Australia has produced few media moguls, and even fewer who are known beyond Australia. The most remarkable has undoubtedly been Rupert Murdoch, but not far behind is the figure of Reg Grundy. Like Mur­doch, Grundy found that global expansion could turn a media kingdom into an empire. Born in Sydney, he worked in commercial radio as a sporting commentator, station personality, and time salesman. Grundy developed a radio game show, Wheel of Fortune, which he adapted to television in 1959. As with the radio version, he worked as both master of ceremonies and producer on this first TV venture. Despite the coincidence of sharing this title with a U.S. counterpart, Wheel of Fortune was Grundy's own invention. However, he quickly discovered that he did not have the time or capacity to develop new quiz programs. Instead, realizing that U.S. network television could serve as a ready source of ideas, he began adapting programs such as Concentration and Say When for Australian television. However, in the 1960s he twice suffered simultaneous cancellation of all his shows.

     But by around 1970, he had rebounded. Selling to all three commercial networks, the business empire was taking shape. Game shows were the foundation, and the advent of stripped nightly programs such as Money Movers and Great Temptation in 1971-72 meant that his company was starting to turn a hand­ some profit. For Reg Grundy Enterprises, the economies of television game shows were such that it was possible to sell variants of a show on a regional or state basis as well as on a national basis. By now Grundy was displaying the two qualities that made him unique among Australian television packagers. The first was a capacity to spot and hire talented workers who would serve him well as managers and producers. As his company grew, he turned much of the day-to­-day concerns over to them.

     The second element of his business genius lay in his ability to recognize the value of particular program formats so far as scheduling and audience appeal were concerned. Increasingly Grundy himself concentrated on quality control on current shows and on searching for new formats. As always, American television was the key source although he also began looking to the United Kingdom.

     By the late 1970s international adaptation of pro­gram formats was becoming more regularized. Grundy established an ongoing relationship with the Goodson­ Todman group in the United States and had first call on their many television game show formats for adaptation in Australia and the Pacific. By now, the company, now known as the Grundy Organization, began buying game show formats in its own right. Among the first was a mildly successful U.S. program from the 1960s, Sale of the Century, which Grundy was to adapt in over 20 territories worldwide, including 20 years on­ air in Australia.

     Meanwhile, from 1974, the company had also become established in drama. Its first effort was Class of '74; this was soon joined by a clutch of others including The Young Doctors, The Restless Years, Prisoner; Sons and Daughters, and Neighbors. Having this second cash cow made the company enormously secure and it began thinking of international expansion. Having long outgrown its Sydney base and produced game shows for broadcasters right across the continent, there seemed no reason why the company should not seek new markets overseas. After all, the fact that many of its game shows had come from elsewhere meant that the company always had an implicit internationalism. To facilitate world distribution, most especially for its drama serials and, more occasionally, documentaries and feature films, Grundy appointed an independent agent to this task and later set up its own distribution arm. Additionally, the company was also building up its catalog of formats, both through purchase from elsewhere as well as those of its own devising.

     The 1980s and the 1990s is the story of Grundy as an increasingly transnational organization. The company set up a production office in Los Angeles in 1979, and by 1982 had programs in production in the United States, Hong Kong, and Brunei. However, the establishment of permanent offices in multiple territories was not part of its long-term goal. After all, in Australia, it had opened and closed offices in different centers as the demands of production dictated. The same logic operated internationally. Here, the key was ownership and control of formats both in game shows and drama serials. Typically, in any territory, the company sought a local production partner, as this co production strategy had several benefits. It allowed Grundy to act in a quality-control role; it helped guarantee a necessary "indigenisation" of a program format; and it enabled Grundy to retain control of the format for other territories. Meanwhile, distributing its large packages of drama serials, especially those produced in Australia, ensured that the company had a "calling card" when it looked to enter new territories.

     Nevertheless the company found it important to establish central offices in key regions. In 1983 the organization was restructured with Grundy WorldWide, headquartered in Bermuda, as the new parent. To serve its European operation-the most important sector of its activities-Grundy established a permanent office in London. It also set up offices in Chile to anchor its Latin American operation and one in Singapore that serviced Asia. Meanwhile, its Los Angeles office had a major function in developing new game show formats for the United States and elsewhere.

     But where was Reg Grundy himself in all of this? Until very recently he was the driving force behind the very highest officers in his company, always aware that good executives and new, attractive formats were the lifeline of his organization. Unlike Rupert Murdoch, however, he had no offspring to groom as a successor. Although his was a private company, some others did hold a minority of shares. Therefore, in 1995 he liquidated this asset, selling Grundy WorldWide to the Pearson International group for $386 million (U.S.). His executive team remained in place, continuing to expand the company inside Pearson. Although the larger organization has now become Fremantle Media, the Grundy name remains in place for various branches, most especially in Australia, where it is known simply as Grundy Television.

     Meanwhile, from his home in Bermuda, Reg Grundy continues as a very active (if remote) figure in Australian media through his private investment company, RG Capital. His private company owns several FM radio stations and has shares in others. He is also reported to have significant shares in Southern Star En­demol, ironically one of Grundy Television's main Australian rivals.