BBC appoints Alex Kay-Jelski as Director of Sport

He replaces Barbara Slater who announced last September that she planned to retire from BBC Sport after 14 years in the post.

As Director, Kay-Jelski will set the editorial and creative strategy for BBC Sport and will lead its teams across commissioning, production, digital and journalism. He will represent the BBC with external bodies and rights holders, and be responsible for rights acquisition deals across TV, audio and online.

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Kay-Jelski has been Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times-owned subscription sports website’s UK and Europe arm since 2019. Prior to The Athletic, he was the Sports Editor at both The Times and Daily Mail before that. He will start his new role at the BBC in June.

Kay-Jelski will report directly to BBC Chief Content Office Charlotte Moore, who said: “Alex is a dynamic and creative editorial leader who has a clear vision about how to take BBC Sport into the future. He joins us from the highly respected digital sports subscription service The Athletic, where he has been responsible for developing and growing the brand from scratch in the UK to become a leading force in the industry, and overseeing phenomenal growth. Alex has always embraced innovation. His editorial judgement and expert knowledge is impressive and he brings with him a wealth of experience in telling stories and delivering sports content to audiences in a digital world.

Kay-Jelski said: “I am so excited to be joining BBC Sport in the summer and to have the chance to work with so many incredible people. Like most people, so many of my sporting memories have been lived with the BBC there to guide me through and having the chance to shape what that should look like in the coming years is a brilliant challenge. I am emotional leaving The Athletic and all the wonderful people there. It means so much to me and I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

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