Richard Eyre - New Chief Executive of Pearson TV

Pearson PLC 1 November 1999 29th OCTOBER 1999 RICHARD EYRE IS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF PEARSON TELEVISION Pearson plc, the international media company, has appointed Richard Eyre as the new chief executive of Pearson Television, the world's leading independent international television production company. Mr Eyre will join Pearson Television from the ITV network, where, as chief executive, he has led its revival and increased its peak time audience share to 39%. He took on the ITV role in 1997, after a six year stint as chief executive of Capital Radio, during which he led the transformation of the business into the UK's leading and most profitable independent radio group. Prior to joining Capital Radio, Mr Eyre spent 15 years in the advertising industry, including a five year spell as media director of the BBH agency. Mr Eyre, who will be a member of Pearson plc's management committee, will join Pearson Television in the new year. He succeeds Greg Dyke, who left Pearson Television last month to take up his new role as Director General of the BBC. Marjorie Scardino said: 'Richard is a great leader and manager of talent, with a sure touch for successful and popular programmes. We are very pleased to have been able to lure him to Pearson. He comes at a great time for international television production. As digital technology and the Internet revolutionise television, our formats and programmes are in greater demand than ever before. Richard is an innovative and original strategist who can seize these opportunities and stimulate the development of the business in new areas. Pearson Television is stuffed full of talented people and Richard will enable them to do what they do best - make great, popular television shows around the world.' Richard Eyre added: 'Pearson Television is poised to take advantage of the huge opportunities offered by digital expansion and the Internet. The challenge of leading the company and its team of talented people in this new world, while building relationships in its current markets, is irresistible. I leave ITV with a brilliant management and commissioning team fully able to sustain the momentum of the turnaround of the last two years.' For further information John Fallon/Benjamin Wegg-Prosser + 44 171 411 2310 01459 124128 (pager) Roy Addison + 44 171691 6830 NOTE TO EDITORS Richard Eyre Richard Eyre, aged 45, started his career as a TV time buyer for B&B Advertising and had a number of roles in advertising before becoming Media Director, first of Aspect and then of BBH. In 1991, he became chief executive of Capital Radio, the UK's leading independent radio group and joined the ITV network, as chief executive, in 1997. He is married with two children and graduated from Oxford University in 1975 with an honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Under Mr Eyre's leadership, ITV regained lost ground and saw its peak time audience share rise to 38% in 1998 and is on track to meet 39% in 1999. Pearson Television Pearson Television is the world's leading independent international television producer. It owns the largest selection of game show formats in the world, is the largest producer of serial dramas and makes a wide range of entertainment programmes, including action adventures and situation comedies. It makes most of these shows locally, using local production staff and adapting the formats to the indigenous language and culture. In 1998, Pearson Television made operating profits of £71m (pre its share of start up losses at Channel 5 of £14m) on sales of £343m. With more than 150 programmes in production in more than 30 countries around the world, television production generates over 70% of Pearson Television's annual revenues. In the last few years, Pearson Television has grown rapidly through a number of acquisitions and, although its production business is now fully integrated, its programmes are produced under a number of household names, including Thames, Alomo, Grundy and Freemantle. In the UK, its programmes include The Bill, This Is Your Life, Wish You Were Here, the Channel Four documentary series, Heroes of Comedy, and numerous programmes for Channel 5. In the US, its most popular television shows include Baywatch, The Price is Right and Family Feud which went on air last month. In Germany it produces, among other things, four popular daily serials, while Australia is still the home of its longest-running and most successful serial, Neighbours. Pearson Television also has a highly successful international distribution business, through which it sells its own programmes (Pearson Television has a library of 15,000 hours of programmes stretching back through more than 30 years of television history and including classics such as Benny Hill and The World At War) and those of other independent producers, to broadcasters in 100 countries around the world. Its greatest recent success is the science fiction serial, First Wave, which it co-produced, and which has been sold to over 60 countries, including Channel 5 in the UK. Pearson Television owns an 11% stake in Uproar.com, one of the world's leading online entertainment companies. It has a number of stakes in broadcasting, including a 24% stake in the UK's channel 5, a 20% stake in M-RTL in Hungary and a 20% stake in UKTV in Australia. And, from its studios in central London, Pearson Television also runs a fast growing transmission business for customers such as Disney, Flextech, Universal, Discovery and Channel 5. Pearson plc In addition to Pearson Television, the major business operations of Pearson plc are the Financial Times group, the leading international source of strategic business information and analysis; Pearson Education, the world's leading education company; and the Penguin group, one of the world's most renowned English language publishers. In 1998, Pearson plc made operating profits of £389 million on sales of £2,395 million.

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