Peter Bale, the former international programming director for Microsoft’s MSN, has been named vice president and general manager of CNN International Digital, a newly created position. At CNN, he’ll report directly to KC Estenson, svp, gm of CNN Digital.
CNN spun the move as part of an ongoing plan to focus its efforts outside the U.S., where it is consistently ranked as one of the top new sites on the Web, according to comScore. “International expansion is at the center of our growth strategy, and putting someone as strong as Peter into this new position underscores our commitment to extending CNN’s digital reach globally,” said Estenson.
Bale will be based in London. Prior to running MSN internationally, he served as executive producer of MSN U.K. Bale also logged stints at Reuters, News Corp.’s Times Online and FTMarketWatch.com, which he helped found.
