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landmarks
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Packer
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overview
This
page considers the Australian Prime television network,
an affiliate the Seven network with an arm in New Zealand.
It covers -
introduction
The Prime
network originated with Wagga (NSW) station RVN-2, first
established by Fairfax executive
Rupert 'Rags' Henderson in the 1960s and later acquired
by nursing home and health services czar Paul Ramsay.
By
1999 Prime - in which Ramsay then had a 39% stake - held
seven regional and one remote television broadcast licences.
In 2002 it had eight regional television licences, with
a potential audience of 25% of the population. Through
its wholly owned Golden
West Network Pty Ltd (GWN) subsidiary, acquired
in the unwinding of Westfield Capital's
broadcast interests, Prime provides a commercial television
service to Remote and Regional Western Australia.
In Australia the network is a Seven
affiliate.
Prime Television New Zealand was established in 1998,
with Prime making an unsuccessful foray into Argentina
during the following year. In 2001, Prime announced a
joint venture with the Nine Network
in Australia "pursuant to which Nine would provide
programming, marketing and managerial support in exchange
for an option to accrue 50% of Prime New Zealand".
Ramsay
Paul Ramsay (1937- ), son of a surveyor,
studied law at Sydney University . Ramsay Health Care
was established in 1964 after he had turned a Mosman guest
house into one of the first private psychiatric hospitals
in Sydney during 1961. He went on to acquire government
and private facilities, notably through privatisation
of the Commonwealth government's repatriation hospitals.
As of 2003 Ramsay Health Care encompasses 25 facilities,
including 23 private hospitals located throughout Australia,
Coffs Harbour Day Surgery and management of the Mildura
Base Hospital (a privatised public hospital). Its portfolio
includes 2,739 beds; as of mid-2003 the group employed
over 6,000 people. In December 2003 it purchased the Silver
Circle home support business, with a staff of over 1,500.
In the US Ramsay Health Care Inc and Ramsay Youth Services
Inc (59% owned by the founder) operated 15 psychiatric
facilities in 11 states before selling its "behavioral
managed care business" and selling/closing its "non-strategic
inpatient psychiatric hospitals". It operated programs
for "young people with behavioral or psychiatric
disorders, substance-abuse problems, and developmental
difficulties" before being acquired in 2003 by Psychiatric
Solutions, Inc.
Australia
[under development]
New Zealand
In
1997 Prime Television New Zealand Ltd acquired
34 UHF licences covering around 89% of New Zealand and
announced that it would start regional broadcasting in
1998. It developed a new Auckland broadcast facility for
around $10 million.
From August 1998 it broadcast
from Auckland into the largest NZ markets (Auckland,
Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, Hamilton).
The network's early profitability was poor - it lost over
$10 million in 2001 - and in that year announced a deal
with Packer to source programming
from the Nine Network in Australia and gain assistance
with promotion through Australian Consolidated Press'
New Zealand magazine arm. Packer secured an option to
buy 50% of Prime New Zealand by 2008.
The network appears to have increased its market share
and revenue after heading downmarket to compete more directly
with the CanWest-controlled TV2
and TV3.
Argentina
In
1999 Prime acquired a 50% controlling interest in the
Buenos Aires Canal 9 tv station (centrepiece of the Argentinian
TV Azul network. In 2001 it sold its 50% stake for US$67.5m
Chronology
A chronology of Prime is here.
Studies
There are no major studies of Prime or Ramsay. Pointers
to the other network affiliates and broadcasting are here.
 next
page (Prime chronology)
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