Nine and Daily Mail Australia end joint venture

Nine has ended its controversial joint venture with the loss-making Daily Mail Australia website.

Nine’s Hugh Marks is embarking on a new digital strategy.

Nine Entertainment has ended its controversial joint venture with Daily Mail Australia, with the loss-making online operation becoming wholly owned by the British newspaper’s parent company.

The move comes two years after Daily Mail Australia was launched amid much fanfare.

Recently-installed Nine (NEC) boss Hugh Marks is set to embark on a new digital strategy as part of an attempt to differentiate the company’s websites from those owned by News Corp and Fairfax Media.

Global MailOnline publisher and chief executive Martin Clarke flew into Sydney this week to seek to rescue the relationship with Nine.
While the Daily Mail Australia website has built a large audience, growth has stalled and operating costs have increased, pushing the business into the red.

Daily Mail Australia has also been beset by legal disputes and accusations of plagiarism involving News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, and Seven West Media.

Clarke said in a statement: “I’d like to thank Nine for its sterling support since we launched two years ago to make Daily Mail Australia one of Australia’s leading news sites, but both companies felt that in a changing media landscape the needs of the website were best served by sole ownership going forward.

“We are now planning for even more investment in our editorial and commercial offerings,” he said.

Marks said: “As our consumer and commercial interests evolve we have agreed with DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust) that our individual interests are best served by unwinding the JV — the NEC team wish them well as they continue to build their business in the Australian market.”

Peter Holder will continue as managing director of Daily Mail Australia.