Seven’s 2027 power play: one group, every platform

The dance partners have been chosen. Now the music starts, and Seven Media Group has to show how well everyone moves together.

That is the task sitting beneath the new name, the programming announcements and the commercial technology unveiled at the company’s upfront presentation. Television, radio, streaming, podcasts, and publishing share a floor. 

The 2027 plan is to get them moving in time.

Southern Cross Media Group’s rebrand as Seven Media Group gives the combined business a common identity. Its strategy gives advertisers a clearer idea of what that combination is supposed to deliver: shared talent, connected audience data, content that travels between platforms and fewer complications when buying across them.

New shows and new hosts, of course. Ricki-Lee and Jim Jefferies will take I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! into its Seven era. Matt Shirvington gets a prime-time game show. Michael Clarke joins 2DayFM breakfast.

But the larger story sits between those announcements. Seven is setting out how a television viewer, a radio listener, a podcast fan and a newspaper reader fit within the same business, and how an advertiser might reach them.

One name, a much bigger proposition

Seven Media Group says its portfolio reaches 20.4 million Australians each month, with more than 17 million registered users across its content offerings.

That gives managing director and CEO Rohan Lund considerable scale to take to market. He argues that, despite the proliferation of platforms, people's reasons for seeking out media remain familiar.

“Our strategy is built upon a simple belief: in a fragmented media landscape, Australians still come together because while the media has changed dramatically, people haven’t.”

Lund’s vision lets each part of the business keep its own audience relationships while contributing to the wider group.

“Our job is to meet Australians where they are. Across television, audio, publishing, and digital, we continue to grow and engage audiences across every platform.”

For advertisers, that means a portfolio stretching from Seven and 7plus to Hit, Triple M and LiSTNR, alongside The West Australian, PerthNow and The Nightly.

The commercial challenge is making that breadth useful. A long list of brands can fill an upfront slide; making them work together requires the systems, people, and buying arrangements behind it.

Making the combination easier to buy

Three announcements carry much of that responsibility: Seven iD, Studio Seven and Phoenix Exchange.

Seven iD brings together first-party audience relationships across 7plus, LiSTNR and The West Australian. Studio Seven adds an integrated strategy, creative and content partnership capability.

Phoenix Exchange, currently under development, will make a defined portion of the group’s video and audio inventory available through flexible buying arrangements connected to customers’ preferred technologies.

Together, they address different parts of the same advertiser brief: understanding the audience, developing the work, and buying the media.

Chief revenue officer Natalie Harvey described the objective in practical terms.

“We are making it easier for brands to trade across our entire media ecosystem. Whether through integrated Total TV and audio trading, leveraging the trust of The Nightly and The West Australian assets, authentic content integrations, or live data collaboration, our focus is clear: removing friction, improving efficiency, and delivering measurable commercial outcomes for our clients.”

The distinction between the announcements matters. Seven iD and Studio Seven are being launched; Phoenix Exchange remains a development roadmap. The upfront establishes the direction. Its execution will determine how much simpler the experience becomes for agencies and clients.

A sharper answer to who’s watching

Seven’s expanded partnership with LANDMARKS ID adds another piece through SCOPE, a planning platform combining consumer intelligence from a panel of more than 500,000 Australians with OzTAM’s VOZ total TV measurement data.

It gives buyers a more detailed view of how Seven’s programs and sporting events reach customers of specific brands and categories.

Demographics remain useful. But advertisers also want to know whether the viewers are relevant to the product they're selling and whether a sponsorship puts the brand in front of the right potential customers.

SCOPE is designed to inform those decisions across broadcast, 7plus, entertainment and sport.

Seven’s director of sales, television and streaming, Katie Finney, said the platform had already been presented to major agency holding groups and independent agencies.

“As advertisers increasingly seek greater accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes, solutions such as SCOPE will play an important role in bridging the gap between audience measurement, consumer intelligence and advertising effectiveness,” she said.

It gives Seven a more detailed planning argument to accompany its reach figures. Campaign results will provide the next test.

Cricket puts the strategy on air

The clearest example of the combined business at work may arrive in the commentary box.

Brendon McCullum will return to Seven for the Australia-New Zealand Test series in December while making his Triple M Cricket debut. Ricky Ponting will also join Triple M alongside his television commitments.

Those appointments give the group recognisable voices across two different ways of following the same match.

A fan might watch a session on Seven, stream on 7plus, listen in the car on Triple M and follow the surrounding discussion through LiSTNR or social media. Seven’s sports strategy is built around those movements.

Director of sport, TV, audio and streaming, Chris Jones, put it this way:

“Our offering is built around the way Australians want to engage with sport today. They might watch the game live on Seven, stream on 7plus, listen to the expert analysis on Triple M or LiSTNR, follow the conversation across digital and social. Each platform offers a different way in, and together they create a more connected sporting experience.”

There is more programming around the matches, too. The Agenda Setters: Cricket, hosted by Xander McGuire and Will Pucovski, will add news, debate and analysis, with regular contributions from Justin Langer.

For the 150th anniversary Australia-England Test at the MCG in March, Stuart Broad returns to Seven, and Ian Botham returns to Triple M.

The sporting event supplies the focal point. The wider business supplies more ways to follow it and more opportunities for commercial involvement.

Familiar television, with room for new faces

Seven’s entertainment schedule follows a similar approach: retain established audience habits while adding new reasons to tune in.

Ricki-Lee and Jefferies will front I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! when the format moves to Seven in 2027.

Shirvington will host Stacks of Cash, developed by Eureka Studios and Seven, while Shane Jacobson fronts Caught in the Middle, in which a duo takes on 100 opponents across 15 questions.

Morgan Evans joins Marcia Hines and Amy Shark on the Australian Idol judging panel.

The additions sit alongside returning programs including Home and Away, The 1% Club Australia, The Chase Australia and Better Homes and Gardens, with news and morning television continuing to anchor the schedule.

On 7plus, the company is building another reason to visit with its 7plus First offering, giving viewers early access to international series including The Rookie, Ludwig, 9-1-1 and Chicago Fire.

Seven says 7plus has 15.5 million registered users, averages 1.1 million daily viewers and has increased streaming consumption by 50% year-on-year.

Those figures make streaming central to the commercial pitch and the programming schedule.

Podcasts move with their audiences

LiSTNR is expanding further into video, with full-video episodes planned across key titles including Hamish & Andy, Life Uncut, The Imperfects, The Howie Games and Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki.

Distribution across YouTube and Apple Podcasts gives audiences more places to find the shows, along with additional sponsorship and product placement opportunities. Comedian Maddy MacRae has also signed to launch a podcast in 2027.

Managing director of audio John Kelly said the business is pursuing a more unified approach.

“We now have a Total Audio focus designed to provide a simpler and streamlined buying solution for our commercial partners.”

The next step is making it work together

Seven’s 2027 plans give the new corporate name a practical brief.

Shared sports talent shows how television and radio can complement each other. Video extends podcasts' life and commercial possibilities. Seven iD connects audience relationships, while Studio Seven and the planned Phoenix Exchange aim to make those relationships easier for brands to use.

Community events offer another opportunity to bring the portfolio together. Seven, Hit and Triple M will support the Good Friday Appeal, while Telethon returns for its 60th anniversary broadcast.

The company has assembled the partners and set out the steps. In 2027, agencies, advertisers and audiences will begin to see how the combination performs.