Red Bee Media has appointed Tom Sykes to the role of Director of BBC Account Management overseeing and developing the full suite of services Red Bee Media provides the BBC, including playout of BBC channels; VOD and interactive services such as iPlayer and red button; and ancillary services.

Many of these services are held under long-term contracts with the BBC which were put in place at the time of the sale of the business from the BBC in 2005.

Tom has almost 20 years experience in the UK multichannel market gained primarily at BSkyB and Channel 4. At Channel 4 he was Channel Manager for the launch of both Film4 and E4. Then as Head of Film4 channels he led the channel into profitability before managing the successful re launch of Film4 as a free to air service in 2006. More recently he managed the launch of Channel 4+1 from the strategic planning stage through to operational launch.

Prior to this Tom was Head Of Network Presentation at BSkyB, responsible for all aspects of on air presentation for Sky branded channels including the presentation scheduling and media planning.

Most recently Tom has worked as a consultant with a variety of businesses including Discovery Networks Europe.

Adam Poulter, Executive Commercial Director, Red Bee Media, says: “Tom has lived and breathed all aspects of the commercial development, strategic planning, branding, positioning and operation of some of the strongest digital channel brands operating today. He will add great value to Red Bee Media’s services to the BBC.”

Tom Sykes says: “Red Bee Media’s unique relationship with the broadcast industry, and particularly the BBC, gives it unrivalled insight into the future of multichannel content delivery. Contributing to the future of both the linear and non-linear television and video industries is an opportunity that comes around very rarely. I’m thoroughly looking forward to joining Red Bee Media in early August.”