Amanda Laing, Nine Entertainment’s managing director of streaming and broadcast, has announced her departure from the company after just 18 months in the role, marking the second high-profile executive exit at the media group within days. The move was confirmed Thursday amid a broader company restructure.

Laing’s exit surprised many within Nine, particularly as it came shortly after her presentation of the network’s broadcast and streaming offerings at the annual “Upfront” event in Sydney last Thursday. Colleagues had no prior indication of her imminent departure.

Her tenure coincided with a turbulent period for Nine’s television division, which faced challenges including uncertainty over former Today show host Karl Stefanovic’s future, unsuccessful attempts at replacing him, and declining ratings. Additionally, Nine failed to secure full broadcasting and streaming rights for the National Rugby League (NRL), a key sports property.

Reports of Laing’s exit surfaced Wednesday evening, following the announcement by James Chessell, editor-in-chief of Nine’s business publication, Australian Financial Review, that he too would be leaving the company to join the Rampant news site. Corporate sources subsequently confirmed Laing’s departure, with a final working date anticipated in one week.

Laing first rejoined Nine last April, returning from Foxtel after more than six years, to lead a newly consolidated division that combined free-to-air television, the 9Now streaming platform, talkback radio operations, and subscription service Stan. Her appointment was seen as strategic, aiming to wrest NRL broadcast rights from Foxtel and strengthen Stan’s position.

However, Nine’s leadership, including chief executive Matt Stanton and Laing, faced setbacks when they had to rely on company chairman Peter Tonagh to help secure a revised sports-rights agreement that guarantees free-to-air NRL games until 2034.

During her leadership, Laing introduced several initiatives, including the controversial “Shop Today” advertising format unveiled at last week’s Upfront event. This format features breakfast show hosts Tom Steinfort and Sylvia Jeffreys reviewing various lifestyle, home, travel, and parenting products in paid segments resembling infomercials.

Laing’s tenure also saw the sale of Nine’s underperforming talkback radio network, including capital city stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, and 6PR, to billionaire Arthur Laundy for $56 million in cash and debt. These assets had recently been positioned as central to Nine’s future strategy at the previous year’s Upfront.

Responding to the departure, Matt Stanton sent an internal email announcing Laing’s exit alongside a company-wide restructure expected to result in only a small number of additional redundancies in the initial phase. No further details about Laing’s successor or the long-term structure of the division were provided.