WarnerMedia has appointed Annelies Sitvast to the newly created role of Head of Unscripted Production WarnerMedia EMEA.
Based in Amsterdam, Sitvast will commission unscripted programming for HBO Max, the company’s direct-to-consumer video streaming platform, and will report to Antony Root, Head of Original Production WarnerMedia EMEA. Sitvast will join the company in May.
Commenting on the appointment, Antony Root said, “I am delighted to welcome Annelies to WarnerMedia. She brings a wealth of experience from the world of unscripted programming. Working with our local teams, she will steer our expansion into unscripted across Europe, which is a key part of our original production strategy as we launch HBO Max across the region.”
Sitvast added, “I could not be more excited to build, launch and grow a European unscripted content offering for HBO Max. WarnerMedia has a rich history of investing in local talent and programming and has been building beloved and iconic brands for near to a century. I could think of no better foundation on which to build an unscripted programming pipeline as the company looks to expand HBO Max’s offering.”
Most recently, Sitvast was Head of Net 5, the Dutch commercial television channel, part of the Talpa Network. In this role she served as Commissioning Editor, overseeing content strategy and brand development, including all original programming, production and scheduling. Prior to this, Sitvast held the role of Channel Coordinator at Net 5, where she coordinated programming and supervised local productions. Before that, Sitvast spent seven years at SBS Broadcasting B.V. as Senior Acquisitions Executive, where she worked on acquisition strategies and advised on brand positioning, content selections and series/slate development for several Dutch TV channels. Sitvast has a production background, having previously worked as editor for several production companies in the Netherlands.
WarnerMedia currently operates HBO streaming platforms and linear channels in 21 countries across the Nordics, Iberia and Central and Eastern Europe. It has a history of investing in local production in Europe for over 10 years for HBO as well as for its TNT-branded channels in Germany and Spain. Recent successes have included the award-winning series Patria and Vamos Juan, the co-produced documentary Collective which has been nominated for multiple awards, the critically acclaimed 30 Coins and many more. All original television production in Europe at WarnerMedia now sits in the recently formed Original Programming group led by Antony Root.
Jon Creamer
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