The chairs in the CEO offices of ASX-listed media companies are being occupied by new players just as the advertising market softens.
While their rates of pay are holding firm, their bonuses are slipping.
Michael Stephenson, formerly of Nine, who moved to ARN Media as chief operating officer, has replaced Ciaran Davis as CEO.
Stephenson was paid $1,248,243 at Nine, down from $1,820,118, as he and fellow executives saw bonuses shaved, a reflection of a tough advertising market.
At ARN, Stephenson is on a base of $1.1 million, plus superannuation, but could more than double this with short and long term incentives.
ARN posted a 7% drop in revenue to $142.3 million for the six months to June in a "slow market" as the broadcaster cut costs and reported progress building a leaner, more agile organisation. Growth of 21% in digital helped offset falls in metro (-12%) and regional (-5%).
Ian Ball, the new CEO of Enero, home of creative agency BMF, a former AdNews Agency of the Year, has an annual salary of $850,000 including statutory superannuation.
Short and long term incentives could more than double that, deepening on his and the company’s performance.
Matthew Stanton, the newly minted chief executive of Nine, was paid $2,572,180 in 2025, according to the media group's annual report lodged with the ASX.
This was a better pay day than the year before when he, then working as CFO, received $1,074,631.
When he was appointed CEO, the company put him on a base pay of $1.6 million but he can more than double that with bonuses.
Mike Sneesby, who stepped down as CEO of Nine in September 2024, received a final pay of almost $3 million, according to Nine’s 2025 annual report.
Sneesby’s pay in 2025 was $2.962 million, and most of it, $2.148 million, in termination payments.
This was slightly up on the year before when he was paid $2.87 million. However, the final payment was for only for a part of a year's service.
Sneesby has since been appointed CEO of Middle East broadcaster MBC in Saudi Arabia.
Shareholders of Seven West Media delivered a “first strike” against executive pay at the media group’s annual general meeting in November.
Proxy advisory firm CGI Glass Lewis had called out the pay of CEO Jeff Howard, on a base of $1.25 million a year plus share performance grants.
However, no short or long term bonuses have been paid to senior executives at Seven for the last two years, according to the latest annual report.
At audio and radio broadcaster SCA, chief executive John Kelly gets a base salary of $800,000 a year, including superannuation, with the ability to more than double that under the executive incentive plan.
The 2025 annual report shows he received $1,464,890, including a cash bonus of $1,464,890 and performance rights of more than $250,000.
Outdoor media player oOh!media has appointed James Taylor, the former managing director of SBS, chief executive with a base salary of $1,344,000, about the same as outgoing CEO Cathy O’Connor.
O’Connor’s final pay as CEO won't be known for a few months, probably March when the company drops its annual report.
Her pay dropped by almost 13% in 2024. According to statutory disclosures, she received $1,833,562 in 2024 compared to $2,100,929 the year before.
Over at emerging media play Vinyl, CEO Josh Simons gets a base of $260,000 plus superannuation. His package is valued at $460,971.
In 2025, he was granted 10,000,000 share options but none vested that year. The year before he got 7,000,000. He has 24,503,486 shares in the company.
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