Nine CEO Mike Sneesby “Happy With The Commercial Outcome” Of $305m Olympic Swoop

Nine CEO Mike Sneesby “Happy With The Commercial Outcome” Of $305m Olympic Swoop
Sofia Geraghty
By Sofia Geraghty



Channel Nine’s CEO Mike Sneesby said he is happy with the commercial outcome of Nine’s $305million deal to host the Olympic games for 10-years, adding that he thinks the “numbers are at the right level”. 

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Sneesby said he wasn’t “going to go into the details of whether we [Nine] forecast profitability or not” but that Nine is very “disciplined in its approach” and has shown that it isn’t afraid to “walk away from deals that don’t make sense”. 

Advertising will be the main source of income for Nine, with Sneesby saying: “the majority of the revenue that we expect for the Olympic Games will still be through advertising revenue, but of course across a more diverse range of platforms.”

“It’s the same set of calculations, just a few extra lines here.”

A blow for Seven?

Commenting on whether this is a blow for Seven, who previously held the rights for the games, Sneesby said: “whilst there’s competition between the network’s very clearly, we focus our competitive attention on the broader set of media players.”

“It’s no longer a world like it was in the 80s and 90s, where it was free commercial networks who are vying for a singular form of money. There’s a much broader media landscape now.”

“It’s all about the broad media landscape, the way that digital is transforming consumers viewing behaviours, and how nine positions itself the leader now and into the future.” 

Subscriptions Not Ruled Out But Big Events Will Be Free

Despite the focus on advertising revenue, Beesby didn’t rule out paid subscriptions saying: “we do have the opportunity for other sorts of revenue or to support other sorts of revenue like subscription revenues.”

In accordance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) big games will be free. 

“We are absolutely committed to Australians and to the IOC and will  continue to broadcast and stream the Olympic Games live and free for the biggest events.”

Whilst details are yet to be finalised, Sneesby said viewers and advertisers can expect the Olympics to be broadcast across a wide range of platforms. 

“We have communicated to the market around the importance of these key sporting events to help drive television.”

“And when I say television, I mean television not just in the broadcast sense but television through streaming 9Now and Stan, but  as I mentioned before, the opportunity for distribution of that content across a broader range of channels”

Audio Is Key

Audio is a key focus for Nine, Sneesby said. 

“Again, details not yet finalised but you’re gonna expect to see a greater range of content available on our digital publishing platforms from our mastheads through to our broader set of digital assets, like nine.com.au, and also radio, radio broadcasts and radio streaming, of which the audio rights are also included in this deal.” 

“So we will certainly be delivering this content on a much broader set of platforms.”

Earlier this year, Nine named one of Australia’s most experienced ad tech and digital executives, Esther Carlsen, as Nine’s commercial director – digital audio. 

Diversity And Inclusion

Speaking on diversity and inclusion, Sneesby said purpose would be very important to its coverage of the games. 

“The Olympic Movement itself is a very purpose driven organisation. And that really resonated with us as we were going through the process.”

“A lot of discussion is already taking place around how we think about the Olympic movement, and the values that sit behind it, between each Olympic Games for the flame to flame, content opportunity to work together. So that is an important part of this, of this partnership.” 




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