One of the crucial points being made by the magazine owners is that the rise in digital platforms,such as social media and websites,has resulted in many new competitors for women's lifestyle content.Credit:Louise Kennerley
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissiondelayed its decision on the $40 million deal on Thursday,raising concerns about the tie-up of direct rivalsWoman's Day andNew Idea,Take 5 andThat's Life!,and broader issues around reducing competition for suppliers of content such as photography.
Both media businesses had been surprised by the decision,multiple sources said,particularly because the regulator's New Zealand counterpart in 2014 cleared Bauer to buy the APN magazine portfolio thatincluded some rival titles.
While there is little dispute that the Australian women's-focused titles and the real-life stories magazines are direct competitors,the publishers have argued that these publications coming under one roof does not create a monopoly due to the growth in competitors online.
The ACCC raised concerns about the tie-up of direct rivals Woman's Day and New Idea,Take 5 and That's Life!,and broader issues around reducing competition for suppliers of content such as photography.
One of the crucial points being made by the magazine owners is that the rise in digital platforms,such as social media and websites,has resulted in many new competitors for women's lifestyle content that has made audiences more price sensitive. Bauer chief executiveBrendon Hill recently said Facebook-owned Instagram,in particular,had become a disrupter for lifestyle-content providers.
"At a superficial level you can see their[the ACCC's] concern,"a source said about the rival magazines coming together,adding that the titles do often hike prices at the same time.
However,they said the"bigger picture"was all the content available online for free that acted as a constraint.