{"id":549683,"date":"2026-03-19T03:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549683\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T03:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:09:10","slug":"bbc-close-to-hiring-ex-google-chief-matt-brittin-as-director-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549683\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Close To Hiring Ex-Google Chief Matt Brittin As Director General"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe BBC<\/a> is expected to hire former Google executive Matt Brittin<\/a> as its next director general, according to insiders at the UK broadcaster.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Guardian<\/a> reported on Wednesday that Brittin could be confirmed as Tim Davie<\/a>\u2018s replacement as early as next week. The Times of London<\/a> was first to report on his candidacy last month. <\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline sources corroborated these reports. The BBC declined to comment on \u201cspeculation\u201d regarding an ongoing recruitment process.<\/p>\n

\n\tRumors have been rife for weeks about Brittin\u2019s appointment, with insiders pondering the pros and cons of bringing in a director general with tech credentials, but zero broadcasting experience.<\/p>\n

\n\tA former McKinsey & Company consultant, Brittin spent 18 years at Google, rising to become the tech titan\u2019s president in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe left Google last year to embark on what his LinkedIn describes as a \u201cgap year,\u201d in which he has spent time reading and running. A \u201cpart-time athlete,\u201d he represented Team GB in the 1989 World Rowing Championships.<\/p>\n

\n\tBBC insiders said Brittin\u2019s candidacy has been strengthened by the paucity of other candidates, with four strong female contenders all dropping out of the race.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese included Jay Hunt, Apple TV\u2019s creative director in Europe; former Channel CEO Alex Mahon; Charlotte Moore, the ex-BBC content chief who now leads The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures; and Jane Turton, All3Media\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n

\n\tDavie, who dramatically quit in November over a misleadingly edited Donald Trump documentary, formally steps down early next month. He is currently handing over to Rhodri Talfan Davies, who is now leading meetings as the BBC\u2019s interim director general.<\/p>\n

\n\tDavie\u2019s successor will inherit an organization wrestling with its place in a media ecosystem dominated by overseas tech giants, as well as battling enemies closer to home, with conservative politicians and media proprietors wishing to see the BBC diminished during charter renewal. There is also the small matter of a legal fight with the U.S. president over the botched\u00a0Panorama\u00a0edit that triggered Davie\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

\n\tCommenting on Brittin\u2019s prospective hire, one insider anticipates that the role will be a \u201cbig culture shock\u201d for the executive. \u201cCompared to Google there is no money whatsoever, and [the] BBC is highly regulated. As a public service, BBC audiences expect no cuts,\u201d this person said.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis lack of editorial experience has also been flagged as a potential issue. It has amplified calls for the BBC to hire a deputy director general, who could lead on content matters. <\/p>\n

\n\tBrittin has, however, served on the board of The Guardian and the Media Trust, while he also worked in digital at Trinity Mirror plc, the newspaper group now known as Reach. In a speech to the Royal Television Society last year, he spoke about his love of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The BBC is expected to hire former Google executive Matt Brittin as its next director general, according to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,1576,134,271915,157543,427],"class_list":["post-549683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-matt-brittin","tag-tim-davie","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}