Australia’s SBS hires Disney alum as director of TV

Kathryn Fink

Australian broadcaster SBS has appointed former Disney exec Kathryn Fink as director of television.

Fink will take over the position on 4 July, following the departure of company veteran Marshall Heald, who left earlier this year to join Foxtel.

She brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the role, having most recently served as GM of media for Disney in Italy, where she was responsible for Disney+, pay-TV channels, original content production and content sales up until last year.

She has also served as MD at the Fox Networks Group in Italy and played a key role in the launch of Sky Italia in 2003. Remaining with the business for eight years she spent much of that time as head of programming.

While there, she oversaw original productions including Romanzo Criminale, Fiorello Show and the launch of Sky Uno.

James Taylor, SBS MD, said that Fink “brings a real breadth of experience to the role having worked across multiple continents, including America, Asia and Europe, and on all aspects of the global TV and streaming space – from content production, to operations and distribution, and across entertainment, fiction, factual and sports programming.”