ITN has appointed Jon Roberts as its new Director of Technology, Production and Innovation.
Roberts will lead ITN’s senior leadership team, leading the technical strategy for the news provider and production company.
He joined ITN as a trainee in 2000 and has since held a number of senior production and technology roles, including technical director, programme director and Head of Studio Technology. He is currently ITN’s Head of Studio Operations.
He has played a critical role in numerous major tech projects at ITN, including launching the ITV News virtual reality studio, developing ITN’s innovative control room integration model, delivering multiple royal special events and most recently elements of ITN’s switchover to remote working.
As a programme director Roberts has worked on every General Election results programme since 2005, directing the BAFTA-nominated 2017 and 2019 productions, as well as directing the relaunch of News at Ten, the Brexit referendum results special, the IAAF World Championships from Doha, the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast and many others. In the last year he has also played a key role in securing and delivering high-profile live events for commercial clients including Google, Ofcom and the CBI.
Deborah Turness, Chief Executive of ITN, said: “It’s fantastic that Jon is taking on this critical role as ITN plans the exciting rollout of new digital cloud-based systems, positioning our business for the future. He has huge experience, both in major infrastructure projects and broadcast production, as well as a deep knowledge of the company. ITN has one of the best technology teams in the industry, with a history of ground-breaking innovation, and Jon will bring tremendous energy, expertise and vision to the job.”
Jon Roberts added: “I first joined ITN as a trainee 21 years ago and have had the privilege of working alongside our expert technical and production teams on many of our biggest projects. I’m delighted and incredibly proud to have been appointed to this role and to have the opportunity to lead such a talented and dedicated team. This is a pivotal time in broadcast technology, with new advances creating fresh opportunities and whole new ways of working, and I’m really excited to see how we can continue to develop and innovate in the coming years.”
