TLDR
Southern Cross Media Group will ask shareholders on 5 November 2026 to approve renaming the company Seven Media Group Limited, with the ASX code moving from SXL to SMG. The board unanimously backs the change, which follows the January 2026 merger with Seven West Media. A yes vote consolidates TV, radio, audio and print under one corporate and sales identity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The vote
Southern Cross Media Group (SCA) issued its notice of meeting on 2 October 2026, asking shareholders to pass a special resolution, Item 11 on the agenda, to adopt "Seven Media Group Limited" as the company's new name and shift its Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing code from SXL to SMG.[1] Under section 157(1)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), a name change by special resolution requires at least 75% of votes cast.[4]
The meeting is set for Thursday, 5 November 2026, at 11.00 am AEDT, Level 6, 8 Central Avenue, Eveleigh, NSW 2015.[1] The board has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour.[1]
The portfolio behind the new name
The merger of Southern Cross Media Group and Seven West Media was implemented on 7 January 2026, combining television, radio and publishing assets under a single corporate structure.[2] Chair Teresa Dyson described the outcome in the 2026 Annual Report: "The merged group brings together the Seven Network, 7plus, 7NEWS, The West Australian, The Nightly and PerthNow with LiSTNR and the Hit and Triple M radio networks."[3]
The combined group operates Channel 7, 7two, 7mate, 7flix, 7Bravo and 7NEWS.com.au, alongside 104 radio stations across the Hit and Triple M networks, the LiSTNR audio platform, and the West Australian Newspapers titles: The West Australian, The Sunday Times, PerthNow and The Nightly.[3] Any agency planning a national campaign can now route television, radio, audio and print through a single sales conversation.
Commercial timing and the name's logic
The AGM notice landed on 2 October 2026, less than three weeks before Seven's advertiser upfront presentation on 22 October 2026, placing the rebrand vote inside the annual buying season when agencies commit budgets. The name "Seven Media Group" puts television first; radio and print sit as assets inside a TV-led sales house rather than as peers beside it.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rohan Lund was direct about the commercial gap still to close. "We have not yet told our story to the market with the confidence it deserves. We are yet to deliver the return our shareholders expect. That is going to change."[3]
A yes vote on 5 November produces a single sales house covering free-to-air television and streaming on 7plus, AM and FM radio in capital cities and regional markets, digital audio on LiSTNR, and print and digital mastheads in Western Australia. The Constitution amendment attached to Item 11 runs under section 136(2) of the Corporations Act 2001, which governs how a company may modify its founding document by special resolution.[5]
If shareholders deliver the required 75%, the SXL ticker leaves the ASX and SMG takes its place, ending the Southern Cross name after more than two decades in Australian broadcasting.[1]
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What vote threshold is needed for the name change to pass?
When and where is the AGM being held?
What assets does the merged group operate?
What happens to the ASX code?
Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.
