Partner Article

Freesat Appoints New Executive to Drive Expansion

Freesat have taken the next step in their mission to conquer the world of subscription-free television, by hiring one of ITV’s biggest executives. Paul Gilshan, who has previously worked for The Times and Sky Digital, has joined Freesat in an effort to ‘drive the next phase’ of their development, which has been steadily increasing since its inception in 2008. Gilshan, who has been described as an ‘outstanding marketer’ with a great passion for TV, is joining the team with a strategic approach, which bosses hope will trigger the most exciting time in Freesat’s short yet illustrious history. “Paul’s experiences have been focused on attracting and retaining customers and he has an obvious passion for all things TV,” says Emma Scott, marketing director, also stating that he was an outstanding candidate in the recruitment process and they are ‘absolutely delighted’ to welcome him to the team.

Mr Gilshan’s main role is to oversee the retail sales and branding of Freesat, as well as managing the marketing and communications teams. He will also further the launch of the Free Time interface, which launched last year to much acclaim, and features seven-day catch-up services without any subscription.

The brand has gone from strength to strength in the past four years, beating off competition from direct rivals Freeview and YouView, and from big-hitters like Sky Digital in order to emerge as a real challenger for the crown of best TV provider. New channels are always being added to the subscription-free package, with the most recent being Sky News, Pick TV and Challenge TV, and the inception of the Free Time service has really boosted satisfaction levels across the customers base.

In order to remain at the top of the non-subscription tree, Freesat will need to fight off the stiff competition faced in the form of Freeview and YouView, both of which offer similar services. There is also the threat that comes from Virgin Media and BT Vision, two of the biggest names in digital TV right now. With Mr Gilshan’s expert marketing experience, it is predicted that Freesat will continue its ascent to become one of the most popular TV services in the country in the coming years. The addition of new channels, a honed Free Time service and set-top boxes which can hold a much higher volume of data and video will be on the horizon, as well as the implementation of high-definition channels such as ITV and BBC1.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Appleton .