10 People To Meet At The Market

Jason Thorp,
Managing director,

FIC UK, Africa

Fox International Channels has been rapidly expanding over the last few years and this growth is well-illustrated by the success of its British pay TV channel FX, run by Jason Thorp.

Thorp, who joined the company as VP, broadcasting and marketing in 2003 after serving as director of programming at the Sci Fi channel, is managing director, FIC UK and Africa. He has been lauded for the channel’s savvy slate of US acquisitions, picking up some of the buzziest shows including HBO’s The Wire, True Blood and Eastbound and Down and CBS Studios International’s Dexter and NCIS for relatively low licence fees.

The company has also acquired a number of series for its entire international channel base including Shaftesbury Films’ The Listener and AMC’s forthcoming graphic novel-turned-zombie-thriller The Walking Dead and is looking for more.

Thorp has separately been responsible for the launch of five of its channels – Fox Entertainment, FX, Fox Retro, Baby TV and Fuel – in South Africa earlier this year via the On Digital Media platform and will be looking for content. He reports to FIC’s chief operating officer Hernan Lopez and chief executive David Haslingden and was also handed the reigns of National Geographic’s channels in the United Kingdom.

Where to find him? Fox International stand RB.34 or the bar at the Grand Hotel.