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Channel 4 is set to appoint Sky advertising boss Priya Dogra as its next chief executive, as the commercially funded public service broadcaster accelerates its push into digital platforms.
Dogra will take over from former boss Alex Mahon next year, according to people close to the talks. The announcement of Dogra’s appointment is expected to come as early as this week.
Dogra, the former managing director for Warner Bros Discovery in Europe, Middle East and Asia, has served as chief advertising, group data and new revenue officer at Sky since 2024.
This has included overseeing Sky Media, its ad sales division that represents all of Sky’s channels and sites and sells on behalf of a range of broadcasters and channels. She is also responsible for developing and growing non-subscription revenues at Sky.
Mahon joined Channel 4 in 2017 as its first female CEO and has been talked about as a potential candidate for the vacant BBC director-general’s role. Channel 4 and Sky declined to comment.
Geoff Cooper, chair of electrical goods retailer AO, who was appointed chair of Channel 4 earlier this year, has overseen the search for the new chief at a critical time for the broadcaster.
Others linked to the role included All3Media CEO Jane Turton and YouTube UK managing director Alison Lomax. Channel 4 had also been in talks with Netflix executive Emma Lloyd about the job.
Channel 4 needs to develop a long-term strategy to secure its future as audiences move increasingly to digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok for their entertainment and news.
This is particularly true of the younger audiences that Channel 4 aims to serve, leaving it with a challenge about how to stay relevant.
The group has already focused on being “digital first” and shifting greater numbers of its viewers to its own streaming and social media platforms.
Dogra will need to accelerate these efforts, as well as secure commercial agreements that can replace declining advertising revenues from its traditional linear channels.
Earlier this year, Dogra helped lead talks to strike a deal between Channel 4, ITV and Sky to launch an advertising marketplace that allows easier access for small and medium-sized businesses to their ad inventory
Dogra will need to oversee a number of other important strategic moves, including developing its own in-house production for the first time. Channel 4 has previously commissioned its programmes from independent production groups, supporting the wider TV industry, but has now agreed with the government that it can make its own shows.
The new boss will also need to move Channel 4 out of its central London headquarters on Horseferry Road, which is due to be sold.