BBC2 Controller Appointed

The BBC has announced that Mark Thompson, currently the BBC’s head of factual programmes, is to be the new controller of BBC2.

He will take up his new post in the early Autumn, succeeding Michael Jackson whose appointment as director of television and controller of BBC1 was announced last month as part of a BBC shake-up (Newsline 10/06).

Under Mr Thompson’s stewardship, factual programmes have played a key part in the recent successful performance of both BBC channels – from HMS Brilliant and Animal Hospital on BBC1 to The House, Modern Times and Video Nation on BBC2. He was also responsible for new sequences of factual output including Watchdog Healthcheck, The Good Food Show and Ready, Steady, Cook.

BBC2 is currently experiencing a boom in popularity: it is the only terrestrial television channel to have increased its share of viewing in recent years, growing from 10.3% in 1995 to 11.2%, taking it ahead of Channel 4 in all-hours share for the first time in three years. Its average weekly audience reach is 84%.

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