WBITD Fills Newly Created Post

BURBANK: Michael Puopolo has been appointed to the newly created position of VP of research at Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD).

Puopolo will lead the worldwide research activities for WBITD and will also provide research counsel to Warner Bros. International Branded Services. Puopolo will provide WBITD’s senior management and global sales and marketing teams—as well as the International Branded Services division—with qualitative and quantitative insights into local markets and territories, consumer behavior, television and online viewing habits, programming trends, program performance and scheduling. Puopolo will also advise on research related to new sales and business development strategies, and he will oversee WBITD’s media research staff in Burbank, Latin America and Europe. He will report to both Jim Brehm, the senior VP of sales for Canada, Latin America and Asia at WBITD, and to Greg Drebin, the senior VP of programming and marketing at Warner Bros. International Branded Services.

“Michael has done an outstanding job leading our research efforts for Latin America, and his understanding of the Studio’s programming as well as consumer behavior has proven invaluable to our traditional television licensing business,” said Schlesinger. “His depth of international television experience, combined with his knowledge of emerging platforms, makes him perfectly suited to head up research for this new and quickly growing area of our business.”

Puopolo has been with WBITD for 13 years, most recently as the director of international research and Latin American client services.