BBC Studios factual commercial director lands at Endeavor’s IMG

Ian Moffitt

BBC Studios (BBCS) commercial director of factual, Ian Moffitt, has taken up the newly created role of VP of business development for Endeavor’s IMG.

Moffitt, who was most recently leading commercial for BBCS’s factual production arm, will be responsible for the growth of IMG’s production and studios business in the UK and internationally, working closely with IMG’s VP and business development director, Jo Ormston.

He will be based at IMG’s studio facilities in Stockley Park, London and report directly to IMG’s EVP of studios, Barney Francis, who joined the company from Sky in 2021.

Background & context

Moffitt’s move follows a two-and-a-half year stint at BBCS, during which shows including Apple TV+’s Prehistoric Planet and BBC One’s Dinosaurs: The Final Day were produced.

Prehistoric Planet

He joined BBCS following changes to the production division’s factual operations under Tom McDonald, who subsequently left in March last year to join Nat Geo, with former Vice Media exec Kate Ward taking up his remit as MD of factual in September 2022.

BBCS has been rejigging its structure of late, yesterday revealing a reorganisation of its documentary arm.

A month earlier, BBCS Productions confirmed it was merging its entertainment & music, fact-ent and events & international units with its formats teams into a single global entertainment business led by Matt Forde.

Prior to BBCS, the exec worked for the London arm of LA-based talent agency ICM, where he represented UK and European production companies as well as documentary directors.

Moffitt moved to LA to run Transend, an international rights joint venture between Endeavor and IMG, before spending four years at BBC Worldwide Productions LA. He has also worked for Machinima and Yahoo in commissioning and programming roles.

IMG’s Francis said: “This has been a tremendous year for growth of our studios business, landing globally significant production projects like Apple’s MLS Season Pass, the FIFA Women’s World Cup on BBC and Channel 4’s England international coverage, with more to come.

“We’re delighted to have Ian on board to drive this even further and expand our opportunities both internationally and domestically.”

Moffitt added: “This is an incredibly exciting time to join the team at IMG, as the global appetite for sports programming and coverage continues to grow apace.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with the team and the opportunity to be part of the growth and expansion of one of the most innovative and respected sports producers in the world.”

IMG produces live coverage for organisations including the Premier League, English Football League, MLS, CBS’s UEFA Champions League and Europa League coverage, and Grand Slam Tennis.