Blue Ant Media has announced new leadership appointments to further strengthen its Kids, Family & YA business and reinforce the company’s commitment to this strategic growth area.

The appointments align Blue Ant Studios and Blue Ant Rights & Streaming around a coordinated commercial strategy across original productions, acquisitions, distribution, and consumer products. The integrated approach will better serve the company’s global partners and support the continued growth of its Kids, Family & YA portfolio, which includes breakout preschool series Tralala and BeddyByes, animated comedy-adventure series Mermicorno: Starfall, and the forthcoming live-action YA series Crew Girl (Netflix) and Camped Out (Netflix, BBC, CBC).

Supporting this unified approach, Diane Rankin has been promoted to EVP and General Manager, Content and Rights – Kids, Family & YA. In her expanded role, Rankin will lead the end-to-end commercial strategy for Blue Ant’s Kids, Family & YA portfolio, driving strategic coordination across original productions, acquisitions, distribution and consumer products to maximize the value of the company’s growing portfolio. Rankin will also continue to lead content development for the Kids, Family & YA business.

Nicola (Nikki) Andrews has been named to the new role of VP, Sales and Acquisitions – Kids, Family & YA, which she will assume full-time in September. Over the past year, Nikki has supported Blue Ant in a consultancy capacity, bringing her deep expertise and relationships in kids’ content distribution and acquisitions. In this new role, Andrews will lead sales and acquisitions across the Kids, Family & YA portfolio, further strengthening the company’s relationships with global partners and working closely with Blue Ant’s teams across key regional markets.

Vienna Downes has been promoted to VP and General Manager, Consumer Products, where she will lead Blue Ant’s Consumer Products business. In this role, she will oversee the company’s merchandising, licensing and commercialization strategies for the broader company, and will work closely with Rankin to maximize consumer products opportunities across the Kids, Family & YA portfolio. Since joining Blue Ant through the Thunderbird acquisition, Vienna has played a key role in expanding licensing opportunities for franchises including BeddyByes and Mermicorno: Starfall, helping expand the commercial opportunities for Blue Ant’s portfolio.

Additionally, Grace DeLorme is taking on a new role as Coordinator, Kids Sales, Consumer Products & Brand Marketing. Working closely with internal teams and external partners, DeLorme will help coordinate licensing, brand development, and marketing across the company’s Consumer Products business.

“This structure positions us to better serve our buyers and content partners, while creating more opportunities to invest in the exceptional content, partnerships, and talent that define Blue Ant’s Kids, Family & YA business,” said Jennifer Twiner-McCarron, President, Kids, Family & YA, Blue Ant Studios.

“Our Kids, Family & YA business is an important strategic growth area for Blue Ant. By further aligning our Studios and Rights & Streaming teams around a coordinated commercial strategy, we’re strengthening our ability to serve partners around the world and unlock new opportunities across our growing portfolio,” said Mark Bishop, Chief Monetization Officer, Blue Ant Rights & Streaming.

Following the acquisition of Thunderbird Entertainment by Blue Ant Media and the successful integration of its Kids media distribution and consumer products businesses, Richard Goldsmith, Executive Vice President, Kids & Family Sales and Brands, has decided to leave Blue Ant to pursue new opportunities.

Since joining Blue Ant, Richard has provided leadership and continuity throughout the integration process, bringing deep industry expertise and experience to the transition. Notably, he played a key role in establishing the global reach of the company’s kids and family franchises, helping to position the organization for its next phase of growth. We thank Richard for his contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.