Sam Chisholm

Best known for his career in media that spanned more than four decades, as Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) Sam played a key role in the formation of the joint venture that launched Sky News in Australia in 1996.

He served as Chairman of Australian News Channel, the operator of Sky News Australia, from 2004-2007.

“Sam had a great passion for Australian content and, in particular, news. Professionally he was an inspiration and it was a privilege to work with someone whose life was television.

“I equally feared and loved his unsolicited analysis of what was right and wrong about what we were doing on air – he was always right. My thoughts are with his wife Sue and daughter Caroline,” said Angelos Frangopoulos, CEO Australian News Channel.

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Foxtel released this statement following the death of Sam Chisholm this week:

Sam Chisholm passed away on Monday evening, following a short illness. He was 78.

Sam Chisholm is best known for his career in media, spanning more than four decades and two hemispheres.

He was born in Auckland, New Zealand on October 8, 1939, and educated at King’s College. He began his working life as a farmhand, then emigrated to Australia in his early 20s and initially worked as a travelling salesman. From product sales he moved to media sales, and then into management. He was appointed Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Nine Network in 1975, at 35 years of age. For the next 15 years the network enjoyed a position of dominance in programming, ratings and revenue.

In 1989, Chisholm joined Britain’s Sky Television as Chief Executive, leading the company through a merger with its competitor to form British Sky Broadcasting. BSkyB became the world’s most successful satellite pay television operation, based in part on the creation of the FA Premier League competition.

In December 1997 he retired from BSkyB but remained a director for a further two years. In 1997 he was appointed by the British Government as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the New Millennium Experience Company, responsible for the Millennium Dome project.

In 1998 he was appointed a Director of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

By the end of the 1990s Chisholm’s health was fading and he returned to Australia. He was born with an enzyme deficiency (Alpha-1 Anti-Trypsin) which affected his lungs.

After nearly two years on a waiting list, in March 2003 Chisholm received a bilateral lung transplant at St Vincent’s Public Hospital in Darlinghurst, Sydney, thanks to the Federal Government’s transplant program and the country’s organ donation system.

From 2000-2007 he was a Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and was appointed a Life Governor in December 2003.

In 2004 he was inducted into Australian television’s Hall of Fame and awarded a Gold Logie.

In 2005 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology.

Also, in 2005 he received the International Honour for Excellence award from the International Broadcasting Commission.

In 2007 he joined the board of the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse cancer treatment centre and was its chairman from 2009 to 2012.

From 2009 to 2012 he was Chairman of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplant Authority.

In 2013 he was appointed an Order of Australia (AO), for service to medical research and health organisations in Australia as a corporate leader and through fundraising.

Sam Chisholm passed away peacefully on the evening of Monday July 9, 2018, at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga with his wife Sue and his daughter, Caroline, from his first marriage, by his side.

The Sydney Morning Herald: Sam Chisholm, the former CEO of the Nine Network in Australia and Sky Television in the UK, has died. He was 78 years old, reports Michael Idato.

Chisholm passed away on Monday evening at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, following a short illness.

His wife Sue and his daughter Caroline, from his first marriage to Ronda Chisholm, were by his side.

During his tenure at Nine in the 1970s and 1980s it was confirmed as Australia’s most successful network in both audience and revenue terms.

It is no coincidence that many in the next generation of Australia’s television executives – Nine’s Michael Healy and Foxtel’s Ross Crowley and Fleur Fahey, among many others – were professionally baptised at Nine under Chisholm’s reign.

Crowley, who is Chisholm’s nephew, said Sam would be remembered “for his relentless passion for his work and for life, and his enthusiasm at the prospect of new experiences and new ideas.

“He probably clashed most with people whom he thought didn’t share that. But as he himself would say, I’m often wrong, but never in doubt,” Crowley said.

Television journalist Jana Wendt, who worked as a reporter on 60 Minutes during Chisholm’s legendary tenure at Nine, described him as “a huge character”.

“There will only ever be one Sam,” Wendt told Fairfax Media.

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The Australian: Sam Chisholm, who died on Monday evening aged 78, was a visionary and a trailblazing force in the Australian and global television industries, writes Bruce McWilliam, commercial director of Seven West Media and a former executive director of BSkyB.

He was a pioneer of both free-to-air and subscription television, building commanding positions in each.

He was just 35 when he became the managing director of TCN Channel 9 Sydney. Those were the days of the two-station rule, before national networks, and the Packer family owned TCN Nine in Sydney and a stake in GTV 9 in Melbourne.

He had a close relationship with Kerry Packer, who succeeded his brother Clive in running Nine and in turn came to mentor Kerry’s son Jamie, who he described as highly numerate. Sam was totally competitive and had a little sign on his desk saying: “To err is human, to forgive is not my policy.”

