If you’re planning to quit the ABC board with 18 months left to run on your five-year term and don’t want to make a big issue of it, Christmas Eve is probably the ideal time to announce your intentions.
So it was with Peter Tonagh, pictured above, who walked away from the national broadcaster just as people were preparing the eggnog, racking up the Michael Buble CD and checking the Santa satellite tracker.
A former wheel at Boston Consulting Group, Tonagh has been a media executive in Australia for around 20 years, at Foxtel, REA Group and News Corp Australia.
Just three weeks after the ABC revealed Tonagh was bailing out early, we now know why.
On Tuesday morning Nine Entertainment announced Tonagh has been appointed as an independent non-executive director at the media company.
“With his extensive career in media, and in data and digital businesses, I am confident Peter will prove a valuable addition to the Nine Board, not only for Nine’s contemporary business but also for our strategic aspirations for the future,” said Nine Chair Catherine West.

Nine brands.
Tonagh holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Business Administration from European business school INSEAD. He has completed the Harvard Business Analytics Programme.
“I am excited about Nine’s leading position in the industry – about the powerful suite of assets it controls, and the opportunities for those assets to further evolve and work effectively together,” Tonagh said.
“I look forward to working with the board and management to ensure shareholders benefit from the ongoing strength of Nine’s position.”
A year ago Nine was trading on the ASX at $2. As of publishing it was at $1.29. The stock peaked at $2.92 in December 2021.