The international pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has appointed former Sky Sports commercial director, Richard Verow, to head up its global sports acquisitions and distribution business.
He joins as chief sports officer and will be based at the beIN Media Group international offices in London.
Verow will report directly to beIN Media’s chief executive, Yousef Al-Obaidly, as part of the company’s senior management team.
He replaces Daniel Markham, who becomes chief of staff and special advisor to Al-Obaidly and beIN’s chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Verow worked at Sky for a total of twelve and a half years, and his departure was reported by SportBusiness Media in November.
Prior to becoming Sky Sports’ commercial director in 2012, he was Sky’s head of legal, responsible for Sports, Bet & Business. He worked as a commercial lawyer at the International Cricket Council before joining Sky. Last month, Sky announced that Barney Francis, its long-serving head of sports, is also to leave the company.
At the end of 2018, beIN Media Group promoted Martin Aurenche to the position of vice-president of sports content, a role which previously reported to Markham and now reports to Verow. He has been with the group since it launched in France in 2012.
Stewart Walker, the director of sales and distribution at beIN Media Group, left in the middle of last year to join DAZN Group as executive vice-president of global rights partnerships.