BBC's tech chief hops off to Kangaroo

BBC director of future media and technology Ashley Highfield is to leave the corporation to head up the Kangaroo online TV service.

Highfield will become CEO of Kangaroo, which is a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 to create a shared on-demand online media player.

Kangaroo is pencilled in to launch later this year and will provide more than 10,000 hours of free and paid-for content, which can be streamed or downloaded.

Highfield will take over from interim CEO Lesley Mackenzie and will be involved in negotiations with third-party content owners, as well as distributing Kangaroo on other platforms.

Highfield said the move is a fantastic opportunity and he is looking forward to "transforming the way audiences watch television".

The heads of the partner broadcasters welcomed the appointment. Channel 4 CEO Andy Duncan said Highfield is "one of the most influential players in digital media", making him the ideal CEO to drive Kangaroo forwards.

Highfield has been in charge of the BBC iPlayer project which, although initially controversial, has since proved to be a real success.

During the first three months of the year, iPlayer received 42 million requests for streamed or downloaded programmes, according to the BBC.

ITV and Channel 4 also have their own on-demand services, which Kangaroo is intended to complement with the addition of archived content.