ITV poaches BSkyB chief

BSkyB has lost its director of acquisitions, Jeremy Boulton, after he was poached by ITV director of programmes David Liddiment.

Boulton completes Liddiment’s new team of programme controllers. He succeeds Jeff Ford, who announced he was leaving ITV to join Channel 5 in the same position. Boulton will be in charge of buying movies and mainly US TV series for ITV.

Boulton’s appointment is the latest in a dizzying round of senior changes within the UK broadcasters, and comes less than a month after Jim Hytner’s departure from Sky to join Channel 5 as marketing director.

At ITV, these changes include the appointment of David Bergg, former C5 controller of planning and acquisitions, as director of planning and strategy, and Brian Barwick as the network’s controller of sport. A new ITV factual team has been put in place, including former BBC1 Watchdog editor Steve Anderson as controller of news and current affairs.

Boulton began his media career at the British Film Institute in 1971. He worked at Granada Television for eight years before moving to the ITVA as deputy film buyer. He joined Sky in 1988 and was appointed to his present position in 1991.