James Warburton, who heads Australian network Seven, has stepped down, effective immediately.
He had already been planning to exit his Managing Director and CEO role at Seven parent Seven West Media (SWM) in June, but an update to the Australian Stock Exchange revealed finishes today.
SWM Chief Financial Officer Jeff Howard will replace him tomorrow, with Craig Haskins becoming Acting CFO until a replacement is found.
SWM Chairman Kerry Stokes and Howard both thanked Warburton for “his contribution to the business over many years.”
The well-known media exec worked for Seven between 2003 and 2011 before he exited to become CEO of rival Ten Network, which saw Seven launch legal action to slow his start. After eight years and several roles away, he rejoined Seven in 2019 as MD and CEO.
Like most major commercial free-to-air networks around the world, Seven has been hit hard by the TV ad market decline and is in the middle of a major cost-saving drive as profits slumped.
Seven has been rocked by a series of scandals recently, including the reveal of damaging allegations from a former producer, Taylor Auerbach, made during a recent defamation case that former political lobbyist Bruce Lehrmann brought against Network Ten.
Auerbach claimed the network had paid for drugs and sex workers for Lehrmann, who was set to face a high-profile trial for rape before the case collapsed over juror misconduct, in order to secure an exclusive interview. Seven has denied the claims, which have been all over the Australia press in recent weeks.
Last week, Seven’s Sunrise also incorrectly named the Bondi Junction attacker, who killed six people and injured many others.
The post Seven CEO James Warburton Steps Down From Australian Network Ahead Of Schedule appeared first on Deadline.
