Wednesday 1 June 2016
The UK's largest multichannel broadcaster, UKTV, has appointed Zoë Clapp as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMO).
Zoë is tasked with leading the 85-strong team for the Sunday Times top 100 company, and working closely with Controller, Emma Tennant to grow the viewership and reputation of UKTV's network of award-winning brands. In addition to her prior remit overseeing Communications, she will also take responsibility for UKTV's Creative, Digital, Marketing and Media departments.
As CMO, Zoë will oversee UKTV's in-house high-tech production facility, managed by post-production house The Farm, which creates over 2,500 on-air promos and 700 pieces of navigational content a year. She will also be accountable for agency relationships with Edelman, Joint, Mmmultiply and Rocket (Omnicom Media Group).
She will continue to report to Chief Executive, Darren Childs and serve on the Executive board for UKTV, an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI:NY).
Darren Childs, UKTV CEO, said,
Through her award-winning communications work for UKTV, Zoë shows superb strategic leadership and a drive for creative, future-facing marketing. She's the natural choice for this brand new role, created to strengthen UKTV's position as a vibrant challenger in the UK market, and to ensure the company's continued strong growth.
Zoë Clapp, UKTV CMO, said,
UKTV's brilliant marketing and communications teams have made an enormous contribution to the network's outstanding growth, and to the happiness of millions of our fans throughout the nation. It's a privilege to lead this highly talented group as UKTV creates an exciting future for British digital television.
UKTV has ten, highly defined channel brands including market leaders Dave and Drama, plus UKTV Play, the fast-growing online-only service.
The independent British broadcaster is increasingly recognised for the popularity and critical success of its burgeoning slate of original programmes including pay-only exclusives Nev's Indian Call Centre,, Dynamo Live at the O2: Seeing is Believing, The Comic Strip Presents: The Red Top, plus the emmy-winning Red Dwarf series, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and 2016's top rating programme to date, David Haye v Mark De Mori.
UKTV recently celebrated its most successful year, with record viewing share reaching 5.27%, and year-end share of commercial impacts hitting 9.31%, beating Channel 5's portfolio and all of Sky's wholly owned channels for the first time. The network has just recorded its best ever quarter in Q1 2016.
The company has also recently announced the appointment of Simon Michaelides as Chief Commercial Officer. Last year the company appointed Samantha Hammonds as General Counsel.
About Zoë Clapp
Zoë joined UKTV in 2005 and became Communications Director in 2012. Her strategic leadership of the Communications division helped position the network as the biggest multichannel broadcaster in Britain, with viewership increasing by 30% in five years.
During her time at the broadcaster, Zoë has overseen some of the most high profile and impactful campaigns in digital TV, including the launch of the two biggest non-PSB channels in the UK, Dave and Drama; and more recently the evolution of Watch, to become premium entertainment channel, W. UKTV has become well known for its imaginative approach to communications, winning awards including the SABRE Best Publicity Stunt, The Guardian's Marketing Agency Association's Best PR-led campaign, and being seven-times nominated for Best In-House Communications team.
She has served on the Edinburgh International TV Festival Advisory and the RTS London Advisory committees, and published three books on the media featuring essays from contributors including Martha Lane Fox CBE, Ed Vaizey MP, Google's European chief, Matt Brittin, Cisco's chief futurist Dave Evans, Academy-award winner, Piv Bernth, and actress and producer, Sharon Horgan.
Zoë graduated from University of the Arts London in 2000. Before joining UKTV as Press Officer in 2005, she worked agency-side and in-house in innovative brand communications for Exposure, Sole Technology, Extreme Sports Channel, Warner Music, Emap and Nike.
END
For more information contact:
Kerry Parker, Head of Network Communications
Notes to editors
Zoë Clapp's published books:
About UKTV
UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market.
The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £283m and EBITDA of £74.1m. It invested £123m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.
Now celebrating its 23rd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.