Ten’s head of sport Matt White exits as part of latest round of redundancies
Ten’s head of sport Matt White has been cut as part of a round of redundancies at the network.
White has been with the network for over 17 on and off in a variety of roles.
Matt White has left Ten
He spent the majority of his career with Ten before leaving to join Seven’s Today Tonight in 2008 as a presenter. In 2014 he returned to Ten, taking up a role as sports presenter. In 2018 he was appointed head of sport.
A Ten spokesperson said White had been a very important part of the network and would be missed.
“Matt White has been an important part of Network Ten over the years. Since he returned to the network in 2014, Matt has made a valuable contribution as both an on-air presenter and – for past two years – head of sport. He leaves with our sincere thanks and very best wishes for the future.”
White’s departure follows the closure of 10 Daily and a number of sales redundancies from the business. Ten boss Beverley McGarvey has denied the cuts are related to COVID-19.
“The recent impact of COVID-19 on the media industry has reinforced the need to continue to align our business with our evolving customer needs and global business model, but I want to stress that the changes are part of our broader strategy, not a reaction to recent events,” McGarvey said in an email to staff seen by Mumbrella.
White was heavily involved in Ten’s Melbourne Cup coverage
Both Sports Tonight and RPM will still continue at Ten, despite being formats White was heavily involved with. However there is question as to whether White’s departure is related to Ten’s commitment to sports going forward. Ten’s rights to the Supercars is set to expire at the end of the season and Ten and Seven are reportedly battling over horse racing rights beyond the Melbourne Cup which Ten currently broadcasts. White was also involved in Ten’s racing coverage.
Ten has denied White’s exit will impact its commitment to sports coverage.
