Paramount has moved its South Australian commercial operations to a Melbourne office, striking the Network 10 Adelaide team with a round of redundancies, as first reported by Mediaweek.
Mediaweek cites an internal email that details that the local Network 10 sales head, Cameron Mudge, was the first to go, followed quickly by the wider Adelaide commercial staff. The final headcount was eight staff members, notified by an email from Paramount’s Chief Sales Officer ANZ, Rod Prosser.
In the email, Prosser said the decision to transition Adelaide’s sales operations was made “as part of our ongoing focus on driving earnings growth and transforming our business”.
The email continues: “This was not an easy decision, but one that was necessary to best support our business strategy. We understand this news is difficult, and we are committed to supporting those affected through this transition.”
“We would like to thank those employees who will be leaving for their valuable contribution to Paramount over many years. We wish them all the best.” Mudge was appointed General Manager and Sales Director for Adelaide in 2023, having been described at the time as “the right person to lead the Adelaide team forward.”
Despite the commercial job losses, Paramount has confirmed Network Ten’s Adelaide newsroom will not be affected. In a separate email also cited by Mediaweek, Paramount Vice President of News Martin White said there would be no changes to the local news operation. “There are no job losses or changes to the news team because of this,” White wrote.
“We remain committed to local news in Adelaide, which continues to go from strength to strength.” Journalists and camera operators will continue producing local news content for South Australia.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
The redundancies come amid continued senior movement across Adelaide’s television sector. Earlier this week, Nine Adelaide Director of News Jeremy Pudney announced his resignation in an all-staff email, confirming he will take up a role at Flinders University.
His departure follows a string of exits at Nine Adelaide, including deputy director Ben Avery, who left to join the South Australian Liberal Party as an adviser, and executive producer Fiona Clark, who departed after four years at the network. Last year, Nine also chose not to renew the contract of newsreader Kate Collins as part of a broader plan to cut 50 television jobs nationally.
The shift of Network 10’s Adelaide sales operation to Melbourne marks another step in the ongoing consolidation of broadcast media roles across Australia’s capital cities.
This article first appeared on Mediaweek.