CBS Corporation to buy Network Ten
US media giant CBS is to buy Network Ten, the company has announced.
As part of the deal, CBS will acquire Ten, digital channel Eleven, One, and digital platform, Tenplay.
CBS will also launch CBS All Access, the company’s digital subscription video on-demand service, in the Australian market.
The company is already a key supplier of US content to Ten, and a co-owner of Eleven.
Today’s announcement comes despite growing speculation of a joint bid by shareholders Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon, which was looking to go ahead, after the ACCC said it would not stand in the way.
Ten has been in administration since June this year
Ten went into administration in June this year, after the network posted a $232.2m loss in its half-year results in April.
It was revealed at the time, CBS was among Ten’s largest creditors, putting in a debt claim for more than $800m, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Today, chairman and CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves, described Ten as “prime broadcasting asset.”
“We have been able to acquire it at a valuation that gives us confidence we will grow this asset by applying our programming expertise in a market with which we are already familiar,” Moonves said.
A “prime broadcasting asset” says CBS’ Leslie Moonves
Armando Nuñez, president and CEO of CBS Studios International, said CBS will continue to provide Network Ten with “the very best” US content as part of the acquisition.
“We also look forward to working with the outstanding team at Network Ten to enhance and expand on its great legacy of Australian news, drama, reality and sports programming,” Nuñez said.
“This acquisition not only presents CBS with considerable broadcasting opportunities in Australia, but also allows for further multi-platform distribution and growth.”
According to a release from PPB Advisory and KordaMentha, the transaction will be effected by way of a refinance of existing secured debt arrangements.
Christopher Hill, PPB advisory partner, said the sales of the business to CBS would allow the broadcaster to move into a “new chapter on a strong and stable footing.”
Jarrod Villanni, administrator at KordaMentha Restructuring, said CBS would provide “immediate financial support” to ensure continuity of operations.
“The Receivers and Administrators will work closely together to ensure that operations continue uninterrupted while the transaction is finalised,” Villanni explained.
Ten CEO, Paul Anderson, added: “CBS and Ten have had a strong relationship for a number of years; we are very excited about further developing that relationship with CBS as an owner and strength that they will provide to the Company at this critical time”.
topics
broadcasting
CBS Corporation
Jarrod Villanni
KordaMentha
Lachlan Murdoch
Leslie Moonves
Paul Anderson
PPB Advisory
television
Ten
TV
Wow!
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Great news. We need Network Ten to remain strong. It’s good news for journalism in Australia and for all the talented people in the network.
It’s certainly news – not sure it’s going to do a lot for quality journalism and original Aussie content, but at least you have a solid player, with a good content stream, and maybe a vague idea of what you to do on the digital front….
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Spicy
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Will the regular mug shareholders get anything at all?? They seem to be the forgotten parties in all of this multimillionaire manoeuvring.
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Kick in the teeth for News Corp and Foxtel, too. The Murdoch play to send it into admin and then buy cheap has spectacularly backfired.
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No Packer or Murdoch owning a TV network in Australia. Wow.
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Well NEWS couldn’t make a fist of TEN despite throwing everything they had at it, Lachlan Murdoch himself, 7/10 Endemol Shine productions, Fox Entertainment output, and MCN. Add Gogglebox and Group A Touring car racing and all these accounted for c40%+ of all TEN value add.
For the people who worked at Ten so hard to keep this an independent Australian identity, sorrowful days as Viacom /CBS certainly haven’t made Channel 5 UK work, but are the most efficient of the USA FTA’s. Who knows? Lovely people I have met there over the years, all of them.
The question then remains, will the ACCC allow a NEWS/Foxtel takeover of one of the successful FTA’s -SWM or NEC. NEC will be complicated by Stan competition to Foxtel, Whilst SWM brings ACCC issues again as a monopoly newspaper state to NEWS, and a possible un attractive divestment to its competitor –Fairfax with implications REA’s WA market share there. Looks like Fairfax has free reign as to which of these two FTA’s it wishes to marry. (Disclosure: I hold shares in NEC/SWM)
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It’s not a Murdoch, beautiful.
