For media billionaires Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch being out-manouevred to buy Ten Network Holdings, the owner of Australia's third-ranking free-to-air television network, is a humbling outcome.

During the past decade, Ten has endured numerous leadership shake-ups and changes to its strategy. It became a vanity play thing for a who's who of Australia's billionaires, who saw it as a tool to wield political influence, serve their egos and demonstrate their business acumen.