Company Overview

PBL Media is Australia’s largest, fully diversified media group.

It was formed in October 2006 as a 50:50 joint venture between Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and private equity fund managers CVC Asia Pacific Limited.

PBL Media is managed by PBL Media Holdings Pty Limited and is one of the country’s most significant media companies with a stable that includes some of Australia’s most high-profile and successful media entities.

These include Australia’s biggest magazine publisher ACP Magazines, the Nine Network Australia, a 50% interest in ninemsn, a majority shareholding in the number one auto website carsales.com and an interest in Australian News Channel (Sky News).

In September 2007, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited split its businesses into two publicly listed companies: a gaming company, Crown, and a media company, Consolidated Media Holdings.

Following the split, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited transferred its 50% ownership of PBL Media to Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) and in June 2007, CVC acquired a further 25% share bringing its economic interests in PBL Media to 75%.

    Company History

    Businesses owned by the PBL Media group have been informing and entertaining Australians for more than 70 years.

    Australian Consolidated Press was established in 1933. It is home to some of the nation's best known and most successful magazine titles, including The Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's Day and The Bulletin. The Bulletin was first published in 1880, and is Australia's longest-running magazine.

    The Nine Network began as TCN-9 when Sir Frank Packer acquired a Sydney broadcasting licence in 1956.

    Broadcaster, the late Bruce Gyngell, then manager of TCN-9, was the first man to appear on Australian television when he spoke the words: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to television".

    TCN-9 subsequently became the Nine Network when Sir Packer acquired GTV-9 in Melbourne in 1960, giving Australia its first television network.

    Nine launched the first Australian news bulletin, Nine National News in 1956. This was the beginning of a series of firsts for the network, including the first colour broadcast by an Australian commercial network in 1975 and the broadcast in 1979 of the first Australian telemovie, The John Sullivan Story.

    Since that time, PBL invested in a number of businesses complementing the core PBL Media assets, including:

    • In 1996, a three-way joint venture Australian News Channel Pty Ltd (Sky News) was established with PBL taking a one third interest in the business.

    • In 1997, PBL formed a joint venture with Microsoft, creating the online portal ninemsn.

    • In October 2005, PBL invested in carsales.com, an online motoring classifieds business.

    The PBL Media group was formed in October 2006 when PBL transferred some of its media assets into a newly established corporate entity, in which both PBL and CVC Asia Pacific Limited each held a 50% economic interest.

    In September 2007, PBL split its businesses into two publicly listed companies: a gaming company, Crown, and a media company, Consolidated Media Holdings.

    Following the split, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited transferred its 50% ownership of PBL Media to Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) and in June 2007, CVC acquired a further 25% share bringing its economic interests in PBL Media to 75%.