Sky’s Bennett poached by BBC Studios
July 25, 2024
BBC Studios has named Zai Bennett as new CEO and Chief Creative Officer for its global content-making division BBC Studios Productions.
Bennett’s remit – which will span the company’s UK and international production units (including the world-renowned Natural History Unit), owned labels and invested indies across its Global Entertainment, Factual, Scripted, Kids & Family and Audio genres – will see him bring a creative-first approach to driving the production business forward. He will be tasked with building high value, distributable IP, maintaining BBC returning series and key brands, securing new commissions – and expanding BBC Studios’ international format pipeline through development capabilities in existing markets as well as expansion into new territories. Retaining the producer’s position as a provider of scale original streamer series, whilst also continuing to be the biggest supplier of content to the BBC, will also play a crucial part in his new role.
He joins from Sky where he is currently Managing Director of Content and will take the reins of the UK’s most awarded production company, with BBC Studios Productions responsible for seven of the top 10 performing shows in the UK across 2023, including events such as Eurovision and the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla – plus water-cooler drama such as Happy Valley 3.
As well as 12 production bases in the UK, BBC Studios also has bases in the Nordics, India, Australia, Spain, South Africa, Germany, France and the USA.
At Sky, Bennett is principally responsible for Sky’s portfolio of entertainment services such as Sky Atlantic and Sky Max, Sky’s premium brands, Sky Cinema and Sky Kids as well as Sky’s FTA services such asSky Arts. He has ordered award-winning dramas such as Chernobyl, Gangs of London, Patrick Melrose, This England, Bulletproof and Discovery of Witches.
Bennett took Sky Arts FTA in 2020 helping make the arts more accessible for all and launched Sky’s factual services such as Sky Documentaries. In cinema, he has overseen Sky’s Original films and in Kids, he oversaw the launch of Sky Kids linear service in 2023. Bennett also oversees all acquisitions as well as negotiating major film deals with the Hollywood studios for Sky Cinema.
One of Bennett’s first roles in TV was at Channel 5 where he scheduled the channel’s launch night, before joining ITV as part of the core team that launched ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, working his way up to become Director of the digital channels.At the same time he oversaw acquisitions for all of ITV. In 2011, Bennett moved to the BBC to become BBC Three’s fourth controller, where he set about commissioning a series of comedy hits. He also commissioned documentaries, leading to BBC Three winning the Bafta for Best Documentary three years in a row.
#He takes up his new position in November and will report into CEO Tom Fussell, joining BBC Studio’s Executive Committee.
“Zai’s risk-taking creative hit-rate speaks for itself,” commented Fussell. “He has impact and gravitas and can propel BBC Studios Productions even faster forward without losing the deeply engrained BBC ethos all who work here share. His deep genre experience in scripted comedy and drama through to factual entertainment, documentaries, film and kids, coupled with the relationships he’s cultivated with the very best creative talent, will complement our production business growth plans and take us to the next level domestically and globally. I can’t wait for him to start.”
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the powerhouse that is BBC Studios Productions this autumn,” added Bennett. “BBC Studios Productions has a special place in the production ecosystem, upholding the BBC’s unique purpose and values in everything they do, while marrying this with creative commerciality to help export the BBC’s brand around the world as a champion for the highest quality programming in every genre. I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Tom’s team, his ambition and plans for BBC Studios are clear, exhilarating and infectious. I can’t wait to work with him and the world-class creative teams across all the genres and divisions to help keep driving BBC Studios Productions’ growth and stature around the world.”
Other posts by :
- Italy joins Germany in IRIS2 alternate thoughts
- Kazakhstan to create museum at Yuri Gagarin launch site
- AST SpaceMobile gets $42 or $1500 price target
- Analyst: GEO bloodbath taking place
- SES AGM results: Appaloosa still objecting
- SpaceX’s Shotwell worth $1.2bn
- SpinLaunch’s revolutionary plan for 280 satellites
- Consolidation impacts satellite sector
- Project Kuiper plans first satellite launch