Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby refuses to put date on the release of the review into misconduct

Nine has been riddled with problems in 2024 including allegations of misconduct, and it remains unclear when the review in its culture will be finalised.

Nine Entertainment chief executive officer Mike Sneesby on Wednesday. Picture: Channel 9.

The investigation into the sexual harassment and bullying scandal that engulfed Nine Entertainment earlier this year looks set to roll into 2025, with the media company’s boss, Mike Sneesby, unable to pinpoint a timeframe for the release of the review’s findings.

The widespread probe into Nine’s workplace culture was launched by Mr Sneesby in May, days after The Australian reported that former longstanding news boss Darren Wick had left the company amid allegations of serious misconduct towards a female staff member under his authority.

That revelation prompted dozens of other women to come forward with separate allegations of bullying, misogyny, harassment and inappropriate behaviour at the network.

External consulting firm Intersection was commissioned to conduct the review and when The Australian asked Mr Sneesby on Wednesday whether the review would be finalised this year, he said: “I’m not going to put a timeline on it. What I will say is we are committed to ensuring we get to the right outcomes on the review, and I mean that from a board and leadership point of view.

“We’re not going to put time pressure to get to those outcomes, but we will absolutely make sure we are transparent with those outcomes as and when they’re available.”

Speaking to The Australian after delivering the company’s annual financial results, Mr Sneesby also declined to say when he first knew about the complaint made against Wick.

“The board and management across Nine followed all due process and policy and we had all the appropriate governance in place around how we dealt with that scenario,” he said.

Mr Sneesby’s tenure at Nine has been under siege since May when the allegations against Wick first surfaced.

Speculation about his future at the company only intensified when he pushed ahead with a commitment to carry the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris in the lead-up to the Olympics in July, not long after the company announced a wave of job cuts across its publishing and broadcast divisions.

Mr Sneesby carries the Paris Olympics torch in the relay. Picture: Jaacquelin Magnay.

Mr Sneesby told The Australian he did not regret running with the torch and said his trip to Paris was justified, given Nine held the Olympic broadcasting rights in Australia.

“My commitment to run with the torch at the invitation of the IOC was made a long, long time before the torch relay occurred,” he said. The Nine chief executive said it was a “short trip” and he stayed only a couple of additional days in Paris before heading back to Australia.

Mr Sneesby, who became chief executive of Nine in April 2021, would not comment on whether he would still be at the helm of the company in a year’s time.

“The CEO is accountable for the performance of (the) business. I take entire accountability for the performance of this company,” he said.

He was also reluctant to speak about the high-profile exit of former chairman Peter Cos­tello, who resigned in June after he barged into a journalist from this newspaper at Canberra Airport.

Just prior to the physical confrontation, The Australian’s reporter Liam Mendes had asked Mr Costello a series of questions about Nine’s handling of the Wick saga.

The company’s latest results, announced on Wednesday, showed net profit after tax plunged 22 per cent to $216.4m while revenues fell 3 per cent to $2.62bn.

Group earnings fell by 12 per cent to $517.4m and revenue in the company’s broadcasting arm, which includes Channel 9, dropped by 10 per cent to $1.13bn.

Nine’s publishing arm, which includes The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, saw its ­revenue slip by 3 per cent to $558.6m.

In June, Nine cut 85 jobs across its publishing division, and has flagged the loss of 38 roles across its broadcast assets.

Mr Sneesby said the recent cost-cutting was necessary to ­ensure the business was in a good fin­ancial position.

“Overall, our approach to cost reductions are focused on making sure our business is positioned and structured in the right way for the future,” he said.

“It has been a very tough year, and we’ve had to make hard ­decisions.”

Nine’s share price closed at $1.35 on Wednesday, up less than 1 per cent.