Southern Cross Media Group has appointed Seven’s sport lead Chris Jones to the newly-created role of director of sport across TV, audio and streaming. In this new position, Jones will oversee the strategic direction of Seven and SCA’s combined sport portfolios.
He will be responsible for driving a unified sport strategy that scales and grows the group’s footprint across broadcast television, audio, digital, publishing and social platforms. In addition, he will lead sports rights negotiations on behalf of the entire group.
Jones has more than two decades of industry experience and was most recently director of network sport at Seven.
He has spent more than 16 years with the network in senior leadership and production roles, including six years as executive producer of 7Cricket.
Jones has helped Seven manage broadcasts for major sporting events, including the AFL, the Australian Open, the US Masters, the Rio Olympic Games and the Spring Racing Carnival.
This role brings together the assets of 7Sport, Triple M and LiSTNR under a single structure. The complementary audience reach of the business is already delivering massive results. “It’s a privilege to lead this merged team of some of the country’s most talented on and off-air broadcasters,” Jones said.
“Working closely with (SCA’s head of sport) Ewan Giles and the SCA sport team, we now have an incredible opportunity to capitalise on our strengths, allowing us to share talent, resources, and ideas seamlessly while protecting what makes each brand distinctive.
“Bringing our sports offering together marks a major evolution in content consumption. By elevating digital and social media alongside traditional TV and audio broadcasts, we will capture fans who engage with content far beyond our traditional assets. Every platform matters, every audience matters, and everyone on our team plays a role across all assets.”
Jones will report to Seven’s Managing Director, TV and Streaming, Angus Ross, while working closely with Managing Director and CEO, Rohan Lund and the business’ core strategic pillars including Managing Director – Audio, John Kelly and SWM WA CEO, Maryna Fewster to drive the joint strategy.
“Chris has an incredible track record with Seven and the broader sporting industry. Having worked closely with Triple M over the years, it makes perfect sense to extend his expertise across audio to lead negotiations across all pillars,” Ross said.
“Chris has live sport in his DNA and has spent over 20 years delivering every major sporting code across the country. He has the deep respect of the sporting codes and a proven history of delivering great outcomes for the game, and bringing all these assets together under one sports strategy is a massive win for our audiences and advertisers.”
Southern Cross managing director of audio, John Kelly, said: “By working closer with Seven under Chris’ leadership we are unlocking a powerful cross-medium ecosystem. For our audiences, it means the country’s most comprehensive sports coverage, and for our clients and partners, it provides an unprecedented scale to reach highly engaged fans at every hour of the day.”
Beyond dedicated sports programs, the unified sports division will play an active role in supporting, promoting, and launching entertainment and news assets across the entire company including 7NEWS, Sunrise, The Morning Show, Seven’s Western Australian assets, and the broader audio and TV platforms.
For advertisers, the combined entity provides substantial scale and cross-platform synergy, offering the unique ability to reach diverse, highly engaged audiences at every hour of the day.
