BBC Hires New iPlayer Manager From Microsoft

The BBC is hiring Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) digital media executive Daniel Danker to its new position of general manager for programmes and on-demand (POD).

His team will design and build products for delivering TV and radio shows and services online; he will manage iPlayer and search.

This is a new role within the future media and technology department, per Erik Huggers’ springtime restructure, following the exit of that division’s vision and online controller Anthony Rose to Project Canvas.

Danker is one of four team managers reporting to a digital media director underneath Huggers – but that director is still to be recruited. The other managers are…

— an online technology group GM (Mark Kortekaas)
— news and knowledge GM (Phil Fearnley)
— a GM for children, sport and applications (Rahul Chakkara recently left for TalkTalk),

Danker is based in Paris and – as programme manager and director of architecture and development with Microsoft – has worked on Microsoft’s set-top-box IPTV system Mediaroom, as well as music delivery.

The BBC has now made several hires from Microsoft over iPlayer’s life.