The final fallout from Nine’s own Survivor drama

1 hour ago 1

Opinion

September 25, 2025 — 4.13pm

Nine Entertainment beams two versions of Survivor – the first is the program it broadcasts every week, while the second one speaks to the politics of its boardroom and its management roster.

This week, its chairperson, Catherine West, had her torch snuffed out when she resigned, making way for veteran media operator and former Murdoch executive Peter Tonagh in November.

West’s tenure as chair lasted only 18 months after she was abruptly elevated to the position in June last year courtesy of her predecessor, Peter Costello, who was sent to the departure lounge following a messy altercation with a News Corporation journalist at Canberra airport.

Catherine West is leaving the chair and Peter Tonagh is about to take her seat.

A few months later, Nine’s then chief executive Mike Sneesby was, to maintain the Survivor analogy, metaphorically voted out. West was always going to be the next name on the exit list.

Costello, Sneesby and West were ultimately victims of last year’s culture crisis at Nine, which exploded after stories emerged of numerous female staff being subjected to harassment and bullying. West and Sneesby worked valiantly to begin the process of a cultural overhaul, but were ultimately tainted by the scandal.

West oversaw the requisitioning of a comprehensive report into Nine’s workforce culture that revealed uncomfortable findings on bullying and sexual harassment.

Under the chairmanship of West, Nine also conducted a search for Sneesby’s replacement before settling on the internal candidate, its former head of finance and strategy Matt Stanton.

In recent months, there had been plenty of whispering from well-placed sources that West would step down by this year’s annual meeting, so Thursday’s announcement was anticipated in some circles.

It is noteworthy that 17 per cent of shareholders voted against West being re-elected to the board at its 2024 annual meeting, including Australia’s massive sovereign fund, the Future Fund, which also voted against Nine’s remuneration report. While the protest vote allowed West to comfortably retain her board seat, it revealed the level of disquiet among investors.

Nine Entertainment chief executive Matt Stanton.

While West and Costello sat in the chair at various times during Nine’s tumultuous times in 2024, Tonagh will take charge at a time when Nine’s largest shareholder, Bermudan-based billionaire Bruce Gordon, is limbering up to flex his ownership muscle.

He is already the largest shareholder with a stake of 19.9 per cent but also owns some particular derivative securities known as swaps, which can be converted to shares, that give him an economic interest in Nine of 25 per cent.

There has already been speculation that Gordon, a long-term investor in Nine, has looked at a full takeover. However, he is considered more likely to use the creep provisions that allow him to buy 3 per cent of the shares every six months.

While Gordon currently has only one representative on the board, WIN managing director Andrew Lancaster, it seems inevitable he will push to have another representative on the board. And he will most likely get his wish.

The elevation of Tonagh to the chair would have needed the support of WIN. And if Gordon continues to increase his stake, he will probably take a more active interest in Nine’s strategy.

Nine this year sold its 60 per cent stake in real estate portal Domain for around $3 billion, of which Nine pocketed $1.4 billion. Around half of that windfall has been delivered to shareholders via a special dividend.

So Nine is cashed up and analysts say primed to look at acquisitions. On the flipside, there is ongoing speculation that Nine could sell its national radio network, which would narrow its focus on broadcasting (the Nine network and streaming business Stan) and its extensive publishing interests including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review.

Gordon and WIN will be taking a very keen interest in what Nine does next once the team of Stanton and Tonagh gets going.

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