The BBC has named Karin Marelle as its new Global Head of Acquisitions, a role in which she’ll oversee the sourcing of content for its UK and international commercial channels.
In addition to its Licence Fee funded BBC branded channels, the Corporation has one of the UK’s largest portfolios of commercial outlets through its wholly owned and highly profitable UKTV subsidiary which operates the U streaming service plus popular Freeview channels such as U&W and U&Dave and the subscription channel U&Gold.
It also owns an extensive array of broadcast and streamed services around the world which, unlike the UKTV network, prominently carry the BBC brand on air.
All of these channels are operated by BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s in-house global content production and distribution business which generates more than £2bn of revenues each year, profits from which are used to ‘top-up’ the roughly £3.8bn generated by the Licence Fee.
Marelle, who has over 20 years’ experience in the sector, will be responsible for acquisition teams covering the UK, EMEA and APAC regions and “will play a central role in maximising the organisations’ joint buying power to drive value and strengthen the content offering across platforms”
She’ll report to Steve North, UKTV’s Chief Content Officer, who said: “I’m delighted that Karin Marelle is joining the business to lead the team.
“Her vast experience in the industry, coupled with her strategic approach and passion for television, make her the ideal candidate for the role and we can’t wait to have her on board.”
Marelle said: “I am honoured to be joining UKTV and BBC Studios at such a transformative time for the business. I feel privileged to work with Steve and such a talented acquisitions team.
“UKTV is going from strength to strength in both performance and ambition, so it’s a great time to be leading our acquisitions strategy and contributing to the continued growth of U and the linear channels globally.
“I look forward to working with our talented teams and distribution partners to bring even more unmissable shows to our audiences in the UK and beyond.”