COMMISSIONING EDITOR, CHILDREN’S AND EDUCATION, ABC TV

With over seventeen years in broadcasting, development and production, Chris joined ABC Television in May 2012 as Commissioning Editor, ABC Children’s. Chris is responsible for sourcing, developing and executive producing commissioned content for the ABC’s two dedicated children’s brands, ABC ME and ABC KIDS.

Since joining ABC Children’s, Chris has overseen several series for ABC ME and ABC KIDS including The Deep, nominated for Best Children’s Television Series at the forthcoming AACTA’s; Kazoops! and The Flamin’ Thongs, which won the 2015 AACTA Award for Best Children’s TV Programme; He is currently working on live action, factual and animated series due to launch in in 2017 and 2018.

Prior to joining ABC Television, Chris was responsible for new content development at HIT Entertainment and was Executive Producer on the International Emmy Award winning pre-school series Mike the Knight, which he developed. Chris joined HIT from the BBC, where he worked for over a decade in various roles, but principally within the acquisitions teams for CBBC and CBeebies.

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ABC-TV is the leading children’s broadcaster in Australia. ABC Children’s Television has responsibility for ABC KIDS (2-6 years), ABC ME (6-12 years) and ABC Children’s online, interactive and mobile offerings including via our on-demand platform, iview.

We develop and commission a comprehensive range of formats and genres from Australian independent producers. Commissions to international producers are rare, but we do occasionally co-produce via an Australian producer to ensure our Australian editorial values.

Some of our previous commissions include drama (Nowhere Boys, Ready For This, and Little Lunch), Animation (Tashi, Figaro Pho, and The Flamin’ Thongs), Factual Entertainment (Bushwhacked, My Year 12 Life, and My Great Big Adventure) and Comedy (You’re Skitting Me, and Worst Year of My Life Again).

ABC KIDS offers a mixed genre output presenting entertainment, light drama, comedy and factual content. Content that is specifically produced for younger audiences, at a pace and in a style that suits them and using a range of techniques including live-action and animation.

ABC ME is always on the lookout for new, memorable, innovative and distinctive ideas across all genres. The starting point should be a clear Australian audience connection and we would encourage content makers to think about their idea working for linear and digital together.