MIPTV Unveils 2015 Médaille d’Honneur Recipients

PARIS: Electus' Ben Silverman, FremantleMedia's Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Globo's Ricardo Scalamandré and Dogan TV's Irfan Sahin have been selected by Reed MIDEM to receive this year's Médaille d’Honneur Awards.

The Médaille d’Honneur is awarded to senior international executives who have, through their talent, leadership and passion, made a significant contribution to the world of television and to the development of the international TV community. The MIPTV 2015 Médaille d’Honneur awards will be presented by Reed MIDEM's CEO, Paul Zilk, at a gala dinner on Wednesday April 15, at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.

Silverman, the chairman and CEO of Electus, is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning show creator. He has executive produced recent major hits, including Jane the Virgin at The CW, NBC’s Fashion Star, Marco Polo for Netflix, and Running Wild with Bear Grylls on NBC.

Frot-Coutaz is the CEO of FremantleMedia. She oversees a group with a turnover of over 1 billion euros and produces more than 10,000 hours of programming a year across its companies in 28 countries. She was previously the CEO of FremantleMedia North America, during which time she also served as executive producer on such U.S. entertainment hits as American Idol and America’s Got Talent.

Scalamandré, the head of international business at Globo, started his career in Globo’s sales department at the age of 19, where he has worked in various capacities at the Brazilian broadcast group. He participated in the creation of Globo International, whose operations now comprise six pay-TV channels and a production and distribution division for sports and entertainment reaching over 190 countries worldwide. Scalamandré is responsible for Globo’s international business strategy, development and operations, which include content distribution, international channels, co-productions and new business opportunities evaluation.

Sahin is the CEO of Dogan TV Holding, which owns Kanal D, as well as other free-to-air channels including CNN Türk and TV2, digital platforms, and production companies. He has overseen Turkish adaptations of U.S. formats such as Revenge, Desperate Housewives and Monk, and developed successful Turkish formats.

Laurine Garaude, the director of Reed MIDEM’s television division, said: “It is a great honor to recognize these four exceptional industry figures, who have each, in their own way, made major contributions to the international entertainment content sector, and whose vision and leadership have set the standards in their respective fields.”