Blue Ant restructures with Diane Rankin promoted

Canada’s Blue Ant Media has restructured its Kids, Family & YA divisin, with Diane Rankin taking on a new role and Richard Goldsmith departing.

The appointments aim to align Blue Ant Studios and Blue Ant Rights & Streaming around a coordinated commercial strategy across original productions, acquisitions, distribution, and consumer products.

Blue Ant Rights & Streaming was created in June, bringing together its global channels and streaming division with its distribution arm, with Carlyn Staudt departing as a result.

Diane Rankin becomes exec vice president and general manager of content and rights for Kids, Family & YA, leading the end-to-end commercial strategy for the unit.

Rankin will also continue to lead content development for the Kids, Family & YA business.

Former consultant Nicola (Nikki) Andrews has been named to the new role of vice president of sales and acquisitions for Kids, Family & YA, which she will assume full-time in September, while Vienna Downes has been upped to become vice president and general manager of consumer products.

Downes joined Blue Ant following its acquisition of Thunderbird Entertainment, with the latter’s exec vice president of kids and family sales, Richard Goldsmith, departing. His next move is not known.

Jennifer Twiner-McCarron, president of Kids, Family & YA at Blue Ant Studios, said the new structure “positions us to better serve our buyers and content partners, while creating more opportunities to invest in the exceptional content, partnerships, and talent that define Blue Ant’s Kids, Family & YA business.”

Mark Bishop, who heads up Blue Ant Rights & Streaming, added: “Our Kids, Family & YA business is an important strategic growth area for Blue Ant.

”By further aligning our Studios and Rights & Streaming teams around a coordinated commercial strategy, we’re strengthening our ability to serve partners around the world and unlock new opportunities across our growing portfolio.”