Amanda Laing Tipped To Replace Mike Sneesby at Nine Entertainment
Speculation that one of Foxtel’s former top executives, Amanda Laing, will take the reins at Nine Entertainment is intensifying.
Nine appointed the former Stan boss Mike Sneesby as its CEO, replacing outgoing chief Hugh Marks, in 2021.
Sneesby’s position at the helm of the publisher, broadcaster and streaming service provider has come under increasing pressure not least from reports that he was responsible for giving former news boss, Darren Wick, an almost $1million golden handshake this year upon his departure after sexual-harassment allegations made against the journalist.
More than a dozen current and former Nine staff reportedly anonymously recounted alleged incidents of inappropriate behaviour by Wick, and claimed that Nine knowingly failed to provide a safe workplace for them.
Trouble at Nine mounted as some Nine journalists at offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, walked off from their office at the start of the Olympics. Nine Entertainment also said that it will cut around 200 jobs to offset a weaker advertising market and as its content deal with Meta ends
Many of the striking journalists directed their anger at Sneesby who was in Paris carrying the Olympic torch as staff were threatening to strike.
Nine paid $305 million for an Olympic broadcast package which includes Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028, and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games – plus two Winter Games that fall within that timeframe.
The Australian has described Sneesby as a “dead man walking”, and chairman Peter Costello has since resigned after being accused of assaulting a News Corp journalist at Canberra airport in June.
Nine owns publications such as The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review, as well as Stan, a stake in Domain Group and Channel 9.
Management are now believed to be seeking a replacement for Sneesby. At the time of his appointment back in 2021, one of the names in the running was reported to be Laing who was also a former Nine executive.
Laing, who joined Foxtel Group in 2018, announced her resignation as Foxtel Group’s Chief Commercial and Content Officer and Binge Managing Director, in April.