gary knight , LONDON, United Kingdom

Highly experienced Commercial Director with wide range of talents.

I work in the exciting and ever-changing world of Digital TV, with an emphasis on the areas of Commercial Media and Commercial Production.

My career began with London Weekend TV in Advertising Sales in 1978. I was good at my job and rose steadily in rank to become the Group Sales Manager & Planning Controller.

I then moved to Granada TV as the Executive Sales Director. One achievement that I am particularly proud of was our successful launch of a Chinese version of Coronation Street in 2004. The number of viewers in China (and places like Singapore) has grown yearly since 2004 to 400 million.

Working with Granada, I also supervised its stakeholdings within Arsenal and Liverpool FC and advised on its financial investments in a wide range of businesses including Forte Hotels, Little Chef and Motorway Services.

In 2008, I moved to ITV PLC, as the Head of Sponsorship and Branded Content. I was one the first UK people to truly explore & activate short form Branded Content activity. I also managed the commercial revenue streams across huge entertainment shows such as The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent . These were exciting times with an amazing growth rate in revenues that I was responsible for.

I was promote to the role Commercial Content Director for ITV and helped secure the Six Nation Rugby Broadcast Rights in 2015 as well as the British Horse Racing rights in 2017. I also managed Talent deals for both long form and short form commercial deals.
In January 2018 I set up my own business, Flippin'Eck Ltd, which focuses on both the commercial & creative eco-system surrounding modern, premium content.

To keep abreast of the fast moving technology, I attend many seminars and frequently give presentations at these and also at the Russell Group of Universities. My outlook is to enjoy being challenged at work and never to rest upon past achievements.