BBC Studios combines production, content teams

The resulting division, known as BBC Studios Productions, will be split into four separate portfolios, with Cecilia Persson leading the children’s group.
February 3, 2022

BBC Studios is merging its production and content partnership businesses to create a single division for all of the commercial arm’s productions, talent relationships and content investments. Known as BBC Studios Productions, the new unit will focus on four separate portfolios for children’s content, scripted, factual and global formats.

Each of the four portfolios will approach creative and content investment decisions with a single strategy across both wholly and partly-owned labels, and the managing directors of the four portfolios will report to BBC Studios Productions CEO Ralph Lee. As CEO, Lee is responsible for all of BBC Studios’ productions and content investment. COO Martha Brass will continue to oversee business development, production operations and strategy.

Cecilia Persson, recently appointed as managing director for children’s, will lead that group—including the BBC Children’s in-house productions team, which is set to join the commercial arm in April.

Mark Linsey was named managing director of the scripted group, and Tom McDonald will continue to oversee BBC Studios’ factual labels as managing director of the factual group.

The global formats group will be formed by combining the factual entertainment and events (FE&E), entertainment and music (E&M) and international production and formats (IP&F) businesses. And managing directors Hannah Wyatt (FE&E), Matt Forde (IP&F) and Suzy Lamb (E&M) have retained their roles.

This new organizational structure is designed to simplify and strengthen BBC Studios’ content offering, according to a release. BBC Studios was created in 2018 when BBC’s in-house production arm merged with BBC Worldwide. Then, last year, the in-house content team for BBC Three and the commercial teams behind Global News also joined the business unit.

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