Last night, Sky 1 was named Channel of the Year at the prestigious Broadcast Awards.

Since I joined Sky in 2009, we've been building on strong foundations to create a channel that Sky customers now rate as the third highest valued channel on the Sky platform.

We've got here by working with the cream of British talent, including Ruth Jones, Ricky Gervais, James Corden and Jane Horrocks, as well as supporting new writing talent on shows like Spy (which incidentally won Darren Boyd a British Comedy Award at the end of last year).

These kinds of names seem to like working with Sky because we stand back, give them as much creative space as possible and just let them get on with it, so they can produce their best work.

What talent also realise is that when we back something, we back it to the hilt, screening it in HD (and, increasingly, 3D), making it available on demand via Sky Anytime+, on the move via Sky Go and making sure that it is properly and intelligently marketed so it reaches the audience it deserves.

You just have to look at the number shows we've recommissioned this year – Trollied, Mount Pleasant, Strike Back, Mad Dogs, Spy – to see that if something resonates with our audience, we will continue to back it.

Our success also comes from working with hundreds of production companies up and down the UK, supporting British creativity right across the country and bringing new stories from around the UK and Ireland to the screen.

And it's gratifying to see that this has been recognised by the industry with Broadcast commenting:

"The most startling thing about Sky 1's role in this content revolution is how quickly its key shows have become established, both for the viewing public and the wider industry. It's almost impossible to recall what Sky 1 looked like before the likes of Mad Dogs, Got To Dance, An Idiot Abroad and star-studded Christmas shorts Little Crackers rejuvenated its primetime line-up."

I'm really proud of some of the shows we've put on air this year, and we will continue to keep up the momentum throughout 2012, not least as we increase our investment in UK content by a further 50% by 2014. To quote Broadcast again, Sky 1's "bold move to spend more money paid off. 2011 was the year a serious new player in UK content announced itself."