In a press conference following the release of Nine Entertainment’s annual results, the CEO said Mike Sneesby (above) addressed a number of topics. He spoke to Media Week about subscriber growth at Stan. He also addressed the perception that Nine’s publishing division was being hit by cost-cutting.
Stan subscriptions and insights from Paris
Twelve months ago, Stan’s subscriber count was 2.6 million. However, the number of paying subscribers was 2.2 million. This year, Nine has reported only one number: 2.3 million paying subscribers.
In conversation with Media Week Regarding the numbers, Sneesby explained that Stan has managed to gain more subscribers every year since its launch.
“Previously, we only reported active subscribers for Stan,” Sneesby explained. “The reason we went back to paying subscriber data was because we intended to remove the free trial, which we have now done.”
“We have always seen consistent growth in our paying subscribers. We have seen an increase, particularly around the Olympics, in both the underlying Stan Entertainment subscribers, but also Stan Sports subscribers, which increased by more than 50% due to the Olympics.”
When asked about the implications of the Paris findings and how Nine might monetize real estate on Stan in the future, Sneesby said:
“Our ability to distribute content across multiple platforms gives us a unique selling point, both in terms of negotiations and in how we deliver it to audiences and ultimately monetize it.
“At the Olympics, we see that we can generate revenue across platforms with a single investment.
“It’s one of those unique demonstrations because it’s a self-contained investment with revenues directly attributable. It’s one of the best examples we can show the market.”
Has Nine targeted the publishing division to cut costs?
There is a perception that Nine has focused too heavily on its publishing division in its cost-cutting program.
“That perception is incorrect,” Sneesby said. “We communicated to our employees our intentions regarding cost reductions in the company and a change in our focus, which had an impact on employees and resulted in voluntary layoffs across our publishing division.”
“But that was at a specific point in time. We made these communications to employees because It was something that would impact a huge number of people in television and the publishing industry..
“But throughout the 2024 fiscal year, we continually looked at the structure of our organization, and although perhaps more people came from the publishing department at that time, In the 2024 financial year, our television department did a lot of work in the areas of costand you will see this clearly in our guide.
“We saved $65 million in costs in fiscal year 2024, of which nearly $50 million is recurring. If you look at a snapshot, it may look like the numbers are skewed, but we saved costs across our entire business. But more importantly: This was not a year of indiscriminate cost cutting.
“We have really focused on redesigning our cost base, which is the basis of the business. As costs come down, we also reinvest. When I look at this example In publishing, apart from the voluntary layoffs that have taken place, we are reinvesting in the business in areas that will be our focus for strong growth.
“Tory Maguire (Managing Director – Publishing) has done a fantastic job of identifying the areas of our business that will provide the foundation for long-term growth, which is important to achieving results for both the business and our people, and then prioritizing our resources according to achieving those goals.
See also: Tory Maguire is appointed Managing Director – Publishing of Nine, succeeding James Chessell
“Layoffs are the most difficult task”
“I would like to stress again that it is absolutely difficult for a manager and CEO to deal with layoffs and cost management, especially when it comes to individuals and their personal circumstances. But It is important that this business remains strong and sustainable in the future.
“Otherwise we cannot invest in the important journalism that matters to the public interest, we cannot invest in our people and we cannot grow the business. There are a number of difficult decisions, but they are the right decisions we had to make.”
See also: Nine Entertainment annual results – Slight decline in sales causes profit to fall by 28%
