Hutchie’s birthday cake and a tale of two Christmas parties
By Calum Jaspan
End of year Christmas bashes often tell a story of a company’s health.
In 2022, Paramount, the US-owner of Network 10, cancelled its own amid financial stress.
Craig Hutchison receives a present from his SEN team.
In 2023, again, there was no formal party. Even Lachlan Murdoch read the room and cancelled his last year, which made a triumphant return on Thursday, with an appearance from his dad to boot.
But with Paramount’s new cashed-up tech scion-cum-media mogul owner in waiting David Ellison ready to take control, the Network Ten Christmas party was back on the menu.
Network 10’s news team celebrates the return of its Christmas party, per presenter Candice Wyatt’s Instagram.Credit: Instagram
Its Melbourne Christmas do was held at South Yarra rooftop pub The Osborne on Thursday, and by all reports, was a fairly subdued re-entry into the category. That was at least compared to the other media company hosting an event in the same venue.
Journalist turned media and sports mogul Craig Hutchison’s Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) had 150 of its staff to The Osborne to celebrate not only the festive period, but a major milestone for the new Seven Network star, his 50th birthday, which was on Wednesday.
This time last year, Sports Entertainment Group was in financial strife, with a hefty loan owed to its bankers at CBA. Hutchie and co have since had a firesale, shipping the Perth Wildcats off for $40 million and clearing its debts in the process.
This was clearly cause for celebration, with SEN’s event the far rowdier of the two, a Paramount partygoer told The Age. Maybe next year the network will host to a more lavish event, with its star-in-absentia Lisa Wilkinson’s reported $1.7 million contract off its books at the end of the month.
A special Hutchie-themed cake.
Hutchie was in good spirits according to SEN spies at the event, and was given a commemorative plaque and a cake plastered with his face on it.
While he didn’t try the cake until Friday morning, Hutchie tells The Age he had a quiet and sensible night, leaving at 9.30 without mingling with the kind folk from 10.
Needless to say, the television stragglers eventually joined the SEN party outside.
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