Mr Ambitious – Has CEO James Warburton got what it takes to turn around Ten?
With a history of turning around struggling companies and a reputation for ambition. Ten CEO James Warburton is not afraid of a challenge. Brooke Hemphill asks if he’s the man to revive the struggling network.
“I’ve always wanted to be a CEO by the time I’m 40,” a young James Warburton told Allan Medforth, his onetime boss who he worked closely with at Universal McCann in the early 2000s. Warburton was at Channel Seven when he made the statement, in the role of chief sales officer, but it was not the first time he had spoken to Medforth about his career plans.
The comment couldn’t be far from his mind now that he sits in the big chair at Ten, two years after his 40th birthday. Nine months into the role, he might be wondering if he’s bitten off more than he can chew.
Great feature Brooke.
However, I think that saying ‘one hit could turn everything around’ is based on a time long passed in Australian television. Yes, one hit has rescued Ten historically (Big Brother, Master Chef). But those days are gone … audiences are much smaller now for ‘hit’ shows, Ten has no money and will have even less when 2013 finishes thanks to rate negotiations occurring now …
I think the question about JW’s ability to turn things around has already been answered.
More to the point. Can someone please direct me to the last business success of Lachlan Murdoch??
The proof will be in the pudding of the content he commissions and I see nothing in his resume that makes me think he has any idea about what quality content looks like. The mantra by most Australians has been for a long time “why is Australian TV so crap? ” And channel Ten have been at the top of that crap pile for a long time. I think SBS have a winning formula, they’re diverse and take chances, the problem with Ten is they have confused taking chances with commissioning generic boring crap whilst trying to appeal to a demographic that is utterly fickle. I doubt one man is going to change a culture of fear that has settled in at Channel Ten. The problems are obvious and I haven’t seen or read one comment from an exec at Channel Ten that makes me think they have the slightest idea how to fix it. Good luck!!