Broadband TV News: SkyShowtime hires former HBO Max and Disney executives

Story from Broadband TV News:

SkyShowtime has picked up Roberto Soto, the former head of HBO Max’s growth marketing team responsible for their successful European launches.

Soto will join the Comcast-Paramount Global joint venture as Chief Strategy Officer while John Heinemann, formerly with The Walt Disney Company, has been named General Counsel of SkyShowtime.

HBO Max is in the process of scaling back its European ambitions, reducing the amount of original content produced here, though Warner Bros. Discovery still intends to be present in most major markets.

Soto was responsible for the HBO rollout in Iberia, the Nordics, Netherlands, Poland, and Central and Eastern Europe, all markets where SkyShowtime is planning to launch.

Soto will lead the development and execution of SkyShowtime’s strategy, working closely with all teams across the organisation. He will be based in Amsterdam and will report directly to SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan.

“Roberto’s diverse experience across entertainment and sports streaming services, including multiple launches throughout Europe, make him uniquely positioned to help define our company’s strategy and drive its execution across the organisation. He will be instrumental in making SkyShowtime the next great streaming service for Europe,” said Sarhan.

Prior to joining HBO Max, Soto held senior roles leading growth marketing, product, business development, strategy and distribution at Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), Fox International Channels, and Liberty Global.

Heinemann, a five-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, was most recently Associate Principal Counsel for Nordics, Baltics and MENA. During his tenure at Disney, Heinemann was part of the team that launched Disney+ internationally, negotiating multiyear agreements across Europe and MENA.

Reporting to Sarhan, Heinemann will serve as the chief legal officer of the company and will also build a business & legal affairs team across SkyShowtime territories.

Prior to Disney, he worked at Fox Network Groups, BBC Studios, and Viasat Broadcasting.

“He knows our markets and he understands what is required to launch a successful streaming service,” said Sarhan.

These most recent leadership hires come as SkyShowtime readies itself for launches across 22 European markets beginning later this year.

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