RTÉ today announced the appointment of George Dixon to the position of Channel Controller, RTÉ One, and Bill Malone to the position of Channel Controller, RTÉ Two, following a public competition.
George Dixon has been Controller of Channel Management at Channel 4 since 2011, where he provided strategic leadership of the C4 portfolio overseeing scheduling, commissioning strategy and acquisitions across four broadcast channels (Channel 4, E4, More4 and Film4) and for Channel 4’s digital services and interactive media.
Bill Malone has been Commissioning Editor for Entertainment in RTÉ Television for the past two years, managing a slate of in-house and commissioned programmes including some of RTÉ One’s most successful and high-profile properties such as The Late Late Show, The Saturday Night Show, The Voice of Ireland, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Irish Pictorial Weekly and Hector Goes… He has won national and international awards for documentary making and Young Peoples Programmes and has also worked in Current Affairs as a producer with Prime Time.
Glen Killane, Managing Director, RTÉ Television, said: “The Channel Controller positions attracted an exceptionally strong field of national and international candidates, which is testament to the reputation of RTÉ as a quality public service broadcaster. George has extensive and varied experience having managed several channels at two world class broadcasters. With exceptional strategic vision, he brings a strong public service ethos and a proven track record in leading teams to deliver creative and commercial success. Bill has an innate understanding of Irish audiences and a proven track record in delivering high quality public service programming across a wide range of genres. Collaborating with colleagues across RTÉ Television, these appointments will complement the existing teams to provide an enhanced focus for both channels, ensuring that the schedules remain distinctive and compelling and continue to be the channels of choice for Irish viewers”.
Previously, George was Head of Scheduling at BBC Vision for five years, leading the channel management team responsible for BBC ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, Daytime and HD. With specific responsibility for the scheduling strategy for BBC ONE, he was instrumental to the strategy that saw BBC ONE overtake ITV1 as the UK’s most popular peak-time channel for the first time in its history.
George Dixon said: “I am delighted to take up this new position at such a pivotal time for RTÉ Television. As Ireland’s most popular channel, RTÉ One delivers a high-quality service to Irish audiences. I look forward to building on and consolidating its position. I’ve had an amazing experience at Channel 4 and I’d like to thank Jay Hunt and the brilliant creative teams for being fantastic colleagues”.
Bill Malone said: “RTÉ Two offers Irish audiences something unique, from Sport to Young Peoples programming, Irish comedy and the best of international drama. I look forward to building on this heritage and collaborating with colleagues to ensure that it embraces the opportunities and challenges of the digital era to fully serve and engage with Irish audiences.”
Reporting to the Managing Director of RTÉ Television, the Channel Controllers will be responsible for the creation and implementation of channel strategy on linear and digital platforms.
Glen Killane continued: “RTÉ Television operates in a highly competitive environment against some of the best funded and highly regarded broadcasters in the world. We must be open to continually examining our offering to the Irish public to ensure that it is relevant and meets the high standards that audiences have come to expect and deserve of their public service broadcaster. These two positions are reflective of our commitment to deliver on that promise to the Irish audience.”