Thinkbox research lead Matt Hill to join Sky Media

Matt Hill, the director of research and planning at Thinkbox, is leaving after a decade to join Sky Media.

A well-known figure in UK advertising and media, Hill will join Sky in February as director of insight and measurement at Sky Media, the pay-TV broadcaster’s commercial sales division.

He replaces Lucy Bristowe, who left earlier this year to join Kantar Media after she was recruited by CEO Patrick Behar, previously Sky’s chief business officer.

Hill: Sky is giving me ‘one hell of a toy’

Speaking to The Media Leader, Hill said he was looking forward to playing with “one hell of a toy” when he arrives at Sky, referring to the amount of first-party data the platform now has to create insights about the pay-TV operator’s audience.

Having operated the addressable platform AdSmart for 10 years in the UK, Sky now has a 4m-strong household viewing panel. It has recently introduced the ADsorption Index, a metric that aims to go beyond audience attention measurement by tracking emotional involvement of content, if it is watched all the way through and memorability.

At Sky Media, he will be responsible for all of the division’s measurement, research and insight teams and programmes across TV and digital.

Hill will report to managing director Brett Aumuller, who said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Matt to the team. His impressive track record and passion for research and measurement will be invaluable for the team and our customers as we continue to innovate and lead in this rapidly changing landscape.”

Departure ‘only a matter of time’

During his time at Thinkbox, Hill is credited with designing, commissioning and delivering a series of acclaimed research studies.

Thinkbox was named Media Owner/Trade Body Research Team of the Year in 2020, 2022 and 2024 by the Adwanted Media Research Awards.

Hill was also instrumental in leading the collaboration among broadcasters that resulted in the wider adoption of CFlight, the cross-industry video measurement initiative delivered by Sky, ITV and Channel 4, and led the team that delivered the Thinkbox TV Masters training programme that has now been completed by over 6,000 industry professionals.

Lindsey Clay, CEO of Thinkbox, told The Media Leader: “Congratulations to Sky on recruiting Matt. He’s absolutely brilliant, fully deserves this great opportunity and will be a huge asset for Sky. He’s had 10 hugely successful years at Thinkbox and it was only a matter of time before he was snapped up.

“No point pretending we’re not devastated to be losing him, but the silver lining is that his talents are staying within the Team TV family in his new role. So we look forward to continuing to work together, but in a slightly different capacity. Matt’s departure also means that one of the best jobs in media is up for grabs!”

At The Media Leader‘s The Future of TV Advertising Global 2022 event, Hill discussed the power of broadcaster VOD advertising. Watch his talk below:

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