BBC Studios, the broadcaster's commercial arm, has appointed its general counsel Martyn Freeman to the position of chief operating officer.As general counsel, Freeman already oversees BBC Studio's business and legal affairs, global operations, compliance and risk. As COO his remit will also expand to technology, transformation and property.He will also negotiate major acquisitions and partnerships, oversee regulatory compliance across international jurisdictions and manage BBC Studio's technology strategy.Freeman has been general counsel for the company since its inception. Before that he...
BBC
Tim
Davie
Director-General
Davie’s still-nascent reign as BBC chief has been beset with challenges, including a shrinking budget (predecessor Tony Hall called for £125 million in cuts), a coming renegotiation of the BBC’s license fee and, significantly, the task of reshaping the broadcaster into a global media company optimized to operate in the post-streaming landscape. The latter wasn’t made easier by the British government’s September pledge to introduce legislation requiring U.K. public broadcasters to make more “distinctly British” content to combat the growing number of shows streamers are producing locally for worldwide audiences. Davie said that while the measures could be an antidote to the “wholly globalized algorithmic” productions from the streamers, he didn’t want to see “flag-waving or editorial control” imposed by the government.