Miramax Signs Licensing Agreement with UKTV; Bolsters Sales Team

The studio has hired Mathilde Rottier as vice president, worldwide television

Miramax has signed a licensing agreement with UKTV that will make the company's library of films available to the British broadcaster's subscribers, the studio said Thursday.

UKTV  is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks International with a reach of 39 million viewers each month. 

Miramax also said it has beefed up its global sales team. Mathilde Rottier has been named vice president of worldwide television, Stuart Shaw joins as director of international sales and marketing, and Astrid De Berardinis and Alexandra Tullberg have also been appointed as directors of sales. 

The new appointments come roughly two weeks after the studio unexpectedly announced the departure of CEO Mike Lang. Lang is widely regarded as one of the most capable digital executives in the industry, and his sudden exit set off speculation about the status of the company.

Since being acquired by a group of investors led by construction magnate Ron Tutor, Miramax has mostly been concerned with leveraging its library or finding partners to produce sequels or remakes of its former films. Its library includes such movies as "Pulp Fiction" and "The English Patient." It has not developed new projects.

Rottier was previously vice president of MGM Worldwide TV Group. Shaw worked for Paramount Home Entertainment as commercial director. Tullberg priviously served as a regional sales manager in London for Paramount Pictures, and De Berardinis comes to Miramax from CBS Studios in Rome, where she was director of sales. 

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