Nine chief sales officer says team is ‘focused on the main game’ amidst Sneesby exit and incoming workplace review
There has been a bit going on at the Nine network.
As well as the recent change of company Chair to Catherine West, there are the announcements that Mike Sneesby will be stepping down as CEO at the end of the month, while workplace culture firm, Intersection, is expected to release its report looking into Nine’s workplace and culture – sparked by claims of misconduct against senior executives at the company – in October.
To add some other key elements into the mix, there has also been the rolling disruption of technology and economic pressure on the cost of living internationally.
Appearing on a new episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast series, Michael Stephenson, Nine’s chief sales officer, reinforced the company’s key strengths.
“Today we’re the largest, most diversified, most integrated media business in the country with more Australian content than anybody else, more data than anybody else, more signed-in users than anybody else, and the leaders in technology when it comes to operating in this market,” Stephenson told host Neil Griffiths.
“So everything else around you changes, but the fundamentals and principles of who you are as an individual don’t. And I don’t think… that the fundamentals of advertising have changed that much either. I think generally in the media sales part of the world, revenue has always followed audiences and results. And I don’t think it’s any different today than it was 30 years ago when I started.
“And as a leader, my job on a day to day basis is not to help our team sell more ads. [They are] probably way better at doing that than I am. My job is to [have my] head above the parapet, above the clouds and to be able to see over the next hill, around the next corner and have a sense around what I think is coming in and where I think we need to position our business. And of course, you won’t get that right every time.
“I’m optimistic by design and I should be in my role, but I think people should be optimistic. In my view, there has never been a better time to be in media. There’s never a better time to be in advertising and there’s never been a better time to do that in Australia.
“There is absolutely nothing holding us back. We can lead the world when it comes to measurement. We can lead the world in terms of innovation. We can lead the world in terms of the types of content that we create. We can lead the world in terms of diversification of our revenue opportunities.
“When I reflect back over the last 12 months, and I get asked this a lot, is when’s the market going to return? The reality is, in the last 12 months, the most challenging of economic times, where consumer and business confidence has been low. But the ad market only declined by 1 .6 % in FY24. So advertising continues to prove that it’s incredibly resilient.”
Stephenson said his team is “focused” despite the allegations that have rocked the media giant in recent months.
“I think to be in and around media generally, but certainly to be in advertising and advertise in the commercial part of our business, you need to be highly competitive,” he said.
“Bill Shankly very famously once said, ‘First is first and second is nothing.’ And that’s kind of my mantra. So, I’m fiercely, fiercely competitive with humility and integrity [and] fiercely competitive. And I think in anything, life’s not perfect and nor is business. It’s how you deal with life’s imperfections that will determine how successful you’ll be.
“So, when I’m speaking to our team, we’ve got an amazing group of people, we’ve got a really tight crew. We’ve got an incredible culture. And we’re focused on the main game. The other stuff will happen around the edges, of course. That’s life, but we’re very clear on what our plan is.
“We don’t jump left. We don’t jump right. We’re just focused on the plan and executing. And if we do that, that’ll be us doing our part. And I think that’s what business is about.”
Despite the incoming review and a new CEO to be appointed in due time, Nine still has a very busy period ahead in the short and long term.
As well as its upfronts set to go ahead next month, Nine is already gearing up for the 2032 Olympics to be held in Brisbane after a hugely impressive offering this year.
“Brisbane ’32 is a point in time. It’s a North Star, but it’s not the only stage of the game,” Stephenson said.
“We’ve got a very clear strategy. We’ve got a very senior group of executives. We’re a very tight group. And so our job is to focus on delivering against that.
“Now, do plans change? Of course. Because the environment that you’re operating in changes and you need to be strategic in terms of the way in which you address each of those situations as they arise. We’re very clear on what we need to do. And we’re just going to keep heading in that direction.”
Listen to the full podcast here.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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My experience previously working in sales at Nine was nothing short of exceptional. Whatever cultural issues may have bubbling away elsewhere certainly wasn’t felt in the sales team. The tenure of the sales team speaks volumes to Stepho’s leadership and the culture he created.
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