Source : THE AGE NEWS
The chief executive of streaming service Stan will exit the company amid a significant restructure of Nine Entertainment.
Nine has appointed former Foxtel executive Amanda Laing to lead a converged streaming and broadcast division resulting in the departure of Stan’s Martin Kugeler.
Nine is overhauling its operating model.Credit: Sam Mooy
Nine’s acting chief executive, Matt Stanton, has shrunk the company’s executive leadership team to nine people, including a new director for regulatory affairs, public affairs and communications, James Boyce, who is arriving from Paramount.
Stanton is widely expected to be confirmed as Nine boss before the company’s mid-year earnings call next month, having been given board backing to overhaul the business model.
The company has been reorganised into three consumer-facing divisions: Streaming & Broadcast, Publishing, and Marketplaces. Publishing is led by Tory Maguire and houses The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Under the restructure, Nine.com.au will now also report to Maguire.
The Marketplaces division, led by former chief digital officer Alex Parsons, will focus on getting better returns from digital real estate business Domain and motor vehicle-focused brand Drive across the group.
Credit: Kate Geraghty
Domain, which is 60 per cent owned by Nine, has lagged its rival REA Group domestically, and with Stanton joining the Domain board last year alongside Nine director Mickie Rosen, this latest move highlights the need for the company to make up for lost ground.
Matt James, whose role as Melbourne managing director was made redundant in October by former chief sales officer Michael Stephenson, is tipped to be Stephenson’s permanent replacement, and will continue as acting chief sales officer for now.
Joining Nine before the end of the financial year, Laing will lead the new division bringing together the broadcast operations, free digital streaming platform 9Now, Stan and the radio division, housing stations such as 2GB and 3AW.
Michael Healy, head of television, and radio boss Tom Malone will report to Laing rather than the CEO. Chief marketing officer Liana Dubois will exit the company.
It is a return to Nine for Laing, previously the company’s managing director until 2017. She left her post at Foxtel last year, where she was chief content officer and boss of entertainment streamer Binge.
Former Foxtel executive Amanda Laing joins Nine to lead a new, converged division.Credit: Louie Douvis .
Following Kugeler’s departure, Stan’s chief financial and strategy officer, Dan Taylor, will lead the streamer and report to Laing. The Stan business has recently moved into Nine’s headquarters in North Sydney.
Stanton thanked Kugeler for his “professionalism and dedication” to Stan since its launch 10 years ago.
Stanton said the restructure was the first outcome of a structural review titled Nine2028, which has a focus on simplifying the operating model, leveraging the portfolio of premier media assets and introducing greater accountability.
Acting chief executive Matt Stanton is widely expected to be confirmed as Nine’s boss.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Each of the divisions will be supported by a sales division, product, technology and data capabilities at a group level, Stanton said.
“We’re acutely aware of the silos that exist, resulting in a duplication of efforts and a platform-led mindset. This means for many parts of the business, the power of the Nine Group isn’t being leveraged and our cost base is being impacted. This shift begins today and will ultimately make it easier for you to do your jobs,” he told staff.
The changes mark the next step for Nine in its biggest overhaul since a merger brought it and Fairfax Media together in 2019. The move is an acknowledgement of the depreciating value of the once-crown jewel, broadcast television, which continues to experience a decline in revenue and profits in a more fragmented market, alongside the rise of premium streaming platforms.
In 2024, Nine’s executive team was gutted. Chief executive Mike Sneesby left the company following a string of negative headlines, including over Nine’s handling of historical complaints made against former broadcast news boss Darren Wick, who left in March.
The allegations against Wick prompted Nine to launch a comprehensive review of its workplace, revealing a culture of widespread bullying, abuse of power and sexual harassment at the organisation.
Chair Peter Costello also abruptly left, after a run-in with a News Corp journalist at Canberra Airport.
Former Foxtel and News Corp chief executive Peter Tonagh was announced as a new board director this week, having left his post as deputy ABC chair on Christmas Eve.
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