BREAKING. BBC Worldwide to appoint a South African country manager to directly oversee the BBC channels portfolio's African expansion.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, which runs a BBC channels portfolio on MultiChoice's DStv platform in South Africa and Africa, will appoint a country manager based in South Africa to directly oversee BBCWW's growth, expansion, investment and business relationships within South Africa and across the rest of the African continent.

BBC Worldwide's decision to appoint a specific person in a newly created position based in Johannesburg, South Africa, follows the recent "gold rush" the past two years of international television operators and international content providers and creators, opening offices, appointing dedicated ad sales agencies and dispatching official representatives living and working at the southern most end of the African continent.

From Discovery Networks International (DNI) to Fox International Channels Africa (FIC Africa), and several others, BBC Worldwide has now also succumbed to the lure of Africa's and South Africa's fast growing television and pay-television market, seeing and realising the huge potential and advantageous commercial opportunities to generate revenue within the local market.

BBC Worldwide runs channels such as BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Knowledge and CBeebies on DStv, with the Beep's global news channel BBC World News which was formerly neglected, now also getting a growing profile at BBC Worldwide press events.

"We have such confidence in the market that I'm happy to announce that we're going to be recruiting someone based here in Johannesburg to look after the whole African region," said Ian McDonough, the executive vice president of BBC Worldwide for the Central, Eastern, Middle East and Africa (CEMA) region today in Johannesburg.

Ian McDonough addressed ad buyers, TV critics, journalists, trade representatives and ad sales executives, and said BBC Worldwide's appointment of a local BBCWW executive for South Africa and Africa "is in line with our strategy to get even closer to the market - and closer to you."

"In the five years since we've launched the new portfolio of BBC channels in South Africa on DStv, our share has doubled in South Africa across the entire range of our channels. BBC Worldwide here in South Africa has fantastic stories to tell."

BBC Worldwide has had huge success as well as critical acclaim for its high quality Come Dine With Me South Africa series, and is looking to expand its slate of local South African TV content with a measured approach.