BBC to build talent into global brands

The BBC has hired a new brand guru to build the profile of its on-screen talent around the world and also boost the revenues of commercial arm BBC Worldwide.

The corporation has recently been encouraged by the global demand for shows such as Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing (as Dancing With The Stars), which have both been syndicated around the world. It now wants to build on this success and also repeat the process for other on-screen brands.

For this aim, BBC Worldwide has hired William Miller, brand manager to Nigella Lawson, to act as a new director of talent and brand ventures. His mission will be to boost the profile of the BBC's on-screen properties and create commercial opportunities around that. It is thought that the target properties will be mostly lifestyle and formatted shows, along with the talent themselves.

Miller has 27 years of experience in television, digital media and retail, including working for five years with Lawson to build her media business and push her cookware range.

Speaking about the new role, he explained: "BBC Worldwide is already extending key television brands around the globe such as Dancing With the Stars and Top Gear.

"Britain has some of the best on-screen talent in the world so I'm really looking forward to creating new commercial opportunities with them and BBC Worldwide in the same way."

BBC Worldwide content and production managing director Wayne Garvie added: "We feel we haven't maximised our brands as well as we could. We are now working much more closely with talent and we think there is a lot more we can do in this area. We want to be in a better position to exploit stuff we have already got.

"William is a rare beast: someone who has excelled in both television production and the retail world, and combined both. He will be taking talent literally outside the box, building an awareness of them overseas and establishing new routes to market for them around the world."

In its recently published financial results for the year ending March 31, BBC Worldwide said that profits reached £102.6m on total revenues of over £1bn. BBC Worldwide chief executive John Smith also recently revealed that the body is close to reaching an agreement with Channel 4 over a proposed joint venture deal.