Channel 4 integrates acquisitions as part of commercial affairs

10 May 2013

Head of Acquisitions Gill Hay to leave Channel 4

Channel 4 has confirmed that, as part of the structural review of the executive team announced by David Abraham last month, the Programme Acquisitions department will move to report through Director of Commercial Affairs, Martin Baker.

The move will more closely align the contractual and financial responsibilities of the acquisitions team with the wider team which currently supports commissioning, under a new integrated management structure for Business Affairs and Production Finance.  The move brings together responsibility for Channel 4’s strategy for deal making in acquired programme and film together with commissioned content and Film 4 production – whilst editorial decisions on acquisitions will continue to be made by Chief Creative Officer, Jay Hunt and the Channel 4 Commissioning team.

As part of the review Gill Hay, Head of Acquisitions will step down from her role later this month. Gill’s current commercial and legal responsibilities will be integrated within the wider Business Affairs and Production Finance department. Martin Baker will undertake a review of the Acquisitions department and, in the interim, will take responsibility for any major acquisitions deals.

Alongside these changes, Dominic Schreiber, Manager, International Development will move from 4 Rights to sit alongside the Acquisitions team, with a brief to develop and evaluate opportunities for Channel 4 to participate in the co-production of new scripted and non-scripted projects with like-minded partners around the world.

Gill said: “After 12 truly exceptional and rewarding years at Channel 4, this feels like an appropriate juncture for me to hand over the Acquisitions reins to Martin. I am extraordinarily proud of what the Acquisitions team has achieved over the years and wish Martin and the team all the best in the future.”

Martin Baker said: “Gill has done a terrific job heading up the Acquisitions department, in particular acquiring such successful series as Homeland, Glee, 2 Broke Girls and Revenge, as well as all of our acquired feature films, for Channel 4. We wish her every success for her future.

“Bringing Acquisitions into Commercial Affairs enables us to centralise the contractual and business responsibilities across all the commissioned and acquired content we broadcast and to operate more strategically across all the deals we do.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Gill Hay has occupied the post of Head of Acquisitions since 2008 and will step down from her role on 17th May.