BBC Studios-Americas named Tara Maitra as chief commercial officer and Jennifer Ball as SVP, marketing. Both are newly created roles and will report to BBC Studios president Rebecca Glashow -- also a veteran of U.S. cable and media companies -- in New York. Maitra's role will be to lead the commercial growth strategy for the U.S. Ball will focus on the company's "audience-first" marketing and media strategy.
The news follows BBC's recent announcement to launch BBC Select, its own streaming channel that will focus on culture, politics and ideas early this year. Maitra and Ball will support in their respective roles.
“Tara and Jennifer will provide strong leadership and direction for a team focused on creating commercial value and building the brand with key clients and our direct-to-consumer offerings. I am confident their respective proven capabilities and entrepreneurial style will move us to the next stage of growth in the market,” said Glashow.
Before joining BBC Studios, Maitra was chief revenue officer at BDEX where she oversaw business development and growth and marketing efforts. Prior to that she spent 11 years as SVP at TiVo. Ball led an independent consulting company prior to this position. She was also head of marketing and brand at Promax and EVP at Univision.
Ball was an MCN Wonder Woman in 2012, while at Univision, as was Glashow, then at Discovery. Maitra was a MCN Wonder Woman in 2014 when she was at TiVo.
“The BBC is a legendary brand with incredible growth potential. In an ever-evolving media landscape, the possibilities for partnership to broaden the access to BBC content are endless and I’m looking forward to getting started,” remarked Maitra.
“I am jumping into this role as a life-long enthusiast of BBC content, so I feel a direct kinship with our fans already. I’m looking forward to engaging our clients and audiences in fresh and exciting ways,” said Ball.
