EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is continuing to bolster its London-based division after Jason Crosby, former COO of NBC Universal-owned producer Monkey, joined its unscripted team.
Crosby, who was Chief Operating Officer at the Made In Chelsea indie for over three years, has joined the SVOD platform as Director of Unscripted, Comedy and Docs Production, across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He reports to Netflix Director of Production Jason Mussman.
He is the latest exec to join Netflix’s burgeoning London team, following the appointment of former Canal Plus executive Diego Buñuel and Kate Townsend’s move from LA to London. Both are responsible for expanding the company’s slate of factual titles in the UK and Europe.
Crosby was a co-exec producer on Bravo’s reality series Newlyweds: The First Year. He joined Monkey in 2011 as Director of Operations. Prior to that he had been a production executive at NBC Universal International Television Production and held roles at Have I Got News For You and Flack producer Hat Trick and gameshow maker 12 Yard Productions.
Crosby’s hire and the expansion of its London non-scripted, comedy and docs team comes as Netflix is aggressively bolstering its global operations. The company, which has 72.8M subscribers internationally compared to 57.4M in the U.S., has been sending execs around the world to be closer to production teams and creators.
It has also been looking to grow its physical production presence, mostly on the scripted side. In July, it announced the establishment of its first European production hub; a major new campus at Ciudad de la Tele in Madrid, which will be a central facility for its growing slate of Spanish-language shows, including those to emerge from its overall deal with Money Heist creator Alex Pina.
It is thought that Netflix is similarly looking for production space in the UK. It recently backed Shepperton Studios’ proposals to expand its facilities. In its submission in August, Netflix said it “welcomed” the proposals. “We would make great use of new facilities for our original productions in the UK,” it noted. “In 2018, Netflix plans to spend approximately $8Billion on content worldwide, across more than 700 television and film productions. We would like to be able to produce more in the UK, and at Shepperton in particular; however, we are limited by the lack of available space.”
Credit: Source link
