YouView appoints Simon Duffy as chairman YouView, the internet TV platform backed by broadcasters including ITV and the BBC, has appointed Simon Duffy, a former music and technology executive, as its next chairman. The appointment comes at a crucial time for the TV venture as its backers seek the introduction of cheaper set-top boxes and tuning technology integrated into TV sets to spur the next stage of growth. To date, the vast majority of YouView boxes have been sold as part of broadband subscription packages via TalkTalk and BT. Mr Duffy has extensive experience in TV and technology sectors having been chief executive of NTL, a UK cable operator, for two years until 2005 and before that chief financial officer at Orange, the mobile operator. In 1992, he was appointed group finance director of Thorn EMI, helping oversee the demerger of EMI group from Thorn, the television rentals business. Sir Charles Dunstone, the interim chairman of YouView who had drawn up a shortlist of contenders, said Mr Duffy "brings vast experience of leading the boards of major organisations and in depth knowledge and experience of our sector." Backers of the platform, which include ITV and BT, are in discussions over the renewal of their shareholder agreement which expires in March. It is expected that the partners will have to inject millions of pounds each into the venture to fund its growth over the next three years. Under the original agreement, each of the company's seven shareholders invested £20m over four years to develop the platform.