ITV shuffles Sirens management

ITV America-backed producer Sirens Media has appointed an exec from sibling firm ITV Entertainment to lead its operations, with the company’s founders moving into new roles.

Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh

Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh has been named president at unscripted-focused Sirens, which is behind shows such as The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Killing Fields.

She will have responsibility for all content creation across a range of genres for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, reporting to ITV America CEO David George and president Adam Sher.

Sebastian-Dayeh joins Sirens from ITV Entertainment where she had been senior VP of development since 2016, overseeing development for the production label and working on Fox’s The Four: Battle for Stardom and TLC’s Four Weddings.

She previously worked as head of alternative programming at USA Network and before that was VP of current and development at Electus.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton, who founded Sirens in 2005, are moving into newly created creative director roles. The duo will “remain hands-on as creators and producers,” according to Sirens, creating female and pop culture-focused content.

George and Sher said Sebastian-Dayeh’s “talent, skill and ingenuity will continue to resonate with buyers as she shepherds compelling content that elevates and evolves the Sirens brand.”

The duo added: “We’re thrilled that Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton will be working with ITV America as creative directors, with emphasis on Sirens Media’s crime-focused programming.”

Sirens Media was acquired in 2013 by then-independent Leftfield Entertainment, which was subsequently acquired by ITV in 2014.

ITV America has itself been revamping its senior team over recent weeks by appointing Sher as its president and promoting David Eilenberg to chief creative officer following the departure of Brent Montgomery.