DRG Adds New Entertainment Post

LONDON: The Digital Rights Group (DRG) has named Ben Hall to the newly created role of chief creative officer of entertainment.

Hall was previously the creative director at BBC Worldwide, and also co-founded the format outfit The Chatterbox Partnership. For DRG, Hall will be managing a significant format development fund.

DRG’s CEO, Jeremy Fox, commented: "The time was right to add some additional creative firepower to our formats business. We want to work harder with producers to help them get new ideas on air and also to have a greater ability to work with broadcast and production partners to reinvent existing shows from across the DRG catalogue. Ben’s track record of creating and selling new shows across the world made him the perfect choice."

Hall added, "DRG has a strong formats catalogue through its Zeal Entertainment, C4i and iD businesses featuring hits such as This Is Your Life and Singing Bee sitting alongside famous formats such as 15-1, Game for a Laugh and Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush that are ripe for a return. But we also need to get more involved creatively and financially in development to secure the rights to the next generation of hits. My role is a simple one—find a good idea from producers or from the DRG catalogue, work to develop it, fund it to help put it on tape and then help find a broadcaster in a key territory to commission it, so that DRG can then distribute it to everyone’s benefit. I am looking forward to meeting broadcasters and producers at MIP to tell them more of our plans."