ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate departs

ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate has exited the organisation, leaving the TV industry body’s future in doubt.

ThinkTV confirmed Portrate’s departure, saying in a statement that “the structure and direction of ThinkTV has […] shifted”.

The industry veteran led ThinkTV from its creation in 2016. Her previous roles included CMO at Helloworld and senior roles at Tourism Australia and agencies.

ThinkTV has been under pressure after the 2023 defection of Foxtel from the group, and Foxtel’s subsequent rejection of the OzTAM ratings system.

On Tuesday, Seven West Media boss Jeff Howard hinted at the end of an era, calling for “improved industry collaboration” during the half yearly earnings call.

“We’re optimising our traditional assets with initiatives such as improved industry collaboration to promote the strength and effectiveness of Total TV, driving industry synergy and efficiency to underpin economic resilience,” he said.

“One of the things that I’ve been doing with Matt [Stanton] and Bev [McGarvey] is just sitting down and talking about where we are doing things duplicate, or triplicate in some cases, and where we might be able to partner more effectively.

“We’re looking at the industry bodies as well, we want to make sure we’re getting the best value out of the industry bodies that represent [us]. So, a lot to do on that front.”

ThinkTV began in 2016 as an unprecedented coming together of Australia’s commercial broadcasters to push the benefits of TV in the context of declining linear audiences and competition from global digital platforms. With the departure of Foxtel, the remaining stakeholders are SWM, Nine and Paramount, owner of Ten.

Mumbrella understands SWM chief commercial officer Henry Tajer and Nine acting chief sales officer Matt James will join the ThinkTV board. Both men are new in their roles, with Tajer appointed in January, replacing Seven’s long-time sales head Kurt Burnette. James replaced Nine’s chief sales officer Michael Stephenson in December. Stephenson subsequently moved to ARN as chief operating officer.

Full statement from the ThinkTV board:

“The ThinkTV board thanks Kim for her unwavering dedication and support over the last 10 years. She has been a powerful advocate for broadcast television, delivering groundbreaking research and campaigns that have ensured TV is the first on and last off the plan for many Australian advertisers. In the past decade, the industry has seen rapid change. To accommodate this, the structure and direction of ThinkTV has also shifted. ThinkTV will continue to champion the benefits of Total TV, and the board will share more details of how the organisation will do this in due course.”