Espen Huseby

TV Real Weekly, April 2, 2008

CEO and Head of Sales

NordicWorld

NordicWorld is the international distribution arm for four of the largest broadcasters in the Scandinavian region: NRK and TV2 in Norway, TV4 in Sweden and MTV3 in Finland. The company, which is jointly owned by TV2 and TV4, holds the rights to original programming as well as to third-party product, running the gamut from drama to factual programming to children’s shows.

Leading the international-distribution activities for NordicWorld is Espen Huseby, who was recently appointed the company’s CEO and head of sales. Huseby, who took up his new post in March, joined the company after 14 years in the film-distribution business, most recently as the head of sales and marketing at CCV and managing director of CCV International, an independent Scandinavian distributor. Prior to CCV, Huseby worked in film distribution for the studios Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. When Huseby was offered the job at NordicWorld, it seemed like a logical next step in his career. He had been supplying films to TV2 and TV4 for years and was already familiar with the Scandinavian television landscape. “From being a part of the major studios for many years to going into independent distribution and [then to a major player like NordicWorld] is a natural shift at this stage,” says Huseby.

A top priority for Huseby at this year’s MIPTV is the documentary The Scream and Madonna, about the theft of two of Edvard Munch’s most famous paintings from the Munch Museum in Norway. Referring to the theft as “one of the robberies of the century,” Huseby is confident of the documentary’s appeal to buyers. “[Besides] the robbery itself and the reason for the robbery, we also have a story line [that] tries to get into the head of Munch and another story line that is all about the restoration of the paintings [after they] were found. I think it’s going to be incredible.”

The Scream and Madonna is part of a slate of ten new documentaries that NordicWorld will be showcasing at the market this year. The company is also bringing environmental programs like On Thin Ice, The History of the Earth and The Future of Water.

Huseby’s plans for NordicWorld include enlarging its catalogue, particularly with more drama series and documentaries, working with independent producers, and selling library product more aggressively. He is also excited about new media, especially electronic distribution and IPTV. “I think these changes are giving me new fuel,” he says.

—By Irene Lew