Bravo general manager Maria Mahony has left her leadership role at the channel co-owned and operated by MediaWorks and NBC Universal.
The Bravo communications team confirmed Mahony’s departure but would not provide any further details on the matter.
Mahony first joined the company in July 2016, following her stint as the head of programming and local content at Lightbox.
StopPress understands that Mahony left the business in September as part of an attempt by Bravo to rebalance the books across Australia and New Zealand.
It’s understood that the position of general manager of New Zealand was deemed surplus to requirements and disestablished (it’s thought that no other roles have been impacted by the change).
A source revealed that Bravo would not be hiring a replacement for Mahony and that Chris Taylor, the head for NBC Universal head across New Zealand and Australia, would take a more active role on the New Zealand side of the business.
Centralising control in Australia does seem to make sense from a business perspective, given that Bravo is currently running similar shows across both markets. Beyond the first season of The Real Housewives of Auckland, there have been no other local shows aired in this market.
Bravo is, however, looking to inject a bit of local flavour into its programming as it conducts a nationwide search for its first local host.
