Advertisements

sign up

*This field is required

*A valid email address is required

*This field is required

*Your password and comfirmation password doesn't match

WarnerMedia Expands Asian Production Teams for HBO Max Launch

by Emily Nagle

From left to right: Mark Francis and Saugata Mukherjee

In preparation for the launch of HBO Max in Asia, WarnerMedia has hired three new senior content execs based out of Singapore and India.

From Singapore, Mark Francis has climbed aboard WarnerMedia as Group Lead of Production and Development, while Wee Shi Ming is now Lead of Entertainment Content Acquisition for North Asia. Francis and Shi Ming will report to Magdalene Ew, WarnerMedia’s Head of Content & Entertainment for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Francis boasts nearly 2 decades of production experience. He joins WarnerMedia from Astro, where he was the head of OTT content; he was also the chief content officer at the now-defunct South Asian streamer Iflix. Francis’ other experience include the Asian divisions of National Geographic, Fox, and Discovery. His new position at WarnerMedia will involve developing original content exclusive to HBO Max Asia.

WarnerMedia’s Singapore office

Wee Shi Ming has experience at Viu and Sony Television Networks; she was the head of acquisition and programming for Asian content at the latter. She will work alongside Katheryn Lim, who leads content acquisition for international and English-language entertainment titles at HBO Asia.

In Mumbai, Saugata Mukherjee has been appointed as Head of Content & Entertainment for India. He was previously head of original content at Sony Pictures Networks India, and has also worked at Hotstar and Star TV Network. He will report to Clement Schwebig, Managing Director of India, Southeast Asia & Korea.

Schwebig described of the new hires, “These are vital roles as we look to ramp up our original content and programming ambitions in this region. Saugata, Mark and Shi Ming have a great eye for a winning project and have enviable connections within the industry.”

HBO Asia has been bolstering their production teams over the past several months to prepare for the eventual launch of HBO Max, which does not yet have an official launch date. In September, Audrey Wee was hired as the physical production lead for regional entertainment content in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Earlier this month, Jason Monteiro was announced to oversee HBO Max when it launches; currently, Monteiro is overseeing interim streamer HBO Go, which is available in eight different markets of the region.

Advertisements