BSkyB boss Jeremy Daroch to speak at ASTRA event

Pay TV boss Jeremy Daroch, boss of subscription TV giant BSkyB in the UK, will give the keynote at this year’s Astra Conference.  

The subscription television industry’s peak body, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) announced today that Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) will deliver the platform keynote at the ASTRA 2011 Conference on 29 March 2011. BSkyB was recently voted Britain’s fourth most admired company in a survey by Management Today magazine.

Jeremy’s address will reflect on his experience as the leader of one of the world’s most successful pay TV companies and also on the conference theme – content matters. Having brought multi-channel TV to the UK in 1989, BSkyB is now the choice of one in three homes across the UK and Ireland.

“I am looking forward to attending ASTRA 2011 and hearing about progress in the Australian pay TV sector. For my part, I’ll be sharing a UK perspective on the inherent strength of the subscription model and, within that, the critical importance of content.” said Darroch.

Jeremy Darroch was appointed Chief Executive of BSkyB in December 2007 after joining the company as Chief Financial Officer in August 2004. During his tenure as CEO, BSkyB’s performance has gone from strength to strength, reaching 10 million subscriber homes in November 2010. He has also overseen Sky’s emergence as the fastest growing home broadband and telephony operator in the UK, and the development of its leading HD offering.

ASTRA CEO, Petra Buchanan said “We are delighted to have Jeremy join us at the conference. BSkyB has been very successful in not just increasing subscriber numbers over the last few years, but also extending their value proposition through product bundling and diversification of services.”

Jeremy joins confirmed ASTRA 2011 Conference speaker – Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney/ABC Television Group, who, in December 2010, was for the second year in a row named the Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter.

Content Matters ASTRA 2011 Conference is a daylong conference that will bring together the industry, international speakers and local experts for a timely look at the media landscape and what lies ahead. The 2011 conference program will offer insight, direction and time for discussion through a combination of keynote addresses, panel discussions and breakout sessions delivered or moderated by global and local industry icons.

For more information, or to register go to www.astra.org.au/Conference2011 or contact: astra2011@wsm.com.au.