Zai Bennett is swapping Sky for BBC Studios (BBCS) after a decade at the pay-TV giant, Screen’s sister site Broadcast can reveal.
Sky’s managing director of content for UK & Ireland is replacing Ralph Lee in an expanded role of chief executive and chief creative officer of BBC Studios Productions in November following a high-profile and international recruitment drive.
After Lee left BBCS in April, the enhanced role will see Bennett have oversight for BBCS’ stable of UK and international production divisions. This includes blue-chip Natural History Unit, owned labels and invested indies across its global entertainment, factual, scripted, kids and family and audio genres.
As stated in BBCS’ wide-ranging job spec, he will be tasked with bringing a creative-first approach to power the production business – building high-value, distributable content and IP, maintaining BBC returning series and key brands, winning new commissions and business, and growing BBCS’ international format development pipeline in existing markets and untapped territories.
One of his pivotal tasks will be to continue BBCS’ position as a leading producer of tentpole original streamer series, whilst continuing to be the biggest supplier of content to the corporation.
He will join BBCS’ executive committee and report into chief exec Tom Fussell, who said his “risk-taking creative hit-rate speaks for itself”.
“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,” Fussell added.
“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.”
Bennett said: “BBCS 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.
Staff at Sky and BBCS have been informed of the changes in the last hour.
In an internal memo, seen by Broadcast, Bennett thanked the “amazing producers, talent, writers, and directors on a huge variety of shows and films across my time here”, as well as his colleagues, “especially all the genre leads and programme strategy teams”.
“TV and film are a team sport and any success we’ve had is down to all of them alongside the phenomenal Sky machine in taking our shows and services to market,” Bennett added. “We’ve definitely made sure there is something on screen for every Sky customer.
In a separate memo, Sky Studios chief Cécile Frot-Coutaz highlighted Bennett’s myriad achievements at the pay-TV giant having joined in 2014 to initially lead Sky Atlantic. He later became director of programmes before his elevation to MD of content in 2019. At Sky, he has commissioned tentpole dramas including Chernobyl, Gangs of London, Patrick Melrose, This England, Bulletproof and Discovery of Witches as well as hit long-running comedy Brassic among many others.
This story first appeared on Broadcast
No comments yet