Jon Montague has been appointed as Sky’s head of comedy. Montague has been in the role of acting head of comedy since September, and previously was commissioning editor. Adam MacDonald, director of Sky 1, will now take on responsibility for both Sky 1 and Sky Living. Julia Barry, existing director of Sky Living, will turn her focus to on-demand. Finally, Lucy Murphy (pictured), has joined the business as head of kids editorial.
Gary Davey, managing director, content, Sky, commented: “Jon has done an outstanding job of nurturing many of our most important returning shows and I know he will take good care of Sky’s highly valued comedy heritage. I look forward to watching him take Sky comedy to the next level.”
Davey continued: “It’s been a great year for Sky content. The launch of Sky Atlantic drama Fortitude earlier this year resulted in it becoming the channel’s most successful original commission to date. The show has now been sold to more than 100 broadcasters around the world and is set to return for a second series in 2016.
“We’ve also announced an ambitious new line-up of fresh and modern programming for Sky 1, bolstered by the biggest investment we’ve made in its history. For the first time ever, we will offer brand new UK drama and comedy on this channel all year round.
“As well as growing our content, we’re also making sure it’s available whenever, wherever and however our customers want it, as we continue our focus on building our on-demand capabilities.
“As the customer importance for on-demand continues to grow, Julia will lead this vital area and build a stronger on-demand culture across the wider content team at Sky.
“I’m committed to continuing to offer our customers a broad range of quality, original content. With our priorities in mind, I have reviewed the workings of our entertainment team to reflect this.
“With the team now in place, I’m really excited about the future and continuing to deliver great, high quality entertainment content to our customers.”
