends, and any renegotiated affiliate fee terms—since these factors will affect regional broadcasters’ revenue and profitability.
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