Alison Simmonds
Alison Simmonds has spent the last few years in Los Angeles, where she works particularly closely with MediaXchange, devising and co-ordinating programmes for their extensive schedule of events for senior television, film and media executives from both Europe and the US.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Alison was Programme Acquisitions Executive for two of the UK’s terrestrial networks, ITV and Channel 4, and the cable and satellite network BSkyB. Working closely with Programme Directors and Commissioning Editors, she covered the selection, negotiation and contracting of purchased programmes from major studios, distributors, producers and TV networks from the UK and all over the world. Alison handled the full range of entertainment and factual programming including feature films, series, TV movies, talk shows, documentaries and children’s programming.
Her UK television career started in 1982 as personal assistant to Leslie Halliwell, the Head of Programme Acquisition for the ITV Network (and author of Halliwell’s Film Guide), originally based at Granada Television and later transferring to the Network Centre. Coincidentally, 1982 saw the launch of Channel 4 and the "new wave" of the television scene - the rise of the independent producer, the merging of the ITV network companies and the growth of emerging networks. Alison became Manager of Acquired Programmes for the ITV Network before departing for Los Angeles for a six-month stint as a freelancer in 1988. Returning to the UK as a member of the programming launch team of BSkyB’s new 4-channel network in 1989, she was later asked to join Channel 4’s Programme Acquisition department. At Channel 4, she spent an extremely interesting ten years handling co-productions, pre-buys and commissioned programming as well as acquired programmes before returning to Los Angeles in good time for the millennium celebrations.
Fascinated by her TV set since childhood, Alison still gets a real thrill out of being on the Hollywood studio lots, as well as dealing with some of her favourite producers of US programming. She also much prefers the weather in Los Angeles.
