Jobs go at Sky Racing as Tabcorp switches focus
From mumbrella.com.au
Tabcorp-owned Sky Racing has shed around 40 jobs in a restructure that will see a number of its magazine shows axed and coverage of racing expanded to 20 hours.
Inside Racing and Trials and Tribulations are among the programs expected to go as the channel looks to increase its focus on “wagering and our racing partners”.
Off the Beaten Track, GG Girls and Racing Around the World are also said to be history with new “operating procedures” enabling the expansion of racing with 8am starts and 4am finishes.
Among the roles to be made redundant include three presenters/race callers, three producers, five IT staff, three editors and three producers.
A letter sent to unions from Tabcorp said the restructure results from “an imperative to move towards a 24/7 business”.
Such a move reflects the “greater number of hours required for racing thus enhancing our role as a key enabler for the Tabcorp wagering business”, unions were told.
In a letter to staff obtained by Mumbrella, Brendan Parnell, chief operating officer for Tabcorp Media and International division, said: “It is a strategic imperative to move towards a 24/7 business with a greater span of hours for racing thus enhancing our role as a key enabler for our wagering business.
“This positions us to deliver on our strategy, be more efficient and effective and importantly assist our wagering business to compete effectively in a challenging environment.”
There will be three “functional” areas of the business, he continued – broadcast operations and technology, channels and international.
The revised structure, the result of a Media Workforce Transformation program, will provide “increased focus on the critical growth engine of international and increased alignment with wagering”, Parnell wrote.
Among the changes involved a review of “ancillary programmes during the winter recess to refine our focus on wagering and our racing partners”.
There will also be new “operating procedures” to enable its racing coverage to expand from 8am to 4am.
Gerard Brown, organiser at the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) estimated that around 8 to 10 per cent of the Sky Racing’s permanent workforce has been axed in the restructure, some of whom he suggested have been poorly remunerated despite many years of loyal service.
