BBC LINE UP FOR PRODUCTION SHOW 2001

THE Production Show 2001 has been chosen to host the first public appearances of two of the current top players at the BBC at this year's conference sessions.
Keynote speaker, Director of New Media at the BBC, Ashley Highfield, will inaugurate the Interactive Television sessions, and Alan Yentob, the BBC’s Director of Drama, Entertainment & Children's programming will speak about the BBC's new commissioning structure.
The Show will see the first public branding of BBC MediaArc, a new digital media agency which focuses on branding, content design, and interactive communication solutions.
The appointment of Ashley Highfield as Director of New Media at the BBC is the first time the BBC have had a directorate-level position on the board to oversee the dovetailing of both their publicly and commercially funded new media interests.
Highfield, who beat off stiff competition last year when he was appointed Director of New Media, is currently working on the Corporation's strategy for the future.
It is expected that the Production Show will provide a key audience for the unveiling of future plans resulting from a profound appraisal of the direction and long-term policy for two of the biggest portals in Europe, BBC Online and beeb.com.
Alan Yentob, BBC’s Director of Drama, Entertainment & Children's programming, will be making one of his first public appearances in his new role at the show. He will be speaking about the BBC's new commissioning structure in the 'Commissioners' strand of sessions.
This year, the Production Show's Interactive Television sessions are being sponsored by BBC MediaArc.(CD/SP)