Rare Day Appoints Managing Director

The independent production company founded by Peter Dale, former Head of More4, Rare Day, has appointed Dan Brooke, former Managing Director of Discovery Networks UK, to the position of Managing Director.
Brooke will be responsible for not only managing all aspects of the Rare Day business, but will work alongside Dale to grow Rare Day's commissions and open doors to work with brands and distributors.
Brooke's career encompasses a wealth of experience in the commercial, creative and digital aspects of television.
Under Brooke's leadership, Discovery's portfolio of channels was transformed, with the launches of the Discovery HD, Discovery Knowledge, Investigation Discovery, Discovery Turbo and Discovery Shed channels.
He also led its entrance into the entertainment genre with DMAX and developed the company's first channel on Freeview, Quest. He oversaw the commissioning of hundreds of hours of factual programming, including The Big Experiment, World's Toughest Tribes and My Shocking Story and the launch of multiple digital media initiatives. Prior to his role at Discovery, Brooke was Managing Director of Digital Channels at Channel 4, where he was responsible for the development and award-winning launches of E4 and FilmFour.
Commenting on the appointment, Peter Dale said: "Dan's appointment to this key role is an exciting step forward for the company. I've always admired his keen and passionate eye for popular content and his commercial nous.
"He's got a great track record and exactly the kind of experience to enable us to build new relationships and create new ideas.
"His understanding of today's media means, like me, he's ambitious to develop new sources of funding, new means of distribution and new alliances - key ingredients for the company's success."
In addition to this appointment, leading cross-platform factual provider Emily Renshaw-Smith has been appointed Head of Development & Production. Renshaw-Smith joins Rare Day from her role as Director of Content at Current TV, where she led the commissioning and in-house production teams.
Prior to this, she was a producer at Magic Lantern Productions, where she was responsible for the launch and running of 4Docs, Channel 4's Bafta award-winning online documentary channel.
(KMcA/BMcc)