STV has hired ex Tinopolis, NBC Universal and BBC exec David Mortimer as md of STV Productions.
Mortimer joins from Tinopolis where he was Director of Content, heading up the group’s overall scripted and unscripted strategy across production companies in the UK and US.
In his new role, Mortimer will take charge of STV’s production teams in Glasgow and London with a brief to grow the company and focus on returning series while taking advantage of the growing demand for programming from the nations and regions. He will also create new programme formats to run on STV. STV has pledged £15m over the next three years to build new original content and digital “to position STV as a major creative force in Scotland and beyond.”
Prior to Tinopolis, Mortimer was Senior Vice President, Factual & Entertainment at NBC Universal, growing unscripted output from 12 hours in 2011 to more than 150 hours in 2016 with commissions across the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France and Germany. Programmes included Made In Chelsea (Channel 4), The Real Housewives franchise (Bravo) and Driving School Of Mum & Dad (Sky 1).
For seven years Mortimer ran his own indie, Fever Media with credits including The People’s Quiz (BBC One), No Place Like Home (ITV), Move Like Michael Jackson (BBC Three), 71 Degrees North (ITV) and America’s Next Top Pop Group (MTV).
He spent 15 years at the BBC in both production and commissioning.
David Mortimer said: “I’m really excited to be joining Simon and the team at STV. I think there’s huge untapped potential at STV Productions, so I can’t wait to get going and help our team develop and sell shows in the UK and internationally. The opportunity to launch our own formats on STV is particularly exciting and potentially gives us an amazing competitive advantage.”
Simon Pitts, CEO of STV, said: “David’s track record as a creative leader is second to none. He has developed, produced and run some of the biggest shows on television, both in the UK and the US, and his vast experience will help us establish STV Productions as a major industry player over the next few years. I’m delighted he’s joining our talented team.”
Staff Reporter
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