UKTV Taps Sky Exec as New Creative Head

LONDON: UKTV has appointed Scott Russell, who has been serving as the head of creative for Sky Movies and Sky Store, as its new creative head to work across its bouquet of ten channels.

Russell will lead UKTV’s creative services team and is tasked with overseeing all creative output, including on-air promotional trailers, continuity and navigation, off-air advertising, brand development and new media activity such as the network’s recently launched digital brand UKTV Play. He will report to Simon Michaelides, UKTV's marketing director.

At Sky, Russell was responsible for the successful launch of Sky Movies Disney, the first-ever co-produced Disney Channel. He also previously led creative for Living TV, where he oversaw some of the channel's most successful program launches ever.

Michaelides said: "I’m thrilled to be welcoming Scott to the business. He joins us at a very exciting time, with UKTV’s performance continuing to go from strength to strength; having just delivered our best ever six months. Scott comes to us with a wealth of experience gained at Sky, Living, and Bravo, and an outstanding creative track record; not only winning numerous creative awards, but also consistently driving business results.

"His broader skill set makes him a valuable addition to our management team, and I have no doubt that he’s the right person to lead the creative agenda, and help realize our ambitions for the business. I very much look forward to working with Scott and our external creative partners over the coming months, to define the next leg of UKTV’s creative journey.”

Russell added: "With its mixture of brand defining commissions and stand out acquisitions, it is my absolute pleasure to be joining such an ambitious and creative broadcaster. Throughout the industry, UKTV is known for being a fantastic place to work and from what I have already seen for myself I just can’t wait to get started."