YouTube’s Walker joins Base79 as CCO
July 22, 2013
Base79, the international network for video creators, content owners and brands, has announced that Patrick Walker, Senior Director of Content Partnerships for YouTube, is to join the company as Chief Content Officer. Base79 creates global audiences for video and is the largest YouTube partner outside North America.
Walker, who was Google’s first YouTube hire outside North America, launched the video sharing website throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa. He secured and managed a series of landmark deals for the platform, including the first broadcaster deal with the BBC, the first sports deal with the Beijing Olympics and the first catch-up TV deal with Channel 4.
Patrick’s remit at Base79 will be to lead and focus the business’s rapid global growth though content partnerships, creative deal-making and global programming strategy.
The move comes hot on the heels of major investment from the likes of Peter Chernin and Creative Artist Agency’s Evolution Media Capital, with Base79 continuing to grow by more than 100 per cent year-on-year since 2009. The appointment of such a prominent global online media executive, and another major hire for a multi-channel network, marks a watershed moment for the online video industry in EMEA.