Cineflix Media has announced that its CEO of Rights Chris Bonney is set to retire in mid-2021 after a brief period of transition, during which the company will undergo a search for his successor.“Over the last eight years, Chris has played a pivotal role in positioning Cineflix Media as a global content powerhouse,” said Glen Salzman and Katherine Buck, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Cineflix Media. “Under his skillful leadership, he has assembled a phenomenal team at Cineflix Rights and has drawn up a solid blueprint for enduring momentum and success."
Bonney joined the company over eight yers ago to help lead its company’s sales and acquisitions divisions. Under his guidance, the company blossomed into the UK’s largest independent television content distributor, garnering a roster of 100 creative producer partners. the company now sells a catalog of over 5,000 hours of high quality scripted and factual content to over 500 broadcasters and platforms around the world.
During his time at Cineflix Rights, Bonney increased the company’s third-party slate to almost 50 percent of its overall portfolio, reflecting an innovative financing models to help stem production partnerships, including Cineflix Productions. He has overseen the company during a time of major expansion of its scripted activities, with recent sales deals for international titles such as “Tehran,” “Marcella,” “Happily Married,” “The Minister,” and “An Ordinary Woman” alongside the worldwide roll-out of Cineflix Studios’ Coroner and “Wynonna Earp” to existing broadcasters and new streaming platforms. “Chris is very well-respected by his colleagues and peers alike, and we’re sad that he will be stepping down,” Salzman and Buck said. “However, we are grateful that he will continue to drive the company forward while we recruit his successor. And of course, Chris will always remain part of the Cineflix family.”
Besides leading a team of over 30 members of staff, Bonney has greatly contributed to the growth of Cineflix Rights’ factual slate, creating global TV franchises and successful partnerships with producers like LMNO, Windfall Films, Finestripe, Scott Brothers Entertainment, and Hoff Productions. “Cineflix Rights is now well placed as a distributor with a highly successful scripted business alongside its longstanding factual operations,” Bonney said. “After 35 years in the industry, it feels like the right time for me to make a move to a new phase in life, and for a new hand to take the company to its next stage.”