Scott Taunton

Last updated

Scott Taunton
Born1971
Canberra, Australia
Education Canberra High School
Alma mater Lake Ginninderra College
OccupationChief executive of Wireless Group
Years active1992–present [1]
Employer News UK

Scott Taunton (born 1971) [1] is an Australian businessman who has been the chief executive of the Wireless Group since November 2016. [2] He is also the EVP and President of Broadcasting of News UK. [3]

Contents

Career

Taunton began his career as an IT training manager at the Australian Government's Department of Health in 1992. [1] He later moved to Belfast, where he co-founded the internet service provider DNA Internet in 1995. He was general manager of DNA Internet until March 2000, when the company was acquired by Northern Ireland-based broadcaster UTV Media. [4] He was later appointed chief executive of UTV Radio following its acquisition by UTV Media in June 2005. [4] In August 2014, he became UTV's chief operating officer. [5] UTV Media was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News UK in February 2016 and changed its name to Wireless Group, [6] with Taunton continuing as COO. [7]

As Wireless's chief operating officer, Taunton oversaw the relaunch of Virgin Radio in March 2016, [8] before being promoted to chief executive eight months later. [9] In June 2020, with Taunton at the helm, another talk radio station was launched, Times Radio. [10] Taunton said of the station, "Since Wireless joined the News UK family, we have been working more and more collaboratively with The Times , lending our radio and podcasting expertise to develop an audio strategy for one of the world's pre-eminent newsbrands." [11]

In April 2021, News UK revealed that its planned television channel had been scrapped, with new plans to launch a streaming service instead. [12] David Rhodes, who was due to spearhead the project, departed as chief executive of News UK Broadcasting and was replaced by Taunton. [13] On 16 September 2021, it was announced that News UK had reversed their decision and would launch its news channel, talkTV, in 2022. According to Taunton, "talkTV will provide a rich mix of entertaining and informative shows that no other service provides." [14]

Personal life

On 13 October 2014, Taunton became engaged to Georgia Mcguffie. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Plunkett, John (26 October 2009). "Big noise in radio: interview with Scott Taunton". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Cooke, Chris (9 November 2016). "News UK confirms Scott Taunton as CEO of its recently acquired radio business". Complete Music Update. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Morris, Seren (29 April 2022). "TalkTV: How to watch Piers Morgan's new Uncensored show". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 Darby, Ian (26 May 2006). "Media Headliner: Amiable Australian Taunton targets profitability". Campaign . Haymarket.
  5. ↑ Duty Reporter (11 August 2014). "Scott Taunton appointed COO at UTV Media". RadioToday. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ↑ McDonnell, Francess (29 February 2016). "UTV rebrands as Wireless Group and shifts focus to radio". The Irish Times . Dublin . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Preliminary Results 2015" (PDF). Wireless Group. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Clarkson, Natalie (16 March 2016). "Virgin Radio UK reveals launch plans" (Press release). Virgin Radio. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Prior, David (8 November 2016). "News UK names Taunton as chief executive of Wireless Group". Prolific North. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  10. ↑ Ponsford, Dominic (29 June 2020). "Times Radio launched: Boris Johnson gives News UK station exclusive". Press Gazette . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  11. ↑ Warrington, James (28 January 2020). "Rupert Murdoch's News UK confirms launch of Times Radio". City A.M. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  12. ↑ Steerpike (27 April 2021). "Exclusive: Murdoch pulls News UK television channel". The Spectator . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  13. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (27 April 2021). "News UK broadcast boss David Rhodes departs as publisher scales back TV ambitions". Press Gazette. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  14. ↑ Mann, Colin (16 September 2021). "News UK to launch talkTV". Advanced Television. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  15. ↑ Taunton, Scott [@scotttaunton] (13 October 2014). "With a simple 'yes' the gorgeous @Georgiam43 just made me the happiest, luckiest, and most excited man on Earth" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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