Peter Bazalgette - Agenda Setters 2008

Name: Peter Bazalgette

Title: Reality TV guru

Position: 24    Last year: Not ranked

Why? Waking broadcasters up to tech's possibilities

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Peter Bazalgette might appear an unusual choice for the most influential people in IT, however the reality TV guru has had a wide effect on the world of tech.

His work on fusing online and traditional broadcast channels earns him his Agenda Setters' place.

He made his name as chief creative officer of Big Brother creator Endemol, a position he left at the start of this year although he continues to work as an advisor there.

What Bazalgette started, his reality TV colleagues have continued: Endemol has pushed TV into new territories with an online interactive reality TV show following the lives of six Bebo users, aired on the social networking site along with photos and blogs. The broadcaster has also dipped its toe into the world of mobile, with a made-for-mobile drama called Cell.

As one panellist put it, Bazalgette was responsible for "changing the agenda for entertainment - combining his traditional TV shows with internet content and creating a whole new demand for live feeds and clips".