Fox Sports says its latest round of job cuts is the result of a weak advertising market and lower viewership, not coronavirus.
The Foxtel-owned company has axed up to 20 roles from its news team, and will produce fewer hours of programming. Foxtel says it’ll change to its new news programming schedule at the end of this month.
“Customer viewing now peaks in the morning and evening with low daytime viewership, therefore we are going to focus on delivering live sports news and the channel’s marquee programs, including AFL Tonight, NRL Tonight and Cricket AM, during those peak periods,” a Foxtel Group spokesperson says.
“Unfortunately, less live sports news programming will mean a number of redundancies from the Fox Sports News team. Where possible we will seek to redeploy employees across the Foxtel group."
Foxtel Group highlighted that the decision is not linked to the impact of coronavirus, which has halted or postponed many sporting codes across Australia, but a weak advertising market.
“The decision is not about the coronavirus and its impact on sport," the spokesperson says.
“It simply reflects fewer viewers, particularly away from peak times – and the very soft advertising market.”
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