ABC Australia rejigs management, ditches controller roles

Australian public broadcaster the ABC has reorganised its senior management structure and is dispensing with the role of individual channel controllers.

From 2014 the new structure will mean that a ‘head of programming’ position will replace the individual channel controller positions. Two channel managers will assist the new programming chief. Brendan Dahill, currently head of programming at ABC1 and ABC2, will fill the new position.

Current ABC2 boss Stuart Menzies will take on a newly-created role of head of TV content and creative development under the new structure and will lead the existing team of genre heads across fiction, entertainment, comedy, Indigenous, arts, factual and sports and events.

Arul Baskaran will remain head of online and multiplatform, and Deirdre Brennan, who starts at the ABC this week, is head of children’s TV.

Richard Finlayson, director of television, said: “From January 1 the existing Controller model will be replaced with a structure that reallocates responsibilities within the existing team and will help meet our objective to cement ABC TV and [catch-up service] iview as the home of the best quality, most impactful and entertaining Australian content.”