Reemah Sakaan appointed president of 5 in the UK
US media giant Paramount has appointed Reemah Sakaan as the new president of its UK public service broadcaster 5.
Sakaan, who was most recently global CEO of BritBox International, will join 5 on January 27 and report to Kevin MacLellan, Paramount’s president of international and global content distribution.
Sakaan succeeds Sarah Rose, who left Paramount at the end of 2025 to join The Royal Foundation as CEO.
In the role of president at 5, Sakaan will lead the broadcaster and oversee its growth strategy as 5 continues to build its presence in streaming.
Ben Frow, chief content officer at 5, and his commissioning, content and marketing teams, will report into Sakaan, as will the broadcaster’s commercial distribution and product teams.
She will also work in partnership with Lee Sears, Paramount’s president of international ad sales.
Sakaan has over two decades’ experience in streaming, global content and public service television.
She was a founder and chief creative officer of BritBox when it launched in 2017 and scaled the 50/50 joint venture between BBC and ITV internationally. The streaming service now operates in markets including the US, Canada, Australia and the Nordics.
Appointed global CEO in 2020, under her leadership the business grew annually by 25% and in 2024 she oversaw BBC Studio’s acquisition of ITV’s share of the business, before stepping down in 2025.
While at BritBox she negotiated global supply deals with Amazon, Apple, Google and Comcast. She also commissioned and coproduced a range of British originals for the streamer, including Irvine Welch’s Crime, After the Flood, Beyond Paradise and the Agatha Christie adaptations, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, Murder Is Easy and Towards Zero.
Prior to BritBox, Sakaan held senior roles within commercial and licence-funded public service broadcasting.
She was director of marketing and media for Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV, where she helped launch ITV Hub, and head of marketing for BBC One and part of the launch team for iPlayer. She began her career in fast-moving consumer goods marketing for Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser.
5 operates a mix of live TV channels and a streaming service, as well as the dedicated preschool brand Milkshake!. Its programme roster spans drama, factual, true crime, science, news and current affairs and kids’ content.
MacLellan said: “I’m excited that we’ve been able to appoint someone of Reemah’s calibre to be the new president of 5. She brings a wealth of experience in streaming, content and commercial strategy and I look forward to working closely with her to deliver the next phase of 5’s growth journey.”
Sakaan said: “I’ve long admired 5’s exceptional understanding of its audience. It consistently punches above its weight and is loved by viewers, advertisers and UK creatives as a place for authentic and resonant British storytelling.
“I can’t wait to work with Ben Frow, Kevin MacLellan and all the team to continue accelerating 5’s streaming growth in the most exciting of new eras.”
