Speaking on a media call after the release of the Nine Entertainment full-year results, chief executive Mike Sneesby (above) addressed a number of issues. He talked to Mediaweek about subscription growth at Stan. He also addressed the perception that Nine’s publishing division has been singled out for cost-cutting.
Stan subscriptions and learnings from Paris
Twelve months ago the Stan subscriber numbers were reported as sitting on 2.6m. However, the paying subscriber number was 2.2m. This year Nine has reported just the one number, 2.3m paying subscribers.
Speaking to Mediaweek about the numbers, Sneesby explained Stan had managed to grow subscribers every year since launch.
“We used to report on active subscribers for Stan,” explained Sneesby. “The reason we reverted to a paying subscriber data was because of our intention to remove the free trial, which we’ve done now.
“We’ve always seen consistent growth in our paying subs. We saw a lift in that, particularly related to the Olympic Games, both in the underlying Stan Entertainment subscribers, but also more than a 50% lift in Stan Sports subscribers resulting from the Olympic Games.”
When asked about the impact of learnings from Paris and how Nine might monetise properties on Stan in future, Sneesby said:
“Our ability to distribute content across multiple platforms gives us a unique point of difference, both when we go into negotiations, but also then how we deliver that to audiences and ultimately monetise it.
“What we’re seeing from the Olympic Games is our ability to generate revenues across multiple platforms from a singular investment.
“It’s one of those unique demonstrations because it is a self-contained investment with revenues directly attributable to it. It’s one of the best examples that we can break out and show the market.”
Has Nine targeted publishing division for cost-cutting?
There is a perception that Nine has been focused too heavily on its publishing division when it comes to its costs out program.
“That perception is not correct,” said Sneesby. “We made announcements to our staff around intentions across cost reductions in the business and changing our focus, which had an impact on staff and meant voluntary redundancies across our publishing division.
“But that was at a point in time. We made those communications to staff because it was something that was going to impact a large number of people across television and publishing.
“But throughout FY24, in fact, on an ongoing basis, we looked at the structure of our organisation and whilst at that point in time there might have been more people coming from the publishing division, a lot of work was done in FY24 in our television division around cost, and you’ll see that coming through in our guidance.
“We took $65 million of cost out of our business across FY24, of which almost $50 million of that is recurring. If you look at a snapshot at a moment in time, it maybe looks like the numbers are distorted, but we’ve taken cost out right across our organisation. But more importantly, this hasn’t been a year of just taking out cost indiscriminately.
“We have really focused on reshaping our cost base underlying in the business. Whilst cost is coming out, we are also reinvesting. If I look at that example in the publishing space, outside of the voluntary redundancies that have taken place, we are reinvesting back into the business in areas that are determined to be our focus for strong growth.
“Tory Maguire [managing director – publishing] has done a fantastic job at recognising the areas in our business that are going to underpin long-term growth, which is important in terms of delivering outcomes both for the company and for our people, and then prioritising our resources around achieving those objectives.
See also: Tory Maguire appointed as Nine managing director – publishing, succeeding James Chessell
‘Dealing with redundancies the hardest thing to do’
“I will just reiterate that as a leader and a CEO, dealing with the thought of redundancies and the management of costs, particularly as it relates to individuals and their personal circumstances, is absolutely one of the hardest things that you have to do. But it’s important that this business is strong and sustainable into the future.
“Otherwise, we aren’t able to invest in all important public interest journalism, we aren’t able to invest in our people and we aren’t able to grow the business. There are a range of tough decisions, but they are the right decisions that we’ve had to make.”
See also: Nine Entertainment full year results – Small fall in revenue sends profit down 28%