COLOGNE, Germany -- Thorsten Schaumann, co-head of German sales giant Bavaria Film International (BFI) is leaving the company to join the acquisitions department of leading German pay TV group Premiere.
Schaumann's exit on March 31 will leave Thorsten Ritter as sole head of Bavaria Film International. In his new post, Schaumann will report to Premiere's programming head Hans Seger.
Schaumann's new appointment comes as Premiere is undergoing a major shift in its shareholder structure. In January, News Corp. took a 14.6% stake in Premiere, making it the company's largest single shareholder. On Monday, U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Premiere from 4.82% to 5.46%.
Schaumann was part of Bavaria's founding team when the world sales group launched in 1997. He and Ritter took over as co-heads of Bavaria Film International in 2005 after managing director Michael Weber left to set up his own company, the Match Factory.
"I'll be missing Thorsten. In addition to his experience in overseeing sales, he also had a good instinct in acquisitions.
Schaumann's exit on March 31 will leave Thorsten Ritter as sole head of Bavaria Film International. In his new post, Schaumann will report to Premiere's programming head Hans Seger.
Schaumann's new appointment comes as Premiere is undergoing a major shift in its shareholder structure. In January, News Corp. took a 14.6% stake in Premiere, making it the company's largest single shareholder. On Monday, U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Premiere from 4.82% to 5.46%.
Schaumann was part of Bavaria's founding team when the world sales group launched in 1997. He and Ritter took over as co-heads of Bavaria Film International in 2005 after managing director Michael Weber left to set up his own company, the Match Factory.
"I'll be missing Thorsten. In addition to his experience in overseeing sales, he also had a good instinct in acquisitions.
- 2/20/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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CANNES -- Germany's leading pay-TV channel Premiere is looking to break into new territory by producing high-end English-language series with Hollywood studios for its German subscribers.
"We are in concrete talks with one studio and are interested in working with all of them," Premiere program chief Hans Seger told The Hollywood Reporter.
"The idea is to produce edgy series in Hollywood but, initially at least, for a European, not U.S., audience."
The plan would see Premiere pool resources with two or three other European partners to co-produce original drama series with a studio partner. Premiere would hold exclusive German rights to the series, which would bow in Europe.
Producing exclusively for pay-TV is unheard of in Germany, where even made-for-pay shows such as HBO's "Sex and the City" air on free TV.
"We don't have that culture of producing edgy, film-quality series exclusively for pay TV," Seger said. "And German producers aren't willing to take on some of the risk involved in financing these kind of shows.
CANNES -- Germany's leading pay-TV channel Premiere is looking to break into new territory by producing high-end English-language series with Hollywood studios for its German subscribers.
"We are in concrete talks with one studio and are interested in working with all of them," Premiere program chief Hans Seger told The Hollywood Reporter.
"The idea is to produce edgy series in Hollywood but, initially at least, for a European, not U.S., audience."
The plan would see Premiere pool resources with two or three other European partners to co-produce original drama series with a studio partner. Premiere would hold exclusive German rights to the series, which would bow in Europe.
Producing exclusively for pay-TV is unheard of in Germany, where even made-for-pay shows such as HBO's "Sex and the City" air on free TV.
"We don't have that culture of producing edgy, film-quality series exclusively for pay TV," Seger said. "And German producers aren't willing to take on some of the risk involved in financing these kind of shows.
- 10/10/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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