Richard Eyre - New Chief Executive of Pearson TV

Pearson PLC
1 November 1999


29th OCTOBER 1999

RICHARD EYRE IS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF PEARSON TELEVISION

Pearson plc, the international media company, has appointed Richard Eyre as
the new chief executive of Pearson Television, the world's leading independent
international television production company.

Mr Eyre will join Pearson Television from the ITV network, where, as chief
executive, he has led its revival and increased its peak time audience share
to 39%. He took on the ITV role in 1997, after a six year stint as chief
executive of Capital Radio, during which he led the transformation of the
business into the UK's leading and most profitable independent radio group. 
Prior to joining Capital Radio, Mr Eyre spent 15 years in the advertising
industry, including a five year spell as media director of the BBH agency. 

Mr Eyre, who will be a member of Pearson plc's management committee, will join
Pearson Television in the new year. He succeeds Greg Dyke, who left Pearson
Television last month to take up his new role as Director General of the BBC.

Marjorie Scardino said:

'Richard is a great leader and manager of talent, with a sure touch for
successful and popular programmes. We are very pleased to have been able to
lure him to Pearson. He comes at a great time for international television
production. As digital technology and the Internet revolutionise television,
our formats and programmes are in greater demand than ever before. Richard is
an innovative and original strategist who can seize these opportunities and
stimulate the development of the business in new areas. Pearson Television is
stuffed full of talented people and Richard will enable them to do what they
do best - make great, popular television shows around the world.'

Richard Eyre added:

'Pearson Television is poised to take advantage of the huge opportunities
offered by digital expansion and the Internet.  The challenge of leading the
company and its team of talented people in this new world, while building
relationships in its current markets, is irresistible.  I leave ITV with a
brilliant management and commissioning team fully able to sustain the momentum
of the turnaround of the last two years.'

For further information

John Fallon/Benjamin Wegg-Prosser       + 44 171 411 2310 01459 124128 (pager)

Roy Addison                            + 44 171691 6830


NOTE TO EDITORS

Richard Eyre

Richard Eyre, aged 45, started his career as a TV time buyer for B&B
Advertising and had a number of roles in advertising before becoming Media
Director, first of Aspect and then of BBH. In 1991, he became chief executive
of Capital Radio, the UK's leading independent radio group and joined the ITV
network, as chief executive, in 1997. He is married with two children and
graduated from Oxford University in 1975 with an honours degree in Politics,
Philosophy and Economics. Under Mr Eyre's leadership, ITV regained lost ground
and saw its peak time audience share rise to 38% in 1998 and is on track to
meet 39% in 1999. 

Pearson Television

Pearson Television is the world's leading independent international television
producer. It owns the largest selection of game show formats in the world, is
the largest producer of serial dramas and makes a wide range of entertainment
programmes, including action adventures and situation comedies. It makes most
of these shows locally, using local production staff and adapting the formats
to the indigenous language and culture. In 1998, Pearson Television made
operating profits of £71m (pre its share of start up losses at Channel 5 of
£14m) on sales of £343m.  

With more than 150 programmes in production in more than 30 countries around
the world, television production generates over 70% of Pearson Television's
annual revenues. In the last few years, Pearson Television has grown rapidly
through a number of acquisitions and, although its production business is now
fully integrated, its programmes are produced under a number of household
names, including Thames, Alomo, Grundy and Freemantle. In the UK, its
programmes include The Bill, This Is Your Life, Wish You Were Here, the
Channel Four documentary series, Heroes of Comedy, and numerous programmes for
Channel 5. 

In the US, its most popular television shows include Baywatch, The Price is
Right and Family Feud which went on air last month. In Germany it produces,
among other things, four popular daily serials, while Australia is still the
home of its longest-running and most successful serial, Neighbours.

Pearson Television also has a highly successful international distribution
business, through which it sells its own programmes (Pearson Television has a
library of 15,000 hours of programmes stretching back through more than 30
years of television history and including classics such as Benny Hill and The
World At War) and those of other independent producers, to broadcasters in 100
countries around the world. Its greatest recent success is the science fiction
serial, First Wave, which it co-produced, and which has been sold to over 60
countries, including Channel 5 in the UK.

Pearson Television owns an 11% stake in Uproar.com, one of the world's leading
online entertainment companies. It has a number of stakes in broadcasting,
including a 24% stake in the UK's channel 5, a 20% stake in M-RTL in Hungary
and a 20% stake in UKTV in Australia. And, from its studios in central London,
Pearson Television also runs a fast growing transmission business for
customers such as Disney, Flextech, Universal, Discovery and Channel 5.

Pearson plc

In addition to Pearson Television, the major business operations of Pearson
plc are the Financial Times group, the leading international source of
strategic business information and analysis; Pearson Education, the world's
leading education company; and the Penguin group, one of the world's most
renowned English language publishers. In 1998, Pearson plc made operating
profits of £389 million on sales of £2,395 million.