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SCA to outsource Canberra playout services to NPC Media

Southern Cross Austereo will no longer operate a Canberra playout centre from 2020, outsourcing the services to NPC Media.

NPC Media, which is a joint venture between Nine and Seven, will provide playout services to SCA for an initial period of seven years.

The transition is expected to be completed by 2020

SCA was unable to disclose how many staff are affected at this stage, but consultations have begun and redundancies, retention incentives and re-training benefits will be made available.

For those unaffected by the change, SCA will lease a new office facility in Canberra. The decision to outsource services follows the sale of SCA’s Canberra site in 2016.

The decision, which will see the broadcaster become NPC’s largest client, will allow it to work with Nine and Seven to develop a leading ‘back-office solution’.

John Kelly, SCA’s chief operating officer, said it made sense for the businesses to “pool resources”.

Currently, SCA has program supply agreements with Nine, Seven and Ten, and broadcasts 105 signals into regional areas.

“Given SCA already broadcasts Nine and Seven programs and uses their brands, the move is a logical step to consolidate back office functions. It will not only enable us to reduce operational costs, but also to streamline processes, promote collaboration and increase productivity,” he said.

On the redundancies specifically, Kelly added: “We are working closely with affected employees to maintain operations during the transition and to support them in identifying new opportunities as the transition is completed.”

SCA aims to relocate the Canberra broadcast operation by June 30, 2020.

The latest announcement comes seven months after Seven announced a joint venture with Nine for its playout operations. Should those plans go ahead, Seven and Nine’s joint operations hub will run out of Sydney.

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