9 Story Hires Business Development & Acquisitions VP

TORONTO: 9 Story Media Group has appointed Alix Wiseman, a seasoned international media exec, as the company’s VP of business development and acquisitions.

In the newly created role, Wiseman will work out of the U.K. under Natalie Osborne, 9 Story’s chief strategy officer. She is charged with leading the company’s distribution and acquisitions efforts in EMEA, with a focus on bringing in new content from Europe as well as greenlighting projects with European broadcasters.

Claudia Scott-Hansen, 9 Story’s VP of business development who’s also reporting to Osborne, will continue to oversee the company’s distribution efforts in the Americas and Asia, and manage strategic content partnerships in the U.S.

Wiseman previously worked for Aardman Animations, where she set up the studio’s dedicated distribution division a decade ago. During her time at Aardman, she helped to secure TV and home-entertainment partnerships for Shaun the Sheep in 170 countries, among other accomplishments. Wiseman began her career at Channel 4 Television, where she sold more than 3,000 hours of programming across factual, animation, comedy, drama and feature films.

“Alix’s unique international experience and understanding of the world of quality kids’ content will be a tremendous asset for 9 Story, and give us a stronger foothold across Europe,” said Osborne. “Alix will be working with the local creative and production communities to source new IP and further solidify our relationships with broadcast partners. We are thrilled to welcome Alix to the 9 Story team.”

“I’m delighted to be joining such an outstanding team at 9 Story Media Group,” added Wiseman. “The prospect of harnessing some of the brilliant creative talent in Europe and marrying it up with the extensive resources and creative leadership of 9 Story and Brown Bag Films is truly exciting.”