Barcroft rebrands and restructures

Barcroft is set for a rebrand as it forms a new operational structure to accommodate growth in digital revenues.

The reorganisation will see parent company Barcroft Holdings renamed as Barcroft Studios and its distribution, production and branded content labels Barcroft Media, Barcroft Productions and Barcroft Plus, phased out.

The company’s 60-strong team will now all work under the Barcroft Studios corporate brand, organised under production, development, commercial and operations divisions.

Barcroft Studios’ board, which comprises CEO Sam Barcroft, creative director Alex Morris and managing director Caspar Norman have implemented the new business model, similar to those utilised by Hollywood production studios, to better reflect the growing opportunities in a rapidly converging content marketplace.

A number of new hires will join as a result of the restructure. Wall to Wall Media’s Louise Murray will join Barcroft as head of production, and former Spun Gold/ Knickerbockerglory head of development Danny Whitfield will oversee external development.

Ex-BBC3 Deputy Editor Lizzie Wingham will also join as editorial commissioner, supporting the in-house production team as Barcroft Studios further increases its investment in original IP development and content production.

Barcroft Studios has also hired former Off The Fence commercial exec Georgina Eyre to help manage increased demand from distributors and broadcasters in the role of distribution consultant.

Monthly advertising revenue generated by the company’s digital content has increased tenfold from January to December 2018, according to the company. This was a result of the success of Barcroft original series such as Shake My Beauty (pictured), and the licensing and vertical optimisation of successful shows on YouTube for new platforms including Facebook Watch and Snapchat.

Other Barcroft businesses, press agency Barcroft Wire and photographic agency Barcroft Images, will be unaffected by the restructure.

“At Barcroft Studios, we have invested in original IP development for over a decade. We’ve now reimagined our group to best exploit the opportunities we’re seeing emerging from creating and distributing successful content. Barcroft is committed to delivering even more world-class factual entertainment, using amazing true stories to delight global audiences,” said Barcroft Studios CEO Sam Barcroft.