Interviews

A firm fixture in the kids’ market with international hits like Life with Derek, Canada’s Shaftesbury Films has been rapidly raising its profile as a producer of prime-time series for the global market. Its recent productions include Murdoch Mysteries—renewed for …

  This article originally appeared in the MIPCOM ’09 issue.   Since launching in 1996 with just over 20 channels, Malaysia’s Astro has become one of Asia’s leading pay-TV platforms. With an exclusive 20-year license for satellite DTH transmission, Astro’s …

When FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) decided to expand into the kids’ and family programming sector, the company tapped former Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Television executive Sander Schwartz to head up the new division. As executive VP and head of children …

With entertainment behemoths like Idols, Got Talent and X Factor, and a game-show catalogue that includes such hits as Family Feud and The Price is Right, FremantleMedia has placed its formats in nearly every corner of the globe. Rob Clark, …

Starz Entertainment is a premium content supplier, providing programming to consumers on several platforms: theaters, traditional linear TV channels, DVDs, and on-demand services on TV, computers and portable devices. Its president and COO, Bill Myers, is leading the company to …

Managing Director, American Film Market Executive VP, Independent Film & Television Alliance The 30th American Film Market (AFM) began yesterday and runs through November 11. This year’s edition hosts a record 80-plus newly accredited acquisition companies, more than double the …

This article originally appeared in the MIPCOM ’09 issue. In 2003, when the BBC decided to revive Doctor Who, it turned to Russell T. Davies. With the series Queer As Folk and The Second Coming, Davies had emerged as one …

  This article originally appeared in the MIPCOM ’09 issue.   Earlier this year, Endemol announced that it was acquiring the Southern Star Group from Fairfax Media. Endemol saw in the Australian production-and-distribution company an attractive library of 14,000 hours, …

Nearly everyone is familiar with Monopoly, Twister and Transformers—all popular brands from Hasbro. Not everyone knows that Hasbro, today a leader in the toy industry, was founded in 1923 by the brothers Henry and Helal Hassenfeld as a textile company. …

This article originally appeared in the MIPCOM ’09 issue. Executive VP, Alternative Programming NBC and Universal Media Studios Paul Telegdy is known for his expertise in trans-Atlantic co-productions. When he worked for BBC Worldwide America, he oversaw the sale and …