Foxtel CEO and managing director Richard Freudenstein has been appointed to the board of Network Ten it has been announced today.
The appointment comes after Foxtel bought a 15 per cent stake in the Network and did a deal in July for Multi Channel Network (MCN) to sell its ads.
Ten chairman David Gordon said: “I welcome Richard to the board of Ten. His wealth of experience within the media industry, both here and overseas, will provide insight and assistance as we continue to develop Ten’s growth strategy into the future.”
As CEO of Foxtel, Freudenstein has overseen the finalisation and implementation of the Austar merger, forming a single national subscription television business, and more recently the introduction of Foxtel’s new pricing and packaging, which is already changing the dynamic in the Australian market.
This year Freudenstein has led the launch of Foxtel’s television, broadband and telephony bundles and the iQ3 set top box.
Freudenstein was formerly the CEO of News Digital Media (the digital division of News Limited) and CEO of The Australian newspaper. Prior to News Digital Media, he worked at British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) for seven years, including six years as Chief Operating Officer.
He is a director of Real Estate Group Limited, Foxtel, ASTRA, Presto TV and Multi Channel Network. He is also a member of the Business Council of Australia.
Mr Freudenstein said: “I am delighted to be joining the Ten board at this exciting time for the network. Recent ratings performances have demonstrated the potential for further audience and revenue growth. I look forward to working with my board colleagues and Ten management to deliver on that potential.”
