- Broadcaster has been trying to slash wages bill
NRL identities Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer have both reportedly been asked to take pay cuts or move into revised roles as the Nine Network looks to slash its costs.
Gould, the General Manager of Football at the Bulldogs, has been with Nine for more than two decades, while Broncos great Lockyer joined the rugby league commentary team in 2012.
A report last November predicted close to 50 Nine employees were facing redundancies as part of a major restructure.
Fellow NRL identities such as James Bracey, Danika Mason, Paul Gallen, Andrew Johns, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Allana Ferguson and Brad Fittler appear to be safe.
Gould didn’t appear to be overly concerned about potentially being shown the door by Nine, referring to a report from News Corp as the ‘Daily Astonisher’ on X when quizzed by a footy fan about the report.
It comes as the network looks to retain free-to-air rights for the NRL, with Channel Seven keen to swoop in.
NRL identities Phil Gould (pictured) and Darren Lockyer have both reportedly been asked to take pay cuts or move into revised roles as the Nine Network looks to slash its costs
Broncos great Lockyer (pictured) joined the rugby league commentary team at Nine in 2012
Gould didn’t appear to be overly concerned about potentially being shown the door by Nine, judging by this comment on X
The NRL’s current $1.7billion, five-year broadcast agreement with Nine and Fox League expires at the end of next season.
Seven has secured the rights for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, and recently launched its own Monday night panel show ‘The Agenda Setters’.
NRL supremo Peter V’landys has previously suggested the league can expect to command a long-term deal worth more than $3billion.
Amanda Laing, Nine’s boss of streaming and broadcast, said in November the network’s restructure would streamline its operations.
‘We are looking at the remuneration across the entire business, from people on-air to people involved in production, to people in IT, to engineers, technology, all of these things,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Nobody wants to say goodbye to friends and colleagues, but I hope that people can understand the strategy and how the operating model serves the strategy.
‘We need the right investment in the right areas.’
The network uses three mediums to deliver content to audiences, broadcast television (Channel Nine), free streaming (9Now) and premium streaming platform Stan, which has exclusive rights in Australia to the Premier League.
Daily Mail has reached out to Channel Nine for comment.
