ABC Head of Entertainment Nick Hayden will depart from the company next month following a three-year tenure. The executive will go on to pursue other opportunities.“After seven years with the ABC, including the past three as Head of Entertainment, Nick Hayden has decided to move on to other things," an ABC spokesperson said.
Hayden will conclude his tasks with the company in August. Rachel Millar will act in the Head of Entertainment role. The move is announces after ABC restructured its commissioning team as part of the new Content diviison, overseen by Chris Oliver-Taylor. During his time at ABC, Hayden oversaw the Entertainment department with a slate of programs that included "At Home Alone Together," "Whovians," "Tonightly," "The House with Annabel Crabb," "Ms Represented," "Gruen," "Hard Quiz," "The Weekly, You Can’t Ask That, led the relaunch of "Spicks and Specks," and co-created "Australia Talks." He also commissioned "Question Everything," "Win the Week," "Shaun Micallef’s Pagan Holiday Special" and the upcoming WTFAQ.
As Head of Entertainment he has overseen "Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery," "Win The Week," "Why Are You Like This?," "Ms Represented," "Back To Nature," "Frankly, Shaun Micallef’s Pagan Holiday Special," and the upcoming "FWTFAQ." He has been at ABC for 7 years, having joined in 2016 as an Executive Producer across shows such as "The House with Annabel Crabb," "Tomorrow Tonight, Spicks and Specks," "Tonightly," "Whovians," "Celeste Barber Challenge Accepted," "Hack Live," and "Fresh Blood."
Hayden recently formed part of ABC Managing Director David Anderson’s latest restructure with a focus on digital, remaining as the Head of Entertainment within the new Arts, Music, and Events division. He worked alongside Andrew Denton and Anita Jacoby on "Hungry Beast," which ran from 2009-2011. The series is credited with advancing media careers both in front of and behind the camera, serving as a big break for Kirsten Drysdale, Dan Ilic, Kirk Docker, Marc Fennell, andVeronica Milsom. Before joining ABC, Hayden was the creator and founding executive producer of "The Feed" for SBS. “ I’ve loved (almost!) every moment at ABC, particularly the content and the people," Hayden said. "After seven years, the time feels right to move onto other things. For those interested in those other things, ask me in a month or two. For now, I’ll enjoy simply being an avid viewer of ABC.”
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