Katie Keenan to lead acquisitions for Viacom in the UK
Vanessa Brookman and Craig Morris appointed as brand leads for 5* and Spike UK
London, 11th December 2014 – Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has promoted Katie Keenan to become Head of Acquisitions for Channel 5 and VIMN UK, giving her lead responsibility for acquiring programming for all its TV channels in the UK.
At the same time, VIMN has also confirmed the appointment of Vanessa Brookman and Craig Morris as the respective programming leads for 5* and Spike UK, due to launch in the spring of 2015.
Keenan, who is currently Head of Acquisitions for Channel 5 only, will become Viacom's main UK liaison with the U.S. studios and other distributors of TV content. She will work with the acquisition and programming teams of Channel 5, Comedy Central and MTV to identify and deliver their acquired programming requirements, with an additional focus on sharing content between brands.
She will continue to report to Channel 5's Director of Programming, Ben Frow, but will also have a reporting line to Jill Offman, SVP, Managing Director, Comedy Central UK for Comedy Central acquisitions.
Morris, who is also Head of Channel Management at Channel 5 and Brookman, who remains VP, Programming for MTV UK, will also report to Frow in their new roles overseeing programming for Spike UK and 5*. Brookman will additionally continue to report to Kerry Taylor, SVP, General Manager of MTV UK.
David Lynn, President, VIMN UK, said: "Viacom can now call on exceptional executive talent – like Katie, Craig and Vanessa – within both Channel 5 and our pay TV businesses to strengthen our overall UK operations. Our UK channels buy a lot of U.S. content and it makes both financial and creative sense to centralize our approach in this important area of our business."
As Head of Acquisitions for Channel 5 since 2010, Keenan has been responsible for securing a number of key acquisitions for the channel, including one of the most high-profile U.S. dramas of 2014, Gotham, which is averaging a consolidated weekly audience of approximately 3 million viewers on Channel 5. Keenan joined Channel 5 in 2006 as Deputy Controller of Acquisitions, having worked previously in acquisitions and business and legal affairs at UKTV and Channel 4 respectively.
About Viacom International Media Networks
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world's most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Channel, Channel 5 in the UK, VH1, VIVA, COLORS, Spike, Game One and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más. Viacom brands are seen globally in more than 3.2 billion households in approximately 170 territories and 40 languages via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com.
###
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for all the latest Nickelodeon UK News and Highlights!
