Salmon appointed BBC North Director

 

The BBC has appointed Peter Salmon, currently Chief Creative Officer of BBC Vision, as its new BBC North Director. Contains BBC Press Release.

Peter Salmon has been appointed Director, BBC North. He is currently BBC Vision’s Chief Creative Officer, responsible for the Corporation’s new in-house multimedia broadcasting and production centre in the division, and takes up his new position in mid-2009. He will join the BBC’s Executive Board in 2010 as the BBC’s new home in Salford Quays nears completion. Peter, who will be based in Salford Quays, will lead the development of the world’s most advanced broadcasting centre. This will involve the largest move of staff and departments out of London in the BBC’s history. On completion the centre will house 2,500 staff, with approximately 1,500 jobs moving there from London.

“This is the first big broadcasting venture of a new decade and can define the way the BBC works for a generation. I want to help build a world-class, creative powerhouse for the BBC based in the North of England but networked into the whole UK. I think this significant cluster of programme-making and broadcasting can be a magnet for other like-minded organisations too, from independent producers to facilities and technology companies, educational bodies to training groups for established and new media.” Peter Salmon

In his new role he will be directly responsible for BBC Sport, and all its activities; the radio networks BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra; and BBC Children’s, including programme-making, commissioning and broadcasting of its CBBC and CBeebies channels. The Director, BBC North, will hold and be accountable for the service licences, granted by the BBC Trust, for BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, and the CBBC and CBeebies channels. The Controller, BBC Radio 5 Live and the Controller, BBC Children’s will retain a close working relationship with the Directors of BBC Audio & Music and BBC Vision respectively and will continue to be members of their senior management teams. Peter will have managerial oversight of BBC Learning and the significant number of Future Media & Technology staff who will move to the new centre from London, along with a strong regional broadcasting operation and the network production departments from the BBC’s current Manchester base (factual, religion, entertainment, drama, comedy, current affairs and music, including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra). However, final budgetary and editorial control of these areas will rest with existing BBC Groups as now. The BBC’s operations are currently based in Oxford Road, Manchester, but they will move a few miles to the new Salford Quays base as part of a major development called MediaCityUK from 2011. Peter will continue in his current role in charge of in-house programme-making until mid-2009, though he will begin to take up some of his new responsibilities from January 2009, initially working to Caroline Thomson, the BBC’s Chief Operating Officer, who is currently the executive sponsor of the Salford Quays project.

“Peter is one of the outstanding editorial and creative leaders of his generation. He has presided over a period of tremendous success for BBC Vision Productions. His passion for programme-making combined with his long-standing connection and commitment to the North of England means he is ideally placed to lead such a challenging and ground-breaking project.” Caroline Thomson, Chief Operation Officer.

In 2010 Salmon will join the BBC’s Executive Board and report directly to the Director-General, Mark Thompson.