The numbers don’t lie, and it’s become abundantly clear that some of you lot have a serious appetite for industry chaos.
We tallied the page views to reveal exactly what hooked our Mediaweek audience in 2025.
That’s a trade media leading +10 million page views worth, by the way!
First on the list was the Alex Cullen saga. The uncertainty around his future, combined with the wider boardroom drama at Seven, was the story you simply could not ignore.
But the obsession extended far beyond one network.
Abbie Chatfield’s legal bill proved to be a massive drawcard, while Hamish McLennan’s apology to Kyle & Jackie O saw traffic skyrocket.
Even corporate confusion drove clicks, as the HBOMax rebrand left everyone guessing.
From a Sky News farewell to the rally for Stevie Jacobs’ return, your hunger for updates was insatiable.
We held up the mirror, and it revealed exactly who we (well, you) really are.
Keep clicking and enjoy.
1. Alex Cullen reveals new hosting gig after Today Show axing
Mediaweek readers couldn’t look away from the seemingly endless Alex Cullen–Nine–Adrian Portelli saga. It had all the ingredients: fame, money, ego and a spectacular own goal.
The story kicked off back in January, when Cullen accepted a $50,000 gift from billionaire Portelli after becoming the first TV journalist to dub him “McLaren Man” — a rebrand Portelli was keen to lock in as he tried to ditch the “Lambo Guy” tag. Nine was less impressed, and Cullen was soon shown the door.
Since then, readers have followed every twist, from Cullen’s post-Nine hosting gigs to his re-emergence across the dial, including new roles at Seven and on WSFM.
2. Sky News Australia farewells veteran presenter after 17 years
After 17 years on Australian television, Sky News Australia presenter Kenny Heatley announced his departure, not just from the network, but from TV entirely.
In a heartfelt post shared on social media, Heatley reflected on his nearly two-decade career in front of the camera, describing his final day at Sky News Australia as the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
3. Abbie Chatfield to pay $79,000 in defamation case
It might just be one of the most expensive social media posts ever made.
Influencer Abbie Chatfield has agreed to pay her former friend Heath Kelley $79,000 after being sued for defamation over a string of Instagram stories that reached hundreds of thousands of followers.
4. Ex Today Show weatherman Stevie Jacobs reveals his TV return
In this Mediaweek exclusive, Jacobs revealed he would be joining the team at the Australian-founded, global news platform, LeadStory.
Jacobs left The Today Show back in 2019 in order to focus on being a father to his two young girls, telling Mediaweek that he “was away for probably 250 days a year, and that just didn’t work with kids”
5. Max announces shock rebrand just six weeks after launching in Australia
A mere six weeks after launching in the Australian market as Max, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would rebrand as HBO Max.
The initial rebranding of HBO as Max aimed to unify HBO’s prestige content with Discovery’s lifestyle programming. However, it’s understood that the move faced criticism for diluting the HBO brand’s identity.
6. Leadership shake-up at Seven as network announces new roles
Just days after the sudden departure of 7NEWS boss Anthony De Ceglie, the Seven Network has announced a major shake-up across its sports division.
The network confirmed that Joel Starcevic had been promoted to Head of Horse Racing and Cricket, while Anna Stone stepped into the newly created dual role of Head of Commonwealth Games and Executive Producer of Cricket.
7. Which network won the ratings war for 2025?
Year-end ratings spin went into overdrive as networks declared victory across every metric, turning 2025 into a season of shiny participation trophies.
Strip away the bravado, though, and the numbers tell a clearer story: Seven edged Nine on Total TV share, Nine strengthened its hold on key advertising demos, and 10 delivered its biggest streaming year yet by capturing younger audiences migrating rapidly to connected screens.
8. ARN chair Hamish McLennan apologises for Kyle & Jackie O’s content
If there was ever a saga that gripped the Australian media landscape, this was it: ARN’s decision to sign Kyle & Jackie O to a reported $200 million, 10-year deal.
From the headline-grabbing contract to the fallout – redundancies, job losses, an advertising black hole and the show’s failure to properly land in Melbourne – Mediaweek readers couldn’t get enough of it.
This article, in which chairman Hamish McLennan addressed the misfire, marked one of the first clear signals that all was not well inside ARN’s executive suite.
9. Azerion returns to Australia with Scroll Media
Azerion unveiled its new reseller partnership with digital advertising sales house Scroll Media.
The strategic collaboration will allow Scroll Media to offer engaging formats to collaborated audiences using the digital advertising and entertainment media platform’s proprietary technology, in a safe, engaging, and high-quality environment.
10. marie claire Australia’s rebrand signals a bold new era for the iconic title
Who says print is dead? Certainly not the team at Are Media.
To celebrate marie claire’s 30th anniversary in Australia, the brand decided to undergo a facelift across both its print and digital offerings.
In this interview, editor Georgie McCourt told Mediaweek her goal was to keep pace with its international counterparts while remaining true to its mission of empowering women.