Former Google executive Matt Brittin is expected to be confirmed this week as the next Director General for the BBC.
The Times reported that Brittin was appointed to the position by the BBC board last week and will be announced after final due diligence checks are completed. BBC News said Brittin would be confirmed in the role “in the coming days.”
Current Director-General Tim Davie is leaving the position next month, having announced his resignation last year over the scandal of Panorama’s misleading edit of President Trump’s speech during the US Capitol riots. Rhodri Talfan Davies, Executive Director of the BBC board, is set to take over as Interim Director-General.
Brittin is expected to start the role soon after Davie departs.
Brittin joined Google in 2007 as its Managing Director for the UK, rising to become the tech giant’s President for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He left Google in 2024 and has been on a self-professed "gap year" since then.
His appointment will make him the BBC's 18th Director General – and the first with no direct experience of television journalism.
Brittin became a leading contender for the BBC role in February 2026 after other candidates, including Jay Hunt of Apple TV and former Channel 4 Chief Executive Alex Mahon, withdrew.
A former rower for Cambridge in the Boat Race and for Great Britain at the Olympics, Brittin will join the BBC as negotiations are underway for its next royal charter.
Recently, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has voiced her support for the BBC’s request to have a permanent charter, rather than one that needs to be reviewed every 10 years.
The Times said that the BBC’s decision to appoint Brittin reflects a belief among its board that it needs to adapt to a media landscape dominated by streaming giants and digital platforms such as YouTube, which recently overtook the broadcaster in some audience metrics.
The BBC Group recently struck a deal to produce new programming for YouTube, in an effort to capture younger viewers. Discover more here.
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