Job cuts at Seven signal a weakened appetite for spending on sports in Australia
As if the job market wasn’t looking grim enough for media, yesterday came news in Australia that broadcaster Seven is going to take the greatest hit as parent company Southern Cross Media sheds 250-300 jobs.
It follows a profit downgrade that Southern Cross Media intends to tackle with $150 million in marked cost reductions across the company. A good chunk of those savings will come from the reduced head count.
The timing of this adds a major wrinkle to one of the big news stories in Australian media, which involves the looming sports rights for the National Rugby League (NRL).
As Colin Kruger and Calum Jaspan reported yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald:
Southern Cross also announced $65 million to $70 million in write-downs of legacy TV content, contracts which have not delivered the commercial benefits expected.
The company did not specify which legacy contracts were becoming a problem, but Seven West was part of the $4.5 billion AFL broadcast rights deal with Foxtel in September 2022, and it also has broadcast rights for the cricket, horse racing, Supercars, and Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Right now the NRL is trying to gin up enthusiasm from Australian commercial broadcasters Seven, Nine, and Ten as it sells its broadcast coverage for 2028-2033. The league is reportedly seeking a $3-4 billion payday, following rival sport AFL’s $4.5 billion deal in 2022.
I don’t think there’s anyone in Australian media who believe that the NRL will get the price it is hoping for. But does this news at Seven completely upend the perception of the value live sports deliver to Australian TV broadcasters?
These NRL rights are going to tell us a lot about the state of television in Australia. They will tell us who has the money to spend on sporting rights locally and who is even interested in spending that sort of money.
And if that competition for sporting rights isn’t there from commercial broadcasters, how much longer can the anti-siphoning rules continue to protect Australian viewers from having to pay for sports seen to be culturally important?
Of course, if Seven does surprise us all and put in a monster bid for the NRL, the velocity of jaws hitting the floor will only be matched by fists raised in anger.
News Desk
Former dog owner and reality show cop Jennifer Lawrence will star in One Month Mark, a romcom for Apple. Read: Variety
Tucci in Italy is getting a spin-off on Nat Geo. It’ll be titled Tucci in Great Britain and he’ll explore the “truly rich food culture of Great Britain”. No, really. Read: THR
More recurring actors have been announced for the UK-set season 6 of Only Murders in The Building. The name that jumped out the most at me: Geri Halliwell. Read: Variety
This THR article on Widow’s Bay is quite clearly one of those efforts to keep the show in the minds of Emmy voters (which it should… it’s the best new show of 2026 so far) and does such a good job of talking it up that I think I want to give it a rewatch. And the first season isn’t even done yet – the season finale streams next week. Read: THR
And speaking of Widow’s Bay, the show has been given an official greenlight for season 2 by Apple TV. Read: THR
ITV is labelling the World Cup as its “Super Bowl moment” with ad revenue 30% above what it took from the Euro 2024. “This will be our most commercially successful tournament ever,” ITV’s Kelly Williams said. Read: The Guardian
Several months into filming, the new Baywatch series production team are now finally allowed to park vehicles overnight at Venice Beach. Read: Variety
You’re The Worst creator Stephen Falk is writing a TV series adaptation of the movie Hit Man for Netflix. ABW suggests that if Glen Powell is to star in a TV series alongside his blossoming movie career, a Hit Man series would be a better use of his time and talent than that terrible Chad Powers show on Hulu. Read: Deadline
Australia’s Network 10 will launch a free-to-air channel in August, bringing a one-hour delayed broadcast of its full schedule in metro markets. I’m not convinced that the show I’m not interested in watching now will seem more appealing in sixty minutes-time. Read: IF
Disney+ has announced its first Canadian original productions: true crime series I’m Not Coming Back and an eight-part comedy from Kids In The Hall’s Bruce McCulloch titled Knighted. As an aside, I guess it is probably time that I give up hope on another series of Prime Video’s KiTH reboot, right? Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
Little House on The Prarie debuts on Netflix July 9.
The close-knit Ingalls family builds a new life on the Western frontier, where the joys of nature and the struggle for survival are deeply intertwined.
Lioness is back for season 3 on Paramount+ August 2.
Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness debuts on HBO Max June 26.
Those who don't know history... are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it.
Thunder 3 debuts on Netflix July 8.
Thunder 3 is a story centered on the unbreakable bond between three childhood friends as they embark on a desperate search for a missing girl. The series follows Pyontaro, an ordinary middle schooler, and his two best friends, Tsubame and Hiroshi - a trio known as the Small 3. Their lives are upended when Pyontaro's cheerful younger sister, Futaba, suddenly vanishes. Joining forces to find her, their search quickly escalates into a profound adventure that takes them far beyond their wildest imagination.
Notes From The Last Row debuts on Netflix June 26.
A failed writer-turned-professor finds rare talent in a student's writing - and grows obsessed with his draft as their private lessons go off course.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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