EBU elects BBC director general Tony Hall as next president

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has appointed BBC director general Tony Hall as its next president, with France Télévisions CEO, Delphine Ernotte Cunci, to serve as vice-president.

L-R Tony Hall, Noel Curran (EBU director general), Delphine Ernotte Cunci

Hall and Cunci will take up their new roles from January 1, 2019 for a two-year period, following their election by an absolute majority at the EBU’s 80^th General Assembly in Tirana, Albania.

They will lead the EBU’s Executive Board and help champion the value and importance of public service media across Europe. Hall and Cunci will replace Jean-Paul Philippot (RTBF) and Monica Maggioni (RAI) who have served as EBU president and vice-president for ten years and three years respectively.

“Public service broadcasting has never been more important and it plays a crucial role – not just in providing impartial news – but in producing programmes that reflect the lives and aspirations of the public it serves,” said Hall.

“In a globalised world, public service broadcasting faces a number of challenges, with changing viewing habits and new ways of consuming news. How PSBs adapt and indeed lead change is something I think we can work on together to the benefit of those we serve.”

Cunci said: “Faced with the rise of global platforms and the emergence of programs that transcend borders, it is only if we join forces throughout Europe that will we be able to reaffirm our role as media service providers to all audiences.”

Hall became BBC director general in April 2013. Prior to that he was chief executive of the Royal Opera House, before which he spent 28-years at the BBC, latterly as chief executive of BBC News.

Cunci was appointed CEO of France Télévisions in 2015 having previously spent 26-years at Orange. Between 2011 and 2015 she was CEO of Orange France.