BBC Names New Controller

LONDON, November 20: George
Entwistle has been tapped as the new BBC controller of knowledge commissioning,
charged with delivering the recently launched Knowledge Building strategy
across the BBC on TV and on the Internet.

Entwistle will also head
BBC Vision’s knowledge and learning commissioning teams who commission programs
and multi-platform content from Vision Productions and the independent sector,
which produce a combined total of 1,600 hours of output a year.

Throughout his career,
Entwistle has held a broad range of factual program-making positions. In April
of this year, he became acting controller of BBC Four and led a team that
delivered the channel’s most successful period for audience share and reach.
His commissions for BBC Four include the season of documentary programming
around the drama Fanny Hill, Archaeology
and Emmylou Harris Nights.

Jana Bennett, the director
of BBC Vision, said: "As a program maker and a creative leader, George has
an impressive track record across a wide range of genres including current
affairs, arts and science. This gives him a deep understanding of how to
deliver great factual programs for all audiences.”

She continued: “He has
been an outstanding member of the factual commissioning team and has also had
real success leading the creative renewal in current affairs and during his
time running BBC Four. Knowledge building is a cornerstone of the BBC's future
and this is an opportunity to bring the knowledge story together more
powerfully across all channels, the web and other platforms, building on the
foundations laid by Glenwyn Benson."

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski