BBC’s Davie takes on DRDB role

Tim Davie, the recently promoted director of music and audio at the BBC, has been appointed as vice-chairman of the Digital Radio Development Bureau. It comes as the body reveals plans to boost its marketing.

Davie, who was previously marketing director at the BBC, will take over the role from Jenny Abramsky, who he also replaced as director of music and audio.

His appointment comes as a critical time for the digital audio broadcasting platform, which has been hit by a series of blows. Earlier this month, Channel 4 announced it was pulling out of the medium before launching a single station, and there are now just six stations broadcasting on Digital One.

The DRDB, which is co-funded by the BBC and commercial radio, is now planning to take more central role in marketing, which was previously handled by the individual operators. The first campaign to run across BBC TV and radio as well as commercial radio will launch this Christmas.

The body is now seeking to recruit a director of marketing to support its new positioning.