SBS boss James Taylor to take over oOh!Media

SBS boss James Taylor will leave the broadcaster after a seven-year stint in charge and with three years remaining on his contract to take up a position as chief executive of outdoor advertising company oOh!media.

Taylor, who has spent 13 years with the broadcaster, was chief financial officer before his promotion in 2018. SBS will begin its hunt for a new managing director while also searching for a new chair after George Savvides departed in June after one term as chair.

oOh!media is an out-of-home advertising company, which sells advertising space billboards and bus stops and other outdoor furniture. The company’s chief executive Cathy O’Connor, a former radio executive, announced her departure in April after five years.

SBS’s acting chair Christine Zeitz said Taylor is leaving the public broadcaster in “remarkable health”, with an expansion to Western Sydney on the cards and the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup to be broadcast exclusively.

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“On behalf of the Board I want to thank him for his thoughtful and committed leadership of SBS for the past seven years,” Zeitz said.

Taylor will leave SBS later this year and will take over oOh!Media in early 2026 upon O’Connor’s departure. Taylor was approached as part of the recruitment process to replace David Anderson at the ABC, however ruled himself out.

It has been a privilege to lead SBS, Taylor said, adding he is proud it is now reaching the biggest audiences in its history, producing more original local content than ever, “and doing it with a credibility we’ve earned, not claimed”.

Taylor joins a flourishing outdoor media sector where advertising revenue grew by 9 per cent across the recently finished financial year, bucking wider industry trends.