Macquarie Media’s national executive producer Michael Thompson to depart
Macquarie Media’s national executive producer Michael Thompson is set to leave the business, with the company announcing he’s finishing up on Friday.
It’s the latest shake-up for the radio broadcaster as it is integrated with new owner Nine.
Macquarie is now fully owned by Nine
Thompson has been with Macquarie Media for over 11 years, starting out on 2GB on Ray Hadley’s program. For the past three years, he’s been in a national role, overseeing the content across the news talk stations – including Sydney’s 2GB and Melbourne’s 3AW – and Macquarie Sports Radio.
Thompson hit headlines earlier this year as the station clashed with afternoons presenter Chris Smith, who ultimately departed the broadcaster.
Macquarie too has has its fair share of attention, with controversies surrounding Alan Jones, leading to a full review of 2GB’s content.
Macquarie Sports Radio’s content is also under review, with the station now relying on sports broadcasts and content from partners to take up the air time.
The broadcaster is also in the process of coming together with Nine, which completed its takeover earlier this month. .
As the takeover was ironed out, CEO Adam Lang departed. The CEO role was not directly replaced, with Tom Malone – Nine’s director of sport – instead coming on board as managing director of Nine’s radio assets.
Last month, it was revealed the operations manager for 3AW, Stephen Beers, would be made redundant, however this week Malone said he was bringing Beers back to help transition the business “into the new Nine”.
Nine said Thompson’s move, however, was his decision, and Malone thanked him for his efforts.
“I want to thank Michael for all his hard work, professionalism and loyalty to Macquarie Media and wish him well as he explores opportunities beyond our business. He goes with all of our goodwill, and as it is in this business, I look forward to seeing him back in some capacity in the future,” Malone said in a note to staff this afternoon.
In Sydney, 2GB has a market-leading audience share of 13.3%, while 3AW also leads the Melbourne market on 15.2%. In Brisbane, 4BC isn’t as dominant, with a 6.4% share, which puts it behind Southern Cross Austereo’s Hit 105 (11.1%) and Triple M (11.0%), Nova 106.9 (11.9%), Australian Radio Network’s 97.3 FM (11.0%), and ABC Brisbane (6.6%).
It’s a bleaker story for Macquarie Sports Radio, however, with the station having just a 0.8% share in Sydney in the most recent ratings survey, 0.4% in Melbourne, and 0.9% in Brisbane.
