Content area
Full Text
BBC Worldwide's head of digital Daniel Heaf has the success of the Corporation's public service arm and analogue output to live up to, but he has big plans for multi-platform growth
If you're looking for a perfect understanding of technology and media, Daniel Heaf might be your man. "Technology and media are the things that interest me most, possibly in the world apart from my wife and children," he says. "It's not something I've just fallen into, it's something I always wanted to be in."
Having worked in various digital guises, from interactive editor at the BBC's Radio 1 and 1Xtra to investing in digital startups at Channel 4's 4iP, last June Heaf joined BBC Worldwide as director of digital. He has nothing but praise for how BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) has driven digital over the past five years. "It has taken the first step on this journey with real enthusiasm and an element of risk taking, but keeping the audiences at heart," he says.
Recent digital successes among BBC Worldwide brands include Top Gear notching up more than 10m fans on Facebook this month, making it the most popular UK TV show on Facebook. The show's Stunt School iPad app is also currently in the top ten of UK iPad apps. Lonely Planet, meanwhile, which had huge success with its paid downloadable guidebook apps, was recently announced as a launch partner on Google's ebook store.
Part of Heaf's job is to constantly improve the user experience and increase the financial value of...