Channel 4 Appoints Andy Duncan As Chief Executive
Channel 4 has surprised the broadcasting industry by announcing the appointment of Andy Duncan, BBC director of marketing, communications and audiences, as its new chief executive.
Duncan, the man behind the launch of the highly successful Freeview service, had not been named among the frontrunners for the position, which became vacant last month after Mark Thompson left to become director general of the BBC (see BBC Steps Up Pressure To Get Thompson On Board).
It had been expected that Peter Fincham, boss of Talkback Thames would be offered the job after Dawn Airey, the managing director of Sky Networks at BSkyB, ruled herself out of the running for the high-profile position last week.
Commenting on the appointment, Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, said: “Andy is the brightest media executive of the Channel 4 generation and I think he’s going to be a great champion of Channel 4’s public service mission and its unique brand of creativity.”
He added: “Having a brand specialist like Andy at the helm will offer us a competitive advantage in such a noisy and over-crowded marketplace. His skills will be very complementary to Kevin Lygo and the rest of Channel 4’s management team.”
Johnson pointed out that the new chief executive has genuine public-service credentials, as well as a strategic understanding of how digital media is developing. These assets will be key to Channel 4 as it looks to strengthen its position on the run up to digital switch over in 2010 (see Johnson To Name New Channel 4 Chief By End Of July).
Duncan said: “All broadcasters are under pressure from the growth of digital television, but I believe Channel 4 can face the future with confidence. Public demand for innovation and originality in television has never been higher and Channel 4, with its fantastic track record of delivery and its unique identity and remit, is best placed to satisfy that demand.”
Other industry figures linked with the top job at Channel 4 included BBC director of television Jana Bennett and Channel 4 director of television Kevin Lygo. Former BBC governor Heather Rabbatts and ex-Warner Music boss Roger Ames had also been linked with the role.
News of the appointment comes as viewing figures from BARB show that Channel 4 has enjoyed a remarkable start to the year with its audience share rising by 2.8% to 9.77%. The channel has enjoyed a string of hits including Shameless, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the fifth series of Big Brother (see Channel 4 And Five Benefit From Viewer Migration).
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