Chair of global TV group to return to producing following Amazon acquisition

The Apprentice creator Mark Burnett is exiting MGM to return to producing, in the wake of the studios £6bn acquisition by Amazon.

The contender mark burnett headshot

Burnett is chairman of MGM’s Worldwide Television Group, a role he has held since 2018, having joined forces with the James Bond studio after it acquired a majority stake in his One Three Media and LightWorkers Media labels in 2014.

British-born Burnett is the creator of many of the world’s leading unscripted formats, besides the business competition juggernauts The Apprentice and Shark Tank (aka Dragon’s Den), he was also heavily involved in Survivor and The Voice.

In a memo he told staff that he is returning to “independently creating and innovating”, having helped steer the integration of MGM into Amazon, following the announcement of the mega M&A play last year.

“After months of collaborative transition efforts, we have thoughtfully re-organized our teams so that they all have the opportunity to prosper under the leadership of [Amazon chiefs] Mike Hopkins, Jennifer Salke and Christopher Brearton,” Burnett wrote.

“In these days of media layoffs I am proud to say that everyone in the TV division has been offered a way to continue to contribute. No-one was left behind.”

As chairman of MGM’s TV group he has steered a wealth of high-profile titles including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Vikings and Netflix’s recent Addams Family series Wednesday. He previously served as president of MGM Television and Digital Group before securing his chair position.

Hopkins, senior vice-president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said the integration of MGM into Amazon is continuing with more rejigs will be announced in due course.

“I wanted to follow up by thanking Mark for his countless contributions to our success and, on a personal level, for his partnership and counsel throughout the integration. I know you’ll all agree that he is one of the most innovative, creative, and prolific television producers in our industry, and we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have him on our team,” he added.

“Mark’s stepping aside of course raises both opportunities and questions about how we’ll be organized moving forward. You’ll be hearing more about this shortly.”

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