WIN to buy NBN Television in northern NSW as Nine shifts station to affiliate model

30 January 2026

newy.com.au – WIN Network will take ownership and operation of Nine Entertainment Co’s NBN Television service in the northern NSW licence area, including Newcastle, under a deal announced on Friday 30 January 2026.

Nine told the ASX it had “finalised an agreement to convert NBN Television from a wholly owned business to an affiliate, to be owned and operated by WIN”, with NBN to continue broadcasting Nine’s signal under an affiliate agreement for a term of at least five years. The transaction is subject to Nine shareholder approval and other customary conditions, including Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval, with completion expected before 30 June 2026.

Nine said it would receive $14.8 million in cash consideration from WIN and expected the EBITDA impact of the change to be about $7 million in FY26 on a pro forma basis. The company said the deal would result in a specific item gain in its second-half result of about $1 million, inclusive of transaction costs.

Nine Group chief executive officer Matt Stanton said the day’s announcements marked “a critical milestone” in the company’s Nine2028 transformation, describing the transactions as steps to create “a more efficient, higher-growth, and digitally powered Nine Group”.

The NBN move was announced alongside Nine’s plan to acquire digital outdoor advertising company QMS Media and the sale of its broadcast radio assets. Nine said its digital growth businesses were expected to account for more than 60% of revenue from FY27, up from about 45% in FY25.

WIN, which carries Nine programming across regional Australia, says the WIN Network broadcasts into 29 markets across six states and reaches more than 5.2 million viewers. Under Friday’s announcement, that footprint will expand to include NBN’s Nine service in northern NSW, where NBN has been a prominent local brand for decades.

NBN became part of Nine’s broader stable in 2007, when James Packer’s PBL Media paid $250 million for the Newcastle-based station, according to ABC reporting at the time. The proposed sale to WIN would return the regional station to affiliate ownership almost two decades later.

The announcement also comes after recent staffing changes at NBN News, including the departure of long-time presenter and senior newsreader Gavin Morris, who was made redundant during cost-cutting in late 2025.

NBN3 first started broadcasting in 1962 as an independent Newcastle television station then ultimately became a nine affiliate in 1991 as its signal expanded from the Central Coast to the Gold Coast. NBN News remains unique in the Australian media landscape, using a system where pre-recorded local news segments are inserted over the top of Newcastle’s live bulletin for each region (eg. Tamworth, Port Macquarie), this allows the program to be customised for each regional area.

Nine said the NBN conversion process was expected to conclude before the end of the financial year, subject to the required approvals and regulatory clearances.

One question remains: will Big Dog keep his job?