Tuesday 15th April: Sky today announced Zai Bennett as the new Director of Sky Atlantic. Currently Controller of BBC Three, Bennett will join Sky in August reporting to the Director of Entertainment Channels, Stuart Murphy.

Bennett has been at BBC Three since 2011 and in that time helped the channel overtake Channel 4 for the young adult 16-24yr audience. Under his direction, BBC Three has won four Bafta's in the last two years including for The Revolution Will Be Televised. Other highlights include record breaking comedies Bad Education and Cuckoo, popular factual hits the Call Centre and Hair and major landmark seasons on Crime and Punishment and Mental Health. Prior to joining the BBC, Bennett spent 12 years at ITV where he was part of the launch team for ITV2, 3 and 4. As Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions he transformed ITV2 with commissions including The Only Way is Essex, Secret Diary of A Call Girl and Celebrity Juice.

Murphy commented: "I am delighted someone of the calibre of Zai has joined Sky to run Sky Atlantic.  Having admired his work for many years, it's just great to now have him on the same team. Zai has huge experience in commercial TV and his innate desire to welcome and support creative risk is a perfect fit for Sky. With his new role at Sky Atlantic, we will give him the backing and platform to do at epic scale."

Bennett said: "I'm delighted to be joining Sky Atlantic at such an exciting time. Its enviable partnership with HBO together with its commissioning strategy gives me one of the best jobs in the industry. Sky's ambition and appetite to do things differently is exactly the creative challenge I'm looking for and I can't wait to join Stuart’s fantastic team and help drive the channel forward."

In the three years since its launch, Sky Atlantic has become one of the strongest channel brands in British television and is now rated by Sky customers as one of the top three must-have pay TV networks.

Earlier this year, Sky renewed its partnership with HBO ensuring that Sky Atlantic remains the exclusive home of first-run HBO shows such as Game of Thrones, Girls and True Detective, through to 2020. As part of the new deal, Sky and HBO will work together to develop and produce spectacular new drama series that will be broadcast on Sky Atlantic.

The HBO co-production agreement is just the latest example of Sky Atlantic’s growing commitment to original drama. In January, Sky Atlantic unveiled its most ambitious drama to date, Fortitude, a 13-part thriller, from Fifty Fathoms set in the Arctic Circle and starring Stanley Tucci, Michael Gambon, Sophie Grabol and Christopher Ecclestone.

Also coming up this spring is a new psychological thriller Penny Dreadful, a co-production with Showtime, made by Hollywood heavyweights Sam Mendes and John Logan and starring Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Billie Piper and Timothy Dalton.  And later in the summer, Sky Atlantic will premiere the second tranche of its successful documentary feature films.

Bennett will report to Stuart Murphy, Director of Entertainment at Sky, alongside Adam MacDonald, (Director, Sky 1), Antonia Hurford-Jones (Director, Sky Living), Stephen Ladlow (Director, Pick TV and Challenge) and Phil Edgar-Jones (Director, Sky Arts.).

END

Notes to editor

For more information contact:

Tamsyn Zietsman

Head of PR, Sky Atlantic HD                                                

Tel: +44 (0)20 1032 8093
Mob: +44 (0)7872 993431                                   

Email:Tamsyn.zietsman@bskyb.com                                                                           

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/

@skyatlantic

Notes to Editors:

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and Communications Company.  Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.5 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News.   Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes.  More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi.  NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV.  Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts.  Sky employs 24,000 people, has annual revenues of £7.2 billion and is estimated to support a £5.9 billion contribution to UK GDP.  Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY).