EXCLUSIVE: Skyscraper Live maker Plimsoll Productions is rebranding as Plimsoll Studios, with U.S. boss Alan Eyres returning to the UK to oversee an enlarged creative unit.

The reorganization sees ITV Studios (ITVS)-owned Plimsoll divided into five divisions: Natural History & Adventure, Live, Entertainment, Family & Kids and Digital. The latter two are effectively new, with Alex Ranken and Ged Mansfield leading the family unit and Aardman’s Neil Warwick hired as Senior Executive to lead digital.

Eyres moves from his L.A.-based role as Head of Plimsoll USA to Plimsoll’s Bristol headquarters, where he will become Chief Development Officer. In effect, this will see him overseeing Plimsoll’s development portfolio, assigning resources as and where they’re needed.

He will continue to report to Plimsoll founder and CEO Grant Mansfield, who said: “Alan has done a stellar job since joining us three years ago, helping to develop and executive produce some of our best and boldest titles, including Skyscraper Live and Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston. His new role puts him in a pivotal creative position at Plimsoll Studios, giving him strategic oversight of a hugely exciting, ambitious and diverse development slate.”

Plimsoll is best known for natural history shows such as Disney+’s A Real Bug’s Life, but has also moved into live events such as Netflix’s Skyscraper Live and is behind BBC series Secret Garden, which has been pitched to networks in the U.S. as a format, with greenlight nearing, we understand.

Eyres, who joined Plimsoll in 2023, added: “In an on-demand world where audiences have unprecedented choice, only the biggest and boldest ideas are able to break through. I’m thrilled to be playing a role in a production company synonymous with creatively audacious and ambitious projects across multiple genres.”

Warwick, who will run the digital division, created Aardman’s YouTube business, generating triple-digit revenue growth within its first year through shows such as Learning Time with Timmy. Plimsoll’s digital business, which was quietly established last year, will work with ITVS’s Zoo 55 and Studio 55 operations.

“Exploiting Plimsoll’s growing catalog of IP in the digital space plus creating new content is a key strategic priority for the company,” said Jonathan Jackson, Plimsoll’s COO and CFO. “Neil has done an incredible job building a digital presence for Aardman and we are confident he’ll do the same for Plimsoll.”

Plimsoll’s recent commissions include Nightmares of Nature with Blumhouse Television for Netflix, IMAX feature documentary Horse Power six-time Emmy award-winning A Real Bug’s Life for Disney+. This summer, the company is set launch Nat Geo/Disney+’s Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston and ITV’s Force of Nature. Older shows include Hostile Planet and Tiny World.

Plimsoll’s parent company, ITVS, is set to become an independent player with Sky announcing a £1.6B ($2.1B) deal to acquire the ITV network earlier this month. Plimsoll has been part of ITVS since 2022, when a £103.5M deal was struck.

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