Sky Vision has hired former Zodiak Rights managing director Jane Millichip as it looks to shore up its relationships with independent producers.
Millichip will become director of sales and global brands at Sky Vision and will report to managing director Carl Hall. She will join at the end of January and will help oversee a move into new genres, particularly drama and comedy.
Millichip left the sales arm of Zodiak Media earlier this month after the company restructured its international distribution business and launched five genrespecific divisions. Her appointment is partly intended to quell fears that Sky could increasingly insist on international distribution rights when making commissioning decisions.
“Hiring Jane and [former BBC Worldwide exec] Angela Neillis sends a message to the production community that we want to build even stronger relationships with indies,” said Hall.
“Those producers we have already met will know that they have choices when working with Sky. I have an amazing team that can offer indies a high-quality service for their programmes and development needs. Our mission is to secure distribution on merit.”
Millichip will join the company’s senior management team, which also includes commercial director Connie Hodson and finance and operations director Mike Shanks. She will work closely with head of global sales Leona Connell.
Millichip, who worked at RDF Rights before its rebrand and was a senior commissioning editor at pay-TV broadcaster Living, is Sky Vision’s biggest hire since the News Corp-backed company acquired Parthenon last year. It also recently hired Neillis as head of acquisitions and former Target Entertainment head of sales Karen Wise as senior sales manager.
Hall said: “When Sky Vision was formed, our aim was to become one of the UK’s leading distributors, and I wanted to form a team of people with the potential to make that a reality. Jane is renowned for her knowledge and passion for the UK independent production community across a range of genres.”
Sky Vision currently distributes series including David Attenborough- fronted Kingdom Of Plants and The Toilet: An Unspoken History, but is looking to aggressively boost its scripted catalogue. It has taken some international rights from Sky’s latest drama slate and Hall expects to launch at least two major shows for Mip TV in April.
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