RO
Ulster TV today appointed a 34-year-old Australian to succeed Kelvin MacKenzie as the chief executive of Wireless Group, the owner of the TalkSport radio station.
The Belfast-based company, which bought Wireless for £98.2m last month, said Scott Taunton would take up his post with immediate effect.
Mr Taunton, who has been responsible for UTV's radio and new media operations as the business development director, said he was taking on "one of the most exciting jobs in British media".
"Kelvin has done a great job at building awareness of the TalkSport brand. I will now focus on growing our audience nationally and locally to provide a compelling commercial offering to advertisers, and ensuring the highest quality output for our listeners."
UTV's acquisition of the company, which is home to 16 local stations alongside TalkSport, has given it a significant presence across the Irish Sea.
The company's interest in England had previously been confined to a 33% stake in Liverpool's number two station, Juice FM.
UTV won the licence for the new Belfast station in March, while in the Irish Republic it owns four stations, including Dublin music station Q102. It is best known as the holder of the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland.
Before UTV made its acquisition, Mr MacKenzie had tried to put together a management buyout but struggled to find financial backers.
The former Sun editor ending up leaving Wireless after seven years with more than £6m in shares and an £800,000 payoff.
UTV said today that two other members of the old management team - Mr MacKenzie's son Ashley, the sales director, and TalkSport's managing director, Michael Franklin - had also left the company.
It described Mr Taunton as a "native of Australia" who had been working in the UK for a decade.
The Belfast-based company, which bought Wireless for £98.2m last month, said Scott Taunton would take up his post with immediate effect.
Mr Taunton, who has been responsible for UTV's radio and new media operations as the business development director, said he was taking on "one of the most exciting jobs in British media".
"Kelvin has done a great job at building awareness of the TalkSport brand. I will now focus on growing our audience nationally and locally to provide a compelling commercial offering to advertisers, and ensuring the highest quality output for our listeners."
UTV's acquisition of the company, which is home to 16 local stations alongside TalkSport, has given it a significant presence across the Irish Sea.
The company's interest in England had previously been confined to a 33% stake in Liverpool's number two station, Juice FM.
UTV won the licence for the new Belfast station in March, while in the Irish Republic it owns four stations, including Dublin music station Q102. It is best known as the holder of the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland.
Before UTV made its acquisition, Mr MacKenzie had tried to put together a management buyout but struggled to find financial backers.
The former Sun editor ending up leaving Wireless after seven years with more than £6m in shares and an £800,000 payoff.
UTV said today that two other members of the old management team - Mr MacKenzie's son Ashley, the sales director, and TalkSport's managing director, Michael Franklin - had also left the company.
It described Mr Taunton as a "native of Australia" who had been working in the UK for a decade.
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