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British ministers are expected to elect Samir Shah, a veteran TV executive, as chairman of the BBC, replacing former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp, who resigned earlier this year.
Mr Shah has had a 40-year career in television and was a non-executive director at the BBC in 2007, as well as holding other positions including head of current affairs.
He will face a series of pressing challenges as chairman of the BBC’s board, including renegotiating the license fee in preparation for the publicly-funded renewal of the corporation’s charter in 2027.
A decision is expected to be announced as early as Wednesday afternoon, two people familiar with the situation said. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment. Shah declined to comment.
The BBC Chairman is a political appointee of the government and approved by the prime minister, who acts as an intermediary between the BBC and ministers, who are often critical of its coverage, size and budget.
Mr Shah has previously criticized the BBC’s size and culture, calling it a “monolithic attitude that makes it appear anti-competitive”.
Ministers are already planning to choose the lowest possible increase in license fees under the agreement signed in 2022. The deal saw license fees frozen for two years, meaning less funding for the BBC given rising inflation, with a further increase set for 2020. is what happened. inflation rate.
However, Lucy Fraser, the culture secretary, told the Financial Times earlier this year that she was concerned about the added burden on household budgets from rising license fees amid the cost of living crisis. On Thursday, Mr Fraser is expected to confirm plans to set this at the lowest possible rate.
Sir Michael Grade, chairman of media watchdog Ofcom and former BBC chairman, described the license fee as a “regressive tax” in an interview last month.
Mr. Shah has run his own production company, Juniper Communications, since the 1990s and has produced programming for the company and other channels.
After graduating from the Universities of Hull and Oxford, he worked in the Home Office’s Research and Information Department before joining London Weekend Television in 1979 as a researcher, rising to become editor of various current affairs programmes.
As BBC chairman, Shah will also have to oversee multiple investigations into scandals involving presenters such as Huw Edwards and Tim Westwood.
The government was clearly under pressure to avoid political appointments following widespread criticism of Richard Sharpe’s selection process.
He resigned after an investigation found he breached election rules by failing to declare aid to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which led to him securing an £800,000 loan.
Other candidates include Dame Elan Cross-Stevens, the current acting chairperson. He is popular within the BBC, but has recently defended himself to ministers, including Mr Fraser, over how the broadcaster is handling coverage of Hamas and the Israel-Gaza war. I’m forced to.
Ministers used headhunters to approach a wide range of candidates, but many did not come forward as the job was expected to involve considerable firefighting over the next few years.