Sky Vision Staffs Up, Inks Chalkboard Deal

LONDON: Sky Vision has signed an exclusive development and distribution pact with U.K. indie Chalkboard TV for new entertainment and factual entertainment shows, and has appointed an ex-Sony Pictures Television exec as director of comedy and drama.

Chalkboard TV was established by Ben Hall, formerly with Shine Network; Mike Benson, previously with Shine and BBC; and Warwick Banks, who was a producer on Total Wipeout. It is majority owned by IZEN Group, which is made up of Middle Eastern producer iMagic, Spanish indie Zebra Productions, and French outfit Elephant TV. Sky Vision will support Chalkboard TV in its development of entertainment and factual entertainment for U.K. broadcasters that can then be taken out to the international market. Sky Vision launched Chalkboard's game-show format Don't Ask Me at MIPCOM.

"It’s not often that a new production company is formed focusing on entertainment and fronted by such an experienced team as those at Chalkboard TV," said Barnaby Shingleton, the director of entertainment and factual at Sky Vision. "The ambitions for both Chalkboard TV and for Sky Vision are totally aligned: the creation and distribution of entertainment programming of scale and quality with global appeal."

In other Sky Vision news, Kylie Munnich is joining the company as director of drama and comedy in January 2015. She will report directly to Jane Millichip, the managing director, working with Sky’s commissioners and indie producers to develop new drama and comedy programming. She was previously senior VP for the U.K., Ireland and Africa at Sony Pictures Television.