Sky Sports Chief Wakeling To Retire At End Of June

Vic Wakeling, Sky’s Managing Director, Sport and News, who has headed up the broadcaster’s sports content for the last 15 years and was the driving force behind Sky’s highly successful promotion of the Premier League, is to retire at the end of June to be replaced by Barney Francis who is promoted from within.

Wakeling leaves after two decades with the company and 15 years as head of Sky Sports, a period that has seen a dramatic increase in the range and quality of sports coverage offered to viewers across the UK & Ireland and sustained investment in British sport.

Francis will take over the role of Managing Director, Sky Sports, reporting to Sky’s Chief Executive, Jeremy Darroch.
 
Sophie Turner-Laing will assume responsibility for Sky News, as Managing Director, Entertainment and News, with Head of Sky News, John Ryley reporting to her.

Announcing the moves, Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s Chief Executive, said: ‘Over two decades, Vic Wakeling has played a tremendous part in Sky’s story and has made a huge contribution to sports broadcasting.  He has brought a wealth of new coverage to viewers, led a healthy investment in British sport and helped to change the way we view our favourite sports. We owe him a debt of gratitude and he will leave Sky as a valued colleague and friend.

He continued: ‘While it is sad to see Vic retire, I am sure that his contribution to British sport will be widely applauded and I am delighted that he will be succeeded by such a talented broadcaster from within the company. I have no doubt that Sky Sports will continue to go from strength to strength under Barney’s leadership.’

Wakeling was appointed Head of Sport at Sky in 1994, then Managing Director of Sky Sports in 1998.  Responsibility for Sky News was added in 2007.  Under his leadership, Sky Sports has grown from a single channel to a network of five dedicated sports channels and three HD channels.  Its online service, skysports.com, is the UK’s most successful commercial sports site and Sky Sports content is available on mobile and via broadband. 

Among the on-screen innovations under Wakeling’s guidance have been the world’s first live interactive sport, the first round-the-clock sports news channel and the move into HD broadcasts.

Wakeling was with Sky Sports from its launch in 1991 and Head of Football at the start of the first FA Premier League contract in 1992.  He formerly worked in television at IMG and TVS and had a long career in print-journalism with regional and national titles.  He was recognised with Lifetime Achievement awards at the 2007 Sport Industry Awards and 2008 Broadcast Awards.

Wakeling said: ‘It has been a marvellous adventure, and it has been a privilege to be involved over a period which has seen huge changes in the broadcast industry and in sport itself.

‘When Sky began, no one could have envisaged the hours of live event coverage now on offer; Test cricket from around the world, live international rugby, golf and tennis on a scale few would have thought possible 20 years ago. And, of course, our football coverage has developed, from FA Premier League to UEFA Champions League and the International Under-15s in the Sky Sports Victory Shield.

‘Sport itself has also changed; we see it every week when we visit modern stadiums around the country.  We marvel at the skills of the elite at the top of their sports, and we are delighted to see how sports bodies have used our investment to build facilities and support the grassroots.

‘It has been an outstanding team effort by everyone at Sky. We have been first with the technology to deliver the type of service and choice sports fans expect and deserve in this day and age, and we have built a gifted, creative team of programme producers. We challenge them to innovate and raise the bar and they have responded superbly.

‘Barney Francis shares this passion and is ready to take us on to the next level. There are exciting new ideas in development and the team, under Barney, will continue to deliver.’ 

Francis, who assumes the role of Managing Director, Sky Sports in July, has worked in television for 16 years, within the multi-channel, terrestrial, and independent sectors.  For the last 10 years, he has worked at Sky Sports producing a range of live coverage, support programming and sport news content. 

His production credits include the FA Premier League, UEFA Champions League, ICC Cricket World Cup, Test and County cricket and two Ashes tours.  As executive producer for cricket for six years from 2001 he was responsible for Sky’s first exclusive live coverage of domestic Test matches and the introduction of a range of new cricket shows, production innovations such as Ultra-Motion replays and Hot-Spot graphics and the UK’s first live HD cricket broadcasts.  

On his appointment, Francis said:  ‘I am excited and proud to follow Vic as Managing Director of Sky Sports.  Vic has built a fantastic business, assembled a very strong team and leaves a great legacy in the strength of our content and our commitment to quality and innovation. 

‘The last year has brought a raft of rights renewals in football, golf, rugby league and rugby union and we are now increasingly recognised for our positive contribution to British sport.  I am looking forward to working with colleagues across Sky and the world of sport to continue this development.’

Vic Wakeling will continue as a consultant to the business with his advice and experience available to colleagues at Sky.