Fremantle has appointed Ben Crompton as its new global head of entertainment.
Crompton joins Fremantle from NBCUniversal, where he was vice president of international unscripted programming. Prior to that, he led US operations as US Executive Vice President of Lime Pictures, the British production group behind shows like Netflix. Dance monsterS, MTV A real lies and ABC Who do you believe? He has also held senior creative and strategic roles at Warner Brothers in Australia, and Eyeworks and ITV Studios in the UK.
Crompton will take on the new role later this month, reporting directly to Fremantle Global CEO Jennifer Mullen.
“It is a great honor to join Fremantle and to work with Jennifer and such a wonderful team,” Crompton said in a statement. “I’ve admired Fremantle for a long time – a company known for its creativity, innovation and pioneering formats. I can’t wait to get started and collaborate with the exceptional talent across the Fremantle business.”
Crompton replaces Andrew Linares, who resigned last month after three years in the position.
“We are delighted to welcome Ben to Fremantle,” Mullen said in a statement. “He is a commercially minded leader with a deep understanding of the industry, not only from a development and production perspective, but also from a commercial and strategic standpoint. I look forward to working closely with Ben and our extremely talented team at this very exciting time for our business – as we build on our successes and continue to push the creative boundaries together.”
The move follows two key appointments for Fremantle’s TV business last month, with the company naming Jamal Robinson as its new head of US production, both scripted and unscripted, and naming Emily Knight the company’s senior vice president of non-scripted development. In another change in January, Christian Vesper stepped down as Fremantle’s chief executive of global drama and film after a decade in the role.
Fremantle, controlled by German broadcaster group RTL, is one of the world’s leading independent production companies, with a range of global formats including The Masked Singer, Factor Xand Got talent. According to its own figures, last year the company delivered 345 commissions and 302 productions in 62 regions.
