FremantleMedia Enterprises Appoints Acquisitions VP in North America

LONDON, May 4: As part of its continuing efforts to bolster
its business in the U.S., FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has appointed
Miramax Film Company’s Jeff Tahler to the newly created position of VP of
acquisitions in North America.

In this new role, based in Los Angeles, Tahler will report
to David Ellender, the CEO of FME. He will be charged with seeking out and
acquiring content to add to FME’s catalogue, spanning all genres, and will also
continue to grow and nurture FME’s relationships with U.S. producers and
agents. In addition, Tahler will work closely with Mark Gray—FME’s London-based
VP of programming—in acquiring content with the view towards exploitation
across multiple platforms.

Lisa Honig—FME’s VP of program distribution in North
America—had been playing an active acquisition role in the region, but
will now turn more attention towards further strengthening sales and
co-production opportunities in North America, as well as focusing on the
rapidly growing business of format sales in Canada.

Tahler joins FME from Miramax Film Company, where he served
as the SVP of acquisitions and family entertainment. During his tenure with
Miramax, he was responsible for creating the Miramax Family brand, acquiring a
wide range of properties in development for both television and home
entertainment, while also forging key relationships with European, Canadian and
U.S. production companies.

Ellender commented: “We are really pleased to welcome Jeff
on board as part of the FME acquisitions team. To have a dedicated resource on
the ground in L.A. is of vital importance to us as we move forward in ever-more
competitive times. Having an executive of Jeff’s caliber on the ground gives us
an edge as we continue to attract stand-out programming to take to the world on
TV and off-air through DVD, mobile, internet and many other channels.”