The appointment of Ancier, 49, effective immediately, puts him in charge of the cable TV channel BBC America, the sales and home entertainment offices of the BBC in the United States and the Los Angeles-based BBC Worldwide Productions studio.

The studio has produced such U.S. prime-time shows as ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" and NBC's new reality show "Grease: You're the One that I Want!"

Ancier, working from BBC's offices in New York, will report to John Smith, the chief executive officer of BBC Worldwide, the global commercial arm of the London-based public broadcaster.

Ancier previously worked at four U.S. networks, serving as head of entertainment divisions at three of them -- Fox, NBC and the now-defunct WB.

He got his start in television at NBC in 1979, rising through the ranks to supervise such hit comedies as "The Cosby Show," "Cheers" and "The Golden Girls."

During the late 1980s, Ancier was part of the team that launched the Fox Broadcasting Co. and served as its first president of programming, helping to develop shows like "The Simpsons" and "Married ... With Children."

He later oversaw production of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "7th Heaven" as chief programmer for the WB network before returning to NBC in 1999 as president of entertainment, scheduling hits ranging from "The West Wing" to "Fear Factor."

After a stint at Turner Broadcasting Systems, including CNN, Ancier went back to the WB as chairman from May 2004 until its merger with UPN last September to form the CW network.