CableFAX: 82. Frei’s Guy: Garth Ancier
Garth Ancier
Title: President, BBC Worldwide America
Last Year: #76
Age: 51
Education: Princeton, BA
Why Him? The big news for Ancier and BBC America this year was news— BBC World News America that is. The weeknight telecast, launched late in ’07 and anchored by Matt Frei, quickly gained legitimacy with U.S. news junkies who appreciate its balanced reportage of the former 13 colonies and extensive foreign coverage by BBC World Service correspondents. Ancier did two things that helped the broadcast. First he planted roots for the newscast in D.C., where its Capitol Hill studio lured a slew of apposite guests for election coverage, plus a local analyst by the name of Ted Koppel. Another indication that Ancier meant business was the hiring of veteran CBS Evening News/60 Minutes producer Rome Hartman to helm the news operation.
Happy Birthday: While BBC America celebrated its 10th anniversary with carriage in 63mln HHs, its fledgling news program staged another celebration, for its Peabody Award, which it won for a 3-part series called White Horse Village, about a small Chinese farming village whose citizens were uprooted to make room for housing built to accommodate a sprawling city nearby.
Year Ahead: 
Despite World News’ success, we’re hard-pressed to name many other series on BBC A. Ancier must change that.
SA
