I first meet Brian Walsh when I was starting in this insane business (TV). We both were working for Channel 10 in Sydney. I remember him as a delightful warm and friendly man, who always had time for a rookie, green around the gills who longed to learn. This was a very different attitude to the rest of the management who were only interested in progressing their own power base and climbing the corporate ladder.
He was a prince among men.
“For the first 12 months it was all about launching pay television into the Australian market. Those days we were in competition with Galaxy and Optus Vision. Sam Chisholm [former Foxtel chair, director, and consultant] at the time said we need to find a program director. I kept going back to Sam with names from the industry. He kept asking me to do better and in the end I ran out of names.
“In the end he asked me to do it. When I explained I was a publicist and had never done TV programming, Chisholm replied, ‘Don’t worry, there’s not many people watching so if you make a mistake no one’s going to notice.’
“For much of the last 27 years I have been responsible for much of the Foxtel programming, promotions, publicity, and marketing. All of those years I have been a consultant and I was never an employee. The workload though was so consuming I never had the opportunity to do the other things I like to do.
“As I move into this chapter of my career, I thought it was time to spread my wings and do some other things. The Foxtel directors, management team and the proprietor have been extraordinary and have understood that”.
“I have signed a new contract with the company to continue doing what I love – telling Australian stories. In due course I will get to branch out in the entertainment industry and do a few other things.”
Sadly, some of those exciting “few other things” won’t be happening.
Mediaweek included Brian Walsh on the inaugural Mediaweek Icons list published in October 2022 and he was a special guest at the first Mediaweek Power Lunch.
Mediaweek also saw Walsh late last year at the Herald Sun Melbourne launch event for the Future Victoria campaign.
Just a few days later Walsh was at the Enmore Theatre in inner-city Sydney where he was bust promoting the second season of Upright. He posed for our camera before the premiere with star Tim Minchin and then was busy afterwards asking Foxtel guests how much they enjoyed the first episode which Foxtel had just screened.
Brian Walsh was always a great supporter of Mediaweek and he found time to answer any questions and give us quotes when requested and he will be sadly missed, yet very fondly remembered.
Foxtel remembers Brian Walsh: ‘For us the loss is heavily felt’.
Foxtel released this statement this morning:
The Foxtel Group has expressed its profound sadness at the sudden loss of Brian Walsh, an iconic figure throughout Foxtel’s 28-year history and one of the most admired creative leaders in Australian television. Brian died in Sydney yesterday.
Brian began his career with ABC before going into feature film production and distribution at Palm Beach Pictures and promotions and publicity at Sydney Radio Station 2SM. After five years at Radio 2SM, Brian joined Network TEN, where he launched major network events, including the acclaimed Kennedy Miller mini-series “Vietnam”, “The Bangkok Hilton”, and “The Dirtwater Dynasty”. Brian’s also credited with responsibility for the global success of the iconic Australian family drama series, “Neighbours and launching the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, and Guy Pearce.
Brian initially established his reputation as a gifted media, entertainment, and sports publicist. His CV is a roll-call of iconic moments in television marketing and publicity including the creation of the Simply The Best season launch for the National Rugby League which featured Tina Turner. Brian was also the creative force behind a series of blockbuster Grand Final and State of Origin Entertainment shows and events while also being the much-loved publicist for the largest Australian international concert tours including by Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Ricky Martin, and Barbra Streisand.
In 1995, Brian was a key member of the management team that established Australian subscription television with the launch of Foxtel. Brian’s talent and his unique ability to engage people saw him become Foxtel’s creative force over the past two decades including overseeing all scripted and unscripted commissions for the Foxtel Group. This includes some of Australia’s best quality, most loved television series including Wentworth, Upright, Deadline Gallipoli, The Kettering Incident, The End and most recently the award-winning and globally distributed series Love Me, Colin from Accounts and The Twelve.
Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said: “This is a very difficult day for the Foxtel Group family, for Australia’s creative community and the millions of Australians who watched and loved the stories that Brian bought to life through television. Australia’s creative community has lost a much-loved figure in Brian. For us, the loss is heavily felt.
“At the Foxtel Group, Brian was a long-time mentor, a confidant, a colleague, and an unwavering friend to so many. Today, we are grieving Brian’s passing. Our condolences go to his family and to those closest to him. We have lost an icon of Australian television that will never be replaced. Rest in peace, Brian.”
“For the first 12 months it was all about launching pay television into the Australian market. Those days we were in competition with Galaxy and Optus Vision. Sam Chisholm [former Foxtel chair, director and consultant] at the time said we need to find a program director. I kept going back to Sam with names from the industry. He kept asking me to do better and in the end I ran out of names.
“In the end he asked me to do it. When I explained I was a publicist and had never done TV programming, Chisholm replied, ‘Don’t worry, there’s not many people watching so if you make a mistake no one’s going to notice.’
