Former IMG COO Waddington appointed as ITN Productions Director of Sport

ITN Productions has appointed Alastair Waddington, former IMG Executive Vice President as its first Director of Sport. Waddington has 30 years experience in sports, entertainment and broadcasting at the highest level. Over his career Waddington has advised sports organisations, brands, investors, broadcasters, production companies and digital businesses, and has served on the board of several sports, media and charitable organisations.

A co-founder of SNTV, he spent 15 years at IMG latterly as Executive Vice President, and, as IMG Media’s Chief Operating Officer, he ran a global portfolio of production, distribution, facilities, archive and research businesses, working extensively throughout Asia and Australasia, North and South America, Europe and the Middle East. Waddington led negotiations for the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the largest outside broadcast contract ever awarded at the time. He also consulted to Channel 4 for the 2012 Paralympics and 2010 World Athletics Championships.

Mark Browning, Group Managing Director, ITN Productions, said: “Alastair has run the largest independent production business in the world which included thousands of hours of sport, so I’m delighted he is joining ITN Productions. He shares our ambition, and is a good fit for our culture as we establish ourselves as a central player in sports production. Our heritage in fast-turnaround, live and near live production, story-telling and connectivity means we are perfectly placed to offer new production solutions to the sports community.”

Waddington commented: “The chance to grow a sports business within an outstanding brand like ITN is just too good an opportunity to pass up. The way we consume sports media changes almost daily but the production principles of quality, speed and reliability are a constant. ITNP is very well equipped to make an impact on sports production globally and I look forward to working with everyone at ITNP to make that happen.”

This month ITN Productions launched a seven-part branded entertainment series with William Hill has aimed at football fans following Euro 2016. ‘All to Play For’, is hosted by Sports Presenter Hayley McQueen and former Leicester City and Wales international player Robbie Savage. Timed to coincide with match fixtures, the fast-turnaround series is created by ITN Productions and will run regularly throughout the Euros.