Highlights

• Total TV Revenue fell 6 per cent in the first quarter of FY27, while digital subscription revenue in publishing rose 7 per cent.

• Nine now expects annualised cost savings of at least A$180 million by the end of FY27.

• Stan lifted revenue 16 per cent to A$569 million in FY26, and EBITDA rose 34 per cent to A$80.6 million.

• Growth businesses are expected to provide more than 60 per cent of revenue and about 70 per cent of EBITDA this year.

Why is Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC) telling shareholders to look beyond its flagship television network? The answer, laid out at its Annual General Meeting on 6 November 2026, is that free-to-air TV revenue is still shrinking while streaming, outdoor Advertising and digital publishing are growing. Nine reaffirmed that it expects revenue and Earnings growth in the 2027 financial year, but it leaned heavily on those newer businesses, and on deeper cost cuts, to get there.

The update also exposed tension with investors. More than a third of votes cast opposed the remuneration report, handing the board a first strike.

What Nine told the AGM

Nine said total television revenue fell 6 per cent in the first quarter of FY27 (the three months to 30 September 2026) compared with the same period a year earlier, on a pro forma basis. It blamed a later start for The Block and rivals' coverage of the FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games. It expects a smaller, low single-digit decline in the second quarter.

Elsewhere the picture was brighter. Digital subscription revenue in publishing rose 7 per cent in the first quarter, and Nine expects outdoor advertising revenue to grow by a percentage in the mid-teens in the first half. It now expects annualised cost savings of at least A$180 million by the end of FY27, about A$20 million more than its earlier A$160 million target.

Management repeated its FY27 growth expectation, weighted to the second half, while citing economic uncertainty. Nine said its growth businesses, namely Stan, 9Now, outdoor and digital publishing, should provide more than 60 per cent of revenue and about 70 per cent of EBITDA this year.

A reshaped media group

Nine has changed shape markedly in the past 18 months. It sold its 60 per cent stake in property portal Domain in August 2025, returning 49 cents a share to investors as a fully franked special dividend. It completed the Acquisition of outdoor advertising Business QMS on 31 March 2026, and has struck deals to sell Nine Radio and youth publisher Pedestrian, with proceeds earmarked for Debt reduction.

The remaining group has four main parts. Total TV includes the Nine Network and the 9Now streaming service. Stan is its subscription video platform. Publishing includes The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Outdoor, built around QMS, sells billboard and street furniture advertising across Australia and New Zealand.

The FY26 numbers

For the year to 30 June 2026, the continuing business lifted revenue 3 per cent to A$2.2 billion and EBITDA 17 per cent to A$379 million. Net profit after tax before Amortisation and specific items (NPATA) rose 11 per cent to A$147 million. On a pro forma basis, which includes QMS for the full year, revenue was A$2.4 billion and EBITDA A$516 million.

Statutory net profit was A$511 million, flattered by an A$849 million result from discontinued operations, chiefly the Domain sale. That figure absorbed A$481 million of after-tax specific items, most of them non-cash, including an Impairment of the Total TV business that the results release puts at more than A$400 million.

Nine paid Ordinary Dividends of 7.5 cents a share for FY26, unfranked, and expects FY27 and FY28 dividends also to be unfranked. Net debt rose to A$658 million at 30 June 2026 from A$451 million a year earlier, reflecting the QMS purchase; Leverage was 1.7 times.

Where the growth is coming from

Stan delivered a record result in FY26, lifting revenue 16 per cent to A$569 million and EBITDA 34 per cent to A$80.6 million. Nine reported about 2.3 million paying subscribers in August 2026, with average sport subscribers up almost 50 per cent, helped by English Premier League rights. It expects further Stan earnings growth in FY27.

Outdoor is the other key driver. On a pro forma basis, QMS lifted FY26 revenue 15 per cent to A$295 million and EBITDA 18 per cent to A$192 million. Nine is targeting double-digit pro forma EBITDA growth from the division in FY27, plus around A$9 million in cost synergies.

Publishing EBITDA slipped 3 per cent to about A$150 million, though digital subscriptions grew 15 per cent in FY26. Chief executive Matthew Stanton told the AGM the Financial Review generates more than half of publishing EBITDA, and highlighted AI licensing deals including Microsoft Copilot.

Free-to-air pressure and competition

Total TV remains Nine's largest division by revenue, at A$1.03 billion in FY26, but revenue fell 9 per cent and EBITDA 12 per cent to A$134 million. Tough comparisons with the Paris Olympics and the 2025 federal election played a part, but the longer-term shift of audiences and advertisers to global digital platforms is well established.

Yet 9Now revenue fell 7 per cent. The company is responding mainly through cost cuts, saying TV costs fell about 8 per cent in FY26.

Governance

Chair Peter Tonagh told the AGM the board believes the company is undervalued, and noted that largest Shareholder Birketu has been buying shares on market.

Investor discontent was nonetheless clear. The remuneration report received 34.4 per cent of votes against, above the 25 per cent threshold for a first strike, and roughly a quarter of votes opposed performance rights for the chief executive.

Risks and what to watch

The main risk is that television revenue keeps falling faster than costs can be removed, particularly if economic conditions weaken advertising budgets. Higher debt makes asset-sale proceeds and promised synergies more important.

A further uncertainty is the government's News Bargaining Incentive. Nine intends to accrue an expected amount during FY27, subject to greater clarity from government, but does not expect first cash until the first half of FY28 and has not given a figure. The half-year result in February 2027 will show whether the second-half-weighted growth forecast remains on track.