Australia - Digital Media - Overview and Analysis

Synopsis

We are getting a clearer view of where this media industry is going. The picture is still a bit blurred but increasingly we see the traditional TV media concentrating on digital TV. Investment-wise, that’s where their money is going. They have been unable to keep up with the digital media activities of the new players, which are dominating the broadband content and services market. Separately we are starting to see other activities that we classify as digital economy, such as e-commerce, e-health, e-learning and smart grids. These last activities are covered in separate BuddeComm reports.

While the traditional media companies have all established themselves in the emerging digital media market, Seven, Nine and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were the first to enter. However, the market share of publicly-funded organisations like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcasting Service is growing significantly among digital viewers. Quality content is more and more crucial as digital platforms are becoming relatively commoditised. While telcos have tried to claim this territory they have continued to struggle to leverage their natural advantages.

In Australia, Fairfax Digital has continued to compete for digital viewers alongside the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and News Limited. In this report we cover the digital media activities of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, News Limited, Freeview, ninemsn, Myspace, Yahoo!7, Ten, FOXTEL, AUSTAR, Macquarie, Southern Cross Media, WIN, and Fairfax.