Ben Bitonti Named President of TIME Studios

TIME CEO Jessica Sibley sent the following note to staff on Wednesday:  Team,  I’m thrilled to share that Ben Bitonti has joined TIME Studios as President. To unify TIME’s editorial and creative work, Ben will report directly to Sam Jacobs, who will now lead TIME Studios in addition to his role as TIME’s Editor in Chief. TIME Studios continues to be a dynamic growth area for our company, and we remain committed to investing in its future. Based in Los Angeles, Ben will help advance our slate and deepen our relationships with buyers and distributors to further unlock TIME Studios’ potential. Ben is a veteran producer and development executive with senior roles across leading studios and production companies, most recently serving as Chief Creative Officer at Asylum Entertainment Group, where he led creative development and production across a broad slate of unscripted programming. He has also held leadership roles as Chief Creative Officer and Head of Unscripted at Game1, Executive Vice President of Non-Fiction Television and Alternative Programming at 101 Studios, and Senior Vice President of Development at STX Entertainment. Across his career, Ben has developed and produced a range of unscripted series and specials, including Origins: The Journey of Humankind (National Geographic), The People vs. Michael Jackson (A&E), Surviving Ohio State (HBO), and Super Bowl Greatest Commercials XXIII (CBS).  “TIME Studios has already proven it can produce projects that resonate,” said Ben. “My focus is on pushing that even further — telling bold, ambitious stories across every platform and medium, and leading in a way that brings out the best in the people and partners around us.” Ben’s arrival follows an exciting year for TIME Studios, earning its seventh Emmy win for Frida, five Sports Emmy nominations for The Lionheart, delivering the top-ranked Netflix documentary Untold: The Fall of Favre, and announcing a new partnership with Stevie Wonder’s production company Eyes ‘n’ Sound LLC to produce a documentary on Wonder’s pivotal role in the fight to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday. Please join me in welcoming Ben to TIME. Best, Jess