Meet the woman calling the shots at News Corp | jmcduling JennieDuke
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Over the next few months through hours of painstaking emails, phone calls and meetings, she negotiated directly with Whelan, Telstra's then head of new businesses and the chairman at Foxtel at the time, to nut out a deal. Tellingly, no investment bankers were initially involved. All of which means the well-spoken and impeccably-dressed McKenna is, with the possible exception of newly installed ABC chair Ita Buttrose, the most powerful woman in the notoriously male-dominated Australian media landscape.
McKenna is an avid consumer of Sky's evening shows and sources say she doesn't shy away from providing feedback, both critical and complimentary. An executive who worked with McKenna for many years believes the glaringly different opinions about her is - at least in part - related to the fact she is one of very few strong women with a big job in Australian media.
Murdoch and McKenna have been involved in some highly significant deals since then. In 2007, together with James Packer, they attempted to take ASX-listed Consolidated Media Holdings private. But financing proved elusive and the deal fell apart. Illyria dodged a bullet: shortly after, asset values would collapse as the global financial crisis struck.
Hamish McLennan, former Ten executive chairman, says she was a strong supporter of the network's push into cricket via the Big Bash League in 2013."It was a large $100 million bet for the Network and there was nervousness from some stakeholders. Siobhan saw how big the idea was and supported me all the way. She was strong in her backing of this concept, when others weren't so sure.
Then opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull had been highly critical of Quigley, but McKenna's moves to pressure him didn't win her any favours. Turnbull openly criticised McKenna as well. After the Coalition won the 2013 election, the entire NBN board resigned as the Coalition prepared to embark upon a controversial re-design of the project."I am a great admirer of the turnaround she achieved at NBN Co," he says.
It gave an opportunity for the likes of Network Ten's chief content officer Beverley McGarvey, Nova's O'Connor and senior female figures from News Corp to meet. The invitation was also extended to other organisations connected to McKenna and Murdoch, like Breast Cancer Australia and the ballet community .
About 12 months earlier, McKenna had set up a secret internal project to develop a streaming service that would take full advantage of News Corp's tighter grip on the merged Fox Co business.
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