Henry Becton will retire next year as head of noncommercial WGBH Boston, one of PBS' anchor programmers.
Becton, who says he will exit Oct. 1, 2007, as president/CEO, will be replaced by Jonathan Abbott, who is executive VP and COO of the station. Becton said he would stay on after that date as a part-time editorial advisor.
The notification came after a board of trustees meeting where the succession was approved.
Some of the signature shows produced under Becton's watch include NOVA, Masterpiece Theater, American Experience, Frontline, Mystery, This Old House, and Antiques Roadshow.
Becton joined the station in 1970 as a producer.
Abbott joined WGBH in 1998 as VP and GM and was named EVP and COO in 2004. He helped the station move to digital broadcasting and said Thursday in a release that he was eager to help the station move onto emerging platforms.
