Darren Childs Named CEO of UKTV

LONDON: Darren Childs, currently the managing director of BBC Worldwide Channels, is headed to UKTV as its new CEO, replacing David Abraham, who stepped down earlier this year to become the chief executive of Channel 4.

Childs takes on the new role at the start of September. His first appointment at UKTV will be Jan Gooze-Zijl as chief financial officer. Gooze-Zijl will join in September from Virgin Media, where he is currently finance director for planning. Also in September, Eamonn O’Hare, Virgin Media’s chief financial officer will become the chair of UKTV in addition to his role at Virgin Media. (As part of the joint ownership agreement between BBC Worldwide and Virgin Media, the chair of UKTV alternates on an annual basis between the shareholders.)

John Smith, the CEO of BBC Worldwide, commented of Childs’ appointment, “Darren’s time with us has been hugely successful and he has spearheaded the growth of our BBC branded channels around the world while maintaining an impressive increase in sales and profit. With a strong background in delivering growth for a large channel portfolio, along with high level experience in the television advertising market, Darren is expertly qualified for this role at an exciting time for UKTV. While we are sad that Darren is moving over to UKTV, I believe he is the right man to take the business forward.”

Childs said of his new role, “As a director of UKTV since 2006, I have been consistently impressed by its people, product and values. UKTV already has 10 successful and established channel brands and the growth possibilities are substantial.” He continued, “This is an exciting time to lead UKTV. Creating innovative new commercial models made available to broadcasters through the recent evolution in digital delivery and changes in audience demand will add further edge and continue to secure UKTV’s place as the owner and creator of must have brands for audiences, platforms advertisers and shareholders alike.”  

Of Gooze-Zijl‘s appointment, Childs continued, “Jan and I have worked closely on the board of UKTV and I am very pleased that Jan has agreed to help me execute the next stage of UKTV’s growth plan.”

O’Hare added of his post: “UKTV has created some of the most recognized and most loved brands in TV. They’ve had a tremendous year so we look forward to working with Darren and the team to build upon this success.” He added, “The way in which we’re entertained at home and on the move is changing. This evolving digital landscape offers exciting new challenges and opportunities for channels with powerful identities, such as those run by UKTV.”