Nine Entertainment 
Southern Cross Broadcasting 
Mike Sneesby, currently the head of Australian streamer Stan, has been appointed CEO of its parent group Nine Entertainment. His elevation follows the imminent departure of Hugh Marks and other board room changes at the one of the country’s largest media groups.Marks, who presided over the transformation of Nine from a legacy TV group into a broadcast, publishing and digital player through the acquisition of newspaper giant Fairfax, will depart at the end of the month. He resigned following revelations...
Hugh
Marks
The CEO of Australia’s Nine Network since 2015, Marks is unafraid to make tough calls protecting the bottom line. That was demonstrated this year when Channel 9 bowed to its cost-savings drive and failed to renew “The Voice,” as Marks called out the show’s enormous expense. He renegotiated rights to the National Rugby League, saving on average $A27.5 million ($20 million) a year. He was key to the broadcaster’s 2018 acquisition of enduring publisher Fairfax, the largest media merger in Australia’s history, with 2019’s purchase of Macquarie Media Limited (now Nine Radio) following. Employees telecommuted during the pandemic, and its Sydney Morning Herald was produced with zero on-site staffers for the first time in its 189-year history. Despite COVID-19 and Australia’s first recession in decades, Nine revenues fell only 7% in the 2020 financial year. Marks will leave Nine in 2021.
