TORONTO – Blue Ant Media unveiled Wednesday its new leadership team across the company’s still-to-be-named studio and rights business, led by co-presidents Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg.
The news follows Blue Ant’s acquisition of marblemedia in August, which saw the companies merge their respective production and distribution businesses into one unified studio and rights operation.
“In an era where creativity meets excellence, we proudly unveil Blue Ant Media’s dynamic new studio and rights executive team — a visionary ensemble dedicated to crafting compelling narratives for global partners and pushing creative boundaries. Together, they bring a tapestry of expertise, innovation and passion, poised to elevate our super-charged studio to unprecedented heights,” Bishop and Hornburg said in a statement.
Led by Hornburg, Blue Ant Media’s unscripted development team includes Jennifer Harkness (Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies for Peacock) leading development for factual entertainment in the studio’s Los Angeles office. In Toronto, Kelsey Espensen (Best in Miniature, Race Against the Tide) leads unscripted entertainment development, and Steve Gamester (Inside the Statue Wars, History by Numbers) leads specialist factual development.
The studio’s scripted development team is under the leadership of Bishop. Leading scripted drama and comedy is Carrie Paupst Shaughnessy (Davey & Jonesie’s Locker for Hulu and Amazon Prime Video) who will focus on scripted production, along with Melissa Williamson (Sitting Pretty) who oversees scripted development. AJ Trauth (Armadillo Avalanche, Generation Mars) leads the expanded kids, family and young adult division based in the studio’s L.A. office, and Josh Bowen (Doomlands) leads the animation studio in Toronto and its planned expansion.
At the helm of the production and post-production group is Donna Luke, who will work alongside Bishop and Hornburg to produce the company’s slate. Paul Kilback (Northwood Survival) continues to oversee factual series, working closely with Luke and Hornburg. Aileen Gardner (I Have Nothing) will lead and support production for unscripted, specialist factual and factual entertainment. Stefanie Haist (Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe) will lead and support unscripted entertainment productions.
In the London office, Diane Rankin leads commercial strategy and content financing for the studio’s distribution and production business, working closely with the company’s development teams in all genres alongside Ben Barrett, who oversees content financing and partnerships for the unscripted genre.
Bryan Gabourie and Gerbrig Blanksma lead all sales activities from originals, pre-sales, content licensing, co-productions and strategic partnerships in the Americas and EMEA, respectively. Lilla Hurst continues to lead the distribution team’s global acquisitions and content strategy from the London office.
Currently, the role of Blue Ant Media’s head of international sales in the recently merged studio structure remains open and will be announced in 2024, the company says. This key position, overseeing the global sales team, will be responsible for maximizing revenue from Blue Ant Media’s global catalogue of premium content across unscripted, scripted, natural history, kids and family, and animation content and sales activities across all rights and platforms, as well as working with internal stakeholders on ongoing corporate distribution strategy.
Photos of (l-r) Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg provided by Blue Ant Media.
