Interview: Mike Darcey, M247

If anyone is able to make sense of the challenges and opportunities facing the media industry at a time of profound digital disruption, it is Mike Darcey.

The former CEO of News UK (publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers), Darcey has seen at first hand how digital disruption has played its way through a series of industries – from TV through to publishing, telecoms and retail.

Before News UK, Darcey spent 15 years at Sky - initially as Director of Strategy, then as Chief Operating Officer for the last six years.

More recently, he has worked with a portfolio of companies, either on the board, as Chairman or as a consultant. He’s currently Chairman of technology services firm M247, and works closely with companies including Dennis Publishing, Arqiva and Sky New Zealand. He was also on the board of Home Retail Group, owner of Argos, Habitat and Homebase, until it was acquired by Sainsbury’s.

“They are all industries that, in one way or another, have been going through some version of a digital transformation,” says Darcey. “There are many lessons and insights that carry across from one to another.”

FAANG creates confusion
The growing scale and reach of companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google has created “quite a lot of confusion” in the media industry, he points out.

It’s vital, however, that executives work out which parts of their company need to evolve quickly, and which are going to remain strong for the foreseeable future. “You have to be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” stresses Darcey. “Some people are…