Alison Warner Tapped to Lead New Blue Zoo Brand Rights Biz

After 19 years of creating and production multi-BAFTA-winning animated TV content for kids, Blue Zoo is bolstering its position as a world-class entertainment company by branching into rights management for its own IP and third-party properties.

The new division, Blue Zoo Rights, will be headed by Alison Warner as Managing Director, overseeing the growth of the studio’s slate as well as handling pre-sales, distribution, brand management and merchandising. Warner will also be seeking new projects to complement and diversify the portfolio.

Warner brings 20 years of industry experience to this post, having acted as Vice President of Sales, Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Technicolor since 2011, developing Atomic Puppet (Disney XD) and The Deep (Netflix) from a graphic novel of the same name. Prior roles include Vice President of Sales and Co-Production at Cookie Jar Entertainment, responsible for the sales of properties such as Arthur, Ella the Elephant, Caillou and Richard Scarry.

“I am truly delighted to be joining the fantastic Blue Zoo team and tasked with setting up a brand new division within the company,” said Warner. “It comes at a time where the U.K. animation industry is looking extremely positive with the U.K. Tax Credit in place and the Young Audience Content Fund launching and I look forward to helping grow both Blue Zoo’s U.K. and international presence as a brand rights company.”

“I’m so excited to welcome Alison to Blue Zoo at this significant time for us. With opportunities a plenty, her passion and know-how will be invaluable in realizing the great ambitions we both share,” said Adam Shaw, Co-founder Blue Zoo Animation.

Co-founder Oli Hyatt, MBE, commented, “Having known Alison for 15 years, I’m certain she shares Blue Zoo’s strongly held belief in quality programming and producing the very best content for young audiences. It is an honor to be starting a business with someone who has such a wealth of experience and I look forward to many years of success together.”

One of the U.K.’s leading animation studios, Blue Zoo has produced some of the most well-loved children’s series on TV, including Numblerblocks, Alphablocks, Go Jetters, Miffy, Tree Fu Tom and the new Paddington series currently in production.