CanWest reflects on Oz media shakeup

TV3 presenters John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld may get new bosses. Picture / Martin Sykes

TV3 owner CanWest says it is examining options for its Australasian assets in the wake of the Australian Government's new media ownership laws, which take effect next year.

Canada's biggest media company, CanWest Global Communications, said it had appointed advisers to look at opportunities arising from the law change.

The company noted that the new laws were widely expected to precipitate a substantial realignment of media ownership in Australia.

"CanWest has retained Citigroup to explore opportunities for the company in that evolving environment to ensure that the interests of the company's shareholders are enhanced," the company said.

CanWest has an overall 56.4 per cent economic interest in Australia's Ten Network, although as a foreign company its voting interest is limited to a 14.4 per cent stake under the existing media laws.

CanWest also owns a 70 per cent stake of NZX-listed CanWest MediaWorks - which owns TV3, Channel 4 and several radio stations.

CanWest said it would examine possible scenarios that might affect its stakes in Ten and the New Zealand business.

"No decisions have been taken with respect to possible outcomes, which include continuation of the status quo," CanWest said.

The Australian Government's ownership changes, passed last week, allow foreign investors to buy local media companies, and lift limits on how many outlets a single proprietor can own in one market.

The CanWest news caps an intense week in Australia, with the nation's major media companies already jostling for position ahead of the enactment of the new ownership laws early next year.

Last week James Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting sold key assets in a A$4.5 billion ($5.1 billion) deal, selling half to a private equity firm in a move which could finance gaming and media acquisitions.

Kerry Stokes' Seven Network also took a 14.9 per cent interest in West Australian Newspapers, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp grabbed a 7.5 per cent stake in his Australian newspaper rival Fairfax.

A CanWest-led consortium acquired Network Ten in 1992 for A$230 million.

Last Wednesday, Ten reported a fall in annual earnings, affected by competitive trading conditions and the televising of sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games on rival networks.

The listed Ten Network Holdings, the holding company of the Ten Group, posted a 56.8 per cent fall in net profit to A$45.81 million for 2005-06.

Television earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) fell 27.6 per cent to A$229.1 million.

In a statement after the announcement, CanWest MediaWorks International president Tom Strike said it was inevitable that the Australian advertising market would take a respite from the exceptional advances made in the past several years.

- AAP