Yahoo! Inc and Seven Network Combine Online and Mobile Business in Australia and New Zealand

9th December , 2005 -- Seven Network Limited and Yahoo! Inc. today announced that they will combine their online, mobile and IPTV businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

The strategic partnership brings together Yahoo! Australia & NZ, and the online assets and television and magazine content of Seven Network, one of Australia's leading media companies. Under the terms of the agreement, Seven and Yahoo! will form a new 50-50 holding company that will own Yahoo! Australia & NZ. Seven and Yahoo! will each hold three of the six board seats in the entity.

Yahoo! Australia & NZ and Seven will be combining their online teams and are expected to launch a new name and an online presence in late January, coinciding with Seven's coverage of the Australian Open and the Olympic Winter Games in Torino, as well as the opening weeks of the 2006 television season.

Chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc, Mr. Terry Semel, said: "Yahoo! and Seven have very complementary businesses and brands, and we see this as a tremendous opportunity to build a leadership position in Australia. This is the best combination to benefit from increased broadband penetration, rich media consumption, and the growing cross-media advertising spend."

Yahoo! will combine its global content, products and technology with Seven-owned content to create a truly Australian online media and entertainment experience rich in video and locally relevant content. New consumer offerings will ultimately be available across online, mobile and IPTV in areas such as news, sports, entertainment, TV, games, music, and travel. Seven will also contribute AUD$10 million to match the existing development capital in the business, offline promotion through the Seven Network and Pacific Magazines, as well as Seven's 33 percent stake in mobile solutions provider m.Net Corporation Ltd, which is subject to obtaining required consents.

Advertisers will also be able to purchase combined offline and online sponsorships across Yahoo! Australia & NZ, the Seven Network and Pacific Magazines. Yahoo!'s online targeting capabilities will enable both partners to create differentiated advertising packages for Australian marketers. The Australian online advertising market was nearly a half billion dollars in FY04/05 , surpassing cinema and outdoor advertising, and is expected to grow 21 percent year over year for the next five years which makes online the fastest growing advertising segment in the Australian media market.

As a result of today's agreement, Yahoo! Australia & NZ becomes the key platform for Seven's ongoing development beyond broadcast television and magazine publishing as it builds its Digital Media Division.Correspondingly, by partnering with a leader in local digital content, Yahoo! will be better positioned to exploit opportunities for growth in Australia. Seven is the largest television company in Australia reaching 98 per cent of Australians through its owned and operated stations and affiliate agreements. Seven's publishing company, Pacific Magazines, is the second largest magazine company in Australia, with more than 6.6 million readers each month across its 15 publications.

For more information please visit http://www.yahoo.com or visit http://www.seven.com.au