The BBC has chosen former Google executive Matt Brittin as its next director-general, according to the Times of London, four months after director-general Tim Davie resigned over a misleading edit in a Donald Trump documentary that triggered the president’s $10 billion lawsuit.
The BBC’s board confirmed Brittin on Thursday, and the British broadcaster is expected to announce his appointment this week, according to the Times. A spokesperson for the BBC did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Brittin, 57, stepped down as Google’s president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in late 2024 after a decade at the helm. Reports of his potential selection emerged earlier this month after other candidates, including Apple TV executive Jay Hunt and former Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon, chose not to apply.
Brittin’s selection comes after Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turnesssaid in November they would resign from their posts after an internal report found a pre-2024 election Panorama documentary focused on Trump made it appear that Trump urged his supporters to “walk down to the Capitol” and “fight like hell” ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, though he did not make an explicit call for violence.
Trump has since sued the organization for $10 billion over the edit. The BBC filed a motion to dismiss the claims earlier this month.
Davie said he would stay on until April 2, at which point BBC board member Rhodri Talfan Davies would serve as interim director-general until a permanent one is announced. Davie said in a speech this month that while the broadcaster has “made mistakes,” he challenged “anyone to come visit our teams and not acknowledge that they are striving to achieve their impartial coverage.”
The post BBC Taps Former Google Executive Matt Brittin as Director-General | Report appeared first on TheWrap.
