Full Name
Chris Oliver-Taylor
Company
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Title
Chief Content Officer
Country (Address)
Australia
Biography
Chris Oliver-Taylor started his career at the BBC in London working at BBC Sport, BBC Music Entertainment, BBC Entertainment and BBC News, in both radio and Television, before starting in various senior roles at ABC TV before becoming Head of Television Production in 2005 and then Head of Television Business & Operations in 2008. In 2011, Chris moved to the independent production sector as Managing Director of NBCUniversal’s Matchbox Pictures. During this period, Matchbox produced a highly acclaimed slate of programming, garnering numerous Australian and international awards, including three time Producer of the Year. Chris’ Executive Producer credits include THE SLAP (NBC/ABC Australia), THE HEIGHTS (ABC Australia), GLITCH (Netflix/ABC Australia) and WANTED (Netflix/Seven Network Australia). Chris was also the Lead Executive in Australia for US commissioned series, CAMP (NBC) and HUNTERS (Syfy).
In 2018, Chris was appointed Fremantle’s CEO Asia Pacific responsible for the creative output of one of the biggest Production Companies across the Asia Pacfic. During his time at Fremantle, the company won commissions for multiple series of Australia’s Got Talent, Indian Idol, X-Factor Indonesia, The Farmer Wants A Wife, Grand Designs Australia and a return of the iconic series Australian Idol. In Drama, Fremantle won multiple commissions at Viacom, Netflix, Hotstar, Foxtel, the ABC, Sundance and STAN and set series up at Amazon, HBOMax and SBS. Chris’ Executive Producer credits whilst at Fremantle include HEARTBREAK HIGH (Netflix), WELLMANIA (Netflix), THE PM’s DAUGHTER (ABC), BARONS (ABC), BAY OF FIRES (ABC), LIE WITH ME (CHANNEL 5/NETWORK 10) and ROCK ISLAND MYSTERIES (Nickelodeon).
In late 2021 Chris was appointed Director of Production for Australia & New Zealand for Netflix, a newly creatives role. Chris has been responsible for every series or film that is produced in both countries, whether they were locally commissioned or internationally commissioned, playing a key role in working with the independent production sector and the Netflix commissioning team to bring a dynamic slate to Australia and New Zealand audiences over the next few years. Chris was also a member of the Production Leadership Team for Netflix in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific.