The Athletic Editor To Head Up BBC Sport

The Athletic‘s Editor-in-Chief for UK and Europe is joining the BBC to run its sports coverage.

Reporting to content boss Charlotte Moore, Alex Kay-Jelski will replace Barbara Slater in the all-encompassing role, setting the editorial and creative strategy and leading teams across commissioning, production, digital and journalism.

Kay-Jelski will also represent the BBC with external bodies and rights holders, and be responsible for rights acquisition deals across TV, audio and online.

Kay-Jelski has been Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times-owned subscription sports website’s UK and Europe arm since 2019, overseeing the site’s growth as it has grown internationally. He was previously sports editor for UK papers The Times and The Daily Mail.

Moore called him a “dynamic and creative editorial leader who has a clear vision about how to take BBC Sport into the future.”

“He joins us from the highly respected digital sports subscription service The Athletic, where he has been responsible for developing and growing the brand from scratch in the UK to become a leading force in the industry, and overseeing phenomenal growth,” she added. “Alex has always embraced innovation. His editorial judgement and expert knowledge is impressive and he brings with him a wealth of experience.”

Kay-Jelski said: “Like most people, so many of my sporting memories have been lived with the BBC there to guide me through and having the chance to shape what that should look like in the coming years is a brilliant challenge. I am emotional leaving The Athletic and all the wonderful people there. It means so much to me and I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”