CEO Mike Sneesby quits Nine Entertainment

Mike Sneesby has called it quits as chief executive of Nine Entertainment, just weeks after he faced a public backlash for admonishing striking journalists and amid a background of dwindling ad revenue and a cultural review now under way across the group’s television business.

He will also give up his board seat on his final day at the publisher and broadcaster at the end of September.

In an email reportedly sent to staff on Thursday morning, Mr Sneesby said the past year had been “one of the most challenging in my career – one where our resilience has been tested”.

“In consultation with my family and those close to me, I made a personal decision to consider new opportunities in 2024 after seeing through the important work we are doing around our workplace culture and the outcomes of the cultural review,” he said.

“Despite the intensity of the scrutiny, my focus has not wavered from achieving the best outcomes for our people and for Nine.”

Shares in Nine crashed 4.6 per cent on the news to $1.18, before closing the day 0.83 per cent higher at $1.21.The stock has lost more than 40 per cent since the start of the year and is down almost 60 per cent under Mr Sneesby’s three-and-a-half year watch.

Mr Sneesby became a target of ridicule ahead of the Paris Olympic Games when he was seen running through the streets of the French captial with the Olympic torch just weeks after announcing dozens of job cuts.

He was also criticised for attacking hundreds of striking journalists within Nine’s publishing division who walked off the job for five days over a protracted pay dispute.

An email sent by Mr Sneesby at the time to union members said he was “profoundly disappointed” at the action which came “on the eve of one of the biggest news events on the planet”..

Staff from WA Today, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Australian Financial Review and The Brisbane Times were among those who walked off the job, greatly disrupting Nine’s coverage of the first few days of the Olympics.

In a statement on Thursday, Nine said Mr Sneesby and the board considered now the right time for a transition of leadership “to take Nine into the next phase of its strategic transformation”.

Chief finance and strategy officer Matt Stanton will be appointed acting chief executive from October 1 while Nine starts the search for a replacement.

The shake-up comes at a tricky time for the media group, which is reeling from a big fall in traditional advertising revenue, hundreds of redundancies and a cultural review of the television side of the business.

Last month Nine reported that bottom-line full-year earnings fell 31 per cent to $134.9 million in the year to June 30 on the back of “challenging economic and advertising market conditions”.

Group revenue was 3 per cent lower at $2.62 billion.

The weaker results hit Mr Sneesby and other senior bosses at Nine in the hip pocket, with the leadership missing out on maximum short and long-term term bonuses after the group undershot performance targets.

Despite higher fixed pay of $1.5m, Mr Sneesby’s total remuneration for the 2024 financial year fell $574,000 to $2.12m. The pay included $521,117 in bonuses, down from $1.28m previously and well short of the $2.375m on offer.

It capped a year to forget for Nine, which was also rocked by the sudden resignation of its chair Peter Costello and scrutiny of its handling of historical complaints against former Nine news and current affairs chief Darren Wick.

It also announced in June that it would sack 200 workers, including 90 from the publishing division.

Mr Costello stepped down in June, just days after an altercation with a journalist at Canberra Airport.

Video taken by the journalist appeared to show him being shouldered by Mr Costello while asking him questions about the sexual harassment and bullying scandals that were plaguing Nine.

Mr Wick stepped down in March with a payout from Mr Sneesby, but allegations of inappropriate behaviour targeting female staff at functions including Christmas parties have since emerged, sparking a review which is due to report next month.

Before becoming chief executive, Mr Sneesby had been in charge of streaming service Stan since its launch in 2013.

Mr Sneesby said it had been a “privilege” to lead Nine during “significant change in the media landscape in Australia” but the time was right to stand down.

“I take great pride in the achievements of the company during my time as CEO and thank the board, the leadership team and everyone at Nine for their support during my tenure,” he said.

Rough start to Olympics coverage

Along with the disruption of striking journalists, it was also revealed Nine was quoted $1.2 million for its executive leadership and star talent to stay at a luxury hotel in Paris that leaked internal documents describe as “similar to Paddington”.

The corporate largesse came as rolling strike action over job cuts jeopardises the media company’s coverage of the Games.

Leaked internal documents reveal Nine considered a number of up-market hotels for its senior leadership and talent to stay in 20 rooms, including Le Pavillion de la Reine where chief executive officer Mike Sneesby is staying over the course of the Olympics at a quoted cost of up to $2500 a night.

The documents state that Le Pavilion is the “preferred hotel” and that the 2,420 square foot spa includes “two treatment booths, a gym and a jacuzzi as well as a steam bath”.

The revelations came amid reports Nine journalists sent to Paris to cover the Olympics were dissatisfied with their accommodation, which includes a hotel above a McDonald’s fast food restaurant in the 13th Arrondissement.