Sky exec Scott Russell is heading to UKTV.
The multi-channel broadcaster has hired Sky Movies’ Head of Creative Scott Russell to serve as UKTV’s Creative Director, a role which will see him working across all ten channel brands (Alibi, Dave, Drama, Eden, Gold, Good Food, Home, Really, Watch and Yesterday), TVWise has learned.
In his new role as Creative Director, Scott Russell will lead UKTV’s Creative Services team, which consists of more than 20 people including a group of Red Bee Media staff. He will be based out of the company’s new HQ facility in Hammersmith Grove and will report into UKTV’s Marketing Director Simon Michaelides.
Russell will be responsible for overseeing all creative output including on-air promotional trailers, continuity and navigation, off-air advertising and brand development for UKTV. The veteran creative exec will also oversee “new media activity”, which includes the recently launched on-demand hub UKTV Play.
“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”, said UKTV’s Marketing Director Simon Michaelides.
Prior to joining UKTV, Simon Russell most recently served as Head of Creative for Sky Movies and Sky Store. In that position, which saw him leading a team of ten, Russell launched Sky Movies Disney, the first ever co-produced Disney channel. In addition to Sky, he has held key creative roles a Living TV and Bravo.
“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 realise 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”, added Michaelides.
