Free- to- air TV shares lift off
CUTS to licence fees and scrapping of media ownership and reach rules have given TV networks a boost but questions remain about how much the free- to- air industry’s fortunes have changed.
Shares in Australia’s free- toair TV networks rose sharply yesterday in reaction to the Federal Government’s move to slash broadcast licence fees.
However, one media analyst said another part of the package that bans gambling ads immediately before, during and after live sports broadcasts could cause revenue losses that offset most of any gains from the fee cut. Broadcast bosses welcomed the Turnbull government’s announcement on Saturday that $ 130 million in broadcast licence fees would be abolished in today’s Budget. ORIGIN Energy has agreed to sell its Stockyard Hill wind farm project in Victoria to Chinese wind power developer Goldwind for $ 110 million. The sale is part of Origin’s asset sale program announced in 2015, which has targeted raising $ 800 million by next month. The proceeds will be used to reduce debt. The energy producer and retailer will, however, sign a long- term agreement with Goldwind to buy all the power from the 530 megawatts project and associated renewable energy certificates once operations start in 2019 and until 2030.
Earlier this month, Origin sold its underdevelopment 110 MW Darling Downs solar farm in Queensland to gas pipelines operator APA Group, but will buy all the electricity generated by the project until 2030.