ITV’s Chief Viewer Officer Jane Stiller has announced the appointment of Akhila Khanna to head up the Media and Entertainment division’s UK distribution strategy, in the role of Director of Distribution, starting in October.
Akhila will lead the execution of the distribution strategy of ITVX and ITV channels for all linear and streaming platforms, while managing all aspects of the implementation of the deals and ongoing relationships with partner platforms.
As Director of Distribution, Akhila will be an important part of Jane Stiller’s leadership team within the Viewer Experience Group, together with leaders from Marketing, Product and Insights. This group is responsible for the strategy and delivery of an end to end viewer experience from off to on platform, across owned and partner platforms.
Akhila joins ITV from Paramount where she is currently SVP for Partnerships and Business Development, leading the distribution of Paramount’s streaming portfolio across the UK.
She has a wealth of industry experience across business development, creating commercial partnerships and generating revenue from media platforms, most recently at Paramount Global, but also across roles at A+E Networks and CNBC, in the UK, US and India. Akhila began her career on NBC’s graduate Page Program in Burbank, California.
Khanna said: “After an exciting and fulfilling 7 years at Paramount International, I am thrilled to take on my next challenge at the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster. The experience I have acquired in my different roles to date will help to further grow ITV’s linear and streaming services and I’m looking forward to working with Jane, the team and the distribution partners.”
Jane Stiller said: “ITV’s distribution strategy, and working closely with our platform and technology partners, is a key part of ensuring that our content is as easily accessible as possible. The hugely successful growth of ITVX since its launch gives Akhila strong foundations to build on and I’m really looking forward to welcoming her to the team. The experience she brings will enable us to build on this important element of our work as ITV continues to develop through both ITVX and linear channels.”
Martin Goswami, ITV Group Strategy Partnership & Distribution Director, will remain on hand to support Akhila in an advisory capacity until he steps down at the end of the year.