GRB Studios’ C. Scot Cru

Former Mark Burnett Productions executive C. Scot Cru, who recently joined GRB Studios as president of international, tells TV Real about his plans for building out the company’s footprint.

Cru had previously led the international arm of Mark Burnett Productions, producer of Survivor and The Apprentice. During that time, he was spearheading the production outfit’s international expansion efforts.

***Image***TV REAL: What appealed to you about joining GRB?
CRU: GRB is truly an independent production and distribution company. I love working in that space and not being tied down by the bureaucracy of a major studio. We’re able to be nimble and respond to the needs of the partners quickly. The company’s founder, Gary Benz, and I are like-minded in the belief that at the end of the day, good storytelling and content is what builds a company. I’m looking forward to concentrating on that.

TV REAL: What from your experience leading Mark Burnett Productions’ international arm can you tap into for this role?
CRU: When I first went to work for Mark, some 18 years ago, his company was similar in size to what GRB is. We developed and maintained relationships with A-class producers and content creators worldwide. I intend to expand the relationships I currently have and build GRB into the go-to production and distribution house for broadcasters and producers worldwide.

TV REAL: What is the strategy for increasing sales?
CRU: It comes down to having good content to provide our customers. I believe that a diverse slate, both in finished tape and formats, is key to growing a company. So is having a sales team that understands what buyers want. Having a diversity of product is key so that you can answer as many needs as you can from broadcasters and producers around the world.

TV REAL: Will you be looking to increase the amount of third-party acquired content?
CRU: We definitely are. We want to be good partners. What we don’t want is to acquire content just for the sake of expanding our catalog. We want to acquire content that we believe we can sell to our network of broadcast partners around the world, and content is key.

TV REAL: What are the plans for ramping up the production side of the business?
CRU: We’ve already started by aligning with great partners like Highway Entertainment in Toronto. I did a lot of work with them in the past to break content outside the U.S. We’ll be making some major announcements in that area at MIPCOM.

TV REAL: What’s guiding the strategy for expanding the company’s international footprint?
CRU: The overriding strategy is to partner with A-class, like-minded producers and broadcasters that are looking to expand their own footprint in the U.S. GRB has been producing Emmy Award-winning content in the U.S. for more than 30 years. That opens a lot of doors that may not be available to independent producers or even broadcasters outside the U.S. It’s a very important part of GRB’s strategy to build out internationally.

TV REAL: When you look at the factual programming landscape, where do you see the greatest opportunities?
CRU: I love the factual space. At its core, factual television is really a form of great storytelling; often in that form, the subjects are telling their own stories, but they’re produced and edited in a fashion that’s compelling to watch. One of my favorite novelists and poets, Katherine Dunn, once said: “Every doorway, every intersection has a story.” At GRB, we are constantly looking for those stories to share.