Southern Cross sells last regional TV assets to James Packer-backed ADH TV

Australian Digital Holdings (ADH), backed by billionaire media investor James Packer, has acquired Southern Cross Media’s regional television licences for A$6.35m (US$4m).

Jason Morrison

The deal will give ADH the remaining television assets owned by Southern Cross in the areas of Tasmania, Spencer Gulf, Broken Hill, Mt Isa, Darwin and remote, central and eastern Australia.

It comes Southern Cross sold its television licences in regional markets of Queensland, southern NSW and Victoria to the Paramount Global-owned Network 10 in December. The sale to ADH is expected to settle by March 1.

ADH TV director Jason Morrison, a former news director at Seven Network in Sydney, has been informing the local regional operations that the new owners will be investing in local news and content production expansion.

“This is an important day for the future of regional media, with a new Australian-owned independent private operator entering the market at a time when too much consolidation is happening. We’ll bring a commitment to local and regional employment with plans to invest in local news and production,” Morrison said.

ADH TV, which was launched in 2021 as a digital conservative news and think-tank platform, is backed by Packer and former ABC director and chairman Maurice Newman, who serves as ADH TV chairman.

In late December, ADH announced it would be rebranding as Newsmax in a content deal with the conservative US news network. It has yet to provide an update on the rebranding and content distribution details.