Veteran Oz TV exec David Leckie dies

Former Australian broadcasting executive David Leckie, who was hailed as the last of the TV “rock star CEOs,” has died at his home south of Sydney after a long illness, aged 70.

David Leckie

Savvy and often outspoken, Leckie led the Nine and Seven Networks during an illustrious 40-year career. He served as Nine’s CEO from 1990-2001, cementing its position as the dominant free-to-air network.

In 2003 he was appointed CEO of Seven West Media (SWM), where he spearheaded the network’s ascent to number one in ratings and revenue with a formidable line-up of news, sport and entertainment.

He stepped down in 2012 but continued as a director and consultant at SWM until 2016. He retired in 2017 but was brought back to Seven in 2020 in an executive mentoring role.

Leckie began his career as a sales executive at Nine’s Melbourne channel in 1977. Nine CEO Mike Sneesby said: “David Leckie was a giant of television. He contributed enormously to the success we all shared with him here at Nine – his instincts and leadership heralded the golden era of Australian television. He set the culture of excellence at Nine that still exists in our DNA today.”

SWM chairman Kerry Stokes said: “I had a close association and friendship with David for more than 20 years and finally enticed him to Seven in 2003, when he started the difficult process in turning around the network’s fortunes.

“David achieved the turnaround quickly and effectively, building a winning team, financial and programming model, which delivered us leadership of the TV industry for many years.

“He had a magnificent grasp of television and what people wanted to enjoy, whether it be news and current affairs or light entertainment programming, and he achieved success in every aspect of his leadership of Seven.”

James Warburton, SWM’s MD and CEO added: “David was a true legend of the Australian media industry and a loved part of the Seven family. Everyone at Seven will miss him enormously.

“Inspiring, engaging, loud, passionate and famously difficult at times, he was an extraordinary sales person and an intuitive TV programmer. Without a doubt he was the best TV executive this country has ever seen and an important influence and mentor for so many people and careers. He was once labelled the last of the rock star CEOs and I’d say that was a pretty good description.”

He is survived by his wife Skye and their children.