New Head of Commissioning at SBS

SYDNEY: SBS has tapped Alison Sharman, who previously held roles as the director of factual and daytime for ITV and the controller of children’s at the BBC, for the new position of head of commissioning.

Sharman will be responsible for leading the commissioning strategies for SBS One and SBS 2. She takes on the new post in August.

Sharman has been the director of factual and daytime at ITV since 2006. She began her career at the BBC, where she was the controller of BBC Daytime in 2002. In that role, Sharman commissioned such shows as MasterChef, Eggheads and The Afternoon Play. In her previous post as the controller of children’s at the BBC, Sharman had oversight for CBBC and CBeebies, having commissioned such series as In the Night Garden and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Tony Iffland, SBS’s director of television and online content, said: “Sharman joins SBS at an exciting time as we seek to build on our reputation for telling diverse Australian stories through impactful content that pushes the boundaries and gets people talking.

“Having a dedicated head of commissioning as part of the SBS team will be an important part of meeting the challenge of entertaining audiences across our platforms with innovative and thought-provoking local content in a competitive and fragmenting media market.”

Sharman commented: "I am delighted to be joining SBS and look forward to this exciting and challenging opportunity. My ambition is to build on SBS’s success and grow its reputation for being one of the world’s most unique and diverse broadcasters.”