ViacomCBS UK names Richardson VP Business and Legal
August 5, 2020
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has announced the appointment of Kathryn Richardson as Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, for its business in the UK. Based in the London office, Richardson will dually report into Sebastian Chames, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, VCNI, and incoming UK Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Rose.
In this role, Richardson will have strategic oversight of the UK legal and business affairs function, including managing legal risk and delivery across its commercial strategy and ensuring the regulatory compliance of all content broadcast on ViacomCBS’ UK channel portfolio. She will join the UK senior management team and will also work in close alignment with her international counterparts to support ViacomCBS in delivering best practice legal processes.
Richardson joins ViacomCBS from the BBC, where she is Director of Commercial Rights and Business Affairs for Legal, Talent, Digital and Operations. At the BBC, Richardson is responsible for legal risk and compliance management across all content divisions and genres within the Business and Legal Affairs function, as well as managing talent and trade association relationships in a legal capacity.
The move marks Richardson’s return to ViacomCBS, having started her in-house legal career at the company back in 2000 at MTV Europe, where she led a multi-territory team with a remit that included corporate and commercial ventures, broadcast partnerships, risk and compliance and events.
Chames commented: “Kathryn has a fine-tuned understanding of broadcast legal processes and extensive knowledge in the media space, including previous experience with our iconic MTV brand. I’m delighted to welcome her back to ViacomCBS, where she’ll play a key role in helping to grow the UK business in adherence to broadcast regulations across its wide and varied range of programming.”
Richardson added: “I am thrilled to be re-joining the ViacomCBS family at this point in its evolution. I have had an amazing experience at the BBC, working across a huge range of genres and challenges, but I’m ready to embrace this new opportunity and I’m really looking forward to working with many new and some familiar faces, as well as leading such a well-respected business and legal affairs team.”
ViacomCBS Networks UK is home to pay TV brands MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network and public service broadcaster Channel 5.