BBC Studios is launching its Australian division with Stargazing Live 2 for ABC, which will be the first commission for BBC Studios in Australia.
BBC Studios is now also on the hunt for a Director of Production for the Australian division. This role will be tasked with “launching and managing the growth of television production in Australia, building creative partnerships between BBC Studios’ editorial teams in the UK and Australian 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 Anna Mallett, Managing Director, Production and COO, BBC Studios. The role will also form part of the ANZ executive management team. Jon Penn, Managing Director of BBC Worldwide ANZ, will continue to lead the company in this territory as it transitions to BBC Studios in April.
Stargazing Live will be produced for ABC locally by a team from BBC Studios’ Science Unit in the UK, including Executive Producer Helen Thomas and Series Producer Paul King.
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, Factual at BBC Studios says: “We’re delighted to be working so closely with ABC on Stargazing Live 2 after the huge success of last year’s programme. 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 ABC, says: “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.”
Jon Creamer
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