History Channel U.K. Appoints Managing Director

LONDON/NEW YORK, September
15: Tom Davidson, formerly with SPTI, has been named managing director for The
History Channel U.K. and will be responsible for driving the growth of the
business.

Davidson is charged with
directing and managing all brand, programming, production and marketing
activities for the channels, which includes History, The Biography Channel,
Crime & Investigation Network, Military History and History HD across the
U.K., Ireland, Scandinavia, Benelux, Central Europe, the Middle East, Greece
and South Africa. He will also develop growth plans for ad sales and
distribution across all platforms. He will identify ancillary revenue stream
opportunities. Based in London, Davidson will report to The History Channel
U.K. board of directors.

Davidson joins The History
Channel U.K., which is a joint venture of A&E Television Networks (AETN)
and British Sky Broadcasting, from Sony Pictures Television International
(SPTI), where he was the VP of international networks. He was responsible for
all business development related to SPTI’s network business across Europe, the
Middle East and Africa.

“We are very pleased to
announce Tom’s hiring to the top post at The History Channel U.K.,” said Steve
Ronson, the executive VP of enterprises for AETN and chairman of the board of
directors for The History Channel U.K. “Over the past few years, the venture
has launched a series of very successful channels and services across EMEA.
Tom’s channel management, distribution and ad sales expertise along with his
business development background will be critical assets going forward as we
look to grow the business further.”

—By Jackie Stewart