Bartlett may be named ITV COO
Fox biz affairs chief may be replaced by Kurgan
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Bartlett will likely be named chief operating officer of ITV's Global Content arm next week. He'll report to Dawn Airey, director of ITV Global Content -- the company's production division.
Airey, ex-CEO at rival terrestrial web Five and a former content head at U.K. satcaster BSkyB, declined to confirm that Bartlett is her new No. 2. But the exec did say the company would announce who will fill that role next week -- and insiders pointed to Bartlett.
"It's a great appointment, and I am thrilled to bits about it," Airey said.
Among rumored candidates to replace Bartlett at Fox is the exec whom Bartlett replaced, Ira Kurgan. But that's unlikely at the moment: Kurgan, who spent 17 years at Fox before moving to Yahoo, remains committed as chief business officer of Yahoo Media Group.
Bartlett has been exec VP of business affairs at Fox since June 2005, focusing on programming issues and long-term business strategies. Besides overseeing all business affairs, Bartlett handles theatrical film acquisitions for the net.
Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori brought Bartlett over from Fox Cable Networks, where the two previously worked together when Liguori oversaw FX.
As exec VP of business affairs at Fox Cable Nets, Bartlett oversaw transactions for outlets including FX, National Geographic Channel, Fox Reality and Speed Channel. While there, he created a business template to license FX series such as "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me."
Prior to joining Fox Cable in 2000, Bartlett oversaw business operations at boutique production company Greenblatt Janollari Studio, working on shows including "Six Feet Under." He also spent time in business affairs at ABC and MGM.
Bartlett's appointment comes as ITV looks to aggressively beef up its production activities, both in the U.K. and overseas. Strategy is part of a turnaround plan spearheaded by executive chairman Michael Grade, who hired Airey last year.
But figures published Wednesday for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, show that sales from production fell 11% last year, from £632 million ($1.25 billion) to $1.11 billion.
ITV aims to double that figure to $2.3 billion by 2012, but analysts believe that may prove a long haul given last year's decline.
