Hot 100 2012 INDUSTRY LEADERS


1 George Entwistle Director, BBC Vision


George Entwistle’s rise through the ranks of the BBC culminated in his appointment last year as director of BBC Vision, arguably the most important role related to British TV content. He is respon- sible for the BBC’s entire TV output and recently added a com- mercial dimension when he joined the board of BBC World- wide. He is now overseeing big change in the internal structure of the broadcaster and its busi- ness model, and developing the much-anticipated paid-for archive initiative Project Barcelona. It was Entwistle who moved Miranda to BBC1 and returned QI to BBC2. He is also in the second year of a two-year stint as chair of the Edin- burgh TV Festival. But his rise up the greasy pole of the BBC may not yet be complete: he’s one of the prime internal candidates for director general.


Miranda


and Sky 3D has resulted in a wide spend across a range of content areas as Sky bets big on everything from comedy to feature-length docs. Under- pinning the content, and in keeping with Sky’s philosophy, Turner Laing has not been afraid to embrace multi platform advances through the innovative Sky News iPad app and editorial- led Sky Living showbiz site. With a huge port folio and a lean commis sioning team, simply managing all those shows could be her biggest challenge.


time. Since moving over to BBC1 in late 2010, Cohen has made a string of brave – and potentially dangerous – decisions, including canning much-loved period drama Lark Rise To Candleford. So far, he has been proved right more often than wrong, and his reputation as a collaborator and listener stands him in good stead. Cohen may never shake off the Snog Marry Avoid? asso- ciation, but his successes on the BBC’s flagship channel reveal that he can turn his hand to the mainstream as much as the edgier fringes.


biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, where he appears to be making progress in fixing the business’s unhealthy reliance on the advertising market. His brand of steely pragmatism is popular with staff, and ITV’s balance sheet has rarely been so healthy – the company is cash rich and largely unburdened by debt. Legacy issues from previous regimes have also been identified and dealt with effi- ciently. ITV has, for example, settled a destructive legal wrangle with Scottish licence holder STV and found a new Salford home for its Manchester staff. The jury is still out on Crozier’s five-year transformation plan to ensure ITV secures half of its revenue from sources other than spot advertising, but there are signs it will be achieved.


5 David Abraham


Chief executive, Channel 4


2


Sophie Turner Laing Managing director,


entertainment and news, BSkyB


Sophie Turner Laing has loomed much larger on indies’ and rival broadcasters’ agendas since unveiling the £600m annual investment in programming she aims to be spending by 2014. Turbo charging Sky 1 and Sky Arts, integrating Sky Living and launching Sky Atlantic


4 | Broadcast | Hot 100 3 Danny Cohen Controller, BBC1


With some of the BBC’s biggest hits for several years under his belt (Call The Midwife, The Voice UK, Mrs Brown’s Boys) Danny Cohen is undoubtedly the broad- caster’s golden boy. In fact, insid- ers are already talking about him as favourite for director general when the post comes around next


4 Adam Crozier Chief executive, ITV


It is fair to say that Adam Crozier’s arrival at ITV drew a sceptical reception from some corners of the industry, given his lack of TV experience. But the former Royal Mail man has impressed in his two years as chief executive of the UK’s


The past year has been about laying the foundations of the Channel 4 chief executive’s plan to change the shape of TV advertising by squeezing data out of its audience. His commitment to core C4 prin- ciples remains strong, demon- strated by his commitment to the London 2012 Paralympics and to developing new talent both on and off screen. But, ultimately, innovation is one of the key drivers of Abraham’s strategy. This week’s launch of new channel 4Seven, the rebrand of More 4 and the digital scrap- book all tie together and provide an insight into his vision for C4. Abraham was seen by some as the outside choice for the top job at the self-funded public broadcaster, but his unique perspective is driving it to new, unexpected places.


www.broadcastnow.co.uk


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