Sunday Night gone as new Seven CEO James Warburton swings axe
Flagship current affairs show Sunday Night is gone as new Seven CEO James Warburton swings axe.
Seven Network has axed its flagship current affairs show Sunday Night as part of a sweeping restructure that includes three senior executive departures.
Seven West Media chief executive James Warburton has axed more than half of his direct reports, cutting them from 17 to eight as he seeks to refresh the ratings leader.
Three senior executives will depart as Warburton appoints new people including a chief content officer, head of marketing and chief digital officer.
The other five posts include chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, commercial director Bruce McWilliam, chief financial officer Warwick Lynch, chief people and culture officer Kate McGrath and the CEO of Seven West Media Western Australia, Maryna Fewster
The overhaul comes just six weeks after Mr Warburton was appointed to replace Tim Worner at the head of the billionaire Kerry Stokes-backed media conglomerate.
In a memo to staff this morning Mr Warburton said the he wanted to refocus Seven on “content led growth” as well as simplifying the company structure and improving operational efficiency.
“Since starting I have been focused on streamlining the organisation to create a flatter structure, with content at its heart, where digital growth is maximised, duplication of roles is removed and we create agile teams with operating efficiency,” he said.
“In order to build for the future and make these structural changes, we have had to make some tough decisions.
“Sadly some of our people will be leaving the company today, where there has been a duplication of roles across regions or we are creating simpler flatter structures.”
Mr Warburton had previously been critical of the lack of investment in new programming and Seven’s failure to counter ratings phenomenons launched by Nine Network that damaged long running shows including My Kitchen Rules and House Rules.
Sources confirmed that Sunday Night, the flagship current affairs show launched as a challenger to Nine’s long-running 60 Minutes, would be axed. The show has failed to overhaul 60 Minutes in the ratings and its future has been under a cloud since Mr Warburton’s appointment.
Sunday Night staff were called in to a meeting with Seven’s news and current affairs boss, Craig McPherson, at 10am and were told the flagship show had been axed.
Mr McPherson will now hold a series of one-on-one meetings with the program’s staff to see if they can be redeployed throughout the network.
“After 11 years at the forefront of our public affairs offering it is with much sadness I announce the closing down of the day to day operations of Sunday Night: True Stories,” Mr McPherson said in a statement.
“It has been a very tough decision in a very challenging TV landscape.
“I want to thank the exceptional team of reporters; producers; camera operators; editors and many others who have helped produce more than 500 hours of quality public affairs programming over its lifetime.
“The program itself will remain on-air until the end of the year. A small production team will stay on to produce existing product over this time.
“I wish all those leaving us nothing but the best for the future.”
Report on ABC’s ‘doctored audio’ scandal blames lawyers
A report has blamed ABC lawyers for failing to pass on complaints by former commando Heston Russell that extra gunshots had been edited into an ABC news report.
‘Pressure from above’: ABC executive pushed by Buttrose
Christopher Oliver-Taylor was under pressure to sack Antoinette Lattouf after Ita Buttrose made clear she was ‘deeply unhappy’ with action taken on the stand-in radio host, the Federal Court has heard.