ITV

Tag: Wayne Dunsford

  • BBC Worldwide channel’s director Wayne Dunsford calls it quits

    BBC Worldwide channel’s director Wayne Dunsford calls it quits

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide channel’s director Wayne Dunsford has announced that he will step down from his post at the end of this month.

    Dunsford moved to his current role in 1998 from European Channel Management Limited where he was GM. His sales and distribution lead at ECM had seen the rapid growth in distribution of BBC World to more than 35 million homes and the doubling of BBC Prime’s subscription base. As director, he had led business development, sales, marketing, programming and all operational aspects of BBC Worldwide’s channels business.

    He has seen BBC Prime, subtitled in 12 languages, launch beyond its traditional European base into Africa, the Middle East and Asia (including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Korea), with over 24 million global subscribers. Under his leadership, in 2001 BBC Prime was the first of BBC Worldwide’s channels to deliver a profit.

    He also oversaw the launch in 2002 of the profitable BBC Food in Africa, subsequently launched in Scandinavia and across the Middle East. he secured more than a 70% increase in total channel sales and contribution in his area in the past five years alone.

    He said, “I have had an inspiring and exciting 17 years with BBC Worldwide. I have been fully involved in the development of BBC Prime and BBC Food and have worked on other channel assets and JVs witnessing the businesses’ rapid and impressive growth first hand. I have also had the pleasure of working with an exceptional team throughout.

    “BBC Worldwide’s new channel business is now well placed to build on what has been achieved. I now want to explore other opportunities and to use my skills and experience more widely in the global market.”

    BBC Worldwide MD global channels Darren Childs said, “Wayne has made an enormous contribution to BBC Worldwide’s channel business over many years. He has been an excellent ambassador for us, forging close relationships with our customers around the world. We thank Wayne for his passion and commitment and wish him every success for the future.”

  • BBC Prime launches in Korea via SkyLife

    BBC Prime launches in Korea via SkyLife

    MUMBAI: Entertainment channel BBC Prime which is distributed by UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has commenced broadcasting in Korea through a deal with SkyLife.

    BBC Prime will be available through SkyLife on channel 334, with Korean subtitles.The channel offers subscribers an insight into British culture, with comedy, drama, music, entertainment, documentary and lifestyle programming from the BBC and the UK. It is developed and managed by the team that has established the hugely successful BBC Prime channel across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

    BBC Worldwide director of channels Wayne Dunsford said, “Launching BBC Prime in Korea, as the multi-channel market is growing so rapidly in Asia, is very exciting. We are delighted to be working with SkyLife and following the success of recent launches – BBC Japan and BBC Prime in Asia – we are looking forward to strengthening BBC Prime’s presence in the region. The channel offers the best of the BBC’s entertainment content and has already obtained a loyal audience across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

    “We are delighted to present BBC Worldwide’s international entertainment channel, BBC Prime, to our viewers. The introduction of BBC Prime helps diversify SkyLife’s channel portfolio and we will make every effort to provide high quality programmes showcasing a variety of foreign cultures in the future,”says SkyLife MD Kim Dong-jin.

    Till the end of this year the channel’s schedule will include a variety of special, seasonal programming including The British Monarchy (November), Comedy Month (November), Minette Waters season (November) and Murderous Christmas.

  • BBC Food channel launches in Scandinavia

    BBC Food channel launches in Scandinavia

    LONDON: BBC Worldwide has announced that its channel BBC Food has launched across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. BBC Food is the first new BBC channel to launch in Europe since 1995 when BBC Prime took to the airwaves.
     

    As the name suggests the content deals with cuisines and the different styles of chefs including the likes of Delia Smith and Gary Rhodes. Cooking shows that viewers will feast on include Delia’s How to Cook, Ready Steady Cook with Ainsley Harriott, Lesley Waters and Kevin Woodford, and Rick Stein’s seafood series Taste of the Sea. Keith Floyd will be ‘taking coals to Newcastle’ as he teaches the new audience some of their own culinary skills as he travels around the region with his travel cookery programme, Floyd’s Fjord Fiesta.
     

    Commenting on the launch of the channel into the market, BBC Worldwide director of channels EMEIA, Wayne Dunsford, said: “The enormous popularity of cooking programmes and the rise of celebrity chefs in television entertainment has created a great appetite for this style of British programming in the region so we are sending in our best celebrity chefs to tickle their taste-buds.” 

    An official release informs that BBC Food will be available to Canal Digital satellite subscribers in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. BBC Food builds on the success of the entertainment channel, BBC Prime, which has broadcast in Europe since 1995 and now reaches over 12 million international subscribers.