EXCLUSIVE: Disney‘s hunt for its next European content supremo reached the very highest echelons of the BBC, but the Mouse House looks to have emerged empty-handed.
Deadline can reveal that BBC content boss Charlotte Moore, the most powerful person in British TV and audio commissioning, held talks over a move to Disney, but ultimately turned down the opportunity. Disney and the BBC declined to comment.
Disney wanted Moore to become its next SVP of Original Content in EMEA. Recruitment for the role has been the talk of the UK TV industry since Deadline revealed Liam Keelan was exiting after five years. Keelan built an EMEA originals team from scratch and the show that will likely define his Disney legacy is Rivals, the big-budget Jilly Cooper adaptation that has been renewed for a second season. Others included doc series Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story and Daniel Brühl-starrer Becoming Karl Lagerfeld.
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Disney is aiming high with Keelan’s successor. The audacious effort to woo Moore is revealing of its plans for the role and its importance in the Mouse House’s ecosystem. The company is also understood to have approached Netflix’s UK chief Anne Mensah and Polly Hill, ITV’s head of drama.
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Although not formally involved in recruitment efforts, sources said Disney CEO Bob Iger and entertainment chief Dana Walden have taken an interest in the process and have been in Europe in recent weeks. The formal search is being led by Disney TV Studios President Eric Schrier, who oversees international content strategy.
It is not clear why Moore turned down the role, which would likely have increased her £468,000 ($600,000) salary, but reduced her content slate and spending power. People familiar with the process said the commercial demands of Disney and the centrifugal force of America would make it a very different proposition to the BBC.
Moore has overseen the BBC’s television output since 2016, adding audio and sport to her portfolio in 2020, when she was elevated to Chief Content Officer and joined the BBC Board after losing out to Tim Davie in the race to become Director General. She oversees thousands of hours of TV and has greenlit many of the country’s biggest hits, including Traitors, Fleabag, and The Night Manager. In recent times, the BBC and Disney have teamed on the regenerated Doctor Who.
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Sources told Deadline that Netflix UK content boss Mensah and ITV’s Polly Hill also had conversations with Disney, though it is not clear if they are willing to leave their current roles.
The pair have had a strong 12 months, with Netflix UK fare like Baby Reindeer, The Gentlemen and Fool Me Once going gangbusters for the streamer. Hill, meanwhile, is a well-respected commissioner who had a front-row seat as ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office generated headlines for weeks and had an outsized impact on the political landscape at the start of the year. She is also a former BBC drama boss.
If no one from the UK can be plucked, sources also speculated that Jon Wax, who joined Disney in the newly-created EVP, International Original Television for Disney Entertainment, post at the start of this year, could have his role expanded. The Los Angeles-based exec works with regional leaders and their teams across the globe to create local content for Disney+.
The search for Keelan’s replacement continues. Keelan, who worked with Moore for years at the BBC, will exit early next year.