Credit: Miguel Teirlinck via Unsplash
Seven West Media final results as a separate company show revenue worse than expected, down 2.1% to $712 million for the six months to December in a "challenging and volatile" TV advertising market.
Guidance given at the company’s AGM was for revenue to slip 1%.
The shortfall was attributed to a weaker than expected advertising market in November and December and the impact of shortened Perth and Melbourne Ashes Test match broadcasts.
Seven’s total TV advertising revenue, including the acquired Southern Cross regional TV markets, was $585 million, down 0.8%.
Seven’s total TV revenue share grew by 2.7 points to a record 44.1% for the half, mitigating some of the 10.1% decline in the total television market.
TV advertising revenue fell by 4% to $487 million, including the acquired Southern Cross regional TV markets, and by 6% to $474 million on a like-for-like basis against a market that declined by 11.5%.
7plus advertising revenue increased by 15% to $98 million against a market that fell 2.7%.
“Seven West Media’s result as a stand-alone business reflects continued total television audience and revenue share growth in a challenging advertising market,” said CEO Jeff Howard, now heading the combined SCA and Seven group, Southern Cross Media.
“The ongoing commitment to addressing cost inflation continued in the half, with initiatives in place to offset contracted and acquired cost growth.
“Our premium content continued to drive solid total television audience growth of 3.4% across Seven and 7plus during the period.
“We maintained our leading position in national news, growing Sunrise by 5% and 7NEWS by 4%. Home and Away audiences grew by 5% and My Kitchen Rules’ 16% growth was driven by exceptional streaming results.
“Seven’s Summer of Cricket also delivered exceptional growth, with The Ashes up 12% and Big Bash League growing 9%.
“The West continues to execute its strategy of driving audiences across its digital platforms. December 2025 Ipsos iris data shows The West’s digital platforms generated a collective audience of 5.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%. The Nightly strongly contributed to this growth, with a 25% year-on-year increase in audience numbers.”
Southern Cross Media’s standalone results are in the process of being finalised, to be released later this month.
However, Seven said total audio revenues have continued to outperform the market, up about 3% in the six months to December.
The ongoing focus on expense management has held operating costs broadly flat year-on-year, with reduced non revenue related costs offsetting marginal increases in revenue related costs.
Half year total audio EBITDA is expected to be within the range of $39 million to $41 million, an increase of 25% to 30%.
LiSTNR continues to deliver strong growth, with EBITDA expected in the range of $2.5 to $3 million.
Seven's trading update summary:
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