WIN's chief doesn't see CanWest privatising Ten

BRUCE Gordon -- the Ten Network's second-largest investor -- says he is unaware of any plans by Ten's 56.7 per cent shareholder, Canadian media group CanWest Global Communications, to privatise the group.

BRUCE Gordon -- the Ten Network's second-largest investor -- says he is unaware of any plans by Ten's 56.7 per cent shareholder, Canadian media group CanWest Global Communications, to privatise the group.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian, Mr Gordon said: "We don't know anything about any privatisation.

"We would certainly look forward to hearing about it from CanWest, given we are Ten's second-largest shareholder."

Ten's share price last week hit its highest levels since it went into freefall in June over a profit downgrade, after reports from Canada suggested CanWest boss Leonard Asper was looking at joining forces with major shareholders to privatise the group.

The company's stock closed at a seven-week high of $1.62 on Friday following the speculation.

But Mr Gordon -- who apart from a stake of more than 13 per cent in Ten, also owns the WIN television empire throughout regional Australia as well as Nine Network affiliate stations in Adelaide and Perth -- said that at this stage, he doubted the reports.

"Given we haven't heard anything, you'd think someone would pick up the phone to us if it's true," said Mr Gordon, who jokingly described himself as WIN's PBO, or "poor bloody owner".

"Someone's flying a kite."

Analysts have questioned the recent rally in the Ten share price, which has risen by 10 per cent in the past week.

"I think some people are thinking that if they privatise CanWest, they'll privatise Ten: hence the share price premium," one analyst said.

"But there's no logical connection.

"Even in the case of a privatised major shareholder, Ten could quite happily go on being listed in Australia." There have also been suggestions in Canada that CanWest may sell Ten to lower the parent company's debt.

However, analysts do not consider this an optimal outcome, given the extent to which the Australian network's share price has fallen since last year as the local TV advertising downturn began to bite.

Meanwhile, Mr Gordon said WIN's plans to launch a local edition of the Nine Network's A Current Affair in Perth and Adelaide -- formally announced two months ago -- would proceed on the west coast first, because the need to improve the program's ratings was more pronounced there. "We'll be launching in Perth before we launch in Adelaide," he said. "In Perth, I'd say at this point, we'll probably launch by late September."

Mr Gordon purchased the Nine Network affiliates in Perth and Adelaide last year.

The Perth station, in particular, had been a weak performer that lost millions under its previous owner, Eva Presser's Sunraysia Television.

One of the criticisms of both stations under previous management was their failure to invest fully in local news and current affairs.

This omission previously caused lower ratings at the two stations than at other Nine stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Seven's rival to A Current Affair, Today Tonight, has long run local editions in the parochial Adelaide and Perth markets, helping it to beat the Nine current affairs program in both markets, and by a particularly wide margin in Perth.

This difference between the current affairs offerings by Seven and Nine in the two cities was crucial for the national, five-city audience share of the Nine Network, and, ultimately, advertising levels.

The underperformance of Adelaide and Perth helped to drag down the national audience share of the Nine stations, affecting Nine's ability to attract revenue from national advertisers.

But Mr Gordon said the purchase of the Adelaide and Perth stations last year for a combined total of almost $270 million meant that WIN was now able to contribute "tremendously to Nine's five-city sales reach".

The WIN owner said the new editions of A Current Affair were a big undertaking: "It will cost us several million dollars in each place," he said.

"We'll be employing a mostly new crew: in other words, new presenters, producers, camera crew, and we'll invest in journalists. And it will be done in high definition."