Nine-Fairfax merger likely to lead to a cascade of media offers | Media

The Nine-Fairfax merger agreement is likely to trigger other media mergers like News Corp, Seven West and Telstra consider their options.

But insiders say that a merger between News Corp and Seven West Media, which was discussed,

There has also been speculation that Telstra, who has interests in Foxtel and has long played with a serious expansion in the media, could still take a look in the works and make a play for Seven. or Nine

And then there are the regional actors.

Although it was slower than in 1987 when the last significant rule change in the media occurred, the new rules are now likely to lead to a cascade of transactions – and it could be a case of first dressed

rules on media ownership introduced in 2017 removed the rule of two out of three and now allow a media company to own all three printers, radio and television.

But the rule of "voices" remains. It tries to ensure diversity by requiring at least five distinct voices in the city's markets and four in the regional markets, each market being defined by the footprint of the radio license.

The Australian Media and Communications Authority has already announced that it considers Fairfax. Nine cases would be consistent with the diversity of the media and the control rules that she administers. But these are mainly digital rules such as the five / four rule and the guarantee that administrators do not control other media assets

The Australian Commission for Competition and Consumer Affairs also has a role to play in ensuring diversity and has announced the publication of the Nine-Fairfax Agreement upon its receipt.

the ACCC will also look at diversity – the number of media voices available to consumers.

"While media diversity can manifest itself in a variety of ways, an example of a loss of diversity is that a deal would result in a reduction in the number." ACCC says in its media mergers guide , published at the end of last year.

For the Fairfax- Nine business, this may pose questions in markets such as Newcastle where the only local in-depth news is produced by NBN Nine and Fairfax owns the only daily newspaper, the Newcastle Herald.

The other two television stations and the local radio provide only the local minimum information services that meet the requirements of their licenses but rely heavily on the collection of news from Newcastle Herald, NBN and the local ABC in other regional markets? With Nine's general manager, Hugh Marks, who shows little interest in the 160 regional newspapers and newspapers. if Fairfax's community, a possibility is a massive sale to News Corporation, the other regional newspaper publisher in Australia. Such a move would give News Corp a virtual monopoly in regional newspapers, albeit in many markets.

The merger of the Australian assets of News and Seven would raise even more questions, and would have been easier if they had first

An important factor taken into account by ACCC is the level of concentration in a market.

"Media market share in a market before and after the merger is a key element in determining the concentration,

News controlling 56% of the newspaper market by the Adelaide, Brisbane dailies, Darwin and Hobart, as well as the leading newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the national daily Foxtel, the only pay-TV service, would merge with Seven by brandishing red flags on market power. evidence in the history of ACCC – and the landscape has changed dramatically through technology and Google and Facebook.

On the issue of diversity, the ACCC will also look at

"The reduction in consumer choice after the merger, among other factors, could have the effect of substantially reducing competition while reducing the diversity of media, "said the ACCC. says:

"It will also examine whether the merger is likely to lead to the exercise of market power by means other than price, for example by a reduction in quality," he said. he.

An interesting question is how the ACCC assesses the impact of new technologies and platforms such as Google and Facebook in the markets.

In her very brief statement of yesterday, the ACCC says that she will begin her public inquiry within 12 weeks. . He is particularly referring to his survey of digital platforms that examined the impact of Google and Facebook on Australian media.