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Seems like a good outcome for media diversity in Australia. Concentrating even more media into one set of (Murdoch) hands is never a good idea.
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Great ?. Excellent news. ?
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Well there you go. Will Lachlan try to short another network to secure a spot, or just continue to try to take away funding to the SBS and ABC and buy up PPV sports for cable? #mediawars
Speaking of PPV / sport in general. How many years are we away before there is a multi channel approach for sports? Take the EPL. Surely the EPL will make more money and users can pay less, if it was avaiable, PPV, via a heap of channels, such as: YouTube / Google Play, Apple, Telco, etc
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Well, that certainly made my day.
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Lachlan is the William H Macey of media deals.
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Who will sell their media? Will it be taken back in house to fill the empty desks at Saunders St or will MCN keep it?
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I don’t think we know why CBS won this race, though we can of course guess?! Was it just because they offered more money, or was it that Lachlan Murdoch’s and Bruce Gordon’s proposed structure was conditional on changes in the media ownership laws and therefore, even if the commercial terms may have been better, it wasn’t an acceptable condition in terms of securing the best and safest deal for Ten’s creditors. If so and given the uncertainly of when media laws would actually change, why did Murdoch and his fellow creditors put Ten in administration? Was it a gigantic calculation error on their part? From various articles, it seems that they have been continuing to finance the business anyway until this point (though perhaps under different and more secure terms)? Or was it a way to pressure the Government to find a way to change the laws pronto? Shortly afterwards, there was a fair bit of ‘noise’ about the importance of changing the laws to ‘save Ten’, but that has since died down.
It would be an interesting article if Mumbrella could please remind us (and rank for us) how much each of Lachlan Murdoch, Foxtel, Bruce Gordon, James Packer and Gina Rinehart have lost on their involvements in Ten, both as shareholders and creditors. It’s a spectacular failure of some of Australia’s wealthiest and supposedly savviest media proprietors (which included Siobhan McKenna and Jack Cowin as directors). Then the article should expand on the combined Murdoch losses to also include the losses of 21st Century Fox (immediate or over time as content supply deals expires). And what is going to happen with Ten’s sales arrangement with MCN?
Can Mumbrella also remind us on the combined losses from OneTel, which also went belly up and was backed by Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer? What is the combined losses to them in respect of OneTel and Ten?
Is there merit in looking at Viacom’s acquisition of Channel 5 in the UK a few years ago (Viacom being a sister company of CBS) to see how that business was transformed under new ownership?
Finally, Ten would have been a good fit with Nova Entertainment in terms of audience, however is it likely that Lachlan would consider selling Nova to CBS once there is a change in the media laws, or would that risk creating too big a competitor to the family’s other interests?
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Well now the Oz can lay off the relentless media law reform campaign! Bored to death.
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The Oz coverage of this avoids headlining the actual news and promotes they idea that FTA viewers in Australia want “original” local programs – reality tv!
I wonder if Pravda has any staff left?
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What will be available on the Australian version of CBS All Access and will this mean a second source of Star Trek Discovery in Australia in addition to Netflix?
Who will end up cheaper?
Would they consider putting Star Trek Discovery on one of the extra digital channels once it has been available on Netflix for a certain length of time?
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Weren’t CBS one of the biggest creditors, with around $800m owed?
Maybe it was a debt swap for ownership. CBS would have probably written off the debt over the years to come. This way they write the debt off immediately (with carryover tax losses?) and end up with an Australian broadcaster that will continue to buy their output at a mutually agreeable price in the future.
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What fantastic news – CBS will treat Ten like family and improve every aspect of the business.
As the SMH says” Murdoch’s stunning own goal….”. The fact that Gordon and Lachlan placed Ten is a slow decent and allowed CBS to grab the prize and end up with egg on face – is just dessert and hilarious.
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Fairfax is more likely to collapse and be split up in remnant bits. The tpg review exposed a serious hole.
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I don’t consider this the perfect outcome for 10, but at least they will now be governed by a company that understands television and journalism. Good and talented people will now have a good sense of direction and a chance to shine in the industry.
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