Bruce Gyngell is best known by the general public in Australia for being the first face on television. When the commercial station Channel 9 in Sydney made its first broadcast in September 1956, Gyngell was the announcer who appeared to report the fact that television had arrived. His career was a remarkable and unique one in that he trained in the United States, operated in all spheres of the industry in Australia, and also played a significant role in television in the United Kingdom.

     Gyngell's remarkable career cannot be understood without understanding the structure of television in Australia. From 1956 until 1980, when the national multicultural network SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) was established, the Australian television system was divided into two sectors. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission, later Corporation) was modeled loosely on the BBC. A commercial sector first consisted of two networks (Nine and Seven) and later, in a controversial move, was joined by a third, the Ten Network. Because Australia had a small population (then around 15 million) spread over a very large land mass, three commercial networks were thought to be too many to be viable. Two of the commercial systems were owned by print media barons from their beginnings, and in 1980 the third, Network Ten, also fell into the hands of a print media owner, Rupert Mur­doch. While there was fierce competition among the three commercial networks, there was also collusion. For example, programs were acquired from U.S. suppliers in a manner that would not drive up prices for any individual broadcaster. Ultimately, Australia has been able to maintain all three commercial networks because traditionally there has been a high level-until recently, more than 50 percent--of imported programming. However, foreign programming does not by itself make for popularity. It has been the mix of local and overseas material that has led to strong ratings, and Gyngell 's skill as a programmer contributed to the successes of the stations with which he was involved. 

     Having trained in the United States in the mid­ l950s, Gyngell became programming director at Channel 9 Sydney in November 1956. Always the showman, he helped to make the Nine Network the dominant force in Australian commercial television. Gyngell's contribution was built upon a keen sense of audience tastes and an enthusiasm for catering to them. He scheduled a judicious mix of hit U.S. shows such as I Love Lucy, The Mickey Mouse Club, and Father Knows Best alongside such popular and long-running Australian-made programs as Bandstand and In Melbourne Tonight. Gyngell developed very strong links with U.S. program suppliers in those years, and his U.S. contacts and strong commercial instincts remained strong assets throughout his television career.

     Gyngell became managing director of Channel 9 in 1966 and remained there until 1969, when a programming dispute with the owner, Sir Frank Packer, drove him to Network Seven. There he became managing director and led the so-called Seven Revolution, a programming strategy successfully designed to put his new network ahead of Nine in the ratings. In I 971, after three years at Seven and at the age of 42, he moved to the United Kingdom and became involved with Sir Lew Grade's ATV, then a leading U.K. company holding the lucrative Midlands franchise. Gyngell was also deputy managing director of ITC Entertainment, Grade's production company. From this position, Gyn­gell supported the production of the first episodes of The Muppet Show, which the U.S. network CBS was unwilling to finance wholly. Between 1975 and 1977 Gyngell was a freelance producer, working between the United States and Australia.

     In 1977, in a move that was extremely controversial, Gyngell was appointed to be the first chair of a new broadcasting regulatory authority, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, established as a result of an inquiry organized by the conservative Fraser government. The former regulator, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board, had itself been replaced because it was seen to have been captured by the industry. Thus, Gyngell's complete identification with commercial television resulted in a great deal of criticism from observers worried about media concentration, the amount of Australian content, and the need for quality on television.

     Gyngell was a controversial and high-profile chairman. Under his tenure the promotion of children's television improved-a committee to advise the tribunal on programs suitable for children was established and quotas for such programming reinforced. But Gyngell also presided over the award of the Ten Network to Rupert Murdoch, a bitterly contested decision. Because of Murdoch's already substantial media holdings, there was fear of his domination of both print and broadcasting media. Gyngell argued the legislation did not permit him to refuse approval of Murdoch's acquisition, but other commentators saw the incident as affirming Gyngell's closeness to commercial broadcasters and his disregard for the public interest. At the present time, there has been no sober reassessment of this period of Australian broadcasting history; the jury is thus still out on Gyngell's tenure as chair of the tribunal.

