Chris Oliver-Taylor is set to become the ABC’s first chief content officer.
Oliver-Taylor is a stalwart of the screen industry, having been managing director of NBCUniversal’s Matchbox Pictures and CEO of Fremantle Asia Pacific.
He’s currently the director of production for Australia and New Zealand at Netflix.
In the newly created role at the ABC, he will report to managing director David Anderson and be responsible for the new content division which was created from the merger of the entertainment and specialist, and regional and local, divisions.
At the moment, Jennifer Collins is acting as director of entertainment and specialist, and Warwick Tiernan and Lee Glendinning have been acting as director of regional and local.
Collins and Tiernan will maintain their roles when Oliver-Taylor commences later this month. When the new structure comes into effect on July 1, Collins will take on a senior content role in the merged content division.
Anderson said the new role and Oliver-Taylor’s appointment came at an important time in the ABC’s history.
“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,” he said.
“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 he was thrilled to be bringing his experience to the ABC at a vital time for the broadcaster.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Netflix has not yet announced its plans to replace Oliver-Taylor, but Anna Mallett, VP of production for APAC, EMEA and the U.K., said: “Chris is hugely talented and has made significant contributions leading our studio in Australia and New Zealand 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 content partner.”