The media industry’s year was filled with shock resignations,succession plans and landmark court rulings.
The scandal-prone former minister is now CEO of an online shopping portal that accuses foreign competitors of ‘destroying’ Australian retail.
ARN has teamed up with private equity firm Anchorage to buy the rival radio broadcaster,having taken a 14.9 per cent stake a few months ago.
The ASX-listed media heavyweight’s shareholders are hoping for a lift in fortunes after a torrid couple of years for the company.
Grant Blackley is leaving the company,which owns Triple M,after an eight-year stint as CEO that coincided with the pandemic and a share price fall of nearly 80 per cent.
Grant Blackley,one of Australian media’s longest serving leaders and the man who rolled out radio brands Triple M and Hit around the country,will begin a handover as he passes on the reins to long-time colleague John Kelly.
The media company’s profits have dropped,as radio revenue fell and chief executive Grant Blackley acknowledged the television market is on the decline.
Allan Gray’s Simon Mawhinney said there was an elephant in the room for Southern Cross:“Is Spotify going to kill it?”
Southern Cross Austereo appointed an external firm for the first time to look for a potential successor to its longstanding CEO.
Radio and regional television company Southern Cross Media has lost about $17 million in revenue from a regional affiliate partner switch that took place in July.
In a letter to Communications Minister Paul Fletcher in March last year,the three regional TV bosses warned that some services,including news and current affairs,could soon be turned off. After that,they said they could experience complete market failure.