Gyngell's media career began in the record industry, in the mid-1950s, when he was hired by Australian label
Festival Records. He was soon poached by Sir
Frank Packer, who hired him to assist in the establishment of
TCN-9, Australia's first commercial television station, in 1956. Gyngell is often credited as being the first person to appear on
Australian television on 16 September 1956, when he spoke the words, "Good evening, and welcome to television". He was also the country's first television quiz host. However, many people (possibly several hundred) had already appeared in television test broadcasts in Australia prior to Gyngell, including performer
Alan Rowe, comedy duo 'Ada & Elsie', 'Happy' Hammond, and
Graham Kennedy. From 1964, Gyngell became the managing director of
Nine Network before switching to the
Seven Network in 1969. In 1972, he became deputy chairman of
ATV in the United Kingdom and also became Chairman of the ITV network planning committee from 1974-1976. Lord Grade refused to make him company chairman, so Gyngell left ATV in 1976 to become an independent producer, but within a year, he became the first chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (later the
Australian Broadcasting Authority) in 1977. Gyngell returned to the United Kingdom, where he became managing director at
TV-am between Spring 1984 and 1992 and is credited with introducing the sofa format of breakfast television. He returned to Australia in 1993 as chief executive of Nine. In 1996, Gyngell oversaw the rebranding of Tyne Tees to "Channel 3 North East", with Yorkshire adopting some elements of the "Channel 3" branding, and had intended to gradually roll out the "Channel 3" brand across the ITV network. On the station, an
ITV franchise holder, Gyngell refused to run late-night programmes carried elsewhere on the network such as
Hollywood Lovers which featured segments on such issues as genital plastic surgery. who ultimately dropped the "Channel 3" branding from both channels in 1998, and revived the "Tyne Tees Television" name. Gyngell repeated his opening night words upon the opening of the
Special Broadcasting Service in 1980, and again in 1995, when cable television brought along
Optus Television. He was the founder of the
Nine Network's music-variety program,
Bandstand, which he had adapted from the US programme
American Bandstand. ==Personal life==