With the redundancies/company restructure, I could see Hamish McLachlan not returning, a quiet exit upon return from his Europe trip?
I mean he might even choose to walk, not sure what contractual ramifications that would pose, but given Lewis Martin now gone and theyâve not only lost the rights to the tennis but also Olympics.
What was he really doing on the AFL anyway, bar last year calling Saturday nights, after they lost Saturday afternoons from 2017 he was mainly hosting Friday night and marquee game pre/half time/post coverages. Not exactly substantial.
She was only in the position since January this year.
Things canât be good is sheâs choosing to leave after only 5 months.
My guess is she can see the writing on the wall.
Replacement announced;
Katie Finney appointed National Television Sales Director
Seven West Media today announced the appointment of Katie Finney to the new role of National Television Sales Director, effective immediately.
Reporting to Group Managing Director, Seven Television, Angus Ross, Ms Finney will be responsible for Sevenâs market-leading national television sales team. She will work closely with Sevenâs National Digital Sales Director, Rachel Page, and with Vikki Friscic, who was appointed to the new role of Head of Sales Strategy and Enablement earlier this week.
Seven West Media also today announced the resignation of National Sales Director, Television, Georgie Nichols. She will remain with the company until early August to assist with the transition.
Mr Ross said: âIâm very pleased to welcome Katie to her new role and look forward to working closely with her. Katie has been with Seven for more than 20 years, most recently as Director of 7RED, and her passion for Seven and television is unmatched. No one has a deeper understanding of our business or is better placed to help take us forward.
âKatie will be working closely with Rachel to ensure we deliver cross-screen synergies and audience-led solutions across the screens of Seven. Both Katie and Rachel will work hand in glove with Vikki on creating and executing the best strategies for Seven and our clients.
âOn behalf of everyone at Seven, Iâd like to sincerely thank Georgie for her contribution over the past six years. She made the decision to explore new opportunities several weeks ago and will leave with our gratitude and very best wishes,â he said.
Ms Finney said âItâs a privilege to take on this role as we transform Seven for the future. With the best content to engage audiences at scale and an incredible sales team that leverages these audiences with strategic opportunities, we are uniquely positioned to connect brands to consumers.
âI could not be more excited to work with our agency and client partners to drive long- term, future-facing business outcomes.â
Another departure
TV Tonight understands Lucio Ribeiro, Director Marketing, Digital and Innovation, has also departed after a year in the role. He has also been Tech and Marketing Contributor at The Nightly since May. He was previously Director of Technology, Innovation and Activation at Optus and Lecturer In Digital Marketing at RMIT.
If Disney wasnât looking at selling off ABC, it would be a natural buyer for Seven.
I wonder if Seven and Nine that lost out in funding from Meta will start to report negatively on the company now. Something that they perhaps had been avoided in the past.
The dark underbelly of social media has been exposed, as tech giants faced a grilling by politicians in Canberra. The bosses of Meta flat out denied that children are being harmed, but the inquiry heard how some have been driven to suicide. https://t.co/VZ3A1cHvFd #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/iRfeldrjRy
â 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) June 29, 2024
Why? Disney has more or less become a streaming-reliant company, with the possible exception being ESPN. Cheaper content deals and content pipelines can only take a network so far. What Seven needs is a business model and ownership that can find a way to make their assets work across both digital and linear spaces so they can coexist and not overshadow their supporting platforms. Think ITV/ITVX, Channel 4, BBC/iPlayer/Sounds.
They donât have the content to supply a service like that, whatâs why scale is important.
According to Sunday Herald Sunâs Jon Anderson, Lewis Martin was said to have quietly left Seven on Thursday with a very generous payout and a gift of some significance. Anderson wrote that Martin could end up with an executive role with the AFL.
Another example of why mostly shuttering Seven Studios was such a waste. They really could have been well positioned to produce their own shows.
Not just producing their own, but earning additional or different sources of revenue by distributing or on-selling them.
Original shows like Back to the Rafters on Prime Video, or second window rights for reality shows they produced such as Instant Hotel, Zumboâs Just Desserts, Yummy Mummies etc. which went to Netflix.
Content is king,
Or Fam Time 
I tried watching the first 15 mins of Ep01, and started falling asleep lol so turned it off if thatâs indicative of the rest of the season.
Exactly!! They had the option of adapting their business right in front of them. For some reason they dropped it. They were probably the most successful at in-house productions too. Itâs so bizarre they stopped that strategy. The executive spearheading it must have left. Iâd imagine thereâd be a bit of pressure from the independent producers to drop it too.
A much better investment would have been continuing with Seven Studios, than acquiring say their regional affiliate in Prime.
Chris Jones appointed Director, Network Sport
New heads of AFL, horse racing, cricket and digital announced
Seven West Media today announced the appointment of Chris Jones to the new role of Director, Network Sport, effective immediately.
Mr Jones was previously Executive Producer of Sevenâs cricket coverage. Over the past 20 years, he has worked on AFL, cricket, summer and winter Olympics, US Masters, Australian Open tennis, Australian Open golf and more. In his new role, he will report to Sevenâs Chief Content Officer, Brook Hall.
In further appointments, Sevenâs AFL Executive Producer, Gary OâKeeffe, has been elevated to the new role of Head of AFL and Sport Innovation; horse racing Executive Producer Andrew Hore-Lacy has been named Head of Horse Racing; motor sport Executive Producer Kirsty Bradmore becomes Head of Sport Digital; and cricket and horse racing Producer Joel Starcevic has been appointed Head of Cricket.
Mr Hall said: âSport is part of Sevenâs DNA and a key reason why we are the most- watched television and digital network. We have a long and proud history of bringing the best local and international sport to all Australians for free. That continues today, with the AFL, the AFLW, the Brownlow Medal, Test cricket, the BBL, the WBBL, horse racing, Supercars, surfing, the NFL, golf, netball, hockey and much, much more.
âChris has been an integral part of our sport team for many years, producing some amazing moments and iconic content. I canât think of anyone better to lead our sport coverage.â
Mr Jones joined Seven in 2000 as a junior reporter. After stints at Nine Network and Thrive PR, he returned to Seven as a Senior Sport Producer in 2009. He was appointed an Executive Producer in 2018.
In his new role, Mr Jones will lead a team that includes Mr OâKeeffe; Mr Hore-Lacy; Ms Bradmore; Mr Starcevic; Executive Producer, Motor Sport, Angela Rampal; Head of Sport Production, Greg Smith; and Head of Sport Production Management, Lisa Peach.
Mr Jones said: âWe have assembled a trusted and energetic leadership team who love their sport and will continue to innovate.
âI feel privileged to have worked with and learnt from some of the best in the business and now alongside our entire 7SPORT team, I canât wait to evolve our coverage.
âWe are on the eve of an exciting new era here at Seven with the addition of digital rights for both footy and cricket. This means every single Australian will have access to live and free coverage via 7plus and broadcast. Canât wait to get stuck in.â