Apple hires Jay Hunt to serve as European creative director for original video

Apple has reportedly picked the former chief creative officer of Channel 4, Jay Hunt, as its new creative director for European video, further signalling that it intends to spend some of its $1 billion programming warchest overseas.

Hunt will be part of an international content development team, serving under Apple video heads Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, Variety said on Wednesday. During her Channel 4 tenure, she was best known for shows like "Black Mirror" and "Humans" — prior to that she was at BBC One, and oversaw shows like "Luther" and "Sherlock."

The executive left Channel 4 in June in the middle of a management shakeup, and has allegedly been a candidate for various high-level positions in the U.S. The Apple job, starting in January, will reportedly allow her to remain in London.

Her hire may have been helped by previous collaborations with Erlicht and Van Amburg while they were still at Sony Pictures Television.

Apple is expected to spend $1 billion or more on original programming during the next year, with a particularly focus on high-budget dramas in the style of "Breaking Bad" or "Game of Thrones." The first signed show is believed to be a reboot of Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories."

Morgan Wandell - previously of Amazon and ABC — is rumored to be overseeing international development and co-productions from offices in Culver City, near Hollywood. A recent report suggested that Apple is eyeing an upcoming Los Angeles facility as a home for video production.

Still unclear is how Apple intends to air future shows. Lower-budget productions like "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke" have been exclusives to Apple Music, but the company would presumably want a bigger audience for more expensive material.