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The Daily Telegraph: In his prime, Sam Chisholm was a man who went “everywhere at top speed”, reports Holly Byrnes.

Hosting industry mates and family on his beloved boat, which he moored in the Hawkesbury River, the former Channel 9 boss would have its twin Caterpillar propellers “replaced many times just to extract an extra knot or two out of them”, his one-time colleague and longtime friend, Peter Meakin, told News Corp Australia.

It’s the perfect metaphor for Chisholm, who started his working life as a farmhand in his birth country of New Zealand, before moving to Australia, where his life in the fast lane of television would take him around the world and back again.

His death, at 78, should not have shocked anyone who knew how close he came to the end before a double-lung transplant in 2003 gave him a second chance at life.

“He was given three weeks to live 16 years ago,” Meakin, now Ten’s news director, said.

News Corp Australia’s Michael Miller, who worked with Chisholm on the Sky New Zealand board and together on an organ donors campaign, said: “[He] was a legendary figure in Australian media who was respected and admired by all for his extraordinary success in television. Known for his strong leadership, firm opinions and ability to identify winning shows and talent, he will forever be remembered as the man who made television great. He was also a generous and tireless contributor to multiple charities.”

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• Outdoor consolidation: JCDecaux agrees on terms to acquire APN Outdoor
• JCDecaux CEO Steve O’Connor on trams, phones and M&A activity

The Smartframe network consists of over 300 premium and small-format assets and reaches 60.4% of OG1 audiences across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Included in the network:

• JCDecaux’s digital street furniture network
• The new Telstra digital kiosks
• The rapidly growing and newly digitised Yarra Trams network
• Large format assets The Collins, The Clock and The Spencer
• Locations along Sydney’s York St, Eddy Ave and Elizabeth St
• Queensland Rail locations

The rapid digitisation is set to continue, with JCDecaux reaching 2,350 hand-selected, digital Smartframe locations by 2020, to complement the more than 55,000 digital screens the company has across 45 countries.

At launch, the Smartframe network will reach 48.2% of the total population, 60.4% of OG1 premium audiences and achieve over 80% pedestrian contacts – the highest in Australia for any on-street digital-only network.

JCDecaux Australia CEO Steve O’Connor said: “JCDecaux has reached the digital tipping point of scale that allows advertisers to access our premium, exclusive and digital-only network across four Australian cities. This is the first time we are offering such a powerful digital network. It’s a key part of our commitment to produce world-class designed, intelligent digital assets.”

Smartframe also offers advertisers geo-spatial audience, behavioural and transaction insights, utilising the data and insights capabilities of JCDecaux’s Codex, Orbit and Pigeon Project.

JCDecaux Chief Commercial Officer, Max Eburne, said: “Similar to TV channels and programs reaching different audiences, so does our digital network, which offers advertisers valuable audience and environmental nuances in different precincts and the ability to deliver more relevant, tailored messaging. A commuter on a tram, for example, will have a different mindset from a consumer in a retail precinct.

“The obvious benefits of high dwell times throughout the most premium locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth CBDs means our network delivers unbeatable digital engagement opportunities for brands. By leveraging intelligent audience insights, Smartframe creates powerful moments of audience interaction that are relevant, meaningful and incredibly human.”

Co-chief executive and major shareholder Graham Burke said Village Roadshow, which owns the Village Roadshow cinema chain and the SeaWorld, MovieWorld and Wet’n’Wild theme parks, was “rebounding” as the company finalised a $51 million rights issue that it will use to pay down high levels of debt. It also flagged it would take a $95 million goodwill impairment on the parks division because of weak earnings.

As well as paying down debt and forecasting stronger revenues, Village Roadshow will continue to cut costs, including slashing directors’ fees and the salaries of its two chief executives by 25%.

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The TV host and newsreader only discovered the social media fraud after friends asked about the story, which falsely claimed she’d left the TV industry to market face cream.

Despite efforts by Channel 9 lawyers, the scam is still hooking victims, with complaints mounting about fraudulent credit card charges.

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According to five sources, Peter Yeung was sacked last month after a Times editor on the travel desk discovered that he’d been posting reviews behind the backs of editors and sending them to companies.

Yeung – who worked as a data reporter for the Times for nearly two years and wrote at least two front-page stories for the newspaper – was immediately sacked for “gross misconduct” and escorted from the newsroom when his system for posting the reviews was uncovered by Times management.

“This is the worst mistake of my life and I’m truly sorry for risking the reputation of the paper,” Yeung said in a statement. “It was an idiotic decision and I’ve rightly lost my job and can’t afford to pay rent.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. But it’s what I deserve.”

Responding to a list of questions about how the newspaper had responded to Yeung’s behaviour, a Times spokesperson said, “The Times does not comment on personal matters”.

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Lorna Gray

Gray brings over 10 years’ experience in print and digital media, and has been tasked with bringing a new approach to the brand’s content and operations.

