Stephen David Entertainment Taps Former HISTORY Exec Dirk Hoogstra

HOLLYWOOD: Banijay Entertainment-owned studio Stephen David Entertainment (SDE) has appointed veteran cable executive Dirk Hoogstra as chief creative officer.

In his new role, Hoogstra will be charged with the development, packaging, sales and shepherding of new and current projects within the premium content space. Hoogstra will also be responsible for securing international financing and co-productions for U.S. broadcast partners. 

He most recently served as executive VP and general manager of HISTORY and H2. Hoogstra played a significant role in launching HISTORY into the scripted programming genre with titles such as Houdini, The Bible, Sons of Liberty, Vikings and Hatfields and McCoys. His other credits at HISTORY include American Pickers, Counting Cars, Mountain Men, Top Gear, Top Shot and The Men Who Built America. Prior to that, Hoogstra spent 11 years at Discovery Networks, holding development and programming roles at Discovery Channel, TLC and Discovery Networks International.

“I’m a huge fan of Stephen’s shows, and now I have the privilege of working with him and everyone at Stephen David Entertainment to further expand their highly regarded brand for producing great television,” Hoogstra commented. “We plan on being in production on several packaged projects as early as 2016.”

“I’ve spent the last few months looking for the right person to take advantage of all the opportunities SDE now has with Banijay, and Dirk definitely is that person,” said Stephen David, SDE’s president and executive producer. “Because of Banijay SDE’s ability to finance, distribute and produce premium shows at any price point, Dirk will be able to work with partners throughout the world packaging great content.”

"Banijay acquired SDE in order to expand and diversify its business operations in the U.S.,” said David Goldberg, the president of Banijay North America. “SDE is an industry leader in the production of premium content, and the addition of Dirk Hoogstra, will undoubtedly expand the companies' impressive production slate and growth trajectory."

Banijay and SDE operate a fully functioning production studio, and they also own and operate one of the leading visual effects houses in New York City.