Seven West Media has axed between 100-150 staff including three of its top executives and unveiled a new operating model in a bid to restructure the troubled television business.

The restructuring sees three senior executives out - chief revenue officer, Kurt Burnette, chief marketing and audience officer, Mel Hopkins, and head of sport and MD of Seven Melbourne, Lewis Martin. Insiders told Mi3 the cuts are deep and there is “blood-shedding” underway.

Under the new model revealed this morning, SWM will be divided into three divisions: Television, Digital, and Western Australia. Angus Ross has been appointed Group MD, Seven Television; Gereurd Roberts takes on the new role of Group MD, Seven Digital; and Maryna Fewster continues as CEO, SWM Western Australia.

"To build a better media business and to make the most of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to change the way we think and operate. That includes changing the way our executive team is structured and how it works together," said Jeff Howard, SWM Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, the former CFO who took over the reins from James Warburton in May.

Among the reshuffling of senior management, Seven has brought in a new chief operating officer role, appointing Trent Dickeson to the task. In addition, Craig Haskins has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. Other management changes include the appointment of Brook Hall as Seven Network's Chief Content Officer and Vikki Friscic as Head of Sales Strategy and Enablement.

The move comes as all of Australia’s major media businesses face severe pressure, with share prices and market caps crumbling and double digit ad declines per early SMI data. Seven, which is less diversified than the likes of Nine and News Corp, is particularly exposed, but all are facing increasingly hard choices.

Local media companies are also coming to terms with the winding up of bargaining code cash from Meta, which has long indicated that it has no intention of paying to carry news. Seven’s deal was estimated to be worth up to $15m annually and is thought to expire this week.

Howard said the intention is to set up new, accountable and transparent profit centres for our Television and Digital business units.

"The dedicated, end-to-end digital business unit will make sure we capture all the growth digital is going to deliver. Television and Digital will work very closely with our content teams to ensure we maximise the digital growth opportunity as it develops. We're also appointing a Chief Operating Officer to drive continuous improvement and efficiencies," he said.

"I'd like to sincerely thank Kurt, Lewis and Mel for their contributions to Seven and they leave with our best wishes for the future. Combined they represent more than 65 years of experience at Seven and it is always very disappointing when such changes have to be made. Our focus, however, is on ensuring Seven West Media's structure matches our strategy to optimise television, deliver our digital future, find new revenue streams and manage our costs responsibly."

Howard acknowledged individual contributions of the departing executives in his statement, noting Burnette's role in building the best Sales team in the business, Martin's work in making Seven the first choice for Australians when it comes to sport on TV, and Hopkins' efforts in refocusing Seven as a digital-first business.

"In his 34 years at Seven, Kurt played a key role in building the best Sales team in the business, leading us to market leading revenue share, and bringing important innovations to market for our clients. He has also championed the industry's adoption of total TV and converged trading, which are critical to our future," Howard continued.

"Across three decades at Seven and most recently as head of sport, Lewis and his team have made Seven the first choice for Australians when it comes to sport on TV, be it AFL, cricket, Supercars, the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games or any of the many other sports across the screens of Seven. They are the reason Seven is Australia's home of sport. Lewis was also a vital part of our work with the Big Freeze and the Royal Children's Hospital Telethon.

"Melissa made a significant difference to the way Seven takes itself to market and how we talk to both viewers and advertisers. In 15 months, she built a new marketing and creative team, led key marketing and brand initiatives and helped refocus Seven as a digital-first business."