Nine Entertainment’s sweeping restructure has claimed senior newsroom staff as the company pushes through major cost-saving measures.
The full impact of Nine Entertainment’s latest cost-cutting round is beginning to emerge, with job losses confirmed across multiple divisions — including senior newsroom figures in Brisbane and widespread cuts in Sydney, where staff describe morale as “rock bottom”.
The redundancies follow the internal email sent on Monday morning by Managing Director of Streaming and Broadcast, Amanda Laing, who informed employees that the network would undergo “structural changes across News, Sport, Stan, Marketing and our Creative functions” in a move designed to “reduce duplication, drive greater collaboration and deliver commercial growth for the Nine Group.”
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However, as the changes begin to take effect, staff at Nine News and Wide World of Sports are now facing the sharp edge of the company’s $100 million cost-out program, which was reaffirmed at the broadcaster’s annual general meeting last week.
Adelaide newsreader axed amid national restructure
The latest departure is longtime Nine News Adelaide presenter Kate Collins, whose contract will not be renewed — just days after she fronted the network’s coverage of the city’s Christmas Pageant.
Collins was absent from Monday night’s bulletin, with co-presenter Brenton Ragless reading the news solo. According to The Advertiser, the move came as a “huge shock” to Collins, who was reportedly “absolutely blindsided” by the decision.
Kate Collins a familiar face to Adelaide viewers and co-anchor of Nine News for more than a decade, has become the latest casualty of the network’s restructure after being told her contract will not be renewed. (image – Channel 9)
Brisbane newsroom hit by senior departures
According to a report by The Courier-Mail, the first casualties of the Brisbane restructure include long-serving Nine News Queensland sports reporter Jonathan Uptin, whose contract has not been renewed. Supervising Producer of Presentation and Promotion Leon Cull and Operations Co-ordinator Jessica Llewelyn have also been informed that their positions are being made redundant.
One newsroom insider told the paper that morale was “flat and uncertain”, with more forced redundancies expected over the coming weeks if voluntary departures do not meet targets.
It is understood Bronte Gildea, who has been presenting sport on recent bulletins, is expected to replace Uptin on the sports desk. Gildea is also the partner of Brisbane Broncos player Patrick Carrigan.
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Sydney newsroom hardest hit
While Brisbane has experienced a handful of high-profile departures, Nine’s Sydney newsroom is understood to have been the hardest hit by the restructuring process.
The network’s Wide World of Sports division has also experienced job losses. The cuts come at a sensitive time for Nine, which is both the Olympic Network and is currently competing hard to renew its NRL broadcast rights deal.
In a message sent to Sydney newsroom staff on Monday morning, News Director Michael Best said he was holding consultation meetings with impacted team members and aimed to
“complete these meetings as soon as possible, ideally by the end of today where feasible, to provide clarity.”
“I understand this is a time of uncertainty and I want to assure you that my priority is to support everyone through this process.”
In contrast, Nine’s Melbourne newsroom has so far been largely untouched by the cuts, while teams working on The Today Show have also avoided major structural change.
The broadcaster has told TV Blackbox that consultation remains ongoing across its Streaming and Broadcast division, which brings together teams from Stan, Channel 9 and 9Now.
“The new operating model formally brings together teams across Stan, Channel 9 and 9Now,” a Nine spokesperson said.
“It is designed to reduce duplication, drive greater collaboration and deliver commercial growth for Nine, while working to offset the challenging external advertising market.
Our primary focus during the consultation is supporting these team members through access to our employee wellbeing provider, as well as exploring redeployment opportunities within the broader Nine Group.”
Industry pressures continue to bite
Nine currently employs around 2,900 people across its broadcast and streaming operations. The company’s latest restructure follows a broader realignment earlier this year that merged its free-to-air, digital and streaming divisions under a single executive structure — effectively ending Stan’s role as a standalone business.
The latest measures form part of a cost-saving program designed to offset weakening advertising revenue. In its most recent trading update, Nine reported that Total TV revenue for September and October was “down mid to high single digits” year-on-year.
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Despite the challenges, the network remains committed to expanding its digital and streaming footprint, with executives emphasising that the changes are designed to make the business “fit for the future”.
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