Southern Cross Media Group (SCM) has announced plans to cut up to 300 jobs as part of a broad restructuring effort deemed necessary to secure the company’s future amidst a challenging media landscape. CEO Rohan Lund described the move as a “reset” aimed at streamlining operations and enabling faster decision-making and investment, while cautioning that a rapid recovery in advertising revenues is unlikely.

Speaking over the weekend, Lund emphasized that the company’s cost base had become unsustainable for the type of business SCM aims to develop following its recent merger. He rejected media reports suggesting the broadcast television division—specifically Channel 7—would bear the brunt of the job losses. Instead, the reductions will affect all departments across the group, with corporate and back-office roles hardest hit. Lund said the restructuring was designed to protect audience share, revenue streams, and content delivery across SCM’s platforms.

Despite this, an internal source within SCM familiar with the situation told a news outlet that the television segment remains the most significant challenge and the primary source of operational difficulties. Lund acknowledged the broader pressures facing the Australian media sector, particularly the ongoing slump in advertising revenue, which has weakened substantially since late last year and shows little sign of recovery before the end of 2026 at the earliest. “Advertising markets remain soft,” Lund said, underscoring the cautious outlook amid global economic uncertainty.

The CEO also highlighted competition from major technology companies as a continuing hurdle, citing their considerable influence on shrinking local ad revenues and reluctance to engage with the government’s news bargaining framework. He urged the media industry to better advocate for its value by promoting traditional platforms more positively. Lund noted that despite a significant shift in ad spend away from television in Australia, broadcast audiences—especially for Seven’s free-to-air channels—have grown year-on-year, pointing to rising consumer demand for cost-effective entertainment options amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Unlike some rivals such as Nine Entertainment, which benefits from a proprietary streaming service through Stan, SCM does not yet have a streaming partner to bolster revenue but confirmed ongoing discussions with global streaming providers as potential avenues for future collaboration. Lund also remarked on the likelihood of increased consolidation in the Australian media market, citing the vital role scale will play as smaller operators face intensifying financial challenges.

The announced job cuts are expected to reduce operating expenses by approximately A$30 million. Additionally, SCM plans to raise a provision of A$65 million to A$70 million related to legacy television content contracts inherited from past agreements, reportedly including a 2022 deal between Seven West Media and NBC Universal that resulted in the launch of 7 Bravo, a free-to-air channel featuring US reality and true-crime programming.

In confronting these structural and market pressures, SCM’s leadership has stressed a commitment to maintaining quality content and audience engagement across all its business segments amid significant economic headwinds, including low consumer confidence, high inflation, rising interest rates, and regulatory uncertainties.