TCB Media Rights Creates Commissioning Editor Role

TCB Media Rights has appointed former BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios) executive Hannah Demidowicz to the newly created position of commissioning editor.

Demidowicz will oversee the delivery of series such as A Killer’s Mistake and Extreme Love, with a further six to eight shows scheduled for MIPCOM launches to be added to her remit. Demidowicz comes to TCB Media Rights from BBC Worldwide, where she served as commissioning editor. In addition to commissioning content for international channels BBC Brit and BBC Earth, Demidowicz also made co-production partnerships with BBC Three, Channel 4 and ITV. Her credits include series such as Stupid Man, Smart Phone for BBC Brit/BBC Three and Fishing Impossible for BBC Earth/ITV.

TCB Media Rights reports that the new role is believed to be a first for a factual distribution business. Demidowicz’s appointment reflects the company’s emerging status as ‘mini-commissioner.’ In the past year, the distributor has greenlit approximately 50 hours of self-funded and co-developed projects to its portfolio of acquired content. TCB Media Rights has also stepped up its executive producing role.

Paul Heaney, the CEO of TCB Media Rights, said, “The appointment of such a commissioning superstar in Hannah is a real coup but also a natural next step for TCB. Our core function is as a traditional distributor, but we now have a duty of care to not only respect the investments made to the producers but also to ensure the show sells. We have been working with producers at the earliest stages since launch at the end of 2012 and now we have the competence, experience and resources to back it up. The buyers know they have ‘one of their own’ in Hannah.”

Demidowicz added, “All of my previous roles have been with broadcasters so as I understand it, this is the first time that an executive with my experience and skill set has joined an independent distributor—which in itself is new and exciting. The response to my appointment from TCB’s producer network has been overwhelmingly positive. With many distributors now involving themselves upstream in the development process, traditional roles and boundaries are becoming more fluid, as the creative industry adapts to the challenges of globalization.”