Vale: Geoff Brown

Industry veteran Geoff Brown, best known as the former Executive Director of Screen Producers Australia, has died.

He was Executive Director of SPAA from 2002 until 2012.

Current CEO Matthew Deaner has issued a statement:

Personally and on behalf of Screen Producers Australia, I would like to acknowledge Geoff’s immense contribution to the industry and his achievements over the 16 years with the organisation, 11 of which he led the organisation through a number of challenges.

After a career in Industrial relations with the Australian Navy and the ABC, Geoff worked for the then named Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) for 16 years. He started as SPAA’s Manager of Industrial Relations, and was Executive Director from 2002 until 2012.

Among his many achievements Geoff Brown negotiated industry benchmark agreements, consolidated SPAA’s financial position, and established the organisation as an important voice for the screen industry in the media and in Canberra.

Screen Producers Australia is grateful for Geoff’s outstanding contribution to our industry and extends our deepest sympathies to his son Nicholas and family.

Brown regularly championed Australian production on behalf of producers with networks, state government bodies and media.

In 2012 he told TV Tonight he questioned TEN’s approach to the debate on local content on multichannels,“You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

“You can’t say it counts as quota on the new digital multichannels and then say we don’t want any more. There’s an inherent contradiction in that.”

At the time he criticised moving Neighbours to ELEVEN.

“I think it was a cow of a thing to do to a great programme. I don’t think it did anyone any favours and I don’t think it did TEN any favours in the long run. They replaced it with a terrible News programme and lost their demographic in the process!”

He also hit out at Seven screening McDonald’s Gets Grilled in primetime saying, ”From our point of view, it’s an advertorial and not a documentary.”

And in 2011 he called for more local content on multichannels.

“Trawl through the TV guides and see how much Australian programming is on 7Two, Gem, Go! 7Mate, Eleven, etc. Hardly any. Why? Because there is no local content requirement on multichannels,” he said.

“The networks don’t have to show Australian programs so they don’t. And because these channels are rating, their profits increase even further and the overall Australian programming on our screens is diluted.”