Seven West Media set to launch a bid to reclaim broadcast rights to Australian Open

The Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven network is considering an audacious bid to wrest rights to the Australian Open back from Nine, it’s been confirmed.

CEO James Warburton pictured with billionaire boss Kerry Stokes in Sydney. Picture: Nikki Short

Seven boss James Warburton has confirmed that the Kerry Stokes-controlled network is considering an audacious bid to wrest the broadcast rights to the Australian Open back from Nine Entertainment.

As first reported by The Australian in January, Mr Warburton said on Tuesday that Seven was “in the market” to bid for the rights to the grand slam tennis tournament, with the current contract — held by Nine — set to expire in 2024.

Mr Warburton confirmed earlier reports in this newspaper that Seven, which broadcast The Australian Open for 40 years until swapping it for the rights to international and domestic cricket in 2018, was weighing up its options in the prestige sports market.

“We’re coming to the end of the contracts and both sports (tennis and cricket) are in the market.

“We owned tennis for four decades, so it shouldn’t be a surprise (that we’re interested in the tennis rights),” he said.

“We’re obviously looking at what we do going forward, from a summer (sports) perspective.”

But the Seven CEO told The Australian it would never be feasible for the network to simultaneously hold the broadcast rights to Test cricket and the tennis grand slam tournament.

“No. It’s very difficult for either sport to share a platform,” he said.

Seven has had a rocky relationship with Cricket Australia, most notably over the scheduling and quality of the Big Bash domestic tournament, and while the future of the sport on Seven remains up in the air after the network’s contact expires in 2023, Mr Warburton said the media giant and the sporting body are currently on good terms.

“We’ve grown the cricket substantially since Nine had it, from a Test match perspective, and what we’ve said consistently is that Big Bash hasn’t delivered what it promised, and we’re hopeful that Cricket Australia will reconsider the Big Bash and make it a shorter, sharper tournament in January,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Warburton released Seven West Media’s half-year results, with the healthy numbers sheeted back to the resurgent television ad market and a sharp spike in the company’s digital earnings.

Seven’s net profit edged up 3 per cent to $120.5m for the six months to December 25, while group revenues climbed 27 per cent to $819.5m. It last year bought regional broadcaster Prime Media in a $132m deal.

Underlying net profit after tax (excluding significant items) was $128.7m, an increase of 48 per cent from a year earlier, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 31 per cent to $215.3m for the group.

But the update undershot market expectations, and the company’s shares fell 6.8 per cent on Tuesday to finish at 69c.

Seven West Media chief executive, James Warburton, said the result “reflects the successful execution” of the company’s strategy over the past 30 months.

“We have a television network that has returned to the number one position in a robust advertising market; a fast-growing digital business that now makes up 35 per cent of earnings; a turnaround at WAN; and a team focused on growth.

“We have completed the acquisition of the assets of Prime Media Group, which unlocks an unrivalled opportunity for the business to capture a greater share of the $3.8bn total television market.

“We are now in the final phase of our three-year strategy, with key milestones achieved, and we see significantly more potential for the business.

“Momentum is strong and the outlook for the markets we operate in remains robust.”

The Seven boss addressed the prospect of establishing a subscription streaming service, with the network being the only commercial broadcaster in Australia without such a platform.

“It’s not about any opportunity, rather, it’s about the right opportunity, and we continue to be patient to get the right result.”