THE CONTROLLER OF RTÉ One is moving on to the BBC. George Dixon was just shy of his first anniversary of joining the Montrose-based broadcaster.

RTÉ has said that it hopes to replace Dixon as head of RTÉ One “as soon as possible”. In the meantime, his duties will be absorbed by the managing director of RTÉ TV, Glen Killane.

Killane said that in his 11 months at RTÉ, Dixon had helped in the overall strategy for RTÉ’ television to “carve out an even stronger identity for our channels”.

In apparent reference to Dixon being lured back to his alma mater of the BBC, Killane said that Dixon’s new senior appointment there “demonstrates the highly competitive media environment in which we operate”. It also showed, said Killane, that RTÉ is “highly regarded… in the international market”.

Dixon was in Channel 4 for two years before coming to RTÉ, and in the BBC for five years previously. His decisions on programming and strategy for RTÉ One will be seen right through to next year’s TV schedule.

This is George Dixon speaking about what his job involved in RTÉ after his appointment in March last year:

It’s not going to be a massive revolution on RTÉ One. It’s a huge channel, there’s a lot of history and heritage behind it. So on the one hand, you, well I, need to really conscious of that  because there are lots of shows that people love.

It’s on top of those kind of historic shows that you can build the next wave of programming coming through.

via RTÉ

What would you do with RTÉ One? Let us know in the comments. Constructive suggestions most welcome…