TORONTO, ON – February 4, 2026 — Blue Ant Media today announced a strategic repositioning of Blue Ant Studios, introducing a genre-based operating model, streamlined studio branding, and a strengthened senior leadership team designed to accelerate growth across development, production, and global content monetization.
The changes follow Blue Ant’s recently completed acquisition of Thunderbird Entertainment and its reverse takeover of Boat Rocker Media, which significantly expanded the company’s size and scope, adding new capabilities, talent and IP.
A Genre-Based Model for Blue Ant Studios
Blue Ant Studios will continue to be led by Co-Presidents Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg, with Hornburg overseeing content strategy, development, and production, and Bishop leading content monetization, rights, and commercial strategy. This structure aligns creative leadership and commercial execution more closely across the studio ecosystem.
Under the new structure, Blue Ant Studios will be organized around genre-based centres of expertise, reflecting how content is developed, financed, and produced in the global market.
- Kids, Family & YA will be led by Jennifer Twiner McCarron, President, reporting to Hornburg. McCarron’s portfolio will encompass scripted, animation, and youth-focused content. Atomic Cartoons and Jam Filled Entertainment will continue to operate under their established brands within this pillar.
McCarron’s direct reports will include Joel Bradley, President, Atomic, Lori McIndoe, President, Jam Filled, Tori Coulthart, EVP, Production, Jam Filled, and Lindsay MacAdam will continue to lead and grow the scripted business on behalf of Blue Ant. - Blue Ant Studios’ Unscripted division will combine the company’s factual and lifestyle expertise into a single, unified group, creating a larger and more formidable unscripted centre of expertise. The consolidated division is designed to provide a more streamlined approach to engaging with buyers, financing content, and supporting long-running and returning series across factual, lifestyle, and documentary programming.
The Unscripted team will be led by Cathie James, who has taken on an expanded role as Executive Vice President, Content, alongside Lesia Capone, who is growing her remit as Executive Vice President, Production. Both will report to Hornburg.
As part of these changes, the Great Pacific Media brand and ProperTV brand will sunset. Additionally, Great Pacific CEO David Way will be leaving the organization to take on advisory and consulting work, drawing on more than 30 years of experience leading creative businesses. - Blue Ant Studios’ third stream will be anchored by Insight Productions, with John Brunton continuing on at the helm as CEO, and reporting to Hornburg. Insight will continue to be focused on the premium entertainment work they are known for including large scale franchises and reality competition series.
“This new structure sets Blue Ant Studios up for the next phase of growth,” said Hornburg. “Organizing around genre-based creative leadership allows us to develop and produce more ambitious slates, move more efficiently, and better support creators and partners as we build shows and franchises designed to travel globally.”
Expanded Blue Ant Rights Capabilities
The company also announced an expansion of Blue Ant Rights, the Company’s distribution arm, adding to its capabilities in kids and family sales, licensing, and consumer products across all genres. Joining the Rights team are Richard Goldsmith, EVP, Kids & Family Sales and Brands, and Vienna Downes, Director, Consumer Products & Licensing. Both will report to Bishop.
With the acquisition of Thunderbird, we have added an additional 1100 owned hours to our catalog, bringing us to a total of more than 9000 hours of premium content.
“As the scale and diversity of our portfolio continues to grow, so does the opportunity to expand how we monetize our IP,” added Bishop. “Expanding our rights, licensing, and consumer products capabilities allows us to capture more value from our IP and accelerate commercial growth internationally.”
About Blue Ant Studios
An award-winning international production and rights management business, Blue Ant Studios’ diverse slate spans premium factual and high-impact documentaries, competition and entertainment formats, lifestyle, kids, youth and family, comedy, drama and animation, for broadcasters and streamers throughout the world. A division of Blue Ant Media (TSX: BAMI), the Studio encompasses Blue Ant Studios Productions, Insight Productions, Atomic Cartoons, and Jam Filled Entertainment. Its award-winning slate includes iconic, fan-favourite shows such as Blown Away, Canada’s Drag Race, Kim’s Convenience, Mysteries From Above, Davey and Jonesie’s Locker, Gary & His Demons, Race Against the Tide, Top Chef Canada, Northwoods Survival, The Great Canadian Baking Show and Amazing Race Canada.
The Studio’s International distribution arm, Blue Ant Rights, represents over 9100 hours of acclaimed content from Blue Ant Studios and third-party producers, maximizing rights opportunities and connecting buyers with programming that resonates with global audiences. With offices in Toronto, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Ottawa, Halifax, Singapore, Vancouver, Burnaby and Sydney, the studio is well-positioned in key markets worldwide.
About Blue Ant Media Corporation
Blue Ant is an international streamer, production studio and rights-management business. Blue Ant operates a diverse portfolio of free streaming and pay TV channels internationally, including Love Nature, Cottage Life, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth Canada, HauntTV, Homeful, and Love Pets, as well as the subscription streaming service MagellanTV. Its studio business produces and distributes a wide range of premium content across key genres for streaming and broadcast platforms worldwide. Blue Ant is headquartered in Toronto, with a presence in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Singapore, London, Washington, Sydney, Halifax, Ottawa, and Vancouver.