Former president of Fox Reality Channel David Lyle has been
hired by National Geographic Channels to open a West Coast development office. He will lead the new Los
Angeles office on an interim basis.
Lyle was most recently president of Fox LOOK, which like Nat
Geo is owned by News Corp., where he worked on the international licensing and
production of unscripted programming. Prior to that he was president of Fox
Reality Channel and president of entertainment at FremantleMedia North America,
where he was part of the team that launched American
Idol.
"Our very talented development team is a force within the
nonfiction arena and already has highly productive relationships with top
producers around the world as well as the West Coast," said Steve Schiffman, president,
National Geographic Channels U.S. "Now with the help of Mr. Lyle and our new LA
office, we will be able to expand our pipeline into the epicenter of the
entertainment industry to further merge their capabilities with the trust and
qualities of our amazing brand."
Nat Geo also announced the promotions of Bridget Whalen
Hunnicutt to senior VP of global development and Charlie Parsons to VP of
global development. Michael Mavretic and Shannon Malone have both been promoted
to directors of global development.
The network plans to launch 13 new series in 2011-12
with the aim of building more program franchises to join its highest rated series Alaska State Troopers and Wild Justice.
