Virgin Media Television Alum Pat Kiely Launches BiggerStage

BiggerStage, a new entertainment media venture, has been founded by Pat Kiely, the former managing director of Virgin Media Television.

The company has been created to develop original content for the global market and showcase Ireland as a leading hub for international television production. It will represent major established talent in broadcasting and entertainment and offer a development program for future stars. BiggerStage will partner with industry stakeholders, including advertisers, to develop new ways to fund and scale the audio-visual sector as well as leveraging market benefits and incentives in Ireland.

BiggerStage’s fundamental pillars of content production, talent management and building innovative commercial partnerships sees three industry specialists join Kiely in the launch. Sean O’Riordan takes the role of creative director, having previously worked in production and development positions at All3Media’s Betty, Chalkboard TV and the BBC. Funding and partnerships will be overseen by Jamie Macken, previous co-managing director of Ireland’s Core; and Jane Russell, founder of Outlaw Management, is joining BiggerStage with an existing roster of notable talent.

Headquartered in Dublin, BiggerStage is opening a U.K. office later this month and is currently in discussions with a number of U.S. agencies to establish BiggerStage’s presence in North America.

Pat Kiely, BiggerStage CEO, said: “Ireland can play a much bigger part in creating and producing world-class programming for the international market. Global demand for quality content has never been so high and BiggerStage will offer a unique approach, showcasing Ireland’s capabilities across TV production, format creation and talent development.”

He continued, “As a country, we enjoy so many benefits that are hugely attractive to international program makers. We also have an abundance of talent across the media industry that can fuel the demands of the major networks and streamers for whom popular content remains king. In joining some of the dots across our three pillars of activity, we hope we can play our part in helping Irish talent play on a bigger stage.”