Gene George

World Screen Weekly, February 28, 2008

Executive VP, Worldwide Distribution

Starz Media

Starz Media has been working hard to build its profile internationally since its creation in 2006, when Liberty Media acquired the former IDT Entertainment and made it a corporate sibling of the premium movie service Starz Entertainment. To further its worldwide ambitions, the company recently lured Gene George, the longtime president of Regent Worldwide Sales, to oversee its sales and distribution functions, including forging partnerships with U.S. and international broadcasters and expanding the company’s presence in markets globally. “For me it was a great, exciting opportunity to be involved with a company that has become a full-fledged studio,” says George on his decision to leave Regent after seven years, during which he placed the company’s slate of TV movies in a host of international markets. “Starz has a theatrical company—Overture Films—a home-entertainment company in Anchor Bay Entertainment and the Starz and Encore platform of channels; the opportunity is a natural progression in my growth personally and professionally.”

George’s primary mandate is to “build the Starz name internationally,” positioning the company as a “leading supplier of programming” to the global market. “Much of it will be programming that is created for our platforms in the U.S., and much will be acquired. It’s going to be a broad spectrum, from live-action series to features, TV movies, animation, documentaries; it’s quite a range of product.”

Among the offerings currently on the slate are two “semi-scripted” comedy series, George says, commissioned for the Starz premium network in the U.S. Head Case looks at a dysfunctional therapist and her celebrity clients, featuring guest stars such as Jeff Goldblum and Carmen Electra. Hollywood Residential, meanwhile, follows a struggling actor who serves as the host of a celebrity home-makeover show. “Starz is looking to create original programming that still has that connection to the entertainment industry,” George says. “These, along with the new drama series that Starz Entertainment just announced, Crash, all fit perfectly.”

While Starz continues to ramp up its original content offerings in the U.S., George will be looking to take on third-party fare for international distribution in order to expand the company’s catalogue. “We want to let the buyers and the distributors know that Starz is a viable source of quality programming, and we can provide a lot of what they need for different platforms. I was handling a lot of TV movies previously [at Regent] and they’re a great way to build [the Starz] name up” internationally, George notes.

For George, whose TV career included stints at Arista Films and NewStar Worldwide before he joined Regent, one of the things he most loves about his new employer is that although it is “built like a studio because of all the different areas it [is involved in], it behaves like an independent. It’s creative in the way it’s doing business, it’s flexible and it can react quickly. This will be our competitive advantage.”