ABC taps Netflix for inaugural chief content officer
Public broadcaster, the ABC, has appointed former Netflix executive Chris Oliver-Taylor to the newly created role of chief content officer, overseeing the newly formed content division.
Currently Netflix’s director of production for Australia and New Zealand, Oliver-Taylor is a highly regarded leader in the screen industry, having previously held roles at the ABC and BBC.
In his new position Oliver-Taylor will report to managing director David Anderson, and be responsible for the new division created from the merger of the current entertainment and specialist and regional and local divisions from 1 July. He will be based in Melbourne.
Netflix VP, production, APAC, EMEA and UK, Anna Mallett, said of his departure: “Chris is hugely talented, and has made significant contributions leading our studio in ANZ since joining Netflix. We are enormously grateful to Chris, wish him every success for the future, and look forward to working with him again as a partner.”
Netflix did not respond to Mumbrella’s query on a replacement for Oliver-Taylor.
Oliver-Taylor
Previously, Netflix Oliver-Taylor was managing director of NBCUniversal’s Matchbox Pictures, leading them to three SPA Producer of the Year awards as well as multiple commissions around the world.
He then became CEO of Fremantle Asia Pacific, responsible for the creative output of one of the biggest Production Companies across the Asia Pacific.
Anderson said of his appointment: “Chris is one of the most experienced, both locally and internationally, content leaders in the industry with a well-honed sense of audience expectations and creative trends across platforms and technologies.
“The ABC chief content officer is a role that requires leadership across all content platforms – screen, audio and digital – and must have the right creative approach to support the work of all our content teams and deliver for the Australian public.
“I am very pleased that a leader of Chris’ experience and calibre is joining us for the next stage of the ABC’s story.”
Oliver-Taylor said: “This is a critically important role for the ABC and I am absolutely thrilled to bring my experience of leading incredibly talented people to the ABC at a vital time in its history.
“In a time of infinite choice across screen, audio and digital, we must deliver high quality and impactful content that resonates with all Australians, and I know to deliver this impact you can only do it with an amazing team.
“I am very much looking forward to working with David, the Leadership Team and all the talented people at the ABC to ensure the ABC continues to be trusted, relevant and valued into the future.”
Oliver-Taylor will join the ABC in late March and the acting directors of the two existing divisions will report to him until the new structure takes effect in July.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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