WBITV Forms New Branded Services Unit

BURBANK, April 30: In line
with its strategy of rolling out branded ad-supported and subscription-based
VOD services worldwide, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution
(WBITD) has formed a new Branded Services division, to be led by Malcolm
Dudley-Smith.

The new unit will be
dedicated to using the latest technological developments to create TV channels
on all new-media platforms, including digital cable, IPTV, PC and mobile. The
services will build on the success of the linear Warner Channel that has been
operating in Latin America for more than a decade. In addition, the studio has
launched an SVOD Warner TV in the U.K. on Virgin Media and BT. In Japan there
is a Warner TV VOD offering on USEN Corporation’s ad-supported VOD service
GyaO; and in France there is a free IPTV-based VOD offering.

Dudley-Smith is to lead
the new unit as executive VP of business management for Branded Services. He
will oversee WBITD’s team in designing the rollout strategy for additional
Warner TV channels and branded VOD services, overseeing the
affiliation/carriage deals with platforms, the media/advertiser sales for the
ad-supported services, and the strategic planning for the operation. The
Branded Services unit will work hand-in-hand with WBITD’s existing regional and
local sales teams around the globe to design, implement and grow the Warner TV
services in each of the local markets. Dudley-Smith will continue to report to
Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, the president of Warner Bros. International
Television.

WBITD is set to launch a
Warner TV branded SVOD service in Germany with ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s maxdome.
The agreement makes theatrical motion pictures and television series available
at www.maxdome.de on an SVOD as well as pay-per-view/transactional basis in a
Warner-branded zone. Titles to be featured on Warner TV at launch include
movies such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Matrix Revolutions and TV series like ER, Friends, Nip/Tuck and The
O.C.

Additionally, WBITD is
launching an English-language, Warner Bros.-branded channel featuring
theatrical motion pictures and television series in India, in a cross-company
collaboration with Turner Entertainment Networks Asia (TENA). It is slated for
launch later this year.

“Over the past several
years, Malcolm has been instrumental in helping create the strategic vision for
our SVOD, AVOD and channel activities,” said Schlesinger. “In keeping with our
policy of filling new positions with talented, experienced executives from
inside the division or the company, I am pleased to appoint Malcolm to this new
role. We feel his experience in our traditional licensing business, combined
with his ability to identify new media trends and find ways to monetize them,
makes him an ideal choice for this new position.”

Dudley-Smith previously
served as WBITD’s executive VP of sales and business development for Canada,
Latin America and Asia.

—By Mansha Daswani