Prime Television Limited
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| Prime Television Limited | |
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| Type | Public ASX: PRT |
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| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Canberra, Australia |
| Key people | Warwick Syphers, CEO Paul Ramsay, Chairman |
| Industry | Television network Radio broadcasting |
| Products | Prime Television Golden West Network (GWN) |
| Revenue |  $207 million AUD (2006) |
| Employees | 512 (2005) [1] |
| Website | www.primetv.com.au |
Prime Television Limited is an Australian based media corporation. It owns the Prime Television regional television network in Australia, the GWN television network in regional WA and some radio stations in Queensland. It has previously owned television networks in Argentina and New Zealand.
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[edit] International television
In 1997, Prime Television expanded internationally with the purchase of the Canal 9 television network in Argentina, renaming the network Azul Televisión. Prime paid AU$224 million for the network, before selling a half share of Prime Argentina to local media group Torneos and Competencias for an undisclosed amount.[1] Azul Televisión performed below expectations, largely due to a global economic crisis, and the Argentinean network did not make a profit.[2]. Prime Television pulled out of Argentina in 2000, selling their stake for AU$108 million.[3]
Prime also expanded into New Zealand and began broadcasting Prime Television New Zealand on 30 August 1998. In 2002, Prime Television New Zealand went into a joint venture with Australian company Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (owners of the Nine Network). Under the agreement, Prime Television was given access to Nine Network programs, expertise and an amount of money. In return, PBL was given the option to acquire 50% of Prime Television New Zealand in 2008.[4] Following this deal, the ratings and profits of Prime Television New Zealand increased significantly. In November 2005, Sky Television purchased Prime NZ for NZ$30 million, subject to Commerce Commission approval and undisclosed conditions.[5]
[edit] Radio
In 2005, Prime acquired 6 Queensland radio stations from Macquarie Regional RadioWorks, being:
[edit] References
- ^ Kidman, Matthew. "Prime TV buys and sells in Argentina", Sydney Morning Herald, 1997-12-16, p. 27.
- ^ "Argentina a Prime drag", Illawarra Mercury, 1998-11-19, p. 17.
- ^ Schulze, Jane. "Prime offloads Azul for $108m", Sydney Morning Herald, 2000-03-17, p. 27.
- ^ "Packer to boost Prime Television", The Press, 2001-12-22, p. 17.
- ^ Vaughan, Gareth. "Sky Network looking to acquire Prime NZ", The Press, 2005-11-19, p. E.4.
