A new group combining major Australian newsmedia and TV companies will also promote the effectiveness of advertisers' video and display content.

The Premium Content Alliance will merge NewsMediaWorks - the news publishers' group previously owned by News Corp, Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment - with television promotional group Think TV, and create a new unit called ThinkPremiumDigital.

The new organisation brings TV company ViacomCBS Networks ANZ's Network 10 "into the tent" with Seven, Nine and wannabe broadcaster News, while apparently leaving Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz' Australian Community Media outside.

Founding stakeholders are Foxtel Group, Foxtel Media, Network 10, News Corp Australia, Nine and Seven West Media.

ThinkPremiumDigital is due to launch by July 1, with NewsMediaWorks set to become ThinkNewsBrands by then. The Readership Works and Emma continue "as is" under as part of ThinkNewsBrands.

Apart from its three foundation members, the NMW website lists 28 other mostly privately-owned publishers as members including NZME, the Gisborne Herald and the Otago Daily Times in New Zealand, Straits Times publisher Singapore Press Holdings and broadcaster Mediacorp in Singapore.

ThinkTV chief executive Kim Portrate has been named as chief executive of Premium Content Alliance, in which Peter Miller, chief executive of NewsMediaWorks, in a senior strategy role, and News Corp Australasia

executive chairman Michael Miller as its inaugural chair.

Peter Miller welcomed the "great development" and the opportunity to collaborate in energising "the ad market's focus on the potent value proposition of premium in any channel".

Michael Miller stressed the need to provide "media partnerships that provide wholistic marketing solutions.

"Marketers require campaigns that bring together effective combinations of broadcast, digital and news media.

"This new industry alliance will provide advertisers, agencies and marketers with clear evidence of how best to use media combinations for their product or service, in a varied range of trusted media environments.

"The Premium Content Alliance will support companies to utilise trusted media and premium content to grow their reputations, customers and businesses."

PCA will commission research "proving the value of professionally produced content and its ability to deliver positive outcomes for brands and business".

Most of the group's members are also in the native advertising and content marketing business. Among them, News produces both of the advertorial-style magazines which have Australia's largest circulations, the 4.57-million Coles Magazine through majority-owned Medium Rare, and 4.08 million Woolworth's Fresh through its NewsLifeMedia.

Inaugural board members of the Premium Content Alliance are Patrick Delany (Foxtel Group), Paul Anderson and Rod Prosser (Network 10 and ViacomCBS Networks ANZ), Michael Miller (News Corp Australasia), Damian Eales (News Corp Australia), Hugh Marks and Michael Stephenson (Nine), James Warburton and Kurt Burnette (Seven West Media).

ThinkTV board members are Mark Frain (Foxtel Media), Rod Prosser (Network 10 and ViacomCBS Networks ANZ), Richard Hunwick (Nine Television), and Kurt Burnette (Seven West Media). ThinkNewsBrands board members are Damian Eales (News Corp Australia), Chris Janz (Nine, inaugural chair) and Nathan Cave (Seven West Media).

ThinkPremiumDigital board members are Nev Hasan (Foxtel Media), Sophie Hicks-Lloyd (Network 10), Neil Robinson (News Corp Australia), Nick Young (Nine) and Gereurd Roberts (Seven West Media, inaugural chair).

Peter Coleman

Pictured: Michael Miller and Kim Portrate