BBC Studios appointed Rose Hughes to lead Global Format Sales

BBC Studios has appointed Rose Hughes as its new Senior Vice President of Global Format Sales. Hughes will be responsible for the sales strategy of unscripted and scripted formats. She will lead the Global Format Sales team and report to Jacob de Boer, EVP of Global Entertainment, as she returns to BBC Studios. She previously held the role of Senior Sales Executive, Formats Licensing, Nordics, and Benelux. Hughes takes up her new role in February 2025

Jacob De Boer, EVP Global Entertainment said: “I’m delighted to welcome Rose back to BBC Studios to lead our Global Format Sales, a pivotal role for driving commercial revenues of the business. Bringing with her a fantastic track record and a wealth of experience she is the ideal person to take our globally renowned unscripted and scripted formats to even more audiences around the world.”

Hughes added: “Globally iconic brands like The 1% Club, Dancing with the Stars, The Great Bake Off, The Office and Ghosts showcase the incredible depth of BBC Studios’ catalogue. With world leading creators delivering a pipeline of exciting new formats such as radical reality dating format, The Honesty Box, anti-love story Homebound 3.0, and noir thriller Blackshore, it’s an inspiring time to return. I’m eager to expand beloved brands and bring innovative new formats to even wider audiences.”

Hughes brings 15 years of experience in TV distribution working across a range of genres and joins from Seven One Studios, where she is currently VP of Sales. Here, she collaborates with award-winning producers, including Snowman (Married at First Sight) and CPL (A League of Their Own). She secured key partnerships in the growth of "Stranded on Honeymoon Island," including the second international commission of the format with Seven Networks Australia and a prestigious BBC One commission. After a four-year hiatus, she also negotiated the revival of "Married at First Sight" in New Zealand and oversaw a CBS pilot pickup of the scripted German format Einstein. Hughes also created innovative brand enhancement deals such as the "Married at First Sight" AVOD and FAST partnership with Nine Australia, which included over 900 hours of the brand.

Prior to Seven One, she was VP of Finished Programmes, Formats, Co-Productions, and Pre-Buys at Keshet International. Here, she led the strategy and relationships of format and tape sales across Digital, Scandinavia, the UK, the US, and Canada. At Keshet International, Hughes led the first Scandinavian commissions of "Singletown," securing double simultaneous commissions in Denmark and Norway. She negotiated notable scripted remakes, including SVT Sweden’s remake of Stockholm and NPO’s commission of "Yellow Peppers" (remade for the BBC as The A Word). Additionally, she brokered Amazon’s first Hebrew global acquisition, "The Baker and The Beauty," and the Disney financing pre-buy of "Ralph and Katie," a spin-off of "The A Word."