Streaming deal close: Worner
Seven West Media is close to revealing more on its plans for a subscription video-on-demand product.
"We have had discussions with many interested parties and expect to make an announcement soon," SWM chief executive Tim Worner said after handing down the group's annual results today.
Subscription video on demand, or SVOD, allows consumers to stream movies and programs via the Internet, and is seen as a growth area for television broadcasters confronted with a tough advertising market in free-to-air TV.
Mr Worner said SVOD was one of a number of new ventures being pursued by SWM, the operator of the Seven television network and Australia's biggest producer of media content, though he rubbished published suggestions the group had examined a streaming alliance with rival Nine Entertainment.
"We continue to look for the opportunities to use our huge audiences to grow new revenue streams," he told an analysts conference.
""We have several micro investments under active consideration and our business development guys are assessing many more as they have done all year," he said.
Mr Worner's announcement comes after rivals Fairfax and Nine announced they will enter the online streaming market through a new $100 million joint venture.
The media giants will spend up to $50 million each to establish a subscription video-on-demand service called StreamCo.
StreamCo is expected to launch during the 2014/15 financial year and will include international and local programs and movies, as well as content from Nine.
Fairfax and Nine said the new venture had already secured a number of "cornerstone" content deals.
Earlier today SWM reported a $149.2 million annual profit in tough market conditions, aided by tight cost control and increased television revenues.
The result compared to a $69.8 million loss for 2012-13 when earnings were hurt by write-downs.
Excluding significant items, the latest year's profit was up 4.9 per cent at $236.2 million, slightly ahead of market guidance.
"This is a positive result in challenging market conditions," Mr Worner said.
The group, which also owns The West Australian newspaper, declared a final fully franked dividend of 6c a share, making 12c for the year.
