The changes don’t stop in the Australian media landscape, with a shakeup for regional newsrooms and rights to the EPL potentially on the move

Ben Willee, Executive Director of Media and Data at Spinach Advertising, welcomes in the New Year as he talks to Deborah Knight on 2GB Radio’s Money News, about Nine’s cut to regional newsrooms, subscription models in journalism, Optus selling the EPL rights to Nine and more.

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Ben Willee, General Manager and Media Director for Spinach Advertising

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Deborah Knight (Host)

Welcome back. Well, Christmas is meant to be a quieter period for the big moves in business, but there has been no shortage of activity in the world of media and marketing over the past month, that Money News has been on hiatus. There is so much for us to dive into with our regular chat with Ben Willee, General Manager and Media Director for Spinach Advertising, who joins us now. Ben, great to have you back with us for 2025.

Ben Willee

G’day Deb, welcome back. Isn’t it an exciting time?

Deborah Knight (Host)

I tell you what, it’s hard to keep up, but let’s start close to home because there’s a lot going on still at the Nine Network, which owns this radio station. The cuts keep coming. And this week, jobs have gone from both the Gold Coast and the Northern Territory newsrooms. Nine’s pulled out of news in the Top End altogether, leaving the ABC as the only media outlet with a nightly NT news. Journalism, Ben in 2025, is still facing some big pressures.

Ben Willee

Oh, ain’t that the truth, Deb. I couldn’t agree with you more for the first one of the year. It’s sad, isn’t it? Regional TV is really, really challenged, and audiences have voted with their ears and their eyeballs, and there just isn’t enough money to pay for these local broadcasts. So, you know, the government is now the only one left under the banner of the ABC delivering that local news. And I think it’s a really sad thing for the people of those markets.

Deborah Knight (Host)

And it’s a sad thing, too, because those regional outlets are big training grounds or have been traditionally for journalists in the past.

Ben Willee

Yeah. And, you know, the funny thing about this is that journalism isn’t free and it isn’t cheap. And, one day, I think a whole bunch of people in Australia will wake up and say, “where have all the journalists gone?” Oh well, TikTok doesn’t employ journalists. Oh, what a surprise.

Deborah Knight (Host)

Yeah, yeah, it’s a reckoning, that’s for sure. And look, Nine’s also continuing to overhaul its executive ranks. Amanda Lang has come back to Nine after last being with Foxtel. A lot of praise for her as an operator. But do you think that those executive changes are going to be enough to calm Nine investors and to help the share price?

Ben Willee

Well, I was surprised because they’re really, really big moves from an acting CEO. So that might suggest a bit of confidence from the board or the possibility that job will be permanent. Yeah. Amanda Lang, who is a very, very competent and capable exec, has been appointed to one of the three divisions that Nine’s broken itself into. And the three are Streaming and Broadcast, Publishing and then Market Places. So Amanda Lang’s remit will cover Stan, Nine Now the catch up TV, obviously the broadcast TV and radio, which makes her your boss.

Deborah Knight (Host)

She’s my boss. Yeah. She’s lovely. I think she’s fabulous. I know where my bread buttered.

Ben Willee

But look, she’s just come back from some stints at Foxtel and Binge where by all accounts she’s done a fantastic job. So I think that’s a great move by the board and Matt Stanton and I look forward to seeing her impact.

Deborah Knight (Host)

And returning faces. The Financial Review’s Joe Aston is back with a regular column, and he’s also got this new subscription business model that he’s launched. Is he a pioneer, do you think, for what could be a new approach to media, more journalists with big followings going it alone?

Ben Willee

Well, it’s a resounding yes for me on that one. And I’m sure my local dry cleaner is considering a subscription model. Subscription models the new black. But I’m just delighted that he’s back in Australia because who didn’t enjoy some parts of his book, The Chairman’s Lounge?

Deborah Knight (Host)

And his regular columns through Rear Window were just so insightful as well as breaking news. And he’s a brilliant writer.

Ben Willee

Yeah. Look, he really is. And I think most people will happily pay for that. And if paying a few bucks a month means proper investigative journalism and reporting, and fewer stories cobbled together from Twitter, well, that’s definitely a win for the subscribers. So yeah, count me in on that one.

Deborah Knight (Host)

Yeah, Rampart is the name of his new subscription model, be interesting to see how it goes. And look, I know that sport is the big drawcard for media and for streaming. Although Tony Jones had Nine a bit nervous after getting Novak Djokovic offside, that seems to have calmed down a bit, which is good, but what do you think Ben of this talk of Optus selling its popular sports streaming platform, including the EPL, to Nine?

Ben Willee

Well I always thought the a phone company owning sports rights was a bit like asking a fish to ride a bike. You know, it’s a good effort, but it’s not quite natural. So a streaming service is far more the natural habitat for sports rights. And I think if it arrives on Stan, that’s even better because Stan owned by this network, and the Nine Group of companies could possibly bring some games to free-to-air, I’m speculating here, but I mean, really, that’s a natural place for people to pay for this sort of content. The English Premier League is excellent content, and we’ll be watching this one closely. I think that’s a that’s a really clever move, and I think that it’ll be good for the broadcast and also for the viewers.

Deborah Knight (Host)

And do you think that the sports streamer DAZN which we completely mashed up the pronunciation of last year, but I’ve nailed now, but they’re buying Foxtel. Is that going to shake up the sports rights landscape here in Australia?

Ben Willee

Well, this might be the biggest story of 2024, 2025. And there’s a few layers to it. So you might have to indulge me. So the DAZN of spent $3.4 billion on Foxtel. Now the connection is they’re getting funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund which is interesting right. Because their budgets are infinite. Return on investment seems more of a polite suggestion than an actual goal. And their pockets are deeper than the Mariana Trench. So really, you know, the people at the NRL will be delighted with this because they’re out in market now looking to do a new broadcast rights deal. They want someone with deep pockets because they want to go close to the AFL’s $643 million a season, they’re quite a way off that now. So really DAZN have bought, you know, they haven’t just written a blank cheque that bought the whole bank, which is fantastic. And the bank is really valuable. But there’s one part of that jigsaw that they need to secure long term, which is the NRL and that negotiation is going to play out quite publicly. And it’s going to be fascinating for anyone who’s got an interest in sports rights to watch in the next six months.

Deborah Knight (Host)

But that might be where Amanda Lang comes into her own at Nine, because she’s a very good negotiator when it comes to sports rights and has been in the past, but will watch that space. And look just finally Ben, we know that sport is one area that Netflix has said it’s not going to venture into. The streaming giant reported record growth and more subscribers this week. It seems to be going from strength to strength. Netflix, in what is a very competitive market.

Ben Willee

Yeah, well, they reported a 16% increase in revenue to a lazy $10.24 billion in the December quarter, which isn’t bad. But the real thing for them, their priority is to get their advertisers and the ad funded model up and running, because that’s where the future of their revenue growth is going to be. Now, it’s not as easy as just flicking a few switches and taking ads, it’s a logistical nightmare. But we’re talking about the same people who made a hit show about chess. So I’m sure that they can figure this out and I think very soon we’ll say more people move to that ad funded model to make more money. And in many ways, it’ll be good for advertisers because Netflix has a lot of data about their consumers. And that’s what we as advertisers want.

Deborah Knight (Host)

And we need to see an uptick in that market overall across the board. Ben, always great to talk. Thank you so much.

Ben Willee

Thanks for having me, Deb.

Deborah Knight (Host)

Ben Willee there from Spinach Advertising back for 2025 for our regular look at the world of media and marketing.