The former Chairman of Warner Bros Worldwide TV Distribution, Jeffrey Schlesinger, will provide strategic advice on Vuulr’s global acquisition and distribution platform business.
The premium film and television rights market has brought Schlesinger onto its Board of Advisors, as well as an investor in the company.
Schlesinger has more than 40 years of experience overseeing content distribution for major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., HBO, Turner and others. In this new role, he will advise Vuulr on product strategy bringing his expertise to bear to identify and help improve the way rights are bought and sold within the industry. He will also be actively involved in articulating Vuulr‘s value proposition to major studios/content producers globally and to content acquisition teams at major broadcasters and broadcasters.
Commenting on the appointment, Schlesinger said: ‘For more than four decades I have been deeply involved in the evolution of media rights licensing around the world in all forms of exhibition. Today’s unprecedented rate of change makes it clear that there is a need for more efficient ways for buyers to discover and license relevant content, and for sellers to efficiently find and transact business with more buyers. While personal relationships will always play a role, the explosion of new services globally makes it impossible for every transaction to be done on a one-to-one basis profitably. Vuulr’s solution unlocks value by enabling sellers to reach more qualified buyers, buyers to reach more relevant sellers, and the transaction to be completed on a secure platform using state-of-the-art technology, resulting in more business with less. cost, staff and time’.
Furthermore, in addition to serving as an advisor, Schlesinger also became an investor in the company along with colleagues Barry Meyer, former Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros for 14 years, and Ed Romano, former CFO and Vice Chairman of Warner Bros.
‘It’s an honor to be endorsed by three of Hollywood’s oldest and most experienced leaders’, said Ian McKee, CEO of Vuulr, adding, ‘Their knowledge of the industry and the challenges it faces, as distribution and the acquisition becomes increasingly global and fragmented, it is invaluable. It is wonderful that they share our vision for how Vuulr can support the industry by increasing revenue and reducing costs in this mission-critical business process, a proposition that is increasingly relevant in today’s economic climate’.
In addition, Vuulr announced a partnership with BBC Studios in Asia to list over 3,000 hours of its premium Drama, Documentary, Comedy, Factual and Lifestyle Entertainment content on the Vuulr marketplace, including iconic titles such as Top Gear, Attenborough and the Sea Dragon, MotherFatherSon and Call the Midwife.
