New Setanta Sports News Editor-In-Chief Appointed

Setanta and Virgin Media have announced the appointment of Geoff Hill as Editor-in-Chief of the soon-to-launch Setanta Sports News channel, produced by ITN.
Hill, a senior programme editor at ITN responsible for producing the ITV News at 10.30, will set the daily sports news agenda for the 24-hour news channel and head a new team of nearly 60 people. He will ensure Setanta Sports News becomes the UK's premier source of breaking news and must-watch coverage across all major sports genres.
Hill began his career as a newspaper reporter on the Southwark News before moving into television to work on ITV's London Tonight from 1993 to 2000. He then joined ITN, first as Home News Editor for ITV News, responsible for day-to-day news reporting, and then as Senior News Editor for ITV News, co-ordinating all newsgathering logistics on major deployments. He took charge of coverage of the 2004 US Presidential elections, the Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2006 and the 7-7 London bombings. Geoff was also in charge of ITN's coverage of the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
Since 2006, Geoff has been the Programme Editor for ITV's flagship News at 10.30, which delivers an audience of three million viewers.
Mark Wood, Chief Executive of ITN said: "Geoff has become an outstanding editor and a rising star at ITN and is will the ideal person to launch this exciting new channel He brings energy, ideas and a passion for Sport as well as immense experience of how to get the very best out of a TV news team."
Michael O'Rourke, joint CEO of Setanta Sports, added: "Having someone of Geoff's calibre and experience as part of the Setanta Sports News team is a great result for us. Geoff will bring many fresh new ideas, backed up with strong editorial experience, and will form a key part of the team who will shape a new way of looking at sports news. We are delighted to welcome him to the Setanta team."
Malcolm Wall, CEO of Content for Virgin Media said: "Virgin Media has always aimed to provide our customers with the very best in high quality content and Geoff's appointment will ensure that Setanta Sports News does this in spades. He will lead a very strong editorial team and I am in no doubt will be integral to the success of the channel."
Geoff Hill commented: "Editing the Setanta Sports News channel is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I am thrilled to be in at the beginning and look forward to building a fantastic channel with un-missable, must-see sports coverage. I have spent an amazing seven years at ITV News and I have had the opportunity to work on the biggest stories of recent years but as a die-hard sports fan myself this new role is an opportunity not to be missed."
(DS)