Marlo Miazga named as president of Sphere Kids & Family division

Marlo Miazga

Canadian producer/distributor Sphere Media is bringing its English language children’s factual, scripted and animation units under one Kids and Family banner, to be headed by Marlo Miazga, currently president, unscripted and documentaries. Miazga will also continue in her role overseeing all other non-scripted output.

The expansion of Miazga’s remit follows the announcement that Sphere Animation president Jacques Bilodeau is retiring later this year, after a 30-year career in Canada’s animation industry. Bilodeau founded digital studio Oasis Animation in 2003, which grew to become the largest 2D animation production studio in Quebec. In 2019, Oasis was acquired by Sphere and rebranded Sphere Animation.

Bruno Dubé, Sphere’s president and CEO, said: “Jacques has undoubtedly been a fundamental contributor to the success story of Sphere. As a colleague, entrepreneur, professional and creative, I am profoundly grateful to him for giving us such a significant time in his illustrious career. Those shoes can never be filled, but I’ve watched Marlo’s stewardship over the past couple of years of an innovative, diverse and award-winning slate of kids and family shows. I know she is perfect for the job of creating something new with the cohesion needed for the ambitions we hold.”

Before he stands down, Bilodeau will work with Miazga to fold Sphere Animation into the new Kids and Family unit. Miazga will be supported in her new role by Andrea Griffith, who has been promoted from her current role as director of English unscripted content to Kids and Family’s VP of development and content.

The reorganisation of Sphere Kids and Family is part of a strategic plan that started last April, when the company rebranded its specialist units under the Sphere banner and reorganised its internal teams to harness synergy and collaboration. The rationalisation also saw Sphere open new animation facilities in Ottawa.

Miazga said: ‘Pulling together the combined creative genius that exists in our locations will exponentially increase our potential. The combination of one of the world’s most recognised animation service providers with the capacity for original IP creation means we can now stake our claim as a major global player in this sector.”