Seven West Media Limited
Australian free-to-air TV, publishing and streaming group, now folded into Southern Cross Media.
On the record
Checkpoint: SCA's FY26 full-year results and FY27 guidance, first full report since the SWM merger
The call
Seven's sports rights and reach still draw viewers, but linear ad revenue keeps shrinking faster than streaming and cost cuts can offset it.
Seven West Media was an Australian broadcaster and publisher that owned TV stations, newspapers, and a streaming service called 7plus. It merged into Southern Cross Media Group in early 2026. The company has real advantages, like exclusive sports broadcasting rights and its own audience data from 7plus, but these are not enough to protect it: TV advertising revenue fell 25% in one year, Netflix and Disney+ are stealing viewers, and artificial intelligence now converts news stories into web content automatically, cutting the need for as many journalists. The one thing that could change everything is whether 7plus can grow fast enough as a streaming service to replace the money the company is losing from traditional TV ads, but so far growth in streaming viewers has not translated into higher overall profits.
Why
01
AI pressure: In-house AI news-to-web conversion tool and Databricks Mosaic AI audience models. AI tools already write web copy from TV news and predict ad audiences, cutting jobs while automating tasks reporters and planners once did. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and DAZN (which bought Foxtel for $3.4bn). Streaming giants pull eyeballs from linear TV while DAZN's Foxtel buy signals rivals now outbidding Seven for Australian sports rights. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. AFL and cricket broadcast rights, a free-to-air spectrum licence, and 7plus first-party viewer data still anchor advertiser demand.
What would change this call
SCA's FY26 full-year results and FY27 guidance released 11 August 2026. Shows whether 7plus streaming growth is offsetting linear-TV ad decline or merely softening it.
Outcome of next AFL and cricket broadcast rights renewal cycles. Tests whether Seven can retain the sports rights underpinning its main viewership moat.
Further CEO or senior leadership departures at SCA following two changes in six months. Indicates whether post-merger integration is stabilising or deteriorating.
Outcome of next AFL and cricket broadcast rights renewal cycles. Tests whether Seven can retain the sports rights underpinning its main viewership moat.
Further CEO or senior leadership departures at SCA following two changes in six months. Indicates whether post-merger integration is stabilising or deteriorating.
Key numbers
- TV ad market down 25% year on year
- H1 FY26 EBITDA fell 27% to $67m
- FY26 EBITDA guidance cut to $185-190m
Named risks
- TV advertising market decline of 25% YoY as of April 2026 undercutting core linear revenue.
- Post-merger leadership instability with two CEO changes within six months by May 2026.
- AI-enabled automation of editorial work coinciding with mass job cuts.
- Sports rights renewal cycles (AFL, cricket) against deep-pocketed streamers like DAZN.
- Regulatory scrutiny suggesting the merger might not clear under a stricter future ACCC regime.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Nine Entertainment | contesting | Led ratings with NRL Grand Final drawing 4.564m viewers, Dec 2025 |
| DAZN/Foxtel | gaining on | DAZN bought Foxtel for $3.4bn, outbidding Nine's ~$2.4bn, Dec 2025 |
| Netflix/Disney+/Amazon Prime Video | gaining on | Cited industry-wide as structurally eroding FTA ad and audience share, Oct 2025 |
| Network 10 (Paramount Skydance) | contesting | Cut sales/marketing staff amid weak ad market, Feb 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Does Seven West Media still exist as an independent company?
- No. Seven West Media Limited was delisted from the ASX and merged into Southern Cross Media Group via Scheme of Arrangement on 7 January 2026, in an all-scrip deal worth $385 million (0.1552 SCA shares per SWM share). It now operates as a brand/division within SCA.
- Was Seven West Media profitable before it delisted?
- Barely. In FY2025 (year to 30 June 2025), statutory NPAT was just $17 million, down 62% from $45 million in FY24, while revenue fell to $1,350.5 million and underlying EBITDA dropped 15% to $159 million.
- Who owns Seven West Media now?
- Seven West Media is now owned by Southern Cross Media Group after the 7 January 2026 merger. Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings, previously SWM's largest shareholder at about 40.2% (July 2025), retains an estimated ~20% voting influence in the combined SCA platform as of May 2026.
- Could AI replace jobs at Seven West Media?
- It already has, in part. An in-house AI tool that auto-converts TV news into web copy within minutes was deployed shortly before Southern Cross Media Group announced up to 300 job cuts on 11 June 2026, roughly 200 of them from former SWM broadcast and print teams.
- Is it risky to join Seven West Media (Southern Cross Media Group) right now?
- Some risk signs are present as of mid-2026: FY26 EBITDA guidance was cut to $185-190 million from $200-220 million, up to 300 jobs were cut by 30 June 2026, and the company has had two CEO changes since the January 2026 merger, with new CEO Rohan Lund appointed in May 2026.
- Who is Seven West Media's biggest competitor?
- Nine Entertainment is the closest rival, running Nine Network, 9Now and Fairfax mastheads; it led key advertiser demographics and delivered 2025's biggest TV event, the NRL Grand Final with 4.564 million viewers (December 2025). DAZN, which bought Foxtel for $3.4bn in late 2025, is a growing sports-rights threat.
Timeline
- 2026-06-11SCA announces up to 300 job cuts (~200 ex-SWM) and cuts FY26 EBITDA guidance to $185-190m
- 2026-05-01Rohan Lund, ex-NRMA, appointed CEO of combined Southern Cross Media Group
- 2026-04-17Reports say SCA-Seven merger completed narrowly before anticipated ACCC merger rule overhaul
- 2026-02-11H1 FY26 results: EBITDA $67m, down 27% YoY, despite 7plus streaming minutes up 62%
- 2026-02-01SWM CEO Jeff Howard exits post-merger role as SCA Group MD, Audio
- 2026-01-07Seven West Media delisted from ASX, merger into Southern Cross Media Group completed
- 2025-12-24SWM suspended from ASX trading ahead of scheme completion
- 2025-09-01SWM and Southern Cross Media Group announce merger intention
- 2025-08-12FY25 full year results: revenue $1,350.5m, NPAT $17m, down 62% YoY
- 2024-09-05Seven West Media launches Seven AI Factory with Databricks Mosaic AI
Head to head
Revision history
25 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- SWM officially absorbed by SCA in completed takeover (2026-01-07)
- ASX Release, Implementation of Scheme of Arrangement (2026-01-07)
- FY25 Full Year Results Release (2025-08-12)
- Seven West Media revenue and profit fall but digital is 'kickstart' to growth (2025-08-12)
- SWM FY2025 Earnings Call Highlights (2025-08-11)
- SWM H1 FY26 ASX Release (2026-02-11)
- Southern Cross Media Rohan Lund AI redundancies (2026-06-11)
- Seven West Media Limited, Company Profile Report
- Seven West Media
- SMH article on staff reductions (2026-06-09)
- Seven opens the AI Factory (2024-09-05)
- The next competitive edge in the streaming wars (2025-09-16)