BBC and ITV announce new BritBox International CEO - Reemah Sakaan

BBC and ITV announce new BritBox International CEO - Reemah Sakaan

BBC Studios and ITV today announced that, following a rigorous recruitment process,  Reemah Sakaan has been appointed to be BritBox International’s new CEO charged with steering the roll out of BritBox to up to 25 countries worldwide.

Reemah will start in April 2021 and will lead a world-class team of around 100 content, customer management and business professionals.  As CEO, she will be responsible for the success and growth of BritBox International (all territories outside of the UK) by driving creative success and building the BritBox brand around the world in order to maximise its future commercial potential and return.

The ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service first launched in North America in March 2017, and announced it had surpassed 1.5 million subscribers in October 2020.  In the UK, BritBox launched in November 2019, followed by Australia in November 2020.  Earlier this month it was announced that South African audiences will be the next to enjoy BritBox, with the service set to launch in the second half of 2021. 

Building upon this success BritBox will seek to broaden its global footprint across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and Africa.  BritBox boasts the largest collection of British TV boxsets.  The BritBox proposition is broadly consistent in each market but allows for regional variations reflecting consumer demand.  Internationally, BritBox operates as a 50/50 joint venture between BBC Studios and ITV.

Carolyn McCall, ITV CEO, said: 

“The role attracted a very impressive field of external candidates which reflects the strength and appeal of the BritBox brand.  Reemah was deservedly successful and I am really pleased that she will lead BritBox internationally. 

“BritBox is now firmly established as a global premium brand in a rapidly growing sector.  I am confident that under Reemah’s leadership  BritBox will continue to grow in our existing countries and successfully expand worldwide.”

Tim Davie, Director General, BBC said:

“This is an important moment for Britbox and its ambitions to become a truly global brand. We know international audiences are turning to the service for great British television and with Reemah heading up the next phase of growth I am confident we will see further success.”

Reemah Sakaan said today:

"I am thrilled to be charged with leading BritBox International and its team on behalf of the BBC and ITV.

"It's been fantastic to have been part of the Britbox journey so far.  I can't wait for our next exciting phase of growth in existing markets and to put BritBox and the best of British creativity on the map in many more."

Reemah is currently Group Director ITV SVOD (responsible for the launch of BritBox in the UK) as well as Chief Brand & Creative Officer at BritBox Global where she has been responsible for the editorial and marketing activities for BritBox internationally.  The BritBox international management team including Moira Hogan, Country Manager for Australia and Emily Powers EVP and Head of BritBox North America will report to Reemah.

Notes to editors

Available across multiple screens and devices, BritBox delivers the most comprehensive service dedicated to the UK’s favourite programmes and is the home of the largest collection of British boxsets. Co-branded by ITV and the BBC, the BritBox offering in each market showcases the depth and breadth of British creativity, on demand, ad free and all in one place, with favourite content from ITV and the BBC, as well as from other British broadcasters and production companies, across a variety of genres, including critically acclaimed drama, crime thrillers, classic comedy and powerful documentaries alongside reality hits and entertainment.

Both ITV and the BBC will also provide a new and regular flow of fresh programmes as soon as they come out of their broadcast and catch-up windows. This will provide viewers with hundreds of hours of new ITV and BBC content every year. Many of these shows will be exclusive to viewers through BritBox and the flow of programmes will ensure that the content on BritBox is refreshed every week.  BritBox will also commission original content from British production companies specifically created for BritBox.