EXCLUSIVE: David Eilenberg is returning to being a buyer.
Deadline understands that the Chief Creative Officer of ITV America is joining Roku as its head of original content.
It comes as the streaming service has been ramping up the amount of exclusive and original content that it develops and commissions.
Last year, Roku acquired Quibi’s library of original content and launched dozens of short-form shows on The Roku Channel, including a number that never launched on the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led service. In addition, it renewed a number of shows for second seasons.
But outside of the Quibi deal, the service, which essentially began as a streaming aggregator, has plans to bolster its pipeline of original series and films even further with plans to order around 50 series and films over the next two years.
It launched its first feature film – Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas – in December, a follow-up to the canceled NBC series and earlier this week unveiled plans to have an exclusive second window, after Spectrum Originals, for Nick Stoller and Carla Kettner’s Florida dramedy Panhandle.
Roku has also been staffing up over the last 18 months; Deadline revealed last year that it had hired two executives from Quibi – Colin Davis was tapped as Head of Scripted Originals and Brian Tannenbaum as Head of Alternative Originals.
Eilenberg’s hire is a big calling card for the service, particularly on the non-scripted side. As CCO of ITV America, he has overseen creative strategy across a range of production banners and genres. Prior to that role, he was President of ITV Entertainment, where he produced Netflix’s Queer Eye, Love Island and Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen.
Before joining ITV, he was SVP, Unscripted Development, Late Night and Specials at Turner, overseeing TNT and TBS series including King of the Nerds, Cold Justice and Howie Mandel’s Deal with It, as well as Conan.
He also worked for Mark Burnett Productions as Head of Development and Current Programming, where he helped sell, develop and produce series including The Voice, Shark Tank, The Bible and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? He was also head writer on the first incarnation of The Weakest Link and Sacha Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show.
