eOne brings TV & films together in rejig

Entertainment One has placed John Morayniss and Steve Bertram at the top of a newly unified business structure.

The pair have been appointed co-presidents of the consolidated eOne structure, which means film and TV production and distribution are under one roof.

Morayniss was previously CEO of Entertainment One Television, while Bertram ran the film arm, which sells The Hunger Games.

eOne had already signaled it would move film and TV closer together earlier this, though the plan initially focused on distribution.

The company has hired execs such as BBC Worldwide’s Joyce Yeung, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Dan Gopal and DRG’s Noel Hedges in recent months build out its distribution executive.

The new changes have led to what Morayniss described as “a small number” of redundancies, but he added the move meant the company was actually expanding in terms of head count.

Morayniss also told TBI here in Cannes that the unified structure was indicative of an approach that sees no longer sees a huge divide between film and TV distribution and production.

As an example, he said the company had optioned Gillian Flynn novel Sharp Objectas a feature, but switched it to TV project after deciding it needed a longer format to properly tell the story. “That was the moment we knew,” he added.

Darren Throop remains CEO of eOne, which is best known for shows such as Designated Survivor, the Peppa Pig brand and selling AMC zombie drama The Walking Dead.