ITN Productions has appointed Alastair Waddington, former IMG executive vice president, as its first director of sport.
The move reflects ITN’s ambition to expand its sports activities in both domestic and international markets.
A co-founder of SNTV, Waddington spent 15 years at IMG latterly as Executive Vice President, and, as IMG Media’s Chief Operating Officer, he ran a global portfolio of production, distribution, facilities, archive and research businesses. Waddington led negotiations for the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the largest outside broadcast contract ever awarded at the time. He also consulted to Channel 4 for the 2012 Paralympics and 2010 World Athletics Championships.
Mark Browning, Group Managing Director, ITN Productions, said: “Alastair has run the largest independent production business in the world which included thousands of hours of sport, so I’m delighted he is joining ITN Productions. He shares our ambition, and is a good fit for our culture as we establish ourselves as a central player in sports production. Our heritage in fast-turnaround, live and near live production, story-telling and connectivity means we are perfectly placed to offer new production solutions to the sports community.”
Alastair Waddington commented: “The chance to grow a sports business within an outstanding brand like ITN is just too good an opportunity to pass up. The way we consume sports media changes almost daily but the production principles of quality, speed and reliability are a constant. ITNP is very well equipped to make an impact on sports production globally and I look forward to working with everyone at ITNP to make that happen.”
This month ITN Productions launched a seven-part branded entertainment series with William Hill aimed at football fans following Euro 2016. “All to Play For”, is hosted by Sports Presenter Hayley McQueen and former Leicester City and Wales international player Robbie Savage. Timed to coincide with match fixtures, the fast-turnaround series is created by ITN Productions and will run regularly throughout The EUROs.
Staff Reporter
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