Former Nine chief executive Hugh Marks has been announced as the new managing director of the ABC, and will replace the outgoing David Anderson from March 2025 for a five-year term.
Marks served as CEO of Nine from 2015 to 2021, and oversaw the merger of the company with Fairfax in 2018, which created the biggest media company in the country.
Marks led a number of key broadcast changes at Nine, including the negotiation of a record $1.8 billion broadcast rights deal with the NRL and Fox Sports, a $300 million deal to poach Australian Open tennis rights from rival Seven after more than 40 years, and the loss of Australian cricket broadcast rights to Seven and Foxtel after an equally long period.
A press release put out by the ABC stated Marks took Nine from a television network worth $800 million to a $5 billion “modern media business”.
“The ABC is an iconic and formidable media organisation,” Marks said in the release.
“No other institution has the reach and impact of the ABC, and it is a privilege to lead the ABC workforce as we confront the many technology and programming opportunities before us,” he said.
The managing director serves as the national broadcaster’s editor-in-chief, is responsible for editorial decisions, and answers directly to the ABC board. Anderson, per the ABC’s last annual report, made $1.16 million last year in total compensation (including a $974,000 base), and it is expected that Marks’ remuneration will be in a similar range.
Marks will join the ABC at a time of significant flux. The day before he was named the new managing director, the federal government announced a funding increase to the ABC of $83.1 million over two years from 2026-27, while the broadcaster continues to grapple with the findings of the Janke report. Described as “disturbing” by Anderson, the report found “overwhelmingly” consistent experiences of racism within the national broadcaster.
Following Anderson’s own abrupt decision to vacate the managing director post just one year into a second five-year term, Marks’ name sat firmly among the frontrunners for the role over the course of the four-month search for his replacement. Also considered were the likes of SBS managing director James Taylor (who reportedly turned down an approach from headhunters).
Marks resigned from Nine abruptly in late 2020 following reporting on his consensual relationship with a staff member that reported to him, and has spent the past three years leading a content studio called Dreamchaser.
Dreamchaser has produced a number of factual and non-scripted productions, including for the ABC, and was recently responsible for a series on parenting called The Role of a Lifetime starring Amanda Keller, Kate Ritchie and Nazeem Hussain.
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