Bebo’s Shields sets up online producer with Shine

Producer and distributor Shine Group has partnered with former Bebo boss Joanna Shields to launch a digital production company.

The as-yet-unnamed company will invest, develop and pursue partnerships to mix traditional TV productions with social media.

Shields, who was previously chief executive of Bebo and president, communication and social media at AOL, will become chief executive of the new company, which will operate under the Shine Group umbrella. Shields will also joins Shine’s advisory board.

Bebo, under Shields leadership, was the first online platform to commission original web productions in the UK with series including Katemodern, produced by Lonelygirl15 creator Miles Beckett, and Sofia’s Diary, which went on to become a TV series on Five.

This move follows a period of expansion for Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine, which has set up local production divisions in Germany, France and Australia and acquired Scandinavian producer Metronome Film and Television.