UK sports and TV production firm Whisper has moved Bethan Evans and Mark Cole into new leadership positions.
Evans has been appointed as the firm's managing director for sport, with Cole (formerly MD) now moving up to a newly-created role of group managing director.
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Cole has been with Whisper for the past nine years, and his new position will involve him “helping shape the continued growth of the group across all its business areas.”
Previously, he spent 17 years at the UK’s public-service BBC, including a period as head of football.
Evans, meanwhile, has held several senior roles at Whisper so far, most recently as director of production (for almost three years), and has also spent four years as broadcast and production manager at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs the iconic annual Wimbledon tennis championships.
She will take responsibility for the host of top-tier broadcast production contracts held by Whisper, “in delivering production, broadcast and digital – live and non-live – at premium quality and scale.”
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By GlobalDataEvans will also focus on trying to grow the production company’s portfolio of sports clients.
In terms of Whisper’s major deals, last September it was appointed as the broadcast production partner for the next five editions of tennis’ French Open grand slam tournament.
The deal with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) will see Whisper produce comprehensive coverage of the clay-court event every year between 2025 and 2029, for all the worldwide Roland-Garros broadcast partners.
In April, meanwhile, a multi-year tie-up with the British and Irish Lions composite rugby union touring organization was announced.
Evans said: “Having worked across all sides of the sports media sector – broadcaster, independent production, and rights owner – I will use that experience to shape my approach to relationships and delivery at what is an exciting time for the business.
“I am extremely proud to lead such a talented team, and continuing our commitment to diversity of representation and thought will be a priority for me."
Cole added: “I’m looking forward to working closely with Bethan as well as the other expanding areas of the group, including branded, docs, entertainment, events and esports.
“It’s a really exciting time for everyone at Whisper, with record growth and delivering over 3000 hours of content across 2024. We are storytellers at heart, and are looking forward to continuing to partner with our growing range of clients to keep entertaining and engaging audiences across the world.”
