Video Age International November-December 2015

4 World December 2015 V I D E O A G E (Continued on Page 6) B ruce Gordon’s WIN of Australia has become the largest shareholder in Nine Network. WIN,throughGordon’sprivateinvestmentvehicleBirketu,basedinWollongong, Australia, has purchased 13 percent of Nine. It was acquired from New York City-based hedge fund Apollo Management, for A$182 million (U.S.$131 million). Apollo held a 22 percent share. With this acquisition, WIN nowowns 14.95 percent of Nine. WIN, a regional TV network that covers a large but sparsely populated area in central Australia, is currently renegotiating their affiliate agreement, which expires this month. WIN has been an affiliate of Nine for the past 26 years. Gordon also owns just under 15 percent of Network Ten, making him the network’s largest shareholder. According toanalysts,Gordon’s strategy is three-fold: advance his renegotiating position for the affiliation with Nine (which was pushing for higher fees); become a player and/or an obstacle to media mergers (e.g., Network Ten bidders Discovery and Foxtel) and prepare for the repeal of a rule that prevents TV networks from reaching more than 75 percent of the Australian population. This rule has forced Gordon to stay under 15 percent ownership to avoid regulatory oversight. Lenin Is Now Disney’s Darth Vader R ussian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin has long been considered a villain in the Ukraine. Recently in Odessa, the statue of Lenin was refashioned into another villain, Darth Vader of the Star Wars fame. A Ukrainian artist, Alexander Milov (whose work appeared last August at the Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada), transformed the statue in response to recent “decommunization” laws, which require the removal of Communist symbols in Ukraine. The statue is located in the yard of a local factory. Lenin’s face has been covered by Darth Vader’s iconic mask, and his coat has been lengthened and turned into a cape. The helmet serves as a Wi-Fi hot spot. The “decommunization” law was passed last April by the UkrainianParliament following Russian military aggression into the country. Disney, whose Star Wars : The Force Awakens arrives in theaters this month, has not responded. Bruce Gordon Is Major Shareholder of Both Nine and Ten Nets, Gatekeeper of Media Mergers