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Darren Childs, Managing Director, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels has today announced the appointment of Mark Whitehead as General Manager and Senior VP of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels Asia.

Based in Singapore, Whitehead will take on responsibility for the reach, ratings and revenue of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels' operations across the Asia Pacific region and India, and will spearhead the distribution of the six-strong portfolio of ´óÏó´«Ã½ branded channels – ´óÏó´«Ã½ Entertainment, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Knowledge, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Lifestyle, CBeebies, ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD and ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News*.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels has rapidly established a strong foothold in Asia, since the launch of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Entertainment throughout the region in October 2006. In 2007 CBeebies, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Knowledge and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Lifestyle were launched in Singapore and Hong Kong, while last year saw the launch of CBeebies and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Knowledge in Indonesia, as well as the debut of ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD as a VOD service in Taiwan, and the launch of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Knowledge in South Korea.

Darren Childs commented: "We have grown the channels business rapidly over the last few years and have plans for further growth in the region. Our ambition for Asia is now greater than ever and we are very fortunate to have attracted an executive of Mark’s calibre to lead this next stage of growth. I'm delighted to welcome him to our senior management team."

Mark Whitehead added: "This is a great opportunity to work with one of the world's most respected television brands and be part of the expansion of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels business in Asia Pacific. I am delighted to be joining the senior management team at such an exciting time in the growth of the business."

Whitehead was most recently Senior Vice President for Revenue at Discovery Networks Asia. During his time at Discovery, he launched the first Asia Discovery HD services in Korea and Singapore, and negotiated and renewed distribution deals with cable, satellite and broadband operators in numerous countries, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

Whitehead will take up his new position at the end of April.

NOTES TO EDITORS
* ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide News is distributed by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide but is owned and operated by ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News Ltd.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels is one of seven ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide businesses. Formed in 2005, the business has 42 channels reaching over 285 million homes around the world.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide's Global Ad Sales division sells advertising and sponsorship opportunities on behalf of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide's commercial media businesses (World News, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Channels and ´óÏó´«Ã½.com) across television, internet and mobile platforms. The division has 17 offices across the US , EMEA and Asia.

About ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News
´óÏó´«Ã½ World News, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is owned and operated by ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News Ltd, a member of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s commercial group of companies. ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News attracts 78 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches 287 million households and more than 1.6 million hotel rooms. The channel's content is also available on 80 cruise ships, 43 airlines, 36 mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including . For further information on how to receive ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News, download schedules or find out more about the channel, visit


Dominic Schreiber/Harriet Otoo