SCA agrees to sell TV licenses to Network 10
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has announced that it has agreed to sell its television licenses to Network 10.
In an ASX statement issued on Tuesday, the company confirmed that “it has signed heads of agreement for the sale of its television licences in the three aggregated markets of Queensland, southern New South Wales and Victoria”.
SCA currently broadcasts Network 10 programs under regional affiliation arrangements in these markets.
The completion of the sale is hoped to be reached by February 2025.
Under the terms of the agreement, SCA will be entitled to receive a share of the profit of the 3 aggregated market licenses for five years after its completion, to be paid quarterly in arrears. SCA expects the aggregate gross consideration in that period to be in the range of $15-20 million.
In the ASX statement, SCA said it “continues to be in active negotiations regarding sale of SCA’s television assets in Tasmania, Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill, Darwin, Remote Central and Eastern Australia (including the Viewer Access Satellite Television service)”.
John Kelly
In a note sent to staff seen by Mumbrella, Beverley McGarvey, President Network 10, Head of Streaming & Regional Lead, Paramount ANZ, said the agreement “reinforces Paramount’s commitment to the Australian market and in particular Network 10”.
SCA first flagged its intention to sell off its regional TV licenses in August, while SCA chief, John Kelly, told Mumbrella in September that they were in “active negotiations” to sell off the regional TV station.
“We’re not only just talking to people, but negotiating the outcomes,” he said.
“And we’ve got nothing binding, otherwise we would have announced that, so I would expect ‘months’ should be the timeline you should think about, as opposed to ‘weeks,’” he says, in terms of finalising a sale.
“Months doesn’t mean lots of months, you know, a few months…”
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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@Jon – It’s mentioned at the bottom of their press release that they are in active negotiations to sell the remaining assets.
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Television transmitted from ground stations is just about done as Satellite television becomes cheaper and all of these ..regional.. operators become redundant this is sad to see but times are moving on…
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What about in Tasmania?
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What about Mildura Vic
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Let see Mildura is forgotten tv they don’t care about bush town what new nothing
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Nothing changed yet we are forgotten this is sad that the government give money to wa keep 10 there but Mildura miss out again is that fair
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They are aiming to get rid of all their TV assets too. What they don’t mention here is what is happening to the hundreds of TV staff they have. They’re all getting laid off. This news was told to staff a week before Christmas that come the first quarter of the new year they have no job.
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