Poisoned chalice? The BBC’s struggles to find a successor to Tim Davie | BBC

THere’s an impressive shortlist of some of the most talented executives in the business making the rounds in Britain’s media circles. Unfortunately for the BBC, this list includes the names of people who are no longer candidates to become the next director general.

Those who have closely observed the company’s search for Tim Davie’s successor have quickly noted how the events of the past week help explain the alarming attrition rate.

Bafta, independent producers and the BBC were involved in a calamitous chain of events that culminated in the N-word being included in televised coverage of the Bafta awards. The insult was uttered loudly by Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson while actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage.

Inevitably, it was Davie who came under the ire of culture secretary Lisa Nandy – perhaps for the last time. The BBC’s statement on Wednesday night, following multiple apologies and announcements of an internal investigation, focused solely on the broadcaster’s failings.

Horrified senior figures at the BBC openly admitted they had made a huge mistake. But what led Davie to leave the job earlier than planned was a build-up of similar crises at a sprawling company and its tens of thousands of employees. “I’d be hard-pressed to find a harder job in public life,” said John Shield, the BBC’s former director of communications.

“You’re expected to be a brilliant creative leader in an inflationary environment. You need to demonstrate exceptional editorial judgment in a time of combative politics and operate under constant public scrutiny. At the same time, you’re adapting to rapidly changing viewing habits and trying to secure a stronger, more sustainable financing model. So other than all that, it’s a pretty straightforward job.”

There are some concerns on the list of non-runners. “This is a wonderful, beautiful, terrible, poisoned chalice,” said one prominent media figure.

Former BBC One controller and Channel 4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt, now at Apple TV, was an early favourite. His reputation as an uncompromising “Marmite figure”, as one media executive put it, was seen as both a rarefied strength and a potential sticking point. Hunt did not apply, despite objections.

Alex Mahon, who was Channel 4’s chief executive until he left last year to run events company Superstruct, is also no longer in the role. It is said that the job came very early, but there are also people who say that the BBC did not find him suitable.

Until recently the BBC’s chief creative officer Charlotte Moore, who now runs Left Bank Pictures, was widely seen as a potential successor. However, it appears that he did not apply for the job either.

The Guardian previously reported that Mark Thompson, the BBC’s only director general to leave on his own terms, had been ruled out of a return. However, he has settled in the US and has already been knighted for his previous tenure at the company.

BBC bosses were also interested in Kevin Bakhurst, who is now chief executive of RTÉ in Ireland. However, he also rejected the application and is not expected to be a candidate for the new deputy general manager position, which will be created to make the senior post more manageable.

In fact, business concerns predate Davie’s departure; This follows allegations of bias and controversy over Panorama’s controversial editing of the Trump speech.

Deborah Turness, the former head of BBC News who resigned along with Davie, was being eyed as a potential chief executive. But his allies said before he left that he had deep doubts about taking the top job if offered.

Alongside the obvious political pressures and scrutiny, the corporation now faces what one BBC insider described as “a problem of this or that”. The breadth of demands is now so great—from charter renewal negotiations to changing audience habits—that any candidate would struggle to meet them all.

There is also unease among some potential candidates about BBC chief Samir Shah, who is widely believed to have failed to oversee the company at the time of Turness and Davie’s resignations.

“It’s not just about the economics of the job,” said Pat Younge, former chief creative officer of BBC Television, adding that anyone with the CV to be a serious candidate could easily make much more elsewhere with much less scrutiny. “It’s also about the social and political environment in which you undertake the work.”

However, despite everything, a name emerged that encouraged those who were concerned about the quality of the next general manager. The spotlight has turned to a former Olympian as the future BBC leader faces Olympic duty.

That candidate is Matt Brittin, a former Google executive who was part of the British rowing team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He has been on a “mini gap year” since leaving Google at the beginning of last year.

“This is real,” said a source who believes he is now the leader.

While some at the BBC were disappointed by Davie’s decision to leave – some even hoped he might change his mind – Brittin has another appeal. In terms of temperament and interests, Brittin is as close as possible to Davie Mark II.

Both have business strengths, and both speak to the opportunities technology can play in helping large organizations. They even share fitness fanaticism; Davie is an obsessed runner.

Brittin’s nomination is evidence of the BBC’s desperation to adapt to the rise of YouTube, which executives have been grappling with for some time. The company has recently begun to embrace broader YouTube adoption, but concerns remain about handing over too much content to big tech.

If assigned, he will have luggage. His relationship with big tech is a double-edged sword; Some want the BBC to develop its own platforms and not leave itself at the mercy of Google’s algorithms. Meanwhile, Brittin’s parliamentary questioning about Google’s tax bill in 2016 ended with him somehow claiming he didn’t know how much he was paid.

Although he has experience of running a large organisation, the events at Bafta on Sunday have raised the big question of his credentials. How might someone with little experience in programming or editorial decision-making react to such results?

Former FT editor Lionel Barber challenged the idea that this was an impossible task as long as a serious, strategic leader was surrounded by “stubborn, professional editorial people”.

But one broadcasting industry veteran believed the BBC’s top job now required too much from one person. “After all, if you can fuse Jay [Hunt] “With Matt Brittin, you will find the answer,” they said. “Or if Matt Brittin and Charlotte Moore were running the BBC together, you would square the circle. But this means the job specification needs to be seriously redesigned.”