     In 1980 Gyngell moved yet again to a new sector of the Australian broadcasting scene. Responding to determine "ethnic" lobbying, the Fraser government had established multicultural broadcasting in Australia in the late 1970s. When the first television station dedicated to this service was established in 1980, Gyngell was called upon to be its managing director. Given his lack of experience with either multicultural policy or public-service broadcasting, this was another controversial appointment.

     The beginnings of the SBS, as the new service was called, were naturally fraught with difficulty. The ethnic communities and the government probably expected that the television station would be like the multiethnic radio station-an access channel for which ethnic groups could make their own programs. Gyn­gell had quite a different idea. Instead of a low-grade, well-meaning but amateurish channel, he envisioned a top-class station that would show the best of television from around the world. With programming skills well honed from watching hundreds of programs at the annual Los Angeles buying sprees, Gyngell set out to acquire programs mainly from European sources. He programmed SBS with quality programs from Italy, France, Germany, and Spain as well as from the Middle East and Asia. And he attempted as far as possible to match the nationality of the programs with the composition of the ethnic audience in Australia.

     SBS television is generally deemed a success story, although its audience has never topped 2-3 percent. In its early days, its appeal was limited by its poor transmission conditions (a weak signal on UHF whereas all other television was on VHF), which made it accessible only to part of the population. Although it has remained controversial over the years, and although the very late advent of pay-TV in Australia in 1995 is likely to change its role considerably, the direction generally set by Gyngell has been adhered to and has led to SBS occupying a permanent place in Australia's broadcasting mix.

     Bruce Gyngell's next big career move was to become managing director of Britain's first breakfast television service, TV-AM. The franchise was awarded to TV-AM in 1984, and at the end of its first year of operation, when Gyngell arrived, it had accumulated losses of £20 million. He applied the experience he had gained in the more competitive environment of Australian television and began trimming costs, which had the desired effect of turning around the financial fortunes of the service. However, Gyngell's tenure at TV-AM was as controversial as his ventures in Australia. Many observers saw the service's profitability being won at the expense of quality. There was no doubt that TV-AM was the most tabloid life of any of the British franchises, but the material found a willing audience.

     The controversy  surrounding Gyngell deepened when, in 1987, he took on the broadcasting unions in much the same manner as his compatriot, Rupert Mur­doch, had challenged the print unions. Needing to trim the cost of his regional studios, Gyngell wanted to replace workers with automated studios. The unions went on strike, and for many months Gyngell and other managers ran the service, replacing local programming with a high dose of repeat imported programs. Gyngell eventually broke the strike by installing automated equipment and recruiting new, untrained staff whom he trained quickly, winning in the process a Department of Industry Award for innovations in staff development. No doubt, these maneuvers were the basis of his reputed high standing with then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. When TV-AM failed to bid successfully for the breakfast franchise in the 1992 round of allocations, Thatcher sent Gyngell a personal letter of commiseration.

     After TV-AM's removal from the British broadcasting scene, Gyngell returned to Australia to become executive chair of his old company, Network Nine. This position was largely ceremonial, however, and he returned to the United Kingdom in 1995 to become chair of the newly merged Yorkshire Tyne Tees service in Britain. He remained in this position until Yorkshire Television was taken over by Granada Media in 1997. In 1998 he was made Network Nine's international chairman, holding that post until his death from cancer in September 2000.

     Bruce Gyngell was a consummate television executive who played a significant role in television in both Australia and Britain. He worked in both the commercial and public-service sectors and as a regulator. He was an influential figure in Australian television from its foundation and brought to it a showman's flair, a deep love of the medium, and a keen sense of how to please audiences. It is no accident that when pay-TV finally arrived in Australia in 1995, he was once again the first face to be seen. He was recalled from Britain to announce the arrival of a new era of television.