Sky replaces Turner Laing

Sky Deutschland programming chief Gary Davey will take over Sophie Turner Laing’s former job as part of an expanded role at the European satcaster, in the wake of her exit to the newly formed Endemol Shine Group.

Davey, executive VP of programming at Sky Deutschland, is now also MD of content across the group, with the additional responsibility for its entertainment, movies and news channels in the UK and Ireland.

He will combine the new role with his existing responsibilities at Sky Deutschland, splitting his time between London and Munich.

The move comes as Sky aims to become a pan-regional European pay TV giant following the (US$10.40bn) £6.88bn buyout of its sister companies in Germany and Italy.

Turner Laing left the pay TV broadcaster last year and was later named CEO of the merged Endemol Shine Group.

Davey’s career spans several decades and includes senior roles in Europe, Asia and the US. Prior to joining Sky Deutschland, he also held a senior role at Sky Italia, where he was responsible for launching its terrestrial TV network, cielo.

“I have always been very proud of having played a part in the launch of Sky in the UK. Even more so to watch it grow and now become Europe’s leading entertainment company,” said Davey. “This is a brand new beginning and I am looking forward to working with the exceptional team in the UK as we take our channels to new heights.”

Davey will report to Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch in relation to the UK business and Brian Sullivan in respect to his Sky Deutschland responsibilities.

In related news, Sky’s free-to-air channel Pick has acquired NBC’s primetime mock-reality drama Siberia and will start airing the show on Sunday February 22 at 21.00. It will mark the first time the channel has exclusively broadcast a US network drama.

The 13×60’ show, which aired on NBC in the summer of 2013, follows a group of contestants who agree to test their will to survive an unforgiving Siberian wilderness for the chance to win half a million dollars.

The series was created by Matthew Arnold and has been exec produced by Michael Ohoven, Slava Jakovleff and Chris Philip. It’s been acquired from distributor Sierra/Engine Television, which handles worldwide rights, by Michael Whelan, acquisitions manager at Sky Entertainment.