UKTV, BBC Studios appoint Newman in GM role
November 18, 2022
Sam Tewungwa, BBC Studios’ Chief Commercial Officer for the UK Region has announced today that the business will restructure the Commercial teams to focus more effectively on the Region’s strategic priorities. Under the restructure Jonathan Newman will be promoted to the newly created position General Manager, Commercial, BBC Studios UK Distribution and UKTV.
Reporting to Tewungwa, Newman will assume day-to-day responsibility for all commercial activity (except for advertising) across the UK Region. This will include leading commercial strategy and implementation across the full range of UK businesses, including P&L responsibility, business development and supporting BBC Group corporate development. The UKTV Distribution team and BBC Studios Content Sales team will report through to Newman, as well as UKTV Ventures and Content Funding.
Newman has worked across various areas of BBC Public Service, UKTV and BBC Studios for more than 18 years, with over 10 years’ experience in commercial leadership roles across content sales and channel distribution. Prior to this new role Newman served as Director of Distribution & Sales for UKTV and BBCS UK/Ireland since January 2020. He was responsible for UKTV’s pay-TV partnerships, expanding the pay and free distribution of UKTV’s channels, content and the UKTV Play app, as well as the licensing of on-demand rights in BBC Studios’ content across the UK Region, and distribution of BBC channels across pay-TV platforms in the Republic of Ireland.
Tewungwa commented: “This is an exciting time for the UKTV and BBC Studios businesses as we focus on both our commercial and corporate strategies to maximise value across the UK region. Jonathan’s impressive achievements in content and affiliate sales and the breadth of his leadership experience means he will hit the ground running and I am excited to see how he drives the commercial team towards further success.”
Newman added: “It’s a huge honour to have the opportunity to lead the brilliant Commercial team at such an exciting time for us at UKTV and BBCS UK/Ireland. I’m delighted to be working alongside talented colleagues from across the four business lines in my remit to build on all the great work already done and face into all the challenges posed by the breakneck pace of change in our industry.”
Newman assumes his new responsibilities immediately.