Scott Taunton
Born1971
Canberra, Australia
EducationCanberra High School
Alma materLake Ginninderra College
OccupationChief executive of Wireless Group
Years active1992–present[1]
EmployerNews 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]

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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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