Christmas is always a great time to reflect on the past year’s highlights and achievements.  When I look back at 2012, I’m extremely proud of the contribution made by all our content teams, whether it’s the 2,600 people here at Sky who are responsible for producing or commissioning content, the 110 independent production companies we work with each year, or our valued studio partners from overseas.  It really is a team effort, and the results are felt on-screen, where Sky has had, in my humble opinion, its best year yet. 

Of course 2012 has been a particularly significant year for us in terms of home-grown content.  We’re already one of the biggest investors in UK programming and by 2014 we plan to spend £600 million a year.  It’s a big commitment, but one which is really striking a chord with our customers. 

For me personally, there have been a number of highlights in the last 12 months.  We’ve brought gritty new dramas such as Sky Atlantic’s Hit + Miss to screen, as well as fresh and unconventional British comedies like Sky1’s A Touch of Cloth.  We’ve launched the first ever dedicated James Bond channel, Sky Movies 007 HD, and also seen the return of some Sky classics – our annual Little Crackers short films as well as new series of past favourites, including Sky Living’s Mount Pleasant and Sky Arts’ Playhouse Presents…

To celebrate our content and the growing strength of our offering to customers, this Christmas we’ll be airing our first ever promo which pulls together some of Sky’s most familiar and popular faces from across all of our shows and channels.  The promo sees a wide range of talent from entertainment, sports and the arts answer questions about what Christmas means to them.

From Michael Parkinson to Davina McCall, Freddie Flintoff to Karl Pilkington and Jamie Redknapp to Darren Boyd, the promo is a great reminder of not only the breadth of highly talented people that we have the privilege of working with, but also the role they all play in keeping our customers informed, entertained and moved by some of the most ground-breaking TV around.

I think it’s a great promo and I’m sure the more than 30 million people who watch our channels each week will agree.  I hope they do, as it’s our way of saying thank you to them for watching us in 2012.

I’d like to thank Sky Creative, our in-house creative department here at Sky, for producing it.  Filmed and compiled on various sets and locations throughout the year, the team at Sky Creative has delivered a brilliant festive campaign that showcases the warmth and wit of our many great stars.  We’ve included the full clip for you to watch above.

Please enjoy – and, on behalf of all of us here at Sky, I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.