News Broadcasting
BBC TV undergoes reorganisation; Charlotte Moore made controller, TV channels & iPlayer
MUMBAI: As part of a reorganisation that will offer a simplified and more co-ordinated strategy across BBC Television’s channel portfolio, the BBC has appointed Charlotte Moore as controller, TV Channels and iPlayer.
In the newly created role, Moore – currently Controller of BBC One – will become the creative, editorial and strategic lead for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer, ensuring the channels work in a complementary way while enhancing their distinctive positioning.
The reorganisation will support new, creative approaches to programming and scheduling that reflect changing audience behaviour and the growing role of BBC iPlayer, as well as encouraging greater collaboration and allowing simpler movement of ideas and talent across the portfolio. It will also create a more streamlined commissioning system, with a single point of contact and faster decision-making.
Moore will report to BBC acting director of television Mark Linsey, and will continue to sit on the TV Board.
Linsey says, “Charlotte is an outstanding leader and has done a brilliant job making BBC One both distinctive and popular. This role will allow her to take a view across channels to drive distinctiveness, quality and risk-taking even further, whilst offering a single point of contact for programme-makers and ensuring audiences get the best programmes, however and wherever they choose to watch.”
Moore adds, “I’m honoured to lead the BBC’s channel portfolio into the future at such a significant time. The creative opportunities this new approach brings will ensure the BBC keeps pace with our rapidly changing media industry. It is more important than ever for audiences and programme-makers that we have a clearly defined sense of purpose for each channel, to ensure we deliver even higher quality and more distinctive content. A united vision across the portfolio will encourage greater ambition and diversity of output, more creative freedom and quicker decision-making. I’m passionate about the BBC and committed to making this a place where the best creatives want to work, and having the right teams working together is key.”
The appointment follows an internal recruitment process, and continues the BBC’s progress in creating a simpler and more efficient structure.
Moore will take up her new responsibilities on 25 January. She will continue to lead BBC One and, within the new structure, will manage the heads of iPlayer, Daytime and BBC Four, as well as the new role of editor, BBC Two.
Following the internal recruitment process, Kim Shillinglaw has decided to leave the BBC and, as a result of the reorganisation, the post of Controller BBC Two and Four will be closed.
BBC Two and Four channel executive Adam Barker will take up the post of BBC Two acting editor, while recruitment for the new role takes place.
Linsey adds, “Kim has led BBC Two and Four with great creativity, bringing viewers an amazing range of programmes including edgy documentaries like Meet The Ukippers, innovative comedy in Boy Meets Girl, ambitious TV experiments like Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School and distinctive treats like The Dresser, as well as re-energising factual entertainment and drawing younger audiences with The Real Marigold Hotel, Phone Shop Idol, Hell Week and Let’s Play Darts. She has modernised BBC Two’s identity, winning awards for the channel’s use of social media and the revamp of on-air, and refreshed the schedule with Monday’s clever quiz hour, box-set factual and comedy double bills back at 9 pm, whilst creating new commercial funding models in factual entertainment and natural history. She has been an outstanding leader of BBC Two and Four and I will be very sorry to see her go, but am incredibly grateful for her contribution.”
Shillinglaw says, “I wish the BBC, Mark and Charlotte every success with the many changes BBC TV needs to make. I’ve loved modernising BBC Two and Four over the last two years but when you don’t get the big job it’s time to move on. And I’m looking forward to another big challenge.”
The reorganisation follows other recent moves to simplify structures at the BBC, such as the appointment of Matthew Postgate as chief technology officer, bringing together BBC Digital, Engineering and BBC Worldwide roles.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
