Southern Cross Austereo (Company)

Radio, Print, and Online
921

SCA WA Launches New Partnership With Perth Bears

SCA WA announced a landmark three-year media partnership with Western Australia’s newest NRL franchise, the Perth Bears, marking a significant step in supporting the team’s launch and growth across the state.

Beginning January 1, 2026, SCA will deliver dedicated airtime and promotional support each year across Mix94.5, 92.9 Triple M, 34 regional stations and LiSTNR, building the Perth Bears’ brand presence and deepening their connection with fans across WA. This partnership will play a pivotal role in boosting fan engagement from day one and will extend to drive ticket sales and memberships as the team enters its second and third NRL seasons.

This collaboration represents a strong brand alignment between two organisations committed to serving and energising the Western Australian community. With SCA WA’s extensive broadcast reach and deep connection to WA audiences, and the Perth Bears’ ambition to establish a powerful new sporting identity for the state, the partnership creates a natural platform for shared growth. Both brands prioritise community connection, entertainment and accessibility, qualities that will allow them to amplify local storytelling, elevate fan culture, and rally a statewide supporter base behind WA’s newest elite team.

The partnership will provide SCA WA listeners with the chance to win exclusive access to behind-the-scenes experiences, team merchandise and game day activations.

Remi Barley, SCA General Manager WA said: “Southern Cross Austereo is thrilled to partner with the Perth Bears as their official media partner. This collaboration marks an exciting chapter for rugby league in Western Australia, and we’re proud to play a role in bringing the passion, energy, and stories of the Bears to fans across the state. Together, we’ll amplify the game and create unforgettable experiences for our audience.”

Anthony De Ceglie, Perth Bears CEO said: “The Perth Bears are building more than an elite club, we are here to grow and develop the greatest game of all in WA and this partnership with SCA will play an integral part of this vision.

“As the first NRL team for WA, we are excited to work with SCA to connect with communities right across the state so that we can grow our own talent and provide junior players with a career pathway to professional football.”

Mal Meninga, Perth Bears Head Coach also noted that this partnership provided a significant opportunity to amplify the grassroots rugby league success already here in WA.

“We have a fantastic grassroots foundation in WA, and this partnership allows us to showcase the incredible work of our local teams and drive standards higher, ensuring WA rugby league is a genuine force on the national stage.”

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922

Seems strange when there’s a merger going ahead, why would they want to enter such a deal.

923

ARN dumps Southern Cross as merged stock loses 18.5% of market cap

ARN Media is no longer a substantial shareholder in its rival Southern Cross Media, after selling another tranche of stock. This comes as the market value of the merged company sinks to around $100m less than Seven West Media and Southern Cross Austereo were worth before their union.

ARN informed the market just before close on Tuesday afternoon that it had sold 7.2 million Southern Cross Media shares, worth $4.79m, to boutique investment management company Samuel Terry.

The sale occurred on January 22, and saw Samuel Terry’s voting power in Southern Cross move from 6.2% to 7.7%, and ARN’s holdings fall under the 5% substantial holder threshold.

ARN bought its 14.8% of Southern Cross in June 2023, paying $38.3m for 35.5m shares, valuing each share at roughly $1.08.

Southern Cross Media closed today at 66c, down 3c from Tuesday.

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924

ARN desperate for cash.

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925

The HMS Titanic, sorry - ARN are sinking…

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926

Here to say same. ARN are turning over the metaphorical couch cushions looking for revenue.

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927

There is also little reason for them to maintain the investment

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928

Depends if you expect the investment to lose more money or the shares to turn around. The recent ARN sales of SCA shares have been at a substantial loss with this recent one being at about 66c a share vs their $1 a share purchase. Crystalising loses is a strategy for sure but there are various motivations for wanting to do that.

2 Likes
929

If the investment has tanked, then it’s wise to sell. Although it helps to have some extra $ in the bank.

930

If ARN are desperate for a $5m injection of cash, they’ve got much bigger problems.

The move could be to get below the significant shareholder barrier.

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931

The $100M drop in the share price is far more concerning IMO.

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932

That’s kinda what some are alluding to.

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933
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934

Well heres a development - new CEO Jeff Howard has resigned suddenly today. He was supposed to front the results briefing tomorrow too

John Kelly is interim CEO

Stokes brought forward his exit too - somethings up…

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935

Jumping off the Titanic?

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936

Guessing the TV results aren’t great.

One speculates too that SWM’s hierarchy would have been better remunerated than SCA’s.

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937

The TV results largely came out last week

938

And looks quite good TBH. Guess the removal is only a strategy shift.

Seven’s total TV advertising revenue, including the acquired Southern Cross regional TV markets, was
$585 million, down 0.8% ($5 million) on H1 FY25 and down 3.0% ($18 million) on a like-for-like basis.
Seven’s total TV revenue share grew by 2.7 points to a record 44.1% for the half, significantly
mitigating the 10.1% decline in the total television market.
TV advertising revenue declined by 4% to $487 million, including the acquired Southern Cross regional TV markets, and by 6% to $474 million on a like-for-like basis against a market that declined by 11.5%.
7plus advertising revenue increased by 15% to $98 million against a market that declined 2.7%.

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940

Let us celebrate the joining of SCA and SWM with a new thread (and the adding of chocolate to milk)

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Southern Cross Media Group (SCA/SWM)