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B&T > Media > BBC Studios Launches Production Arm In Australia
Media

BBC Studios Launches Production Arm In Australia

Laura Dumbrell
Published on: 16th February 2018 at 9:55 AM
Laura Dumbrell
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BBC Studios has announced the launch of a production arm in Australia, with its first commissioned project set to be for the ABC.

Stargazing Live 2 will be the first commission for BBC Studios in Australia, following the announcement that BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios are to form a single commercial organisation called BBC Studios from 1 April 2018.

The multi-platform TV event, which inspires the nation to ‘look up’ and appreciate the unique wonders of space and our cosmos, will be produced for the ABC locally by an expert team from BBC Studios’ science unit in the UK.

The BBC Studios’ science unit format was first produced by the same team as a three-day event for ABC by FremantleMedia Australia in March last year.

Lisa Opie, managing director of factual at BBC Studios, said: “We’re delighted to be working so closely with ABC on Stargazing Live 2 after the huge success of last year’s program.

“Stargazing is science programming at its very best, and Andrew Cohen and his brilliant team in the science unit have enjoyed evolving and developing the format specifically for ABC’s audience.”

Steve Bibb, head of factual at the ABC, said: “Stripped over three nights, Stargazing Live was a new kind of event programming for ABC in 2017.

“It reached an incredible number of Australians right across all our platforms and on social media. Our viewers even discovered a new solar system in a major citizen science project.

“ABC is thrilled to be working closely with BBC Studios to make Stargazing Live an even bigger and more exciting event this year.”

Brian Cox and Dara O'Briain, Stargazing Live
Stargazing Live hosts Brian Cox and Dara O’Briain

BBC Studios has also announced its intention to appoint a director of production for its production arm in Australia.

This role will be tasked with launching and managing the growth of TV production in Australia, building creative partnerships between BBC Studios’ editorial teams in the UK and Aussie broadcasters, driving the creation of new intellectual property and exploiting the potential of BBC Worldwide’s format catalogue.

The new director of production will report into the international production division which, from April, will be led by BBC Studios’ Anna Mallett.

The role will also form part of the Australian and New Zealand executive management team.  Jon Penn, managing director of BBC Worldwide for Australia and NZ, will continue to lead the company in this territory as it transitions to BBC Studios in April.

Mallett said: “This commission with ABC is an exciting first step for BBC Studios production in Australia, and we look forward to more collaborations as we bring our editorial creativity to new audiences.”

Penn added: “The new BBC Studios has got off to a great start in Australia with the Stargazing Live 2 commission, and this new role will spearhead the growth of our Australian production arm.

“We’re looking forward to producing more of our own formats and programs for local clients, who already broadcast many of the quality shows that our expert BBC production colleagues make.”

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TAGGED: ABC, BBC Studios
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By Laura Dumbrell
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BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm of public service broadcaster, the BBC, and I am responsible for all our Communications in the Australia and New Zealand region. This includes overseeing publicity for our content on partner platforms, as well as our own portfolio of channels - BBC First, UKTV, BBC Knowledge, BBC World News and CBeebies. I lead trade and consumer comms across our ancilliary businesses: DVDs, consumer products, entertainment formats and live events, as well as the commercial activity for the BBC’s world renowned bbc.com news site. I am responsible for all corporate comms, raising the profile of executives and the company and managing important stakeholders, locally and globally. The company has been on a growth trajectory over the last three years and I have enjoyed being part of the Executive Leadership Team setting the strategy and driving the business in this region, as well as leading my talented Comms team to produce thoughtful, creative and impactful campaigns, both externally and internally. I am able to bring my wide-ranging experience across all elements of content publicity to the role and ensure that the team has a vital role at the heart of the company, partnering with all business functions to ensure that all their audience needs are met through earned media campaigns. The elements of my role which I particularly enjoy are: setting direction and bringing the team on an exciting journey with me; achieving incredible media coverage and seeing it have an impact for the business; finding creative new ways to overcome problems; developing my team so that they are the best in the industry; and helping to create a happy and high performing culture at the company through engaging internal comms.

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