Hannah Barnes to leave Five

Hannah Barnes, Five’s director of programmes for Fiver and Five USA, is leaving the broadcaster following the relaunch of the digital channels.

Five Life rebranded as Fiver at the end of April last year as the broadcaster sought to attract a younger audience (see Fiver Gets Launch Date).

Barnes also managed the rebranding of Five’s other digital channel Five US to Five USA, which will be launched on February 16 (see Five US to be renamed Five USA).

Barnes said: “I’ve had a tremendous time at Five but feel I’ve achieved everything I was brought into do, namely transform the digital channels and drive their share upwards. The launch of Five USA next month feels like the perfect time to move onto my next challenge.”

Dawn Airey, Five’s chair and chief executive, said: “Hannah has brought great energy, creativity and strategic thinking to her role and managed a team which has worked wonders in making these channels standout in the digital landscape.”

Barnes joined Five in February 2007 from BSkyB where she was managing editor, Sky One, Two and Three. Before Sky, Barnes worked at Flextech where she was deputy channel controller of Living TV, Living TV2 and Ftn.

Five: 020 7550 5555 www.five.tv