TV3 sale down to 'one party' says departing MediaWorks CEO
Wednesday, 8 July 2020
The chief executive of television channel Three owner MediaWorks, Michael Anderson, says he hopes to make an announcement on the sale of its TV business within weeks, with talks now down to “one party”.
Anderson also announced that he would step down as chief executive at the end of the year.
MediaWorks announced in October that it had engaged UBS as an adviser to help identify a list of potential purchasers for its loss-making television business.
There has been speculation about the buyer, but Anderson would not confirm on Wednesday the identity of the company MediaWorks was in negotiations with.
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”Any speculation – we are not going to go there until we have got a deal to announce,” he said.
The major decision facing any buyer of MediaWorks’ television business will be whether to retain its Newshub journalism arm.
Newshub produces news shows for channel Three, MediaWorks’ radio stations, which are not for sale, and Sky’s free-to-air television channel Prime.
Anderson said he could not speak on behalf of any new owner of the television business.
”But what I can say is we are very clear about what the strong assets of MediaWorks TV are, and Newshub is one of those, as are our people and our total schedule.”
The sale had been a very long process and that was partly due to Covid, he said.
”But we are in the final stages of our discussions.
”We are down to one party we are talking with and we are still cautiously optimistic that will work its way through,” he said.
There would be an announcement well before he left the business, he said.
Anderson said he would leave the company whether or not there was a sale, but he indicated his departure signalled “a level of optimism” that a deal should be done.
Anderson – who joined MediaWorks from Australia in 2016 – said he decided at the start of the year to think about leaving, and planned to stay in New Zealand after stepping down from the company.
“New Zealand has become home,” he said.
“I’m hoping there will be some opportunities for governance roles in the market. I’d like to stay connected to the business community in New Zealand.”
It was too soon to say whether he would stay in the media sector, but right now he felt “very immersed” in the industry, he said.
Anderson said it had been his decision to leave MediaWorks.
Announcing his departure now, ahead of time, would ensure it was able to start work on recruiting a successor “without missing a beat”, he said.
His successor – who would inherit responsibility for MediaWorks’ radio and outdoor advertising businesses, assuming the TV sale – would need to be resilient and be ready to pivot quickly, he said.
“Covid came out of the blue and I don’t think we should be looking at major disruption as a once in a lifetime situation.”
MediaWorks chairman Jack Matthews said MediaWorks was in a much better position “both strategically and financially” than it was when Anderson was appointed in 2016.
'We will be sorry to see him go, but he will leave behind an exciting business ready for the opportunities ahead,' he said.
In June, MediaWorks announced 130 jobs would go as part of a company-wide restructure.