Sasha Breslau Joins HBO Max

Warner Bros. Discovery has made two new appointments to support the international rollout of HBO Max, with Sasha Breslau joining from ITV as VP of content acquisitions for the streamer in the U.K. and Ireland.

Breslau, who will join in October 2025 ahead of HBO Max’s launch in the U.K. and Ireland in early 2026, will oversee content sourcing, rights negotiations, evaluations for acquisition and prebuy opportunities, identifying high-impact content partnerships and partnerships with other key stakeholders on strategic programming decisions. She will report to Ragnhild Thorbech, senior VP of programming and acquisitions for EMEA.

Breslau joins from ITV, where she most recently served as head of content acquisitions. During her tenure at the company, she was instrumental in shaping the content landscape of ITVX and ITVX Premium. She spearheaded the acquisition and licensing of over 8,000 hours of content for the launch of ITVX and secured titles such as Love & Death, The Twelve, One Tree Hill and The Originals—four of the most-watched international dramas on the platform. She also led the acquisition of the landmark Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan in 2021, which drew ITV’s largest audience since the 2018 World Cup, and negotiated multiyear deals with Disney for Family Guy and American Dad.

“HBO’s unparalleled series influenced my early decision to embark on a career in television, so the opportunity to join HBO Max as it launches here is irresistible,” Breslau said. “I’m thrilled to be working alongside Ragnhild and her talented team, and I look forward to collaborating with new and established partners to build on HBO Max’s streaming success.”

She added, “I’m extremely grateful to my brilliant, dedicated colleagues and friends at ITV. Huge thanks to them for all their support and hard work over many rewarding and successful years.”

WBD also named Alessandro Volpato as director of acquisitions for HBO Max in Italy, where it is set to launch in early 2026. Volpato will lead negotiations with Italian and European studios, distributors and independent producers. He will report to Joana Silva, VP of programming and acquisitions.

Volpato joins from Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where he served as senior manager of content acquisition, contributing to the launch of original Italian productions such as Pesci Piccoli, Sconfort Zone and Sono Lillo and international titles like Those About to Die.

Previously, Volpato worked for Warner Bros. International as manager of international TV distribution in London and, before that, as part of the strategy team between the U.K. capital and Los Angeles.