SKY STUDIOS PROMOTES BARNABY SHINGLETON TO DIRECTOR OF FACTUAL

Sky Studios, the production and development arm for Comcast-backed pay-TV operator Sky, has promoted Barnaby Shingleton to become Director of Factual, with a new remit that includes oversight of the UK and US factual producers. Shingleton will report to Sky Studios CEO Gary Davey and incoming CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz when she joins the business and takes over from Davey this September.

The rejig sees the former Zodiak Rights exec taking on overall responsibility for Sky Studios’ commercial investments, deficit funding, and international distribution of original documentaries. He will also oversee sales of third-party-funded projects for other broadcasters produced by Sky Studios’ production companies and take on direct responsibility for the division’s eight factual production companies in the UK & US.

Shingleton, who is currently Director of Documentaries, will also have direct responsibility for the studio’s portfolio of eight U.S. and U.K. factual production companies, including “Great British Bake Off” producer Love Productions, Jupiter Entertainment, Blast! Films, Transistor Films, Talos Films, True to Nature, Catalina Content, and True North. Unlike scripted content, which is jointly commissioned by Sky Studios and the originating Sky territory, factual commissioning sits within Sky’s channel teams in each of the company’s markets in the U.K., Italy, and Germany.

Before Sky Studios, Shingleton was Director of Entertainment and Factual at Sky’s now-defunct in-house distributor Sky Vision, where he oversaw and managed the non-scripted catalog. The sales arm, led by Jane Millichip (now a chief content officer for Sky Studios), was folded into NBCUniversal Global Distribution in October 2019. Before Sky, Shingleton was head of entertainment at Zodiak Rights/RDF, now part of Banijay Group.