Simon Murray, a popular and respected figure in the international TV business, has died aged 64.
Murray’s career spanned more than three decades in the advertising, publishing, and TV industries. A plethora of friends and industry colleagues have paid their respects since Murray died, April 6.
A career in media started at Zenith/Saatchi & Saatchi in the late 1980s, which saw Murray working on Zenith’s influential advertising forecasts, which were an industry benchmark for many years. He subsequently took managerial roles in the research departments of Kagan World Media and then Baskerville Communications, which published several newsletters focused on the global TV business. This was pre-internet and the TV reports and news publications were hard copy and subscription based.
When UK-listed Informa bought Baskerville, Murray moved into senior roles in the TV publications and research division. As well as managing large teams, he remained close to the international business, generating intelligence for clients as Principal Analyst.
Informa published numerous reports as well as the TV International, Film Finance, New Media Markets and Television Business International news publications.
Post-Informa, Murray launched his own business, Digital TV Research, capitalizing upon his reputation for first-class industry insight and analysis. He worked with clients from all sectors of the media, producing a huge library of market reports and data.
Murray’s wife, Kathy, let people know the news in a moving Facebook post. Reacting to his sudden passing, friends and colleagues expressed shock and sadness and paid tribute to an industry figure who had a reputation as being smart and insightful, with an extraordinary knowledge of the global TV business, but also who, at a personal level, was very kind and great company. Several people paying their respects had worked for Murray and said what a positive influence he’d had on their careers.
Murray was admitted to Northwick Park Hospital in London last week. He had been expected to make a full recovery, but died of a heart attack.
He is survived by wife, Kathy, two sons, Sean aged 32, Conor aged 29, and a daughter, Maeve, aged 27.