Louise Holmes to Lead Comedy Central & MTV UK Programming

LONDON: Viacom has revealed a new management team responsible for the programming of its Comedy Central and MTV brands in the U.K., which will be led by Louise Holmes.

Holmes previously oversaw programming for just Comedy Central UK. She will now lead a combined creative leadership team as VP of linear and multiplatform programming. She will work under Jill Offman, the managing director of Comedy Central and MTV in the U.K. In her new position, Holmes is charged with the editorial strategy for both brands in the U.K., including the scheduling, acquisitions and commissioning of long-form content for television. She will also have editorial oversight of both brands in more than 30 countries that comprise VIMN's pan-regional operations managed out of the U.K.

All of MTV UK's programming teams will report to Holmes through Kelly Bradshaw, the senior director of programming. Brad Wood is also adding cross-brand duties, working under Holmes as acquisitions director after previously leading acquisitions for Comedy Central.

Meanwhile, Virginia Monaghan, currently the VP of music commissioning and content for MTV UK, is transitioning to the newly created post of VP of commercial partnerships and content across both brands. Reporting to Offman, she will collaborate with Viacom's U.K. sales house, Sky Media, and its London-based Viacom Velocity International ad sales team. She will handle ad-funded and sponsored content and 360-degree commercial partnerships. She is also expected to increase MTV and Comedy Central's lineup of live events and experiences, including last month's successful FriendFest.

Offman remarked: "Many fans of Friends are fans of Geordie Shore and vice versa. There's a lot of overlap between the brands and, under Louise's astute leadership, I'm convinced they'll be stronger working together."