Southern Cross Austereo has struck a deal to sell its remaining regional television assets to Australian Digital Holdings (ADH), a media company looking to expand its footprint in the Australian market.
ADH is also set to launch the right-wing US news channel Newsmax in Australia later this year, a move that will add a new and potentially controversial voice to the local media landscape.
TV Blackbox understands that the deal with SCA was led by a consortium of ADH chief executive officer Jack Bulfin, former 7 News Director Jason Morrison, and ex-ABC Chairman Maurice Newman.
The sale includes stations in Tasmania, Darwin, Spencer Gulf, Broken Hill, Mt Isa, and remote Central and Eastern Australia, marking SCA’s full exit from the television market.
In a statement provided to TV Blackbox, Director of Australian Digital Holdings Jason Morrison said:
“This is an important day for our company and the future of Tasmanian and regional TV, and it brings a new owner into the Australian media industry at a time of consolidation.
“We bring a commitment to local and regional employment with plans to invest in TV production while making sure local TV stays Australian-owned.
“These stations are in critical and growing markets that show great audience and economic resilience. The TV markets enjoy good local and national advertiser support.
“Australian Digital Holdings has been working hard to acquire this group since the middle of last year, and we recognise the significant role that local TV services play in each of our cities and towns.
“We’ll aim to make it better.
“In time, there are plans to restore local news services and make sure that communities in major centres get the coverage of local issues and events they want and deserve.
“7Tasmania (TNT) has a market-leading Nighty News service with newsrooms in Launceston and Hobart that consistently command the highest audience share of any capital city news service. The Tasmanian team should be proud of the station’s long and distinguished reputation in being ‘Tasmania’s choice’.
“We aim to expand news coverage across the group.
“Australian Digital Holdings is a privately owned group that has produced independent streaming television for the past three years.
Included in the statement was confirmation of the licences that the group have acquired, including:
TNT ‘Channel 7 Tasmania’ Hobart, Launceston, and all regional areas.
TND ‘Channel 7’ Darwin.
GTS/BKN ‘Channels 7,9 & 10’ South Australia’s Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill NSW.
ITQ ‘Channel 7’ Mt Isa, Queensland.
QQQ ‘Channel 7’ Alice Springs, Remote and Regional Queensland and Western NSW.
‘Channel 7’ VAST satellite TV services (North and South) – Qld, NT, SA, NSW.
And includes half ownership of:
TDT ‘Channel 10’ Hobart, Launceston, Regional Tasmania.
DTD ‘Channel 10’ Darwin.
CTD ‘Channel 10’ VAST satellite TV service – Qld, NT, SA, NSW
The surprise purchase of the 12 TV licences across four states from publicly listed SCA will return the stations to private Australian ownership, pending regulatory approval.
SCA’s release to the ASX:
SCA announces that it has signed a binding proposal for the sale of its television assets in Tasmania, Spencer Gulf, Broken Hill, Mt Isa, Darwin and Remote, Central and Eastern Australia to Australian Digital Holdings Pty Ltd (“ADH”).
Completion of the sale is subject to negotiation and execution of final transaction documentation by the parties and SCA’s broadcast, transmission, distribution and playout service providers, and satisfaction of customary conditions. The parties aim to complete the transaction in the coming weeks.
The completion of this sale will result in SCA having fully divested of its television assets.
The overall proceeds to be received by SCA is $6.35 million, of which $3.75 million constitutes upfront cash consideration and $2.6 million will be received through the provision of transitional service agreements.
SCA intends to apply up front cash consideration from the sale of its television assets towards reducing net debt.
The estimated consideration from the sale of all of SCA’s television assets is in the range of $19 million – $24 million. On proforma forecasted FY25 EBITDA basis, the consideration represents a multiple range of approximately 4-5 times.
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The news of SCA offloading its remaining stations follows similar news late last year where Network 10 entered an agreement with SCA to acquire its regional licences in Queensland, southern New South Wales, and Victoria, with all regulatory requirements now finalised and the sale set to complete on March 1.
Network 10 also announced earlier this month that they had also entered into an agreement to acquire WIN Network’s Northern NSW station, in the further consolidation of operators in the regional market landscape.
In particular, the sale of SCA’s Tasmania station to Australian Digital Holdings will come as a blow to Channel 7, which had hoped to acquire the high rating station to complete its regional network—especially with the launch of the state’s new AFL team from 2028.
Wow, do we have a date? I wonder how that will change Spencer golf as all 3TV channels are owned by the same company. And we don’t get some of the channels that the city people do
Matthew R Brawn No date yet, will be subject to regulatory approvals – “next few weeks”. Remains to be seen what changes, but updates to the article include quotes from one of the ADH directors which says they’re interested in increasing local news output.
Great… More unhinged right-wing nutjobbery.
As if Murdoch isn’t enough.
Oliver Naumoski To be clear, our understanding is that the news of ADH launching Newsmax locally (as a digital offering) is not linked to the purchase of these television stations. Sounds like a wait and see.
TV Blackbox if the Sinclair episode in America five or so years ago is anything to go by,
by extension (no matter the nature), what the likes of Newsmax and OANN does in America come up with make Fox News look tame by comparison — and Fox News is anything but “tame”.