BBC iPlayer Product Chief Ankit Kumar Exits Amid Staff Turnover

BBC

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC‘s head of product for iPlayer and video has left the British broadcaster amid wider turnover in senior digital executives.

Ankit Kumar joined the BBC in October 2022 from Amazon and played a key role in making iPlayer a destination for more than 17M British viewers every week.

Insiders said he was leaving the BBC abruptly, having been part of the corporation’s digital leadership group, which reports to chief product officer Storm Fagan.

Kumar has been approached for comment. His LinkedIn states that he helped iPlayer to its highest number of weekly signed-in users (18.2M) and a record 7B streams in 2023. He built up live product teams, helping users watch 115 events, including Glastonbury and the election.

Kumar’s exit follows other senior departures in recent months. David Andrade, the BBC’s former director of product engineering, left last November to join OpenBet. Sara Bowley, the BBC’s ex-digital delivery director, left in April to join DWP Digital.

A person familiar with the changes said it was a “turbulent time” for the BBC’s product team and there had been “rapid turnover” in senior staff members.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The market for top digital talent is highly competitive and it is not uncommon to see people move between organisations. We have a strong product team and will continue to strengthen it further to accelerate the development of our digital products and services.”

The BBC continues to make iPlayer and BBC Sounds the front door to content amid the rapid switch to streaming, while distribution remains a priority after the launch of live internet TV service Freely with ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5.