SK
Sky News Sunrise Presenter Simon McCoy is to leave Sky News and present along side BBC Breakfast News Presenter Natasha Kaplinsky. McCoy will join Jon Sopal and Peter Sissons for BBC News 24's realaunch Next Week (December 1st)
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The BBC has poached its second senior Sky News presenter in less than a year after breakfast presenter Simon McCoy jumped ship for News 24 ahead of a relaunch.
He will join a team of hosts including Jon Sopel and Peter Sissons who will front the new-look channel, which is being unveiled to viewers on December 1.
Mark Popescu, a former ITN editor who is currently in charge of the Ten O'Clock News on BBC1, was behind the raid on Sky News - he has been handed the task of revitalising the BBC channel, which trails its main rival in terms of critical perception and ratings.
McCoy will also be reunited with former Sky News colleague Natasha Kaplinksy, who defected to the BBC last November to become the face of BBC breakfast alongside Dermot Murnaghan.
He will stand in for Murnaghan as well as Breakfast's second male presenter, Bill Turnbull, who co-hosts the show with Sian Williams.
McCoy's main role from the new year will be as a roving news reporter for BBC News 24 where he will be sent out on location to cover major breaking news stories.
The move will come as a blow for Sky, where McCoy has worked for 14 years.
He has worked at Sky Television since its launch in 1989, where he was initially a producer, becoming the channel's royal correspondent in 1990 and, until 1997, presenting the Friday night Tonight programme.
But McCoy's defection to the BBC comes after a government report found BBC News 24 had yet to justify its £50m annual investment and was not distinct enough from Sky News.
In a damning report to the government, former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert said BBC News 24 lagged behind Sky News when it came to breaking big news stories.
The report said the channel failed to make the best use of the BBC's network of correspondents, and lacked the editorial coherence of other news services.
In September, Mr Popescu, the editor of the flagship Ten O'Clock News, was given the job of revamping the channel in the light of the Lambert report and McCoy's appointment is one of the new measures.
McCoy began his career in journalism at London's Fleet Street News Agency in 1981 and moved to become researcher and scriptwriter at Thames Television and then news editor at TV-am.
Rachel Attwell, the deputy head of BBC Television News, said the corporation was looking forward to cashing in on McCoy's experience.
Nick Pollard, the head of Sky News, said: "It was as a presenter on the breakfast show, Sunrise, that Simon most engaged viewers with his friendly, approachable style. We wish him the very best in his future career."
--------------------------------------Article Below------------------------------------------#
The BBC has poached its second senior Sky News presenter in less than a year after breakfast presenter Simon McCoy jumped ship for News 24 ahead of a relaunch.
He will join a team of hosts including Jon Sopel and Peter Sissons who will front the new-look channel, which is being unveiled to viewers on December 1.
Mark Popescu, a former ITN editor who is currently in charge of the Ten O'Clock News on BBC1, was behind the raid on Sky News - he has been handed the task of revitalising the BBC channel, which trails its main rival in terms of critical perception and ratings.
McCoy will also be reunited with former Sky News colleague Natasha Kaplinksy, who defected to the BBC last November to become the face of BBC breakfast alongside Dermot Murnaghan.
He will stand in for Murnaghan as well as Breakfast's second male presenter, Bill Turnbull, who co-hosts the show with Sian Williams.
McCoy's main role from the new year will be as a roving news reporter for BBC News 24 where he will be sent out on location to cover major breaking news stories.
The move will come as a blow for Sky, where McCoy has worked for 14 years.
He has worked at Sky Television since its launch in 1989, where he was initially a producer, becoming the channel's royal correspondent in 1990 and, until 1997, presenting the Friday night Tonight programme.
But McCoy's defection to the BBC comes after a government report found BBC News 24 had yet to justify its £50m annual investment and was not distinct enough from Sky News.
In a damning report to the government, former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert said BBC News 24 lagged behind Sky News when it came to breaking big news stories.
The report said the channel failed to make the best use of the BBC's network of correspondents, and lacked the editorial coherence of other news services.
In September, Mr Popescu, the editor of the flagship Ten O'Clock News, was given the job of revamping the channel in the light of the Lambert report and McCoy's appointment is one of the new measures.
McCoy began his career in journalism at London's Fleet Street News Agency in 1981 and moved to become researcher and scriptwriter at Thames Television and then news editor at TV-am.
Rachel Attwell, the deputy head of BBC Television News, said the corporation was looking forward to cashing in on McCoy's experience.
Nick Pollard, the head of Sky News, said: "It was as a presenter on the breakfast show, Sunrise, that Simon most engaged viewers with his friendly, approachable style. We wish him the very best in his future career."
Last edited by skynewsfreak on 25 November 2003 8:12pm
