Publishing And Broadcasting Limited

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) was one of Australia's largest corporations. With interests primarily in media and gambling, for the entirety of its existence it was largely controlled by the Packer family.

History

Predecessors

PBL originated with Australian Consolidated Press (ACP), established by media magnate Frank Packer, who inherited the media interests of his father Robert Packer, who died in 1934. In 1936, Packer merged with E.G. Theodore's Sydney Newspapers and Associated Newspapers to form Australian Consolidated Press. Frank Packer was chairman of ACP from 1936 until his death in 1974, when control of the company passed to his younger son Kerry Packer.

ACP was granted a broadcasting license in Sydney when television began in Australia in the 1950s. Its television station, TCN-9 in Sydney was the first station in Australia to go to air, launched 1956, by an announcement from Bruce Gyngell "Good evening, and welcome to television".

In 1960, it purchased GTV-9 Melbourne to form the first television network in Australia, the National Television Network, later to become the National Nine Network.

In 1987, Kerry Packer sold the Nine Network to Alan Bond for $1 billion,"'No crying in television': Packer would be pragmatic about switch"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Chris Barrett, April 13, 2018 who then expanded the network to include QTQ-9 Brisbane and STW-9 Perth. Packer later bought the network back for half of what he sold it for in 1990.

Formation

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited was formed in 1994, from the merger of The Nine Network Australia and Australian Consolidated Press. PBL registered Nine Films and Television, an in-house film and television production arm, in August of that year.

In the late 1990s PBL lost millions on a venture called Nine India. Its most tangible form was a branded block on two of the channels operated by Doordarshan. It planned to become a major player in Indian television, but by early in the next decade, the concept was dropped.

In 1999, Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex was bought by PBL, and the online division of PBL, ecorp was floated on the ASX. ecorp was later privatised and delisted from the Stock Exchange.

In 2002, PBL entered a deal with Prime Television, giving it an effective 50% stake in Prime NZ. Nine Film and Television began to theatrically release films which were distributed through Hoyts (then also owned by PBL and related companies). A joint venture with Macquarie Film Corporation generated capital for the production of these films. The first film released was '' Dirty Deeds'' in 2002. It was followed by Gettin' Square (with Working Title Australia and Mushroom Pictures) in 2003.

In 2004, PBL purchased the Burswood Casino in Perth, and a 50% stake in Hoyts Cinemas, along with West Australian Newspapers. Hoyts was previously owned by the Packer private company; Consolidated Press Holdings Ltd. It also sold Papua New Guinea's only television network, EM TV