Martin Lyall has been appointed vice president, Australasia, at Universal International Television.

In his new role, Lyall will be responsible for the distribution of Universal's programming in Australia, New Zealand and selected territories in Asia, including Japan. He will be based in Sydney, Australia.

Lyall replaces Pal Cleary who is retiring in April after 23 years with Universal. Lyall joins Universal from Australian retail entertainment and marketing company The Leading Edge Group, where he held the position of group general manager for video distributor Leading Edge Video.