Fiorella Di Santo, GM of Publishing at Bauer, said, “We are so pleased to have promoted Lorna from within the business. She understands the Cosmopolitan brand and its audience. She will be responsible for continuing to build a strong brand identity across all channels be it on social, digital, events or in print.”

Read more at mediaweek.com.au

The SpongeBob Challenge is a memory game that allows kids to interact with their favourite SpongeBob characters, and will be part of the inaugural Alexa kid skills available on the Amazon Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices.

Ben Cox, vice president and GM of Nickelodeon Australia and NZ, said: “The SpongeBob Challenge is the latest example of establishing innovating ways Aussie kids can learn and be entertained. Australia is the first international market to launch The SpongeBob Challenge, and it is a perfect example of our deep understanding of kids and how they engage with technology.”

Read more at mediaweek.com.au

But it is also a celebration of the success of our female performers to carve their own musical careers in the face of sexism, inappropriate behaviour and being told you are not good enough.

Her Sound, Her Story screens at Event Cinemas, City, from today at 7pm.

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Season 2 of the broadcaster’s exploration of the homelessness crisis will feature five high-profile Australians swapping their privileged lives to discover what life is like for the nation’s homeless in the country’s most expensive city – Sydney.

Produced by the award-winning Blackfella Films (First Contact, DNA Nation, Deep Water: The Real Story) Filthy Rich & Homeless will air on SBS over three nights at 8.30pm: Tuesday August 14, Wednesday August 15 and Thursday August 16, followed by a live special at 9.30pm (16 August).

The five high profile Australians are:

• Actor and broadcaster Cameron Daddo
• Charity fundraiser and Sydney socialite Skye Leckie
• Author and journalist Ben Law
• Politician and activist Alex Greenwich
• Singer and Instagram star Alli Simpson

The five volunteers have agreed to swap their privileged lifestyles for 10 days of being homeless in Sydney. Their preconceptions about homeless people will be shattered as they find out what it’s like to go from having everything to having next-to-nothing.

With their phones, ID and money taken from them, the five participants will each be given second hand clothing, a sleeping bag – and nothing else.

Leading the five participants on the social experiment is celebrated journalist and passionate advocate for the issue Indira Naidoo, and social researcher and homelessness expert Dr Catherine Robinson.

Blackfella Films Producer Darren Dale and Series Producer and Writer Jacob Hickey said: “The facts are that more and more Australians are becoming homeless every day. The crisis is getting worse and that’s truly shocking. Blackfella Films believes in factual content that has a social conscience at its core and we hope that this second series builds on the first to inspire those who have the power and means to tackle this critical problem.”

SBS Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: “The second series of Filthy Rich & Homeless is an honest and compassionate exploration of what it’s like to be homeless in Australia today as it shines a light on a part of our society often overlooked and ignored.

“After SBS aired the series in 2017, homeless organisations saw an increase in volunteers and donations and it helped spark a national conversation – it exceeded our expectations. We hope to raise the bar even higher this time by introducing five high-profile Australians with the potential to elevate the national discussion and effect real change.”

Filthy Rich & Homeless is produced by Blackfella Films for SBS in association with Screen Australia and with assistance from Create NSW. It is based on a format created by Love Productions, broadcast by the BBC in the UK and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

Telstra Broadcast Services’ NetCam is the next evolution of Telstra’s Globecam unit, a world leader in live, point-of-view miniature camera solutions that specialise in live sport.

Telstra’s NetCam is deployed on each side of the net to deliver audiences with an unprecedented panorama of Wimbledon’s Centre and No. 1 Courts during match play. In addition to improving the fan’s viewing experience, the miniature camera technology also provides players and officials with a unique, live net’s eye view of the on-court action.

Trevor Boal, head of Telstra Broadcast Services, said: “After a series of successful debuts in Prague, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris and now London, Telstra’s NetCam is a game-changer in delivering a more immersive broadcast experience for tennis fans around the world. Broadcasting vision from Telstra’s NetCam is a first for The Championships, Wimbledon, enhancing match coverage like never before.”

The NetCam device is the result of several years of research in Telstra’s Globecam facility in Melbourne working closely with tennis authorities and the AELTC to ensure viability. Globecam has its own proprietary camera and software allowing creation of a unique device in a custom-designed housing. The technology captures live play during the broadcast production with high quality HD, stabilisation and degree of control once only dreamed of. The market leading device includes:

• Full HD 1080i/50
• Full remote camera control for colour and exposure
• Digital pan and image and framing adjustment
• Lightweight unit discretely fitted to the net

Tennis is the latest sport to feature Globecam after a number of sporting events around the world including cricket, all codes of football, motor racing and even live sky diving. NetCam will feature at The Championships, Wimbledon, throughout the fortnight