Sky Names Gary Davey Managing Director, Content

Sky has promoted Gary Davey, executive vp, programming at Sky Deutschland, to an expanded role as managing director, content, with the additional responsibility for the company’s entertainment, film and news channels in the U.K. and Ireland.

He will combine the new role with his existing responsibilities, splitting his time between London and Munich.

The move comes after last year’s departure of Sophie Turner Laing as the top programming executive at what back then was BSkyB before it acquired Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. The deals made the company Europe’s top TV content investor, according to Sky. It has about 20 million pay TV subscribers across five countries, including Ireland and Austria.

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Davey will report to Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch in relation to the U.K. business and to Sky Deutschland CEO Brian Sullivan in respect to his Sky Deutschland responsibilities. Andrea Scrosati is in charge of content at Sky Italia.

Rupert Murdoch‘s 21st Century Fox owns a 39 percent stake in Sky.

Davey, who is Australian, has held senior pay TV industry roles in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Prior to joining Sky Deutschland, he had a senior role at Sky Italia, where he was responsible for launching terrestrial TV network Cielo. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in the first years of Sky in the U.K. as managing director of the company during the early 1990s as it launched pay TV services in the country.

“Gary is one of the most capable executives in pay TV, and I am delighted to welcome him back to Sky in the U.K.,” said Darroch. “As we become a more international business, Gary’s broad experience across many markets gives him a unique perspective that he can now apply to the continued growth of our content business in the U.K. and Ireland as well as in Germany and Austria.”

Said Davey: “I have always been very proud of having played a part in the launch of Sky in the U.K. — even more so to watch it grow and now become Europe’s leading entertainment company. This is a brand new beginning, and I am looking forward to working with the exceptional team in the U.K. as we take our channels to new heights.”

Email: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai