Old-School Media Unite in Australia to Confront Netflix Era
Australian broadcaster Nine Entertainment Co. agreed to buy Fairfax Media Ltd. for A$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion), creating a company spanning print, television, radio and a fast-growing streaming business that competes locally with Netflix Inc. Nine shareholders will own 51 percent of the combined group, with Fairfax investors owning the rest, according to a statement Thursday. The takeover unites two of the biggest and storied brands in Australian television and newspaper publishing as a new era of digital and streaming entertainment weighs on legacy media.