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Ten appoints Yeesum Lo to head up local content development

Ten ViacomCBS has hired Yeesum Lo to fill the newly-created role of head of development, a month after announcing that KordaMentha’s Jarrod Villani would co-lead the business with Beverley McGarvey.

Lo, who previously worked as director of digital at Endemol Shine, will take charge of Australian content at Channel Ten after local content obligations were contested and, consequently, altered.

Lo joins after almost a decade at Endemol Shine

When the government scrapped children’s content quotas in September following pressure from commercial TV networks, and as part of a reformed regulatory framework, Ten’s McGarvey said the “reforms are a win for audiences, a win for networks and a win for the local production sector”.

“They promise fairness and flexibility, allowing us to continue to invest in the programs our audiences love while giving them the choice of the time and the place that they choose to watch them,” she said.

While 55% of the programs Seven, Nine, and Ten broadcast between 6am and midnight still have to be local content, simplified quotas mean that threshold can be met with a mix of drama, children’s content, or documentaries. The obligation for multi-channels – Bold, Peach, and Shake for Ten – to broadcast 1,460 hours of Australian content each year also still exists.

Lo will now be charged with shaping what that local content looks like, reporting directly to head of programming, Daniel Monaghan, who yesterday announced a new game show, The Cube, will be coming to Ten in 2021 and hosted by Andy Lee.

“As we continue to lead the way in showcasing the most talked about shows on Australian television, it is equally important to keep a firm focus on developing new and creative home-grown content that will engage and delight our audiences,” Monaghan said of the need for the role.

“Yeesum’s extensive experience in content both here and overseas, as well as her incredible passion for this industry, makes her an invaluable new member of our programming team.”

Monaghan and Lo

Lo spent almost a decade at Endemol Shine, most recently working on creative content and commercial strategy across a number of global formats. She started her career as an intern at NBC Universal in New York, before joining Endemol in Los Angeles as an intern and working her way up to manager of business development.

She said she is “thrilled to be joining the 10 ViacomCBS content team after working closely with Network 10 for so many years.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to build on 10’s strong slate of diverse and joyful Australian stories and discover new must-watch content that will strategically appeal to vital viewers across all screens.”

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