BBC Studios Indicators Devoted Head Of Branded Leisure – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios Productions is pushing additional into the ad-funded programing (AFP) area by hiring a devoted Head of Branded Leisure.

Kate Norum will be part of from Sky within the newly-created function subsequent week, the place she’s going to goal to develop extra BBC Studios’ reveals which can be sponsored and part-funded by manufacturers.

Latest examples embody Channel 4 double The Nice House Transformation, which was backed by IKEA, and Prepare dinner Intelligent, Waste Much less with Prue and Rupy, sponsored by Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The manufacturing outfit has additionally made the likes of Hyundai-sponsored 2045: Reminiscences of the Future for international business channel BBC World Information.

Reporting to Director of Digital and Enterprise Improvement Helen Pendlebury, Norum, who joins after a three-year stint as Sky Branded Content material Controller, will work carefully with BBC Studios’ factual and format groups to identify alternatives.

Lately, AFP has been a rising development because of the decline of broadcaster budgets and enhance in prices – with producers needing to search out funding from elsewhere – and that is solely set to worsen with the approaching cost-of-living disaster.

“BBC Studios’ repute for creating world class content material and forging massively profitable partnerships is second to none and I’m excited to get began and take the ad-funded enterprise to even higher heights,” mentioned Norum.

Pendlebury mentioned Norum arrives “at a key second of progress for our enterprise as we construct on the successes we’ve needed to date within the branded area.”