New York Times appoints BBC's Mark Thompson as new boss

The New York Times Company has announced that BBC director general Mark Thompson will take over as its chief executive in November.

NYT, which runs local TV stations as well as newspapers, said Mr Thompson's experience in digital media on a global scale made him the "ideal candidate".

Mr Thompson, 55, said he was "excited" to take on the role.

He took over as director general in 2004 and is responsible for the BBC's TV, radio and online services.

He started his career as a production trainee at the BBC in 1979 before leaving in 2002 to become chief executive of Channel 4 television.

At the beginning of July the BBC announced that George Entwistle would replace Mr Thompson as director general on 17 September.

"Mark is a gifted executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services," said NYT chairmann Arthur Sulzberger in a statement.

For his part, Mr Thompson said it was a "privilege" to take on the role.

"I'm particularly excited to be coming to New York Times Company as it extends its influence digitally and globally," he said.

NYT, which as well as the New York Times owns the International Herald Tribune and the Boston Globe newspapers, posted revenues of $2.3bn (£1.47bn) in 2011.

The company also runs eight local television stations, two radio stations and about 40 web sites.

The company has been without a chief executive since Janet Robinson stepped down in December 2011.