Zai Bennett was appointed as Director of Programmes for Sky UK in November 2016 with a brief that includes responsibility for the editorial direction and output of Sky One, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts as well as Sky’s FTA channels..
Before this he was Director of Sky Atlantic where his remit included overseeing an enviable slate of US content, including Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Affair, Silicon Valley and Veep as well as looking after the channel’s home-grown slate of programming including high profile dramas such as Fortitude, Penny Dreadful, Tin Star, Guerrilla, The Tunnel and Riviera.
Prior to this, he was Controller of BBC Three for three years, overseeing Life and Death Row, In The Flesh, The Revolution Will Be Televised, record breaking comedies Bad Education, Cuckoo, People Just Do Nothing, Murder in Successville and Uncle, popular factual hits the Call Centre and Hair, as well as landmark multi-genre seasons on Crime and Mental Health. Prior to joining the BBC, Zai spent 12 years at ITV where he was part of the launch team for ITV2, 3 and 4. As Controller of ITV2 and then Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions he transformed ITV2 with commissions including The Only Way is Essex, Secret Diary of A Call Girl and Celebrity Juice. He also concluded major acquisitions deals for all the channels including the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises.
