BritBox’s Sakaan appointed President of 5
January 15, 2026
By Nik Roseveare
Paramount has announced the appointment of Reemah Sakaan as the new President of its UK public service broadcaster, 5. She will start the role on January 27th and will report to Kevin MacLellan, Paramount’s President, International and Global Content Distribution.
Sakaan was most recently Global CEO of BritBox International, the streaming service operating in eight global markets including the US, Canada, Australia, Africa and the Nordics.
In the role of President, 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, 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 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. Appointed Global CEO in 2020, under her leadership the business grew annually by 25 per cent and in 2024 she oversaw BBC Studio’s acquisition of ITV’s share of the business, before stepping down in 2025.
Whilst at BritBox she negotiated global supply deals with Amazon, Apple, Google and Comcast. She also commissioned and co-produced a range of British originals for the global streamer.
Prior to BritBox, Sakaan held senior roles within commercial and licence-funded public service broadcasting. She was Director of Marketing & Media for ITV, where she helped launch ITV Hub, and Head of Marketing for BBC Oone and part of the launch team for iPlayer. She began her career in FMCG marketing for Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser.
Sakaan succeeds Sarah Rose who left Paramount at the end of 2025 to join The Royal Foundation as CEO.
MacLellan commented: “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 added: “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.”
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