Warner Bros. Discovery Appoints EMEA Streaming Marketing Boss
Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed a marketing boss for streaming in EMEA. Rebecca Rørmark will oversee the marketing of streamers discovery+ and HBO Max and the soon-to-launch HBO Max Discovery combined SVoD, which rolls out in the U.S. and LatAm later this year and Europe next year. The Oslo-based exec will lead the evolution of the streaming brands, growth of the subscriber base and marketing preparations for the launch. She has been with WBD (formerly Discovery) for nearly a decade, running marketing for Nordic streamer Dplay since 2015 and overseeing that platform’s recent discovery+ rebrand. Past brands she has worked with include Netflix, Fox, National Geographic, Nickelodeon and MTV. “Consumers are craving great content, ease and consolidation and I believe we will deliver what they are looking for with our enhanced product,” said Rørmark.
ITV Launches Academy To Help With Skills Shortages
ITV has launched an academy to address skills shortages in the UK TV sector. The broadcaster said the ITV Academy will help plug gaps in roles such as Location Manager (and Assistant), Script Supervisor, Production Accountant, Production Coordinator/Secretary and Grip. It will establish priorities and plans with partners including ScreenSkills, the National Film and TV School and Creative Access to address these and future skills gaps, while consolidating all of this activity and other initiatives across ITV to make it easier for people to access and apply for jobs, training and development. The ITV Academy is being helmed by Sonny Hanley, who has held various roles with the pubcaster for the past two decades. “The ITV Academy will help us be more effective at addressing these shortages and provide more focus and coordination in training and development,” said ITV CEO Carolyn McCall. A nationwide skills shortage has infected the UK TV sector since the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic passed, with hundreds of shows rushing back into production, many of which are being made in places around the UK where there is a smaller skills base. The streamers have also moved multiple shows to the UK in order to take advantage of a thriving sector and tax credits.
‘It’s A Sin’ To Make African Debut On Showmax
Russell T. Davies landmark series It’s a Sin is headed to Africa for the first time. M-Net has bought the AIDS epidemic drama from Red Production Company exclusively for streaming service Showtime, which operates in several territories. A wider package agreement between M-Net and Showmax parent MultiChoice and distributor All3Media International will include shows such as Highlife, a Channel 4 ob-doc about influential young West African Brits living in London; Emily Blunt Western drama The English; The Tourist; Angela Black; The Control Room; Witness Number 3 and Fever Pitch: The Battle for the Premier League.
See-Saw Films Label Picking Scabs Signs Exec Producer
See-Saw Films label Picking Scabs has signed Screen Australia Head of Development Louise Gough as an Executive Producer. The label is run by Power of the Dog indie See-Saw with writer/showrunner Samantha Strauss. Gough will help develop and exec projects working from See-Saw’s Australia office. She has developed projects in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe and prior to Screen Australia was Head of Development at Arenamedia. “Louise Gough’s story instincts are second to none,” said Strauss. “After every script session I feel as if my head has been opened and my life changed.” Her hire comes fresh off the back of a See-Saw triple exec move with Moss Barclay, Ann Phillips and Julian Stevens joining last year.
Denmark’s CPH:DOX Unveils Opening Film
Lin Alluna’s Greenlandic-Danish film Twice Colonized about renowned activist Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter will open the 2023 edition of CPH:Dox, running in Copenhagen from March 15 to 26. Peter has led a lifelong fight for the rights of Indigenous people in Greenland. The film follows Peter’s work and explores the devastating impact of white dominance on Inuit communities in Greenland as well as on his own life. The film is produced by Emile Hertling Péronard (Ánorâk Film) in co-production with Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Red Marrow Media) and Bob Moore (EyeSteelFilm).
