Brian Gallagher, the chair of Boomtown and former chief sales officer at broadcaster SCA, has been appointed commercial director - audio at Nine Entertainment.
He will be leading a revamped sales function for Nine Radio as part of a new commercial structure from July 1.
“The market for audio advertising has never been more dynamic, driven by audiences embracing our content across multiple platforms,” said Gallagher.
“I look forward to our refreshed commercial approach delivering effective audio advertising to a much broader suite of advertisers.”
Nine says the investment in the sales structure provides greater capability to unlock more advertising opportunities in talk radio.
In the media group's latest trading update, March quarter broadcast advertising revenue was weaker than expectations with a decline in the low double digits (%). Digital audio revenue grew by more than 20%.
The latest numbers from Commercial Radio & Audio show total radio revenue increased 1.2% to $262.1 million in the Mach quarter.
Nine chief sales officer Matt James said the change to the sales structure builds on Nine’s capability to deliver campaigns that can suit clients big or small, national or local, to engage and grow connections with audiences.
“Whether it be a multi-platform campaign or more local, immediate and radio specific, it’s the best of both worlds for brands,” he said.
Nine Radio’s managing director Tom Malone said the appointment is a vote of confidence in the potential growth opportunities that radio presents for Nine.
“This investment will help drive greater commercial returns from our unique audience offering and enable our teams to elevate our focus on direct sales,” he said.
“Brian is Australia’s leading radio and audio sales executive and is the perfect choice to deepen the collaboration of our sales division alongside our content and operations teams.”
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