UK telecommunications company BT has appointed former BSkyB executive Delia Bushell as its new managing director of pay-television broadcaster BT Sport.
Bushell, who will join BT in July, is currently chief commercial officer of Italian pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia, overseeing marketing and sales for its residential business.
Bushell has spent the past 14 years at BSkyB and Sky Italia in a variety of roles. She was director of broadband and telephony at BSkyB from 2006 to 2011, taking its new broadband service from launch to more than 3.5 million subscribers. Prior to that she was managing director of Sky Ireland, doubling Sky’s subscription growth rate in the Irish Republic over 2005-06.
Bushell will report into John Petter, BT Consumer chief executive, and have responsibility for both BT TV and BT Sport. She will be responsible for developing the BT TV platform and the BT Sport channels as well as for their financial performance.
Speaking today, Bushell said: “BT is shaking up the UK TV market and I am thrilled to be joining at such an exciting time. Sport may have grabbed the headlines recently but the opportunity is far broader and I look forward to working with the team to build on the successes to date.”
Bushell replaces Marc Watson, the chief executive of BT’s television arm, in an expanded role. Watson has led BT’s television business since 2009 and was at the heart of the launch and establishment of BT Sport, which has sought to tackle BSkyB’s dominance of the UK pay-television sports market since its formation in August. He announced he would leave the company last month.