BBC Scotland Boss Exiting To Irish Broadcaster RTÉ
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The head of BBC Scotland is off to Ireland in the fall.
Steve Carson, who has been running things for the corporation north of the border since the start of the pandemic, has taken up a new role as Director of Video for his former employer RTÉ, where he used to be head of programs.
At RTÉ, Carson will oversee TV content for the Dancing with the Stars Ireland network following the launch of the network’s new strategic plan.
Steve Carson. Image: BBC Scotland
He became Director of BBC Scotland in the summer of 2020 and before that was the first programs chief for the BBC Scotland channel. He joins Patricia Monahan, also unveiled today as RTÉ’s new Director of Audio having exited Irish radio station Newstalk, on the organization’s leadership team.
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Speaking to staff at BBC Scotland HQ in Glasgow today, Carson said it had been “the honour of my life to serve as Director of BBC Scotland, and it has been a privilege to meet and work with so many talented people and teams across the country.”
He said of his record: “Over the past seven years across two roles at BBC Scotland, I have been blessed to partner with the brilliant creative industry here, and together we have seen the launch of the BBC Scotland channel, landmark series including Guilt and Rebus, record levels of licence fee investment in Scotland, the biggest ever range of live sport coverage, and strong audience growth online across the BBC’s iPlayer, Sounds News and Sport products.”
The search for Carson’s successor has begun and he will remain with BBC Scotland until mid-September. Carson is a former Director of Programmes for RTÉ Television and also used to head up production for BBC Northern Ireland.
His move comes a year after RTÉ was hit by scandal when top-paid presenter Ryan Tubridy was forced to exit along with Director General Dee Forbes after the former was found to have misstated his total earnings for five years. Forbes’ replacement Kevin Bakhurst has since steadied the ship.