marblemedia Expands Unscripted Development Team

Toronto-based marblemedia has appointed Mike Armitage as its new development producer for factual and factual entertainment.

Armitage’s remit at marblemedia will include finding dynamic talent and creating character-led, long-running, returnable factual series for the company’s production pipeline. He will be working closely with Diane Rankin, executive producer and senior VP at sister rights management company Distribution360. Armitage reports to both Rankin and marblemedia co-CEO Matt Hornburg.

Armitage joins marblemedia from Proper Television, where he was director of development. He has also worked for Banger and Antica Productions and spent a number of years at CBC.

In other marblemedia news, existing exec Kelsey Espensen sees her role expanded to become development producer for unscripted entertainment and formats. Reporting directly to Hornburg, she is tasked with creating original IP in the competition space and with sourcing global formats for marblemedia to acquire for production.

Hornburg said: “Mike Armitage is a tremendous talent and well-respected development executive with a successful track record for delivering original productions from concept to the screen. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team. Expanding our unscripted development team into two distinct areas of original production will serve the needs of our global buyers and further fuel the growth and scalability of our business.”

Armitage added: “I’ve followed marblemedia’s evolution in recent years and have been impressed with its increasingly strong factual output. Matt and the team are ambitious, with a clear vision, so it’s an exciting time to join the company, both in terms of output and creative reputation. It’s also a tremendous benefit for an independent producer to have such an experienced international executive within the business. I am really looking forward to working closely with Diane in a bid to create some new worldwide factual hits.”