Yeti development head joins sports indie Aurora

Yeti Television’s head of development Sarah Stevenson is joining live sports specialist Aurora Media Worldwide in a similar role, Broadcast can reveal.

Stevenson has been brought in as director of development to continue the All3Media-backed label’s expansion beyond its live sporting slate, including into long-form documentaries and brand and digital storytelling.

She will lead the development team and report to chief content officer Dominique Cutts.

Her appointment follows last year’s hire of Cruising with Jane McDonald director Jon Cowen as creative director to head up Aurora’s non-live department.

During her five years at Welsh indie Yeti, Stevenson has won over 100 hours of unscripted programming including its first streamer commission, the Prime Video feature doc Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack. She also helped the indie break into new genres, including true crime, food, history and talent led formats.

Before this, she was head of development at Emporium Productions, working on returning series including Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons for Netflix, Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday for 5 and Donal MacIntyre’s Murder Files’ for CBS Reality. She has previously worked in development teams at Raw TV, Betty, Mentorn Media and RDF Television.

Cutts called her “one of the most tenacious and ingenious development leads in the industry” and added: “In the current commissioning landscape, where the ability to source financing is becoming as significant as the ability to come up with incredible ideas, Sarah’s expertise really stands out.

“Her breadth of broadcaster and streamer relationships, extraordinary creative mind, and a wealth of experience in brand and distributor financing make her the perfect person to drive forward Aurora’s unscripted slate.”

Stevenson said: “Aurora is already a powerhouse at creating spectacular global content across sport, adventure, and lifestyle in some of the most exhilarating environments on the planet and I look forward to contributing to its legacy of excellence and embarking on this exciting new chapter together.”

She will be at the Edinburgh TV Festival in her new role to help introduce the company’s unscripted slate to the industry.

London-based Aurora Media Worldwide broadcasts high-impact live sports including Formula E, Nitrocross and SailGP. Its clients also include E1 Series, the ICC, Supertri, the Olympic Channel, LTA and World Aquatics.