RTÉ Global, the sales and distribution arm of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ Television, has promoted Janet Frawley to head of formats.
In her new role, she will grow the company’s format portfolio and direct and develop its Format Farm initiative, which develops and co-finances format ideas with the Irish independent production community. Pilots are then broadcast on RTÉ to test their market appeal.
“From paper to pilot, this initiative gives support to the production of original TV formats for both Irish and international audiences,” she said in a statement. “We have such confidence in the industry that Format Farm has expanded from an annual call-out for ideas to a year-round search for the best formats on the market.”
RTÉ plans to order the best format ideas to come out of Format Farm directly to series.
For the past six years, Frawley has developed and executive produced formats for RTÉ and was instrumental in reorganizing and relocating its flagship daytime show ‘Today’. Her credits include ‘Ireland’s Search and Rescue’. Before that she worked in daytime, lifestyle and special events programming for ITV Productions.
RTÉ Global’s 2014 MIPCOM format slate will include ‘Exiles’, a docuseries from Dublin-based Straywave Media about seven young Irish adults attempting to launch careers in Canada; and ‘#Missing You’, a series about long-distance relationships.
