WarnerMedia Hires Head of Unscripted Production EMEA

WarnerMedia has appointed Annelies Sitvast to the newly created role of head of unscripted production for WarnerMedia EMEA.

Based in Amsterdam, Sitvast will commission unscripted programming for HBO Max and report to Antony Root, head of original production for WarnerMedia EMEA. Sitvast will join the company in May.

Most recently, Sitvast was head of the Dutch commercial TV channel Net 5, part of the Talpa Network. In this role, she served as commissioning editor, overseeing content strategy and brand development. Prior to this, she held the role of channel coordinator at Net 5. Before that, Sitvast spent seven years at SBS Broadcasting as senior acquisitions executive.

Root said: “I am delighted to welcome Annelies to WarnerMedia. She brings a wealth of experience from the world of unscripted programming. Working with our local teams, she will steer our expansion into unscripted across Europe, which is a key part of our original production strategy as we launch HBO Max across the region.”

Sitvast added: “I could not be more excited to build, launch and grow a European unscripted content offering for HBO Max. WarnerMedia has a rich history of investing in local talent and programming and has been building beloved and iconic brands for near to a century. I could think of no better foundation on which to build an unscripted programming pipeline as the company looks to expand HBO Max’s offering.”