Curran bags Chellomedia top job

Liberty Global’s international content division Chellomedia has named Niall Curran as its new president, to replace the late Shane O’Neill.

Niall Curran

Curran has been Chellomedia’s chief operating officer since 2003 and now takes control of the company’s 56 channels (37 fully-owned), which have a combined footprint of 357 million households.

Former incumbent O’Neill passed away in February at the age of 50 after a 15-month battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Chellomedia’s businesses include EMEA channel operator Chello Zone, and joint ventures with the likes of US firms A+E Networks, CBS and MGM, Poland’s Polsat and Portugal’s ZON Multimedia.

Chellomedia executive VP and co-chief financial officer Charlie Bracken said Curran’s appointment, signalled the possibility of the company “expanding further, through both acquisition and organic growth.”

Curran first joined Liberty Global in 2000 to focus on a restructure of Netherlands-based broadcast wing UPC. He took control of media operations in 2002 responsible for group broadband internet product management and then moved to Chellomedia a year later as COO.

His previous roles include executive VP of European operations for The Walt Disney Company.