Unscripted TV Exec David Lyle Passes Away at 67

David Lyle, whose 30-plus-year career in the TV industry included serving as head of National Geographic Channels and Fox Reality Channel, has passed away at the age of 67 after a long-fought battle with cancer.

Lyle had been serving as president of PactUS since its 2015 launch. Prior to this, he served as CEO of National Geographic Channels. In his three years running National Geographic Channel and its sister networks, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo, Lyle dramatically expanded the variety of programming offered, from drama docs and “occu-soaps” to telepic events and studio-based series. Before Nat Geo, Lyle was president of Fox LOOK, a business unit he launched to handle international distribution for Fox Networks Group’s unscripted entertainment TV programming at the time.

Previously, Lyle spent five years as president of Fox Reality Channel, which he launched for Fox Cable Networks in 2005. Lyle joined Fox after having served as president of entertainment for FremantleMedia North America from 2001 to 2004. He came to Los Angeles in 2001 from London, where at production giant and Fremantle-predecessor Pearson Television he served as head of worldwide development and acquisitions.

John Ford, the general manager of NPACT, commented on behalf of the entire NPACT organization and producers community: “David Lyle was a rare breed, in our industry and in the world. A true ‘bon vivant,’ he brought light and life into every room, along with a passion for the creatives of this business. Among his many contributions to entertainment, network and television production was his role in bringing together Pact US and the NPA earlier this year as one unified organization, dedicated to harnessing the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of producers in a new age. We will all miss David’s maverick mettle, along with his vitality, brilliant insights and humor, and offer our deepest condolences to his wife Janne, his children Sam, Polly and Joanna, and his many friends and colleagues.”