Ex-Google chief Matt Brittin appointed new BBC director-general

2026-03-25 - 15:10

For over a decade, Matt Brittin was president of Google’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division, which earns around a third of its revenue. (EPA Images pic) LONDON: The BBC on Wednesday named Matt Brittin, a former Google executive with no television or journalism experience, as its next director-general. The appointment to the high-profile role comes as the under-fire British broadcaster faces drastic shifts in the media landscape and a US$10-billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump. “The BBC Board has today appointed Matt Brittin as the 18th Director-General of the BBC. Matt, former President of Google EMEA, will take over the role on 18 May,” the BBC said in a statement. Chairman of the BBC board, Samir Shah, said: “Matt brings to the BBC deep experience of leading a high-profile and highly complex organisation through transformation.” Brittin’s name has been circulating in the UK media for weeks after the current director-general, Tim Davie, resigned in November over the editing of a documentary about Trump. The Times daily wrote ahead of Brittin’s appointment that appointing a tech executive with no direct experience of television or journalism would be a “significant shift” and “raised some eyebrows”. The Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed senior media figure calling this a “huge, huge risk”. Davie, who has held