Tex rising: Sky's sweeping management shakeup continues

Tex Teixeira. Photo / Supplied

Sky has merged all of its content teams under Tex Teixeira.

Teixeira was made director of sport through an internal promotion in February, in one of new chief executive Martin Stewart's first moves after taking control.

This week, the high-flying executive, who arrived at Sky from SuperSport in South Africa in 2012, saw his brief was expanded to director of sport, broadcasting and entertainment.

"Former entertainment head Travis Dunbar is still with us," an insider says. "He's in a new role as strategic content advisor, advising on our supply deals and strategic partnerships. He has a specific brief around our original programming strategy."

In a second major change, Sky has split out acquisition of content from the delivery side, with chief legal, people and partnerships officer Sophie Moloney given responsibility for the entertainment acquisitions and transactional content teams.

Dunbar's situation might diplomatically be called a shuffle sideways, but it's notable he's still with the broadcaster.

Sweeping changes since Stewart took the reins have seen long-serving sports director Richard Last, chief financial officer Jason Hollingworth, chief technology officer Julian Wheeler and strategy head George MacFarlane all leave the building.

The shakeup has also former CEO John Fellet resign his directorship, with his place on the board taken by Stewart.

The new crew brought in by Stewart includes Justin Tomlinson (ex-software development company Propellerhead) as a strategic advisor, working on apps and streaming, and McKinsey & Co alumnus Blair Woodbury, who was recently named CFO.

Stewart recently said Sky had written off $38m as it cancelled a next-generation decoder planned by the previous regime.

The new chief executive says the investment focus has shifted to streaming.

Stewart has also put an emphasis on not losing any more sports rights.

Teixeira - who was initially named acting director of sport when Last exited - is looming larger and larger in the new-look Sky.

The head of sports and entertainment is a "bridge-builder who will be able to heal broken relationships. Sky should never have missed out on the World Cup and Martin Stewart knows this," an insider told the Herald as he was first promoted.

Stewart has made sport the broadcaster's central focus during his brief time in charge, from its new promotional tagline ("Life needs more sport") to Sky's recent acquisition of Rugby Pass in a deal worth up to $62 million, and expansion of the number of Sky Sport channels and new deals with European football rights holder beIN sport and Cricket Australia.

Over the next 24 months, Sky will be facing off against Spark - and potentially others for key rugby, cricket, netball and NRL rights.

For more on that battle, read Sky TV's king-hit bid to keep rugby as competition with Spark heats up.