The BBC's head of new media is leaving the broadcaster to join Kangaroo, a rival video-streaming service due to launch this year.

Since he joined the organisation in 2000, Ashley Highfield has been a driving force behind the deployment of the BBC's iPlayer project. He will now become the chief executive of Kangaroo – a joint video-on-demand company established by ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC.

"This is a fantastic opportunity," said Highfield.

"Kangaroo is a historic partnership with a combination of innovative technology and terrific content and I am looking forward to transforming the way audiences watch television."

Highfield has helped the iPlayer to become one of the UK's most popular video-on-demand services, receiving 42 million access requests in the first three months of the year.

The precise date on which Highfield will leave the BBC will be announced shortly, the broadcaster said.