Insight TV CEO Viktoriia Tkachenko has launched World Storytelling Media Group (WSMG) as a vehicle to consolidate the growing group after the recent acquisition of the distribution assets of Off The Fence (OTF) earlier in the summer.
The two companies will now sit under the new WSMG banner with the content investment and exploitation teams at Insight TV and OTF to be consolidated into a single unit “to position the group for accelerated growth.” The team is will make its debut at MipCom this year.
The move provides a single point of contact with access to the entire catalogue of the group offering factual entertainment content, automative, food and lifestyle content to OTF’s factual catalogue “whilst opening doors to new genres in the future. “
Viktoriia Tkachenko said: ‘The launch of WSMG heralds a new era to better facilitate the discovery of high-quality IP for partners and audiences at this moment of seismic change in our industry. Through Insight’s existing channels, OTF’s expansive global client and partner network and a new soon to be revealed social and digital strategy, WSMG will be the home for future-proofing our business. With a sharp focus on returning series and long running IP that can work on traditional linear channels, FAST, YouTube and indeed whatever comes next, we know producers simply want to reach as many eyeballs as possible. WSMG will help them achieve that by offering an entire portfolio: access to all major content buyers, global channels and social, all streamlined under one roof.’
Insight TV will focus on growing its portfolio of Pay TV and B2C FAST channels currently with seven channel brands across several global feeds with all IP and rights investments now centralised within OTF, “ensuring that the entire WSMG ecosystem benefits from a unified pipeline of people, content and commercial opportunities. “
The new consolidated OTF sales team will debut this MIPCOM with key executives from Insight TV joining the OTF sales team. Sam Thomson is SVP content sales North America & Global Networks with 20 years’ experience in non-scripted and factual television, specialising in financing deals for new content. Joanna Rowley is director of content sales for APAC, UK & EIRE having spent 25 years with National Geographic, becoming executive director at Fox Networks Group Content Distribution, prior to its acquisition by Disney. Inês Isidro will work from within the EMEA team as sales executive looking after Benelux, Brazil and Portugal directly.
Under the lead of Loren Baxter, OTF’s acquisition team will also now take on responsibility for acquisitions on behalf of the channels as well as from producers, collaborating closely with Sarah Reed, Insight TV’s director of programming and scheduling and Lisette Schlippe, Global VP Fast and Content, to source non-scripted programming for Insight TV’s channels, while simultaneously expanding the OTF distribution catalogue.
Bo Stehmeier, CEO of OTF added: “With now arguably the most experienced and largest factual commercial team under one roof, we’re eager to build strategic alliances with direct-to-consumer platforms, production companies, IP holders, and their investors worldwide. Our ambition under WSMG is to offer a true one-stop shop for the global non-scripted storytelling community.”
Jon Creamer
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