Executive Summary

The consolidation and strategic repositioning of Australia’s major media conglomerates in early 2026 mark the most significant upheaval in the domestic broadcasting and advertising landscape in decades. 

The finalisation of the merger between Seven West Media (SWM) and Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and the parallel exit of Nine Entertainment from the broadcast radio sector, reflect a shift in how legacy media perceives value, scale, and the inevitable (but uneven) transition to a digital-dominated future. 

While the newly integrated Seven-SCA entity – trading as Southern Cross Media Group under the ticker SXL – is banking on the synergies of a “Total TV, Audio, and Digital” platform, Nine Entertainment has opted to pivot toward digital outdoor advertising, signaling a divergent belief in where the next phase of structural growth will materialise.

This reflects a wider restructuring of the media industry. The “big three” commercial TV networks remain the largest local media properties, while the rest of the media industry is either joining a large integrated group to gain scale and cross-promotion advantages, or pursuing a targeted strategy where they can build a moat around their preferred audience. 

The coming years will determine whether these strategic pivots can transform legacy media or if they are merely delaying the inevitable dominance of global digital ecosystems over Australian society.