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John Porter receives ASTRA Pioneer Award

Former AUSTAR CEO John Porter has received the fourth annual ASTRA Pioneer Award today.

2013-03-14_1730Former AUSTAR CEO John Porter has received the fourth annual ASTRA Pioneer Award at the 2013 Conference held in Sydney today.

Porter led the development of AUSTAR from its inception in 1995 until 2012 when it merged with Foxtel.

It was under John’s leadership that AUSTAR set several industry benchmarks: the first to go digital in 1997, and was the first to provide interactive services with Weather Active, and T-Mail – these were revolutionary for the time, not just in Australia, but within the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to leading business initiatives, John also steered AUSTAR’s unique spirit and culture that emerged through its entrepreneurial beginnings, championed its women executives and was a strong force in the community – with initiatives like AUSTAR for schools, the Channel V bus tour and AUSTAR Carnival. These achievements are more considerable given the challenges presented by scale and geographic reach to viewers.

“This is such an honour and I’m grateful to be recognised by ASTRA and everyone in the industry in Australia. I share this with the rest of the AUSTAR team who, have been instrumental in shaping the lives and entertainment choices of regional Australians,” said John Porter, former CEO of AUSTAR.

“The ASTRA Pioneer Award acknowledges the outstanding achievements and contribution made by individuals in the subscription television industry. This year’s recipient, John Porter, leaves behind a legacy of commitment to new and ground breaking programming, ongoing investment in Australian content, countless community initiatives and the development of talented and committed employees,” said the Hon Steve Bracks, Chairman of ASTRA.

John is soon to move to Brussels, as CEO of Telenet, Belgium’s largest broadband cable provider.

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