The Future of Broadcasting

Rob Webster

Commercial Director, BSkyB

Biography

Rob Webster was appointed Sky’s Commercial Group Director in 2011.  Rob has responsibility for the syndication and wholesaling of Sky’s content across other pay TV platforms, as well as negotiating distribution deals with third party channel partners who broadcast on Sky’s DTH platform.  These deals now extend to High Definition, 3D, video on demand, online and mobile, thanks to Sky’s leadership position across a range of new platforms and devices.  In addition Rob oversees the regulated access to Sky’s DTH platform by non–retailed services, including the UK terrestrial networks.  He also has management responsibility for Sky’s joint venture channels, which include National Geographic, History, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Atheraces.  As Commercial Group Director, Rob also identifies new business opportunities and provides commercial support for other emerging products and services across Sky.  He also sits on the Boards of the National Geographic and History channel group.  Rob is also a member of Sky’s Executive Management team.

Rob joined Sky in 1997 as an in-house lawyer before moving across to the commercial team in 2004.  He previously worked at Nynex Cablecomms (now part of Virgin Media) and trained and qualified as a solicitor at Charles Russell solicitors in London in 1994. 

Fru Hazlitt

Managing Director Commercial and Online, ITV

Biography

Fru is MD of Commercial, Online and Interactive at ITV. She is also leading Pay TV and Platform distribution across the group and is responsible for broadcast revenues, multi-platform development and Total Value creation for programme brands.  Prior to that Fru was Chief Executive of GCap Media plc the largest commercial radio company in the UK which was sold to Global Radio in the summer of 2008.

Fru previously spent 2 years as Chief Executive of Virgin Radio and spent 6 years at Yahoo! firstly, as European Sales Director and then as MD of Yahoo UK & Ireland.  She has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within the Media Sector including groles at The Guardian Media Group and Capital Radio.

Fru is non executive board director of Betfair, The Rare Tea Company a Governor of Downe House School and Chair of the Princes Trust Women’s Leadership Group. 

She was educated at Downe House School and London University where she studied English and Drama.

She is a dedicated runner having run nine marathons altogether, is a Fulham season ticket holder and has 3 children and 2 step children.

Ed Richards

Chief Executive, Ofcom

Biography

Ofcom role:

Ed Richards is the Chief Executive of Ofcom, appointed in October 2006.

Previously Ed was Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Strategy, Market Research, Finance, HR and other functions.

Strategy responsibilities included Ofcom’s strategic thinking on the communications sector and covering economic issues and consumer policy.

Ed was previously Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister (Tony Blair) for Media, telecoms, the internet and e govt and Controller of Corporate Strategy at the BBC.

He has also worked in consulting at London Economics Ltd, as an advisor to Gordon Brown MP and began his career as a researcher with Diverse Production Ltd where he worked on programmes for Channel 4.

Ed is also a Director of Donmar Warehouse and a Director of The Teaching Awards Trust and a member of the Centre for Economic Performance Policy Committee at the London School of Economics.

Ed Vaizey

Minister for Culture, Communications, Creative Industries, DCMS

Biography

Ed Vaizey MP was elected as the Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot in May 2005.

Born in 1968, Mr Vaizey attended Merton College, Oxford.  After university he spent two years working as a political researcher, before training and practising as a barrister. From 1996-2004 he was director of a public relations company. In 2004 he became a political speech writer.

Mr Vaizey was Shadow Culture and Creative Industries Minister 2006-2010.

He married Alex in September 2005. They live in Sparsholt and London with their son Joseph and daughter Martha.

Daniel Danker

General Manager, Programmes and On-Demand, BBC

Biography

Daniel Danker is General Manager, Programmes and On-Demand in the BBC’s Future Media division.

Joining the corporation in September 2010, Daniel is responsible for the strategy and delivery of BBC's iPlayer, Radio & Music and Red Button products, working in partnership with the BBC's editorial teams. He also delivers underlying platforms for media, social, blogging, television, and mobile experiences across the BBC Online product portfolio and is a member of the Future Media Group Board.

Daniel joined the BBC from Microsoft, where he helped to develop Mediaroom (the company’s internet-connected TV platform) and, more recently, the platform that delivers music content to the web and the company’s Zune and Xbox devices. He has extensive international experience, having worked in Paris and at Silicon Valley Campus in the US before that.

Daniel was born in Israel and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He went to the University of California at Berkeley and used to fly small planes – but now prefers to stay grounded watching BBC iPlayer.