ITV Studios Names International Format Director

LONDON: Mike Beale has been tapped for the newly created post of director of international formats at ITV Studios, joining the company from NBCUniversal.

Beale most recently served as the VP of international television production at NBCU. Prior to this he was the managing director of Alchemy Reality. He also previously co-founded the ITV Studios production company 12 Yard Productions.

In his new format role at ITV Studios, Beale will be responsible for coming up with a strategy to support the company’s growth through format exploitation. He will work closely with ITV Studios Global Entertainment to oversee the international management of ITV Studios’ in-house titles and acquired formats. ITV Studios Global Entertainment will continue to license formats in territories where the business does not have a production presence, led by Tobias de Graaff, the director of global television distribution.

Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, said “We’ve already produced several pilots this year and with many more in the pipeline there’s a clear need for a dedicated international formats expert to ensure we exploit promising new ideas to their full potential. As Adam set-out in ITV’s Transformation Plan, it’s crucial we use local success as a springboard for international growth; we’re looking forward to working with Mike to support our international teams in achieving this.”

Beale added: “With new creative leadership and a strong ambition to grow internationally, this feels like a fantastic time to be joining ITV Studios. I’m looking forward to working with the creative teams in the U.K. and internationally and ITV Studios Global Entertainment, to support the distribution of original global formats to broadcasters around the world.”