Dear everybody,
Well, the snow has come early and news about my move has too.
I've accepted a new role in BBC Worldwide, as president, worldwide networks and global iPlayer and, from February 2011, I'll be leading their portfolio of 40 channels in over 100 markets globally and will roll out the global iPlayer.
I have been privileged to have done the most interesting and creative job in UK media with the best teams in British broadcasting and production. I have also been very, very fortunate to have been able to work with literally hundreds of talented and committed people across Vision, the BBC and the indie sector. I know the senior Vision team lifts a very heavy load on behalf of the whole division and they are wonderful colleagues, to whom I am very grateful. For all of them, and for me, the strong sense of what we are here for wins out and you see it every day on screen.
There is no job in the world quite like this one and I knew that when I moved back from the States to take on the leadership of BBC Television in 2002. BBC TV became BBC Vision four years later and brought together multiplatform, the six channels and Vision Productions as well as Rights and Business Affairs, Learning and BBC Films. In a world of convergence, we were there early.
BBC Vision ends the year with increased reach to our audiences, with increased share of television viewing and rising quality measures across the board. All of our channels have gone through multiple reviews and come through with a strong endorsement of their value and purpose. We have constantly developed new talent and new ideas, while cherishing the brands and programmes our audiences love. We have regenerated the Doctor and led the way with a confident slate of modern British dramas and comedies.
We have established quality channels in the digital arena, giving different generations of viewers channels they cherish. We can be proud of proving that digital telly is quality telly when the BBC does it. We have pioneered multiplatform across productions, commissioning and broadcasting, ensuring iPlayer is a big success, and successfully developing Red Button and HD. We have launched great new multiplatform products and output, from E20's new cast of characters at Albert Square to Being Human, and Food, Wildlife Finder and Comedy.
We have also developed and nurtured an extremely strong in-house production base, which creates great programmes across all genres, and I'm incredibly proud of it – from natural history, factual and documentary, right through to drama, entertainment and comedy. Vision Productions is vital to the health of the BBC; it allows us to develop talent, both on and off screen, and affords us the opportunity to take really exciting creative risks.
BBC Vision has tackled the most difficult editorial subjects with care and compassion – Five Daughters, Women, Weddings, War and Me, Wounded and The Fallen and, of course, Panorama and Newsnight. Determinedly odd ideas have taken flight and flourished – Mighty Boosh, Little Britain, The Thick of It, The Trip, Miranda, Flashmob the Opera, Auschwitz and The Song of Lunch.
We have embraced different audiences, fought for BBC3 and BBC4 (strangely, different battles), while recognising the increasingly unique role we play in providing the brilliant CBeebies and CBBC to British children. We have embraced the nations and out of London and set ourselves a course which both invests across the UK and prizes authenticity of voice and sense of place.
We have surprised audiences with different points of views and experiences – The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Indian Doctor, Lip Service and, for the aliens amongst us, Torchwood. Vision has put science, poetry and history confidently on the TV map and proved that public service broadcasting doesn't reside in dark corners but stands brightly front and centre of our audiences' lives. We have brought people together for the biggest moments – the election, Strictly, the weather, Lord Sugar firing people. And we have made people laugh. I could say much, much more, but I will leave that for another day...
The BBC caught my eye as I was starting a PhD at the London School of Economics down at the Aldwych – opposite the World Service and its then subsidised canteen with its great Indian food. So I started in BBC News. The BBC's global mission, however, extends beyond news to BBC Worldwide. The international opportunities are great, and I am excited by the role Worldwide plays in exporting the best of the BBC and Britain across the world. I believe Worldwide's success contributes to a strong BBC as a global brand and an international creative force, and I relish the opportunity of developing that success further working with John and his Worldwide team.
So this isn't quite goodbye – not yet anyway, since I'll be here into February next year. But I thought you should know the facts as soon as I could share them with you.
Best,
Jana
