EBU appoints former RTÉ boss as new director general

Noel Curran

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has appointed the former director general of Irish national broadcaster RTÉ as its new director general.

Noel Curran, who left RTÉ last year, takes over from the EBU’s outgoing director general, Ingrid Deltenre, and is due to take up the position at the beginning of September.

Commenting on the hire, EBU president Jean-Paul Philippot said that Curran’s experience at RTÉ will be “invaluable as the EBU moves towards the next chapter in its history”.

“Noel was the candidate of choice in what was an extremely strong list of candidates,” said Philippot. “He impressed us with his sound public service values, his operational experience and his understanding of the public service media ecosystem within today’s rapidly evolving media environment.”

Curran said that he will work with the public service media companies that the EBU represents, and “move ahead with the changes necessary to secure the future of public service media.”

“There is now, more than ever, a compelling case for what public service media does, and what the Members of the European Broadcasting Union do, day in, day out,” said Curran.

Deltenre announced in February that she would step down from the EBU this summer after eight years as director general. She is leaving to focus her attention on her board responsibilities at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Givaudan and Deutsche Post/DHL.

Curran was named director general of RTÉ in late 2010, having previously worked in various roles at the Irish broadcaster as a journalist, producer and managing director. As DG he was responsible for four television services, nine radio services, and digital media products including RTÉ Player.

RTÉ announced his departure last April, when it named Discovery’s Northern Europe chief, Dee Forbes, as its first female director general.