Dame Carolyn McCall, the boss of easyJet has been named as ITV‘s new chief executive, replacing Adam Crozier who left the broadcaster in June.
McCall, who has been at EasyJet for seven years, becomes the second woman in history at the helm of one of the UK’s four main TV networks.
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She boasts experience years of experience in the media industry.
Before joining Easyjet in 2010, McCall was chief executive at the left-leaning newspaper The Guardian.
Alex DeGroote, an analyst at Cenkos Securities told Bloomberg:
She’s got a good grip on the key issues facing traditional media. She’s got very relevant sector experience.
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By GlobalData
She will remain a non-executive director at fashion company Burberry and continue to sit on the board of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
A challenging media landscape
Brexit uncertainty, the falling pound, rising inflation and a drop in consumer spending have all contributed to a slowing UK economy.
Advertisers have been feeling the pinch, with knock-on effects on industry, particularly when it comes to media outlets.
Tech giants like Facebook and YouTube swallow a vast amount of advertising revenue, leaving many online news publications and broadsheets at a loss.
TV has suffered a further blow thanks to the rise of international streaming services like Netflix.
Indeed, TV advertising is forecast to drop 2.7 percent in the UK this year, according to GroupM, the world’s largest advertising media company in terms of billings.
Ad sales made up 47 percent of ITV’s overall revenue in 2016, compared with 64 percent in 2010, Bloomberg reported.
In May, ITV told investors to expect an 8 to 9 percent decline in ad revenues in the first half of 2017.
How much will McCall earn at ITV?
McCall will be paid an annual salary of £900,000, plus a pension allowance of 15 per cent of her salary.
She is also entitled to an annual bonus worth up to 180 percent of her salary.
McCall said:
The opportunity from ITV felt like the right one to take. It is a fantastic company in a dynamic and stimulating sector.
The 55-year-old added that her decision to leave EasyJet was “really difficult”.
ITV’s revenue last year was £3bn and its market capitalisation currently stands at £7bn.
EasyJet, meanwhile, is valued at a lower figure of £5.6bn.
Last week, the airline announced it was setting up new headquarters in Vienna enabling the company to continue its operations after Brexit.
McCall will assume her position at ITV in January 2018.
