UKTV Appoints New Executive Director of Commercial

LONDON, December 2: Keith Porritt has been named
executive director of commercial for UKTV, joining the broadcaster on January
5.

Porritt will be charged with the management of UKTV's pay-TV platform
relationships, as well as program-supply relationships with BBC Vision, BBC
Worldwide and independent producers. He will also manage the legal and
business-affairs functions, and lead other commercial activities and business
development apart from UKTV's advertising-sales-related activities. He will
report to UKTV's CEO, David Abraham.

Porritt will also sit on UKTV's executive
leadership team alongside Abraham, as well as the company's finance director, Jo Bromley;
controller, Matthew Littleford; and executive director of business and
operations, Julia Jordan. Given BBC Vision's (BBCV) editorial oversight of
UKTV, Keith will also be responsible to BBCV's director of operations and
rights, Bal Samra, on maintaining and developing strategic alignment between
the two broadcasters.

Abraham said,
"We are delighted to have attracted an executive of Keith's caliber and
experience for such a key role at UKTV and he joins us at a buoyant time with
many initiatives in the pipeline for 2009."

Samra added,
"I am looking forward to working closely with Keith and maintaining our
strong working relationships with UKTV."

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski