Old boss returns to Footy Show

As reported yesterday, David Gyngell has appointed one of Nine’s old mates, Gary Burns, to take charge of the NRL Footy Show.

Burns will take the title of “Executive Producer – Event Television”, though The Footy Show is his first order of duty.

Burns has 18 years with Nine, 10 in sport, prior to his recent charge at racing network TVN.

“My 18 years of working at Nine were the most satisfying of my professional career,” he said. “I am very happy to be returning to Nine and working with a sensational group of people. I am particularly looking forward to working with David Gyngell and Steve Crawley.”

Burns was reportedly headed for a role with Telstra before Gyngell swooped and offered him the Nine gig.

He starts December 3rd.

Press Release:

David Gyngell, Chief Executive Officer, Nine Network Australia , today announced the return of Gary Burns to the business as Executive Producer – Event Television.

Burns, who has spent the majority of his career in television, was most recently the Head of Television at Thoroughbred Racing Channel (TVN).

Prior to that, Burns was with the Nine Network for over 18 years specialising in Sport for 10 of those years and entertainment for the remainder. Gary was behind the success of many of Nine’s flagship programmes including the Midday Show and Wide World of Sports. He also contributed to the constant innovation of televised sport and the introduction of new technologies into the medium.

Of his appointment, Burns said: “My 18 years of working at Nine were the most satisfying of my professional career. I am very happy to be returning to Nine and working with a sensational group of people. I am particularly looking forward to working with David Gyngell and Steve Crawley.

“I will be taking on a series of projects, first of which will be The Sydney Footy Show,” Burns added.

Nine Network Chief Executive, David Gyngell , said: “I’m certain Gary will continue the Nine tradition of producing the best, most interesting and relevant television events. We are focussed on getting the most experienced and talented producers at Nine.”

Nine Network Head of Sport, Steve Crawley, said: “ Gary is an absolute asset to Nine. We will work closely together to progressively develop the sporting entertainment programs. Gary ’s experience is incredibly valuable to the company and this move demonstrates increased investment in the network’s production.”

Gary will report to both David Gyngell and Steve Crawley and will commence his new role on Monday 3 December 2007.