TV exec Samir Shah appointed chair of UK's BBC

British television executive Samir Shah has been chosen by the government to chair the BBC, culture minister Lucy Frazer said on Wednesday.

Shah, aged 71, is the chief executive of production company Juniper TV and he has previously worked at the BBC and London Weekend Television, a franchise in the ITV commercial network. "Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC Chair," Frazer said in a post on X.

"He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape, and I have no doubt he will provide the support and scrutiny that the BBC needs to meet the challenges of the future." The BBC is funded by a licence fee paid by TV-watching households and is politically independent but its chair is appointed by the government.

It previous chair, Richard Sharp, resigned in April after he failed to disclose he had played a role in securing a $1 million loan for the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson. BBC board member Elan Closs Stephens became the acting chair of the broadcaster following Sharp's resignation.

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