SevenOne Sets Up U.S. Operation

MUNICH: SevenOne International is bolstering its U.S. efforts with the establishment of a local business in the country, tapping Caroline Kusser to head up the operation.

Kusser will head up the North American business and the newly founded SevenOne International Inc. Previously, Kusser served as the regional sales director for ProSiebenSat.1 programming sales.

With its U.S. expansion, SevenOne is looking to extend its network of local broadcasters and producers in an effort to bring more programs from its catalogue to the U.S. This follows on deals secured earlier this year for Dick de Rijk’s You Deserve It to ABC and the hit Sat.1 show Danni Lowinski to CBS.

Another aim is to significantly grow its portfolio of English-language content, a move set to expand its sales network in markets such as the U.S. and U.K. SevenOne will be acquiring content from third-party U.S. providers for distribution. Already under way on this effort, SevenOne International is co-producer of the U.S. film William & Kate and holds worldwide distribution rights.

A third aim of the new business is to cooperate with local production companies, along with offering stations the opportunity to make their own versions of SevenOne programs.

"We plan to significantly expand our programming presence in English-language markets," said Jens Richter, the managing director of SevenOne International. "We’ve repeatedly sold various light entertainment shows in the United States and the United Kingdom. We now hope to repeat that success in fiction programming. These two major TV markets almost never dub foreign programming, so by substantially expanding our portfolio of English-language content, we will break through the language barrier. Opening our Los Angeles office is the first important step toward achieving that goal."