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Lyle quits Fremantle USA

Following yesterday’s appointment of Tom Gutteridge as new ceo of Fremantle Media North America, current president of drama and entertainment David Lyle has resigned.

After successfully leading the LA-based arm of Fremantle Media for the past three years, with a string of hits including Fox’s all-conquering American Idol, Lyle (left) has decided to leave the company, he confirmed to C21.

Since taking over the loss-making LA arm three years ago, Lyle managed to turn the company around by dropping underperforming syndicated series, securing new cable commissions and moving into network production, with American Idol and CBS dating show Cupid.

Lyle also recently managed to win commissions from several other US networks, including The Swan and The Complex for Fox, which makes Fremantle’s move the more surprising. He is expected to announce his new plans within a few weeks, possibly spanning production opportunities in the US, the UK and his homeland Australia.

Regarding his surprise appointment to the newly-created post and his plans for the company, Gutteridge said: “If you have the most powerful show in America you ought to be the most powerful production company in America.

“Currently they are not, and my brief is to capitalise on what Fremantle has done with American Idol and turn the company into a production powerhouse.”

Gutteridge arrives at Fremantle Media from UK-based Television Corporation, where he produced Fox hit Paradise Hotel and will exec produce Forever Eden until late April/early May.

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