Nine Entertainment, Australia's largest media company, has sold its talkback radio stations to Sydney publican Arthur Laundy for $56 million, while also acquiring outdoor advertising company QMS Media for $850 million. The deal includes stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278, and 4BH, as talk radio profits decline and audiences age.
Arthur Laundy, 85, inherited two pubs in 1969 and built a group of 40 venues worth $1.75 billion, according to the AFR's 2025 Rich List. His son Craig Laundy, a former Liberal minister, manages the family business and expressed a desire to grow the radio network, emphasising the importance of talkback radio in Australians' daily lives. 'We see strong similarities between hotels and talkback radio,' he said.
Nine's restructure also includes converting its regional television station NBN in northern NSW to an affiliate. The company plans to use QMS's digital billboards to drive newspaper subscriptions and promote its streaming service Stan. Nine CEO Matt Stanton described the moves as a 'critical milestone' in the Nine2028 transformation, aiming for a more efficient, digitally powered group.
Sydney breakfast host Ben Fordham told 2GB listeners the sale was 'fantastic news' and that it would be 'business as usual', praising the Laundy family as 'decent, hardworking, knockabout people'. Tom Malone, Nine Radio manager, said staff should expect to see Arthur and Craig Laundy around the offices.
