Sky Content MD Zai Bennett is heading to BBC Studios.
The UK programs chief of the Comcast-owned pay-TV giant will run BBC Studios Productions, a job that has been vacant for several months and one of the most talked about in the British industry. He replaces Ralph Lee.
Bennett will oversee a production arm that spans all genres, making the likes of Planet Earth, Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who. BBC Studios Productions also owns a wealth of indies including Clerkenwell Films, Lookout Point and Voltage TV. He will join BBC Studios in November, while he will also be on the exec committee.
At Sky, Bennett has overseen the likes of Chernobyl, Gangs of London and Patrick Melrose across a 10-year career. Past employers include Channel 5, ITV and BBC Three. Deadline is told that he will not be replaced at Sky. His exit follows that of UK and Ireland CEO Stephen van Rooyen earlier this year.
BBC Studio CEO Tom Fussell said: “Zai’s risk-taking creative hit-rate speaks for itself. He has impact and gravitas and can propel BBC Studios Productions even faster forward without losing the deeply engrained BBC ethos all who work here share. His deep genre experience in scripted comedy and drama through to factual entertainment, documentaries, film and kids, coupled with the relationships he’s cultivated with the very best creative talent, will complement our production business growth plans and take us to the next level domestically and globally. I can’t wait for him to start.”
Bennett said he is “incredibly excited” to be joining the “powerhouse that is BBC Studios Productions.”
In a note to staff, he thanked “my fantastic team and colleagues” and said: “As I look ahead to the next year on screen, we have one of the strongest lines ups ever, so now is the perfect time for me to move on.”
Cécile Frot-Coutaz, who runs Sky Studios, praised him for “never being one to shy away from big swings.” She pointed to wider initiatives he has “spearheaded” such as the Coalition for Change.
Bennett will have his work cut out at BBC Studios. The productions arm makes some of the UK’s biggest shows along with a number of global hits but revenues and profits at BBC Studios were down last year, revealed in the BBC’s Annual Report earlier this week. He will have to quickly get to grips with the Strictly Come Dancing scandal, which has consumed the BBC of late, while the future of the Doctor Who deal with Disney appears to be hanging in the balance.
