The BBC Worldwide Americas has hired a new head of digital media for U.S. and Canada, Nick Ascheim, who will join the company on May 16th as senior vice president of digital media. The Associated Press and former New York Times executive will be responsible for the company's direct-to-consumer digital businesses across all platforms, including web, mobile and emerging technologies.
Ascheim, who has almost 20 years experience as a content creator and digital executive, joins from BBC's commercial arm from the AP where he managed its portfolio of digital businesses including AP Mobile and the launch of APTop25.com. Prior to that, he was Vice President Product Management at NYTimes.com.
In his new role, Ascheim will oversee the commercial growth of the North American edition of BBC.com which attracted over 38.7 million users in March 2011. He will also spearhead the company's mobile strategy and develop new digital products based on BBC brands.
Ascheim will report to Ann Sarnoff, COO BBC Worldwide Americas.
"Nick has a fantastic track record as an innovative thinker and highly effective digital executive," noted Sarnoff in a statement. "He's joining us at an exciting time as we move to propel our digital businesses forward and will no doubt prove to be a valuable asset to the team."
