Off the Fence names new COO, plans expansion for Bristol outpost

The Bristol, UK-based wing of international factual prodco/distributor Off the Fence has named a new COO and initiated a renovation and expansion of its production facilities in order to meet the increased demand for the company’s content following the Academy Award win of its Netflix doc My Octopus Teacher last year.

Karen Meehan (pictured), a 15-year veteran of OTF, has been elevated to COO from her former position of head of production. In her new role, she will work directly with the prodco’s Amsterdam-based CEO Bo Stehmeier and Bristol-based chief creative officer Allison Bean.

“OTF is a fantastic company, populated with wonderful people, and I am looking forward to helping drive its new operational strategy and to implement ways in which our shared vision can become a reality,” said Meehan in a news release.

A key aspect of that vision, and of Meehan’s new responsibilities, will be securing physical infrastructure for OTF’s growing global production model. An important pillar of this is the expansion of the company’s Bristol facilities, which Meehan will oversee. The planned renovation will result in 14 in-house editing suites (more than double the current number), cutting-edge post-production facilities, and increased office space.

“For the last two decades, our Bristol production base has quietly been making some of the best wildlife programming in the world,” said Allison Bean. “Karen’s appointment and this investment in our facilities will enable us to bring more, and even better, non-scripted storytelling to the world.”

Since its acquisition by Germany’s ZDF Enterprises in 2019, Off the Fence has continued to grow its global footprint, including opening a new office in Toronto, Canada in August 2021 to complement its three existing operations in Amsterdam, London and Bristol. That came one month after the prodco announced a three-pronged content strategy and business model designed to streamline its operations and diversify its content offerings to meet the demands of the evolving streaming economy.