Sky Studios CCO Jane Millichip To Depart Amid Wider Restructure

Sky Studios Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip is departing the Comcast-owned pay-TV giant after nine years amid a wider restructure.

In an internal note sent this morning, seen by Deadline, Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz praised Millichip’s “huge contribution” since she joined to head up production and distribution arm Sky Vision (now Sky Studios) in 2013.

Sky Vision’s revenues skyrocketed from £8M ($10.8M) to £250M ($340M) under Millichip’s leadership, according to Frot-Coutaz, and Millichip has since expanded her role to lead on UK editorial activities that have spawned Sky Studios hits such as A Discovery of Witches and Der Pass.

Frot-Coutaz has restructured the Sky Studios division to “enable us to better deliver on our significant ambition in original content,” with senior execs Gabriel Silver, Preethi Mavahalli, Jon Mountague, Nils Hartmann and Rebecca Segal set to report directly to her when Millichip departs in April.

Chief Operating Officer Caroline Cooper will see her role expanded to encompass commercial as well as production and Sky Studios Elstree. Julian Dexter, Jason Simms, Bee Devine and Rob Siegel, who lead on Business Affairs, International Scripted, Content Operations and Corporate Development respectively, will all report to Cooper.

Frot-Coutaz said: “Given the interdependencies of our operations, commercial and business affairs teams, bringing them together under a single leadership structure will allow us to move quicker, streamline decision making and foster greater collaboration.”

Millichip’s email to staff, also seen by Deadline, said the decision to leave was “agonizing.”

She added: “In the nine years I have been at Sky we have evolved from a company principally known for its acquired content to a centre of excellence for Originals. And we have built a commercial model that means the Sky Original brand is seen throughout the world.”

She thanked Frot-Coutaz, who joined from YouTube five months’ ago, for her “support and collaboration,” and said she has a “great plan for Sky Studios.”