Matthew Littleford Appointed UKTV Controller

LONDON, July 12: Matthew
Littleford, previously with ITV Digital Channels, has been named the controller
of UKTV.

In his new role,
Littleford will assume full editorial and brand leadership for the company’s
portfolio of 10 TV channels and its online activities. In addition, Littleford
will oversee all on- and off-air marketing teams at both network and channel
levels. This is the first time that all these functions have been consolidated
under one editorial leader at UKTV.

Prior
to his appointment at UKTV, Littleford served as the controller of
entertainment at ITV Digital Channels, where he was involved in commissioning a
range of entertainment and factual shows such as Katie and Peter: The Next
Chapter,
Ghosthunting With…, Morse at the Albert Hall, No Heroics, Deadline, The Great Garden
Detectives, Street Mate and Xtra Factor. Before joining ITV Digital Channels in 2005, he was
an independent producer and a channel executive. He also spent time as a
commissioner at Sky One and as channel editor at Play UK. Littleford
began his TV career as a researcher on Channel 4’s The Word and then BBC’s Clive
James on 1993.

“This appointment reflects
the extent of our creative evolution from archive-based roots into a more
hybrid, brand-led and content-focused network,” said David Abraham, the CEO of
UKTV. “Matthew is a proven creative leader across a number of key genres and
will bring his vision to UKTV as we push into our next phase of growth. He
knows the commercial multichannel brand environment, he knows development,
commissioning and talent management and he’s got a great feel for audience needs
in a multiplatform age. He’s also an emerging industry leader with a big
personality who will add hugely to our momentum, complement our newly
restructured leadership group and lead our award-winning content teams into the
future.”