John McKenna
| John McKenna | |
|---|---|
 John Mckenna.jpg John Mckenna | |
| Born | |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 🌐 Website | https://www.noahmediagroup.com/ |
John McKenna is a co-founder and CEO at Noah Media, a production and technology company specialising in producing high-quality sports documentaries and films. Having started his career at ITV Sport, McKenna became a freelance television director (with BAFTA[1] and Grierson[2] nominations) and producer, delivering live and documentary programming. He co-founded Noah in 2015, after his first feature documentary was an official selection for the Cannes Film Festival, and the company now has a slate of critically acclaimed documentaries, working with some of the biggest streamers, broadcasters and production partners in the world. Recent films which McKenna has been a producer on include Hatton (Sky – BAFTA & Grierson nominated), Villeneuve Pironi (Sky), 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible (Netflix & Emmy nominated), Arsène Wenger: Invincible (Amazon Prime Video), Finding Jack Charlton (BBC - Broadcast Documentary of the Year), The Edge (BBC/Amazon) and Bobby Robson: More than a Manager (Netflix, Amazon, ITV). The company recently raised finance for its first Content Fund and has five global feature documentaries in production for release in 2024/25[3]. It has also financed and built its own audience analytics technology, SlateIQ.[4]
Early Life and Education[edit]
John grew up in St Helens, Merseyside and attended West Park High School (which became De La Salle, St Helens), Widnes 6th Form College and the University of Leicester, where he gained a BA (Hons) in History.
Career Beginnings[edit]
At the age of 21 he started his career in 1995 at the Independent Sport Network in London, which became ITV Sport[5].He progressed through the levels at ITV Sport[5], winning several RTS Sport Awards[6] for his creative directing work, notably working on On The Ball with Gabriel Clarke. His early documentaries were critically acclaimed, including Clough (2009, Grierson nominated[7]) and The Fight of their Lives (2012, BAFTA[8] nominated). John was BAFTA[8] nominated twice for his work as a producer on The Boat Race. John became a live sport director and programme editor and held the title of Creative Director at ITV Sport[5]. After 13 years at ITV John became a freelance television director and producer, delivering both live and documentary programming. He was a studio director on the BAFTA winning Channel 4 2012 Paralympic Games coverage and was the Series Director for the first two series of the long-running and hugely decorated comedy programme, The Last Leg.
Noah Media Group[edit]
John McKenna is now a prominent figure in the sports documentary industry, particularly known for his work with Emmy-Award winning and BAFTA[1] nominated Noah Media Group. He is a co-founder and CEO at Noah Media, a company specialising in producing high-quality sports documentaries and films.
In 2015 he co-founded Noah Media Group alongside Barry Smith, Gabriel Clarke, and Torquil Jones.
Work[edit]
| Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Checkpoint Zoo | Executive Producer | |
| She Looks Like Me | Executive Producer | |
| One-Armed Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Jimmy Hasty | Executive Producer | Sports Emmy Awards 2024 - Outstanding Short Documentary |
| Hatton | Executive Producer | BAFTA Film Award 2024 - Best Film Nominee[9] |
| 1966: Who Stole The World Cup? | Executive Producer | |
| Villenue Pironi | Producer | |
| 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible | Producer | The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award 2022 - Best Sports Documentary |
| South Of The River | Executive Producer | |
| Arsene Wenger: The Invincible | Producer | TV Venice Award 2022 - Best Documentary |
| Finding Jack Charlton | Producer | Broadcast Awards 2022 - Best Documentary Programme Winner
The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award 2021 - Best Sports Documentary Broadcast Awards 2021 - Editor's Pick Winner IFTA Award - George Morrison Feature Documentary Award Nominee |
| Take His Legs | Producer | |
| The Edge | Producer | |
| Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager | Producer | |
| Sounds of the Summer | Producer | |
| Insectibles | Producer | |
| Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans | Producer | Cannes Film Festival 2015 - Golden Eye Nominee |
| The Fight of Their Lives | Producer | |
| When Playboys Ruled The World | Producer | |
| Clough | Producer |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "BAFTA Home Page". www.bafta.org. 22 May 2014.
- ↑ "Grierson Awards 2024". griersontrust.org.
- ↑ "NOAH MEDIA GROUP UNVEILS MULTI-MILLION POUND CONTENT FUND, TO FINANCE AND PRODUCE MULTIPLE GLOBAL ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS". www.noahmediagroup.com. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ↑ "Maximise the market for your titles • SlateIQ | Film & TV audience analytics". SlateIQ | Film & TV audience analytics.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "ITV SPORT". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Sports". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ↑ "Full shortlist for the Grierson documentary awards". The Guardian. 2009-08-06. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "BAFTA Home Page". www.bafta.org. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ↑ "BAFTA Awards (2024)". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
External links[edit]
- John McKenna on IMDb
- CEO of Noah Media Group
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