U.S. media company CBS Corp. plans to acquire Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd., "beating out a bid from Australian media moguls Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch for the company after it went into receivership," according to Mike Cherney of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. CBS's bid was "favored by receivers" for Ten Network, one of Australia's three main broadcasters, over a proposal from Gordon and Murdoch, who "wanted to run the broadcaster as a joint venture," people familiar with the deal said. Murdoch is co-chair of News Corp., while Gordon controls a company that owns broadcasting licenses across Australia. Financial terms for the purchase were not disclosed, but analysts said that CBS "likely got a favorable deal given the Australian broadcaster in June went into voluntary administration." The deal for Ten Network gives CBS an existing platform to "help it roll out its CBS All Access subscription service in Australia," which CBS announced along with the deal. CBS is "looking to expand the service in global markets" and earlier this month announced it would launch it in Canada in the first half of next year. No date has been set yet for an Australia launch. Representatives for Murdoch and Gordon "declined to discuss what next steps the pair might take." The acquisition comes as traditional broadcasters "face an audience migration to online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and others, threatening advertising revenue." The timing of the deal is "pretty savvy" given Ten Network’s current predicament, said Martin Fowler, a partner at money manager Pitcher Partners Sydney Wealth Management, which has "avoided Australian media stocks given the challenges facing the industry, including hefty government-license fees in the past." The CBS transaction "still needs to win approval" from Ten Network creditors, as well as from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. On Monday, Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull "voiced support for the CBS transaction" (WSJ, 8/28). The BBC reported Ten was placed in administration after creditors, which included Murdoch, "withdrew a debt guarantee." Like other networks, Ten, which caters to younger audiences, has been "hit by falling advertising revenues and competition from digital streaming services." The purchase includes Channel Ten, digital channel One, digital platform Tenplay and digital channel Eleven -- of which CBS already owns a 33% stake (BBC, 8/28). BROADBAND TV NEWS' Robert Briel reported CBS Chair & CEO Leslie Moonves said, "Network Ten is a prime broadcasting asset with over half a century of experience and brand equity in Australia. 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" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 8/28).
