Jana Eve Bennett (6 November 1955 – 11 January 2022) was an American-born British media consultant; member of the board of the British Library; member of the board of the Headlong Theatre Company. Previously she was President and General Manager of History, and H2 at A+E Networks in New York City. She joined A+E Networks in June 2013 as President of The Biography Channel (later bio) and Lifetime Movie Network. Bio was rebranded as FYI in July 2014.

Prior to joining A+E Networks, she was President of BBC Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer. In that role she was responsible for BBC Worldwide's television channels, which operate in more than 100 countries, and the development and roll out of the commercial global iPlayer. She was also Worldwide's Managing Director for Latin America with oversight of the company's businesses in the region. She sat on Worldwide's Executive Board and on the Board of UKTV, Britain's second largest pay-TV group. She took up this role in February 2011 moving from the BBC's UK public service where she had been Director of Vision at the BBC from 2006. As Director of BBC Vision, she headed "the largest multi-media production, commissioning and broadcast group of its kind in the world" with overall responsibility for BBC Television and its online services, BBC Films and BBC Productions. Previously she was Director of Television (appointed January 2002). In her two most recent roles at the BBC, Jana Bennett "steered the BBC TV portfolio through its transition into the mainstream digital age." She was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager at Discovery Communications in the US. Her father was an English professor and her mother was a librarian and educator. In 1969, her family moved to England, living in Felpham, where she was educated at Bognor Regis Comprehensive School. alongside live events such as Hospitalwatch. The science department also pioneered content rich web sites and was one of the first areas to use email inside the BBC. She joined the BBC's Board of Management in 1997 as Director of Production, then became Director of Programmes for the former BBC Production division until she left the BBC to join Discovery Communications as General Manager of the TLC channel in August 1999. She was appointed an OBE in 2000 for her work in science broadcasting. like Trading Spaces, and Junkyard Wars exemplified a shift in programming towards more mass-appeal shows. Ratings rose under her leadership. She also championed new multi-media approaches to major fundraising entertainment events. In partnership with Comic Relief, the BBC produced the first truly digital Red Nose Day in 2009.

She implemented the BBC's out of London strategy for commissioning and production. In 2010, she launched the BBC's year of science across television, radio and online. In the same year she established BBC One HD, and also announced a major new Shakespeare Season.

In addition to the BBC branded television channels, as Director of Vision, Bennett had responsibility for feature film production through BBC Films, whose credits include Oscar-winning Man on Wire as well as BAFTA award-winners Mrs Brown, An Education, In the Loop, Fish Tank and StreetDance 3D, the first 3D film produced outside the US. Bennett was appointed to BBC Worldwide as President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer in February 2011.

In 1995, Bennett married Richard Clemmow, an editor and fellow media executive. The couple had two children.

  • BBC Press Office biography