Bal Samra, director of BBC Vision operations and rights, is to join the board of Freesat. He replaces the BBC’s controller of distribution Richard Waghorn, who is leaving the corporation.
Samra is responsible for rights and business affairs across the BBC and leads the development, financing and implementation of the BBC’s rights and business affairs strategy. He also oversees the relationship with external stakeholders and partners.
Joining the BBC’s corporate finance group in 1990 he has worked on a number of service launches including Radio 5 Live, BBC News 24 (now the BBC News channel) and BBC News Online. Prior to joining the BBC, Samra worked in commercial and finance roles at Unilever, GEC and the Ford Motor Company.