Nine merges TV and Stan in major shake-up with dozens of job cuts
Nine’s new broadcasting chief has confirmed 50 job cuts as part of a major restructure merging the network's TV and streaming operations.
Nine’s new head of broadcasting and streaming Amanda Laing says there needs to be a reset of free-to-air television, with consumers and advertisers now having far more options given the rise of streaming and online video platforms.
The comments come as Laing outlined the biggest shake-up to Nine’s television business in decades, with the free-to-air business to be merged with Nine’s Stan streaming arm and its 9Now online and catch-up platform.
Laing confirmed approximately 50 job cuts as a result of the three-way merger, with roles impacting roles across the business, from on-air talent to sales and management.
Nine has already outlined plans to slash $160m in group wide costs, with the bulk of the savings to fall on television.
Laing, a former top Foxtel executive who started with Nine in June, acknowledges traditional broadcast television has long operated with a high-cost base, which was built for a different era. This means there needs to be a fundamental reimagining to drive new ways of growing revenue.
“We have to cut our cloth accordingly,” Laing tells The Australian in an interview. “We have to be mindful of the external landscape and the appropriate cost base to drive the revenue that we need to drive.”
Speculation around the cuts has been building through this month, with several high-profile, on-air presenters already leaving the network. Nine’s Sydney weather presenter Amber Sherlock, Adelaide newsreader Kate Collins and Brisbane sports presenter Jonathan Upton were among the highest profile losses. Laing declined to discuss details, adding the exact number of staff impacted was still being finalised. She noted some of the job cuts included contracts that were coming to an end and not renewed.
The shake-up marks a moment of reckoning for Nine’s once-unassailable free-to-air television network, which is now facing intense revenue squeeze. On the current growth path Nine’s streaming operations are set to overtake the TV arm in terms of earnings clout in coming years.
Nine’s Stan streaming arm currently generates around 28 per cent of Nine’s group revenue while TV generates just over 37 per cent. Five years ago TV represented 51 per cent of Nine’s group revenue and Stan delivered 11 per cent.
The earnings shift is even more dramatic, Stan’s earnings last year jumped 31 per cent,
while television went backwards by 23 per cent.
Laing briefed staff on Tuesday about the merger of broadcast and streaming where she also outlined the job cuts and new management appointments.
As well as reflecting the diminished influence of television, the shake-up is also aimed at breaking down the silos that built up around the business.
Nine’s television arm, particularly its news division, has been ground zero for major cultural problems that have erupted in recent years that engulfed former chief executive Mike Sneesby.
Staff from Stan and Nine’s television arm have already moved to a single floor in Nine’s North Sydney headquarters to accelerate the cultural shift.
Laing says the merger now gives her more flexibility in moving content including sport and entertainment between Stan and Nine to where the best audience and revenue options are. This includes the launch of the Premier League rights Nine acquired from Optus, which debuted on Nine’s free-to-air channel then quickly moved to streaming. It also means more opportunities cross-selling of ads across the various broadcast platforms.
“We’re looking at how do we do things differently than we’ve done them before, and that is what is necessary. To simply cut costs does not serve the business and will not allow us to have a structure and operating model that drives the revenue growth that we need.”
Just this month, Nine warned that the advertising market has proved more challenging than expected, with September and October’s TV revenues under pressure.
The problems aren’t Nine’s alone, with broadcast television facing dramatic upheaval around the world. Even Nine’s arch rival Seven is in the process of merging with FM radio operator Southern Cross, with media magnate Kerry Stokes finally bowing out of what is now a much smaller media business.
Laing dismisses idea of seeking competitive advantage from Seven’s troubles: “Everyone is going through change globally and domestically”
The changes come as even streaming now faces its own challenges. Heavy investment is needed to head off competition from global giants like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount Plus fighting it out in the local market. At the same time, Foxtel’s Kayo dominates sport streaming with rights to AFL and NRL. Laing says as well as acquiring select sports rights for Stan – including Premier League and Rugby – she is committed to investing in locally-produced and scripted content that continues to drive audience.
Even as more of free-to-air television’s audience particularly younger viewers moving to catch-up services like 9Now, Laing says it’s too early to put a time frame on the end of linear television. This is not something on “the perceptible horizon,” she said.
Content will continue to move between traditional broadcast and broadcast video on demand, digital platforms and streaming.
“Great content will find an audience – and particularly Australian content.”
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