Ex-Regent Executive to Lead Starz Media Distribution

BURBANK, January 11: Starz
Media has tapped former Regent Worldwide Sales chief Gene George as executive
VP of worldwide distribution, effective immediately.

George will be based at
Starz Media’s Burbank headquarters, reporting to Kent Rice, the company’s
president and COO. George will oversee sales and distribution functions for
Starz Media, including forging partnerships with U.S. and international
broadcasters and expanding the company’s distribution to new markets worldwide.
He will work closely with Scott Greenberg, the president of Film Roman and
Starz Productions, Bill Clark, the president of Anchor Bay Entertainment, Bill
Hamm, the executive VP of creative development, and David Steinber, the Toronto
head of Starz Animation.

George was most recently
president of Regent Worldwide Sales, where he developed alliances with such broadcasters
as the BBC and Sky in the U.K., TF1 and M6 in France, Antena 3 and Telecinco in
Spain and ProSieben and RTL/VOX in Germany. In addition, he facilitated
multi-picture production deals with ABC Family and SCI FI Channel in the U.S.

“Gene George is a
thoroughly knowledgeable, creative, accomplished executive, who brings a wealth
of strong relationships to this crucial position,” Rice said. “As we continue
to build our company and more firmly establish it as a producer of innovative,
popular programming, and a partner with production and sales savvy, we need
someone like Gene to generate deals with international broadcasters, and to
expand our distribution network in the U.S. as well. He’s an ideal addition to
our senior management team.”

“Starz Media is one of the
most exciting and innovative new companies in the fast-changing entertainment
business, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to be part of this growing
company,” George said. “The company’s breadth of productions—for TV,
theatrical release, DVD distribution and new media platforms’and its growing
network of international partners lay the foundation for significant growth.
I’m ready for this exciting new challenge.”

—By Mansha Daswani