Gary Fenton, Australia Olympic TV Maestro, 76
Gary Fenton will be known as a broadcaster who brought coverage of the Olympics to new generations in Australia.
His career as an executive in sports TV covered the gamut, from cricket to Aussie rules football, but Fenton’s work on the Olympics will be remembered above all.
When he retired in 2012, Fenton had been involved in coverage of the Olympics for Australia TV beginning with the 1976 Games in Montreal.
Gary Fenton was 76 when he died January 31 in Sydney. Fenton had been treated for prostate cancer over the past 13 years. He is survived by his wife Marie and three adult children.
At a date to be determined, a celebration of Fenton’s life will be organized. Always quick with a quip or keen on irony, Fenton’s humor was a constant. Even in his last days he is said to have kept his spirits up with visits from an old friend.
Fenton was the head of sport for Seven Network in 1994 when he was tapped to lead the Sydney Olympic Broadcast Organization, SOBO as it was known by acronym. Charged with delivering the host broadcasting signal to the world’s rights holding media, Fenton also knew that the 2000 Olympics would be an enduring event in the history of Australia. The product delivered by him and his team had to be right.
The 2000 Olympics produced the moments that made it so. Cathy Freeman’s gold medal on the track, Ian Thorpe conquering the pool, Fenton watched over these Games like none other before. He was intent on delivering the best. He was awarded the Golden Rings, an IOC prize for Olympic TV presented after every Games.
Post Sydney, Fenton joined the Nine Network in 2006 as head of sport. He helped secure the network rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2012 Games in London, his final as an executive. Last month, Nine reacquired the rights to the Olympics, running from 2024 in Paris to Brisbane in 2032. The record-setting package is valued at $350 million. Decades earlier, Fenton was an advocate for Seven to bid for multiple Games, establishing the model that led to the Nine’s latest deal for Australian rights.
Fenton’s death follows just a month after that of his colleague Manolo Romero, former head of host broadcasting for the Olympics from 1992 to 2012.
Although a Sydneysider for many years, Fenton was born in Melbourne. The Victoria capital is also the home of Australian Rules Football, which Fenton followed with a passion throughout his life. He assembled an extraordinary collection of Aussie Rules memorabilia as well as Olympic objects. His collection of Olympic torches is said to be one of the best in Australia.