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Australia’s IT Channel publication landscape is in the process of expanding with US-based, The Channel Company taking back the CRN license (that NextMedia had been using) and launching into Australia itself. We now know that NextMedia, which has been preparing for this eventuality for months – what with similar having happened around the world – will call the replacement to CRN.com.au, Techpartner.News because it was shown in a presentation at a CRN.com.au event tonight.
What do we know?
- Talk of The Channel Company repatriating all of its global CRN licenses has been rife for more-than a year.
- Athina Mills, a former NextMedia employee who Edited iTnews spin-off, Digital Nation and later, Gizmodo (before that licence was abandoned in Australia) will be Editor of the new, local CRN.com brand.
- Most Australian technology editors were approached for the role which pays relatively very well. It’s
a self-sufficient, WFH-based role reporting to overseas bosses with a limited local team. - The paper-version of Australia’s CRN died with COVID in 2021 and it has primarily been an online entity ever since.
- CRN.com.au has a sizeable commercial team which has funded the title by leveraging NextMedia’s considerable industry database for EDMs and events that range from intimate roundtables to large-scale conferences.
- CRN.com will be launching from scratch with brand recognition as its primary key selling point.
- Key commercial partners of CRN.com.au have been well aware, for some time, that the editorial and commercial teams, plus the business operations will remain the same and only the masthead will change.
It will be very interesting to see how CRN.com fares in Australia when it’s essentially starting from scratch, especially with rival publications, ARN, Channel News, Moxie Insights also mature in the local market.
The presentation which publicly unveiled the new brand, included the following event schedule:
At the time of going to press, the new domain displays the following graphic with a countdown timer:
The image of editor, Will Maher, at the bottom is part of a sizzle-reel launch video for the new re-brand. You can watch it, here.
Last Updated on February 27, 2025 by Nick Ross
