Tony Hall, the director general of the BBC, has been elected as the new president of the European Broadcasting Union, the consortium of European public-service broadcasters.
Delphine Ernotte Cunci, the chief executive of France Télévisions, will serve as vice-president.
Hall and Cunci were elected at the EBU’s 80th general assembly and will begin two-year terms on January 1, 2019.
Hall has been director general of the BBC since 2013, having previously served as the chief executive of the Royal Opera House after working at the UK public-service broadcaster for 28 years earlier in his career.
Cunci was appointed to the helm of France Télévisions in 2015 after having spent 26 years at telco Orange.
Hall and Cunci will replace Jean-Paul Philippot and Monica Maggioni, who have served as president and vice-president for 10 years and three years respectively.
“In a globalised world, public-service broadcasting faces a number of challenges, with changing viewing habits and new ways of consuming news,” Hall said. “How public-service broadcasters adapt and indeed lead change is something I think we can work on together to the benefit of those we serve.”