Shares in Nine Entertainment have fallen after the the media company announced that chief executive Mike Sneesby will depart this month following a turbulent year.
Nine shares, trading ex-dividend, were down 4.6 per cent to $1.1875 in early afternoon trading on Thursday.
Mr Sneesby's departure was revealed by Nine's board on Thursday, with the newspaper owner and TV broadcaster saying it was the right time to refresh the role following the completion of its Olympics and Paralympics coverage.
"Mr Sneesby and the board consider now is the right time for a transition of leadership to take Nine into the next phase of its strategic transformation," a statement said.
Mr Sneesby will officially step down on September 30 with current chief finance officer Matt Staunton taking his place until the position is permanently filled.
"It has been a privilege to lead this business but now is the right time to hand over to a new leader," Mr Sneesby said.
The past year at Nine has been marred by significant drops in profit, job cuts and staff strikes.
The company's accounts released to the share market in August show its statutory net profit dropped almost a third to $134.9 million for the full year.
Nine owns some of Australia's biggest media platforms including Channel Nine, streaming service Stan, talkback radio stations 2GB and 3AW, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review.
All areas under the Nine umbrella joined a wider industry job crisis when the company announced 200 positions would be axed from its 5000-strong workforce after losing its media deal with Meta.
Before Nine's exclusive coverage of the Olympics started, Mr Sneesby came under scrutiny when he was seen carrying the Olympic torch in Paris while staff in Australia were on strike for better pay and conditions.
Other controversies at Nine included a spat by the former federal treasurer and chair of Nine Entertainment at the time, Peter Costello, who stepped down from his role in June after video emerged of a tense encounter between him and a journalist at Canberra airport.
Overall, revenue at Nine stood at $2.6 billion in August, down three per cent, with earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) at $517 million, down 12 per cent.
New chair Catherine West said in a statement at the time the company was performing well in a challenging market.
