Nine boss Mike Sneesby dodges strike questions at Olympics function as Paris debacle looms
Just days after carrying the torch, the under-fire Nine boss was all smiles at another Olympic function as strike action by his staff looms back in Australia.
Embattled Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby has stepped out with a smile at a major Olympic function in Paris, as hundreds of his staff prepare to strike.
Looking relaxed and chatting amicably with many attendees at the announcement of Australia’s flag bearer for Friday night’s opening ceremony along the Seine, Mr Sneesby declined to comment on the looming strike action by Channel 9 newspaper journalists.
“I don’t love reading about it but accept I’m the front person,” Mr Sneesby told News Corp Australia when asked for his thoughts about the looming strike and how Nine journalists had reacted to his presence in Paris, which included carrying the Olympic torch on the outskirts of Paris on Monday.
“Our jobs here today are to celebrate and report on our Olympic flag bearers,” he added, but refused to discuss negotiations between Nine management and its journalists other than to say he was “working closely with my team” on the matter.
Mr Sneesby, who recently holidayed in Greece before returning for a short period in Australia and then flying back for the Olympics, said he would be staying in Paris for about a week and hosting sponsors and advertisers.
Nine’s guests will be flown to Paris across three periods of the Games and are understood to be staying at the five-star Le Pavillon de la Reine near the lively Marais district.
Mr Sneesby also described the speech he gave to other Olympic torch bearers on Monday when they gathered on the morning before that day’s relay route.
“I told them how I really felt the emotions of what the Olympics mean when I was talking to the group,” Mr Sneesby said, who added that the torch weighed about 1.5 kilograms.
He had enjoyed a walk and then broke into a light run with the torch through an urban French town, 19 stops on the railway outside Paris.
His appearance at the Flag Bearer announcement on Wednesday was low-key, with Mr Sneesby deep in conversation with Sports Commission chair Kate Jenkins and other dignitaries in the function room at the Monnaie de Paris (the Paris Mint).
Mr Sneesby was seen chatting to Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll, with his Nine chair Katherine West also nearby.
Sports minister Anika Wells was among the guests to speak at the function, who included Sports Commission boss and Olympic champion swimmer Kieren Perkins.
Former sports minister and AOC executive member Mark Arbib was also in the room, as was Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, Football Australia boss James Johnson, Rowing Australia CEO Sarah Cook and her Hockey Australia counterpart David Pryles and AOC vice-president Matt Allen.
Other former and current athletes in the room included Cate Campbell, James Tomkins, Eamon Sullivan, Nicole Livingstone, Kyle Vander-Kuyp, Alisa Camplin and Anna Meares.
Nine personality Eddie McGuire was an enthusiastic host.
McGuire, who will host the gold medal events for Nine, couldn’t hide his excitement. “By everyone’s calculations, from Sports Illustrated to BBC to all the best guides, we could get anywhere between 15-20 gold medals,” he said.
“It’s an amazing Australian team. Skateboarding to cycling, surfing to swimming, boxing. Just unbelievable the depth and breadth of what we’ve got.”
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