Power comes in many forms in television land: marquee-name actors with the clout and following to have a project greenlit; behind-the-scene producers who can broker multi-million-dollar finance deals; news reporters who have earned the public's trust, and executives with the foresight and nous to negotiate lucrative rights agreements. Some are household names; others are just a name in the end-credit sequence.

With the help of a panel of industry insiders, we have assembled a list of the 30 most influential people who are shaping TV as we know it today in Australia.

Waleed Aly, co-host, The Project

Since being elevated to co-hosting duties on Ten's weeknight current affairs show, Aly has brought gravitas back to commercial TV news and proven that entertainment and information can be compatible.

Patrick Brammall, actor

After a career playing on the sidelines, a stunning performance as Rupert Murdoch in Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War turned Brammall, below, into a leading man and Australia's busiest actor.

Matt Campbell, Nick Murray and Michael Cordell, Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder

This indie production house has turned out a range of groundbreaking documentaries and dramas, from the headline-making Go Back To Where You Came From to the forthcoming (and timely) comedy The Ex-PM.

Jennifer Collins, head of non-fiction, Screentime

Former head of factual at the ABC with credits as varied as Poh's Kitchen and Who's Been Sleeping in My House who has made the jump into the commercial space.

Ross Crowley, director of content, strategy and programming, Foxtel

With free-to-air networks dismantling their US output deals, Crowley's new role puts him, Foxtel's spending power and a suite of channels in the centre seat of new rights negotiations.

Patrick Delany, chief executive, Fox Sports

Veteran sports executive (below) who controls the largest portfolio of subscription sports channels and plays a central role in the negotiation of sports TV rights.

John Edwards, executive producer, Endemol Australia

Edwards and his producer partner Imogen Banks are responsible for some of the most accomplished dramas of recent years, including Gallipoli, Party Tricks, the forthcoming The Beautiful Lie and the "rebirthed" Offspring.

Mark and Carl Fennessy, co-chief executives, Endemol Shine Group

Television hitmakers, and siblings, below, who have steered Shine, and now Endemol Shine, to the top of the production heap.

Sarah Ferguson, ABC journalist

One of Australia's best journalists, below, who has delivered a broad range of impactful work (including The Killing Season) and played a role in breathing new life and relevance into Four Corners.

Richard Finlayson, director of television, ABC TV

The man who controls the ABC's suite of channels – ABC, ABC2 and ABC3 – as well as its rolling news service, ABC News24, and its powerful free streaming platform, iView.

Angelos Frangopoulos, CEO, Sky News

The irresistible force attacking network news' immovable object, Frangopoulos is the main reason Sky News, the 24 hours channel, consistently punches above its weight.

Michael Healy, director of television, Nine Network

The champion of counter-programming, Healy shows it can be every bit as important to finesse someone else's schedule as it is to write your own.

Chris Hilton and Ian Collie, Essential Media

The production partnership behind some of Australia's most outstanding – and exportable – dramas, including Rake, The Broken Shore, The Principal and a new series of Jack Irish dramas. Ian Collie pictured below, on the set of The Broken Shore.

Ian Hogg and Jo Porter, FremantleMedia

A management combination which has reignited Fremantle's slate across every genre, but notably its game show Family Feud and its critically acclaimed (and well exported) drama Wentworth.

Rick Kalowski, head of comedy, ABC TV

A former comic writer, Kalowski has a sharp, irreverent take on Australian life – particularly our politicians – and embodies an ABC philosophy of kowtowing to no one.

Glendyn Ivin, television director

With Gallipoli and Puberty Blues, cinematographer-turned-director Glendyn Ivin brings the eye of a cinema auteur to TV drama, heralding the kind of finesse associated with US premium cable shows.

Rick Maier, head of drama, Ten Network

A skilled drama executive with a shrewd eye for innovative stories who sailed a steady ship with Ten's drama slate, even as other parts of its schedule struggled and sank.

Shaun Micallef, actor/writer/producer

One of the few remaining artists who can cross networks, platforms and genres with ease, Micallef continually thinks outside the box with bold, big ideas.

Julia Morris, actor/presenter

In a business notorious for executives who won't share their toys, Morris (below) has used her star power to achieve the impossible: successful gigs on rival commercial networks.

Jon Penn, chief executive, BBC Worldwide Australia and NZ

With a background in brand licensing (for Fremantle), Penn helms the BBC's Australasian operations, including a formidable slate of output and an expanding channels business.

Rikkie Proost, executive producer, My Kitchen Rules

The executive producer of what has become one of television's enduring formats, My Kitchen Rules, a reality television series which demonstrates powerfully that story, and not cooking, drives the genre.

Sally Riley, head of Indigenous television, ABC TV

A powerful figure in bringing Indigenous voices to the screen, and a stylish knack for exploding genres, from the brilliant Redfern Now to the mischievous Black Comedy.

Leigh Sales, ABC journalist

The presenter of the ABC's current affairs flagship and, with a surgical precision which is rarely seen in modern television journalism, Australian television's best interrogator.

Adrian Swift, head of content, ABC TV

A former Nine Network executive whose portfolio included hits such as The Voice and Big Brother, Swift brings a commercial sensibility to the ABC's entertainment slate.

Brian Walsh, director of television, Foxtel

Having steered Foxtel through two decades of growth, Walsh is TV's original triple threat: a vastly experienced multi-channel executive with a knack for programming, marketing and publicity.