Brian Gallagher has been appointed commercial director of radio, leading a “revamped sales function” for Nine Radio.
This involves moving the radio sales team outside of Nine’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, as reported by The Age.
Nine is investing in a new commercial structure for its radio business that is says will “both play to its strengths of scale and reach across platforms, while providing greater capability to unlock more advertising opportunities in what talk radio does best – live, local and deeper brand connections with listeners”.
Nonetheless, B&T has heard speculation that this move could eventually pave the way for Nine to sell its radio business, which includes the popular talkback stations 2GB and 3AW.
Although radio has remained resilient in a soft advertising market—Nine’s half yearly audio revenues were up by 2 per cent to $53.6 million— it only accounted for a tiny sliver (4 per cent) of Nine’s total revenue in FY24.
Industry rumours suggest that while Nine is open to selling its radio arm, it may look to grow its media portfolio elsewhere following the sale of Domain. Outdoor media networks, such as oOhMedia! and QMS, have been mentioned by industry sources as potential targets.
In the meantime Gallagher, a former sales chief at Southern Cross Austereo and current chair of the regional media body Boomtown, will be charged with rolling out a new commercial structure in July.
On the appointment, Nine’s chief sales officer Matt James said: “This change to our sales structure builds on our capability to deliver campaigns that can suit clients big or small, national or local, to engage and grow connections with our audiences. Whether it be a multi-platform campaign or more local, immediate and radio specific, it’s the best of both worlds for brands.”
“This is a vote of confidence in the potential growth opportunities that radio presents for Nine. This investment will help drive greater commercial returns from our unique audience offering and enable our teams to elevate our focus on direct sales,” Nine Radio’s managing director, Tom Malone.
“Brian is Australia’s leading radio and audio sales executive and is the perfect choice to deepen the collaboration of our sales division alongside our content and operations teams.”
Brian Gallagher said: “The market for audio advertising has never been more dynamic, driven by audiences embracing our content across multiple platforms. I look forward to our refreshed commercial approach delivering effective audio advertising to a much broader suite of advertisers.”
It is unclear if Gallagher will remain chair of Boomtown. B&T has approached the industry body for clarification.
