Latest in Ben Frow

Ben Frow, the man who has spent the past decade turning around the fortunes of Paramount-owned Channel 5, has labelled some shows on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV and Channel 4 “lazy,” “second-rate” and “mediocre.” In a typically candid Royal Television Society Q&A session with Apple Europe Video boss Jay Hunt, who has run…

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Frow continues to grow his ViacomCBS UK empire after taking on editorial responsibility for streamer My5 for the first time, while his job title has changed from director of programs to chief content officer to reflect his beefed-up duties. Frow is tasked with supercharging the Channel 5 streaming…

This time last year, Ben Frow didn’t know how to use a laptop, had never worked from home for a single day of his career, and was terrified that his local supermarket was going to run out of food. “I was more worried about the shelves being empty than the Channel 5 shelf being empty,” says the mischievous and…

ViacomCBS Networks UK's director of programs Ben Frow has said the British TV industry is "inherently snobbish" and should care less about what people's backgrounds are and more about their talent. Frow admitted that he has "got a big chip on my shoulder" about a lack of inclusivity in the business, revealing at the Ed…

The UK version of NBC show Game Night is moving from Channel 5 to Comedy Central as ViacomCBS UK’s director of programs Ben Frow begins to make his mark in his expanded role. NBCUniversal International Studios-backed Monkey Kingdom will make 10-part series Comedy Game Night for Comedy Central after Season 1 was…

ViacomCBS Networks UK has promoted Gemma Hewlett to vice president of digital channels and Anna-Belen Dunlop to senior director of acquisitions. The pair will report to Ben Frow, ViacomCBS Networks UK’s director of programs, after he was promoted last year to take control of brands including MTV, Comedy Central…

Viacom International Media Networks' UK director of programs Ben Frow has spoken frankly about the network’s coronavirus challenges, revealing that he is “frightened” for the future and challenging producers to work harder on kickstarting production. In an Edinburgh TV Festival event streamed over YouTube, Frow voiced…

Britain’s top television executives will be questioned on the coronavirus crisis during a series of live Zoom interviews that form part of the reimagined online Edinburgh TV Festival. Starting from April 27, the festival’s creative director Stewart Clarke will sit down with BBC director of content Charlotte Moore, ITV…

Viacom International Media Networks’ UK director of programs Ben Frow has spoken to BBC Radio 4 about how he is navigating the British free-to-air network Channel 5 and his wider portfolio through the coronavirus pandemic. Frow, who was promoted to the group role last year after running Channel 5 since 2013, told The M…

Viacom is to spend more on original commissions in the UK after promoting Channel 5 content boss. Frow becomes director of programmes for Viacom International Media Networks, a move that puts him in charge of content across brands including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network in the UK. The news…

EXCLUSIVE: Viacom’s Channel 5 has raided the BBC again for on-screen talent — this time poaching the cooking duo known as the Hairy Bikers for a chocolate-making competition in partnership with Nestlé. Deadline can reveal that David Myers and Simon King will make their first major non-BBC show for Channel 5, in a…

Ben Frow, the director of programs at Viacom’s Channel 5, has said he wants to commission a second season of its PBS Masterpiece co-production All Creatures Great And Small before the first has even aired. Speaking at a Channel 5 upfronts event in London on Tuesday night, Frow said he watched the first episode of the P…