World Courant
Sky Content material MD Zai Bennett is heading to BBC Studios.
The UK applications chief of the Comcast-owned pay-TV big will run BBC Studios Productions, a job that has been vacant for a number of months and some of the talked about within the British business. He replaces Ralph Lee.
Bennett will oversee a manufacturing arm that spans all genres, making the likes of Planet Earth, Strictly Come Dancing and Physician Who. BBC Studios Productions additionally owns a wealth of indies together with Clerkenwell Movies, Lookout Level and Voltage TV. He’ll be part of BBC Studios in November, whereas he may even be on the exec committee.
At Sky, Bennett has overseen the likes of Chernobyl, Gangs of London and Patrick Melrose throughout a 10-year profession. Previous employers embody Channel 5, ITV and BBC Three. Deadline is instructed that he is not going to get replaced at Sky. His exit follows that of UK and Eire CEO Stephen van Rooyen earlier this yr.
BBC Studio CEO Tom Fussell stated: “Zai’s risk-taking inventive hit-rate speaks for itself. He has impression and gravitas and may propel BBC Studios Productions even quicker ahead with out dropping the deeply engrained BBC ethos all who work right here share. His deep style expertise in scripted comedy and drama via to factual leisure, documentaries, movie and children, coupled with the relationships he is cultivated with the perfect inventive expertise, will complement our manufacturing enterprise progress plans and take us to the subsequent stage domestically and globally . I am unable to look forward to him to start out.”
Bennett stated he’s “extremely excited” to be becoming a member of the “powerhouse that’s BBC Studios Productions.”
In a notice to employees, he thanked “my incredible group and colleagues” and stated: “As I look forward to the subsequent yr on display, we’ve one of many strongest strains ups ever, so now’s the proper time for me to maneuver on.”
Cécile Frot-Coutaz, who runs Sky Studios, praised him for “by no means being one to draw back from huge swings.” She pointed to wider initiatives he has “spearheaded” such because the Coalition for Change.
Bennett can have his work reduce out at BBC Studios. The manufacturing arm makes among the UK’s greatest exhibits together with quite a few world hits however revenues and income at BBC Studios had been down final yr, revealed within the BBC’s Annual Report earlier this week. He must rapidly familiarize yourself with the Strictly Come Dancing scandal, which has consumed the BBC of late, whereas the way forward for the Physician Who cope with Disney seems to be hanging within the steadiness.
Zai Bennett Heading To BBC Studios To Run Manufacturing Arm
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