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BBC chairman Samir Shah said Brittin, who left Google in 2025 after 18 years, "brings to the BBC deep experience of leading a high-profile and highly-complex organisation through transformation".Brittin, 57, said he "can't wait to start this work", describing it as "a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity".
He said the UK needs "a thriving BBC that works for everyone in a complex, uncertain and fast changing world".
Setting out his agenda, he added: "The BBC needs the pace and energy to be both where stories are, and where audiences are. To build on the reach, trust and creative strengths today, confront challenges with courage, and thrive as a public service fit for the future."
The new director general joins at "a critical time", as the government reviews the BBC's royal charter, Shah continued.
"It is clear there is need for radical reform of the BBC, its funding model and the framework in which it operates. The stakes for the BBC, and the future of public service broadcasting, have never been higher."
Some have questioned the BBC's appointment of someone with a background in tech rather than public service or traditional editorial and broadcasting sectors.
Mark Thompson, former director general and current CEO and chairman of CNN, said he welcomed the appointment. "It's clearly a bold and interesting choice, an advance payment on the future," Thompson said. "Matt Brittin isn't a broadcaster or journalist by background but brings skills and experiences to the job that no previous director general has had. "He is genuinely public spirited and strategic and is an interesting and encouraging choice."
He said the UK needs "a thriving BBC that works for everyone in a complex, uncertain and fast changing world".
Setting out his agenda, he added: "The BBC needs the pace and energy to be both where stories are, and where audiences are. To build on the reach, trust and creative strengths today, confront challenges with courage, and thrive as a public service fit for the future."
The new director general joins at "a critical time", as the government reviews the BBC's royal charter, Shah continued.
"It is clear there is need for radical reform of the BBC, its funding model and the framework in which it operates. The stakes for the BBC, and the future of public service broadcasting, have never been higher."
Some have questioned the BBC's appointment of someone with a background in tech rather than public service or traditional editorial and broadcasting sectors.
Mark Thompson, former director general and current CEO and chairman of CNN, said he welcomed the appointment. "It's clearly a bold and interesting choice, an advance payment on the future," Thompson said. "Matt Brittin isn't a broadcaster or journalist by background but brings skills and experiences to the job that no previous director general has had. "He is genuinely public spirited and strategic and is an interesting and encouraging choice."
