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TEN restructure costs $46m

TEN's restructure costs $46m as 12% of its workforce exits, leading to more than $50 million to re-invest in programming content.

TEN has announced the results of its strategic review, which resulted in retrenchments and program losses under interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

The total costs for restructuring will reach $46.1m, $39m on top of the $7.1m allocated earlier this year.

“This has been a rigorous review, conducted across the entire group, focused on re-setting the company’s strategic direction and building on its core  strengths,” Murdoch has said in a statement.

It has resulted in a reduction of approximately 180 jobs,  12% of total staff, but expects annual savings of approximately $18m across the group, which includes Network TEN and outdoor advertising EYE Group.

It now has more than $50 million to re-invest in programming content for 2012.

Amongst these it acknowledged the legal costs of CEO James Warburton and Seven as directed by the Supreme Court.

TEN will release its financial results for the year ended August 31 on October 20.

It expects full year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of about $171 million, down from last year’s $208.1m.

“The management team has a renewed focus on driving strategic outcomes, aligning business units, improving accountability and tightly managing costs, the benefit of which will be felt in FY2012,” Murdoch said.

TEN presents its 2012 Programming Launch to advertisers tomorrow night.

21 Responses

  1. @ Oztvheritage(you tube): Overly optimistic I think … no passion for television is what we are seeing from him, I feel, just passion for money.

    @ Dodge: Yes! That would make complete sense … but guess what? It will never work! Foxtel is not good value for money when I am always forced to pay for the majority of channels that I will Never watch … allow us to choose Any five channels for a minimal amount and I will consider it, otherwise … they can p*** off!

  2. Wednesday’s 2012 ten launch will tell us plenty about mr Murdoch and what this CEO is thinking the network can become. Share holders in ten cannot be happy as shares have plummeted in the last 4 months. But it’s looking like at present mr Murdoch does give a #### about ten.

  3. Now don’t shout me down if this is a stupid comment, because I am really just a TV watcher, but has anyone thought this sort of thing is deliberate, to drive people to take up Foxtel?

  4. @ Armchair Analyst: Yes, absolutely … axing Video Hits was senseless if the young audience is the aim … then they replace it with a show only adults will be interested in … total screw ups!

    We saw Nine fall to pieces a while back, now we are watching Ten self destruct.

    Wake up Murdoch, if you want to get anything positive out of Ten then sell it now to someone who has a clue,get your hands off it, otherwise it wil be a bigger embarassment to your family’s failing reputation than that newspaper in the UK.

    Thank god we have Seven!!!! And the ABC!

  5. They have gone from a Network sitting in second place at best to being bitten by the ABC of all broadcasters. Lachlan has certainly turnedthe network into crap in a short amount of time. They got rid of people who could cause them greafe and they have sacked journos. Somehow i dont think that George Negus is on leave i think he might have been giventhe boot. I guess time will only tell. Plus that 50 million is that really enough to lift the network of the bottom i doubt it. Lachlan Murdoch has simply lied about everything since he became interim CEO of Network Ten. He said that the aim was to get Network Ten back to a young and vibrant channel or words to that effect then he goes and axes Video Hits. The whole Network is being run into the ground by two men David Mott and Lachlan. It will be a long time untill we see Network Ten back near the top.

  6. Buy in cheap, cut costs by throwing people onto the bonfire and sell out for a profit. Of course the real aim by Murdoch & Packer (putting aside The Gina Report) was to gut One HD so as to allow their Fox Sports to continue it’s stranglehold over sport in this country.

    I’m old enough to remember when he had an ACCC. Those were the days.

  7. “This has been a rigorous review, conducted across the entire group, focused on re-setting the company’s strategic direction and building on its core strengths”..says Lachlan Murdoch..
    Can anyone please tell me what the compamy’s strategic direction is, except slash and destroy?

  8. Wasted $46 Million!!!!

    Get a programmer who actually loves watching TV and has some idea! Put the money into making new shows that will catch the public interest, something different, adventurous, not more Reality crap!

    Don’t let Murdock make Network decisions … he obviously has no idea either! His comment about: “…driving strategic outcomes, aligning business units…” shows he had no passion for the medium at all … it is all the same old, same old business speak that ultimately custs out the talented and right people in favour of mates and money men … Blah, blah, blah! Tragic! Bye, Bye Ten!

    We are now such a long, long way from the brilliant Kerry Packer years at Nine!

  9. So TEN is predicting a 10% downgrade in it’s earnings to be announced October 20… Does that mean stock will be dirt cheap come Oct 21? I mean they are already a bargain.

    RE Eye Corp.. I see alot of billboards when on my drive from North West Sydney to the CBD and I have noticed almost every Eye Corp billboard is advertising a TEN program. How can they be making any real money with that? APN billboards also out number them 3 to 1 it seems in Sydney at least

  10. What would be nice would be if they’d go back to sending out their minute-accurate (and last minute changes) EPG-update the afternoon *before* the day of broadcast, rather than halfway through the broadcast day. They used to do this and all other channels still do this.

    I can see no reason not to revert this poor behaviour, other than to deliberately muck the viewing audience about.

  11. Bring back Big Brother while your at it please Channel Ten…

    I saw an ad for “The Renovators” and it was all about a man not knowing how to mix paint. Riveting Viewing.

    Atleast Big Brother had real drama & fun

  12. Executives are great aren’t they? So in touch with their business. I do hope that the 50mil they can invest in programming is used wisely, maybe a couple of mill to train programmers how to programm and why not plough the rest into renovating the network. Jeez this lot seriously lack much credibility after their recent gaffes.

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