The BBC has finalized the transition of its Children’s In-House Productions division from the public service broadcaster to commercial arm BBC Studios.
Rebranded as BBC Studios Kids & Family, the amalgamation completes a process that began in March last year, when the BBC announced that the absorption of the in-house kids production team would play a significant role in the British pubcaster’s five-year plan to increase BBC Studios’ financial returns by 30%.
The restructure is designed to transform some of the Beeb’s proprietary kids shows—both new and existing ones—into global entertainment brands that will air on a wide variety of other linear networks and streaming platforms.
The new division is using BBC Studios/Ludo Studio animated hit Bluey as a case study for the strategy. The series has already sold well internationally, airing on Disney Junior and Disney+ worldwide. And now BBC Studios Kids & Family plans to introduce popular UK shows, such as Hey Duggee from Studio AKA, to new audiences worldwide.
Former WarnerMedia EMEA VP Cecelia Persson was brought in last December to lead the new division as MD. She is working alongside director of content for kids and family Henrietta Hurford-Jones and head of kids & family production Helen Bullough.
Another key move for the company was the recent appointment of Rebecca Glashow as BBC Studios’ first CEO of global distribution. Now that BBC Studios Kids & Family is operational, she has big plans for kids content distribution, and is looking to hire a London-based global sales director for children’s programming.