Beeb reveal new Director of BBC Sport

Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer today announced Alex Kay-Jelski as the Director of BBC Sport.

The BBC is the most-used sports broadcaster in the UK and provides audiences with cross-platform coverage and a portfolio of free-to-air sports rights.

Alex Kay-Jelski:

“I am so excited to be joining BBC Sport in the summer and to have the chance to work with so many incredible people. Like most people, so many of my sporting memories have been lived with the BBC there to guide me through and having the chance to shape what that should look like in the coming years is a brilliant challenge. I am emotional leaving The Athletic and all the wonderful people there. It means so much to me and I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

Alex Kay-Jelski joins to further strengthen the BBC’s position, and as Director will set the editorial and creative strategy for BBC Sport. He will lead the world-class teams – across commissioning, production, digital and journalism – and work closely with talent and partners to help drive the growth of sport across the BBC’s digital services.

Barbara Slater decided to depart the Beeb role

Alex Kay-Jelski will represent the BBC with external bodies and rights holders, and be responsible for rights acquisition deals across TV, Audio and Online – as well as champion the reach and public value of sport across the UK.

Charlotte Moore:

“Alex is a dynamic and creative editorial leader who has a clear vision about how to take BBC Sport into the future. He joins us from the highly respected digital sports subscription service The Athletic, where he has been responsible for developing and growing the brand from scratch in the UK to become a leading force in the industry, and overseeing phenomenal growth.

“Alex has always embraced innovation. His editorial judgement and expert knowledge is impressive and he brings with him a wealth of experience in telling stories and delivering sports content to audiences in a digital world. Barbara Slater leaves BBC Sport in rude health with an incredible summer of sport ahead, and I’m looking forward to Alex leading us for the next generation of unrivalled sports broadcasting.”

Alex joins the BBC from The Athletic where he is Editor in Chief. He set up the international arm in 2019, created the ethos of the product and helped the company pass a million subscribers just over a year later and the respect of the football and journalism industry. The growth of the football market has been credited for it being bought by the New York Times in 2022. Prior to that he was the Sports Editor at The Times from 2015 to 1019 and Sports Editor at Daily Mail before that.

Alex will report directly to Charlotte Moore and lead the world-class BBC Sport teams. He will start in the role in June the Beeb note.