News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide makes senior appointments in audio and music biz
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide’s audio and music business, under a new five-year strategy developed to drive the exploitation of popular music and capitalise on the corporation’s rich archive, has strengthened its team with several senior appointments.
Jon Mansfield who was Emap Music MD has been appointed BBC Worldwide’s audio and music business head of content development.
Mansfield will be joined by Stephen Davies who comes on board as head of digital ventures and Salim Mukaddam, who has been promoted to head commercial affairs.
Mansfield will develop and deliver unique content for the commercial Audio & Music business for exploitation on various platforms both in the UK and internationally.
His role will involve working closely with colleagues from BBC Radio and TV to maximise the potential of audio and music content for commercial purposes as well as looking at new ways of packaging the archives. Mansfield will also seek agreements/partnerships with Talent, record labels and agents to develop mutually beneficial new opportunities. Davies rejoins BBC Worldwide after a two year hiatus steering business development at TK Maxx.
Prior to this he was responsible for BBC Worldwide Audiobook’s emerging digital deals. His new role will see him develop and build commercial consumer websites that will deliver music and speech-based content around BBC output.
Although based on archive material from stations such as BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 2, Davies’s commercial offerings will be distinct from anything available from the public service.
Mukaddam, meanwhile, has been promoted to head commercial affairs, audio and music. Previosuly of Nabarro and Music Choice, he has been responsible for BBC Music’s Legal and Business Affairs for over two years, focusing on putting in place framework deals with record labels to open up the BBC’s vast archive of music programming.
Mukaddam is now additionally charged with managing BBC Audio & Music’s Content Sales and Track Licensing business (which includes BBC Radio International), as well as taking responsibility for branding & marketing, label and artist relations.
BBC Worldwide director of audio and music Paul Dempsey says, “I’m thrilled that Jon, Stephen and Salim are now in place to help me deliver on an ambitious, but thoroughly realistic, commercial growth strategy for our Audio & Music business.
“With access to an archive and existing content as unrivalled as the BBC’s, including Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Electric Proms and Radio 1’s Live Lounge to name but a few, we aim to fully and uniquely capitalise on the huge appetite for this kind of special content from consumers.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
