Thompson to Focus on Growing Business, Digital Innovation and
International Expansion; He will be Appointed to the Times Company Board
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2012--
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today that BBC
Director-General Mark Thompson will become its next president and CEO.
He will also become a member of the Company’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Thompson, 55, will report to the Board of Directors and to Arthur
Sulzberger, Jr., chairman of the Times Company. He is relocating to New
York and is expected to start his new role in November.
“Mark is a gifted executive with strong credentials whose leadership at
the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital
products and services,” said Mr. Sulzberger. “Our board concluded that
Mark’s experience and his accomplishments at the BBC made him the ideal
candidate to lead the Times Company at this moment in time when we are
highly focused on growing our business through digital and global
expansion.”
“The New York Times is one of the world’s greatest news providers and a
media brand of immense future potential both in the U.S. and around the
world. It is a real privilege to be asked to join the Times Company as
it embarks on the next chapter in its history,” said Mr. Thompson. “I’m
particularly excited to be coming to The New York Times Company as it
extends its influence digitally and globally. I look forward to working
with the board, Arthur and his highly talented management team to build
on the success that has already been achieved and to explore new ways of
bringing journalism of exceptional quality, integrity and depth to
readers and users everywhere.”
At the BBC, Mr. Thompson developed innovative new products and generated
new revenue streams on multiple platforms. The businesses he supervised
included BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, a fast-growing
media and entertainment company designed to maximize BBC profits by
creating, acquiring and developing media content and media brands around
the world. It has annual revenue of approximately $1.5 billion.
Most recently, he has led the BBC’s multimedia coverage of the London
Olympic Games, coverage which has won near universal acclaim at home and
around the world. While reaching historically high audiences in TV and
radio, the BBC also used London 2012 to pioneer multiple new digital
services and technologies.
Mr. Thompson has been responsible for the BBC’s services across
television, radio and online including 10 national TV channels and 10
national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive global
Web site. The BBC World Service broadcasts to the world on radio, on TV
and online, providing news and information in 27 languages. With a
global workforce of more than 20,000 people, the BBC produces over
400,000 hours of content each year.
From 2002 to 2004, he was CEO of Channel 4, a publicly-owned,
commercially-funded UK-based public service broadcaster that provides
content across television, film and digital media. Mr. Thompson was
recruited back to the BBC as Director-General in 2004.
About Mark Thompson
Mr. Thompson reshaped the BBC to meet the challenge of the digital age,
ensuring that it remained a leading innovator with the launch of
services such as the BBC iPlayer. He also oversaw a transformation of
the BBC itself, driving productivity and efficiency through the
introduction of new technologies and bold organizational redesign.
He oversaw the successful launch jointly with ITV of Freesat, as well as
the BBC's involvement in YouView, a joint venture with ITV, Channel 4,
Arqiva, TalkTalk, and Five, offering subscription-free digital TV and
the UK's leading video on-demand services.
Mr. Thompson joined the BBC in 1979 as a production trainee. He helped
launch Watchdog and Breakfast Time, was an output editor on Newsnight,
and was appointed Editor of the Nine O'Clock News in 1988 and of
Panorama in 1990. He went to be Controller (programming and scheduling
chief) for the TV network BBC2 and Director of Television for the BBC
before leaving the BBC in 2002 to be CEO of Channel 4.
He was educated at Merton College at Oxford University.
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Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking
statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company, a leading global, multimedia news and
information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, includes The New
York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
Boston.com,
About.com
and related properties. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society
by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and
information.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
Source: The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company
For
Media:
Robert H. Christie, 212-556-1981
robert.christie@nytimes.com
or
For
Investors:
Paula Schwartz, 212-556-5224
paula.schwartz@nytimes.com
