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The Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Max streamer will launch in 22 European countries in spring 2024 and France and Belgium later next year, the media outfit revealed today.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Warner Bros. Discovery will be launching its streaming service Max in France, one of its top European markets, next summer, Variety has learned. The launch in France will follow a rollout in Northern and Eastern Europe, which is expected to be unveiled by Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros.

Mipcom, change is in the air yet again on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., the largest media conglomerates are all in rebuilding mode, even the mighty Disney.

In the past few minutes, Warner Bros Discovery has set out plans for its new look international sales team following Robert Blair‘s exit.

EXCLUSIVE: The major U.S. studios heading to Mipcom are proving global streaming and third-party licensing “can co-exist and work together,” says the event’s director.

Welcome to your Friday rundown, Insiders. Max Goldbart here to take you through the top international film and TV stories filling your inbox over the past seven days. And don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter here.

Warner Bros. Discovery international boss Gerhard Zeiler has set a new leadership structure for his team following a spate of exits in the past few weeks.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amid a widespread executive exodus, Warner Bros. Discovery’s international boss Gerhard Zeiler sent out a memo to the staff today laying out the company’s new global leadership structure. Following France boss Pierre Branco’s exit earlier this week, WBD has tapped Clément Schwebig to oversee France, Benelux, Afrique, Allemagne, Autriche and Suisse.

Warner Bros. Discovery France boss Pierre Branco has become the latest international exec to depart.

Warner Bros. Discovery Germany boss Hannes Heyelmann has become the latest to exit from Gerhard Zeiler’s international team.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery executive VP and general manager for Germany, Switzerland and Austria Hannes Heyelmann has stepped down from his role. In an internal memo to staff seen by Variety, Gerhard Zeiler, WBD’s international president, wrote: “When we launched the newly merged Warner Bros.

James Corden is to give his first industry interview since leaving the Late Late Show and returning to the UK at the RTS Cambridge Convention next month.

K.J. Yossman Andrew Georgiou upped to head of Warner Bros. Discovery’s media business in the U.K.

Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA boss Priya Dogra is exiting the company after 14 years in post.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA boss Priya Dogra is leaving the company after almost 14 years. Dogra, a well-respected industry veteran, served as president and managing director of EMEA since the merger last year, having previously held a similar role for WarnerMedia that also covered Asia, including China.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros. Discovery, will give the opening keynote at the 39th edition of TV market Mipcom, which runs Oct. 16-19 in Cannes.

reported by Bloomberg, the show would be based directly on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels, with each season focusing on one book in the seven-book series.The potential series would not be based on an in-universe spin-off, such as the “Fantastic Beasts” films.The concept of one season per book suggests that the franchise would be an ongoing, years-long project from Warner Bros.Rowling is in preliminary talks to join the project as a producer and would have a degree of creative involvement, though she would not be the primary creator or showrunner of the series.Once Rowling is officially on board, the project is expected to look for a writer.There have long been talks about a “Harry Potter” television series, with rumors first sparking in January 2021 — although Warner Bros.

David Zaslav’s compensation for 2022 totaled nearly $39.3 million, hefty but well down from the previous year when the figure was swelled to $246 million by a large option grant.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav’s pay package topped $39 million in 2022, down considerably from the staggering figure he hit in the year prior, thanks to a massive $203 million stock option. In a Wednesday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, WBD stated that president and CEO Zaslav’s exec comp package totaled $39.3 million last year. $3.1 million of that sum was his salary, with the rest being stock awards ($12 million), stock option awards ($1.4 million), non-equity incentive plan comp ($21.8 million) and “all other” compensation ($925,489). While Zaslav’s pay is down considerably from 2021, it’s important to note the reason behind this major dip is an unprecedented $203 million stock option grant that inflated his total 2021 compensation package to a staggering $246.6 million. (To give you a more reasonable idea of what Zaslav’s pay has been in recent years, his 2020 haul was a mere $37.7 million.)

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery, which is struggling with billions of dollars in debt, is willing to pay more money to executives who might be able to help reduce it. The owner of HBO, Discovery Channel and Food Network said Monday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would pay out new rewards to CEO David Zaslav, six senior staffers and an unspecified group of others if they could meet certain goals of new generation of free cash flow. “The changes to the Warner Bros. Discovery executive compensation program are designed to further incentivize Company employees, including members of its leadership team and others whose efforts are critical to achieving the key near-term financial objectives of increased free cash flow and reduced leverage,” said WBD board chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. in a prepared statement.“The WBD board is confident that these additional incentives offer a more competitive package against the backdrop of ongoing industry-wide transformation and economic headwinds, and better position the company to advance core drivers of shareholder value.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Gerhard Zeiler, president of International at Warner Bros. Discovery, has moved to reassure the Asia-Pacific region that it is an integral part of the group’s post-merger strategy. “Don’t believe that we don’t know how important Asia is for our company, he said Thursday. Zeiler was speaking at the APOS Convention in Singapore on Thursday. He cited examples of theatrical success for “Batman” and “Fantastic Beasts” in the region and investment in local production in the region. The reassurance may have been necessary following post-merger announcements that proposed changes in North America, Latin America and Europe ahead of Asia – despite recent external data showing Asia-Pacific as one of the world’s fastest growth regions.

K.J. Yossman The Royal Television Society (RTS) annual convention, which took place all day Thursday (Sept. 27) in London, U.K., brought together some of television’s biggest hitters including Warner Discovery, Disney, Sky, ITV and BBC. The title – and theme – of this year’s convention was “The Fight For Attention” and the broadcasters and content creators discussed challenges, strategy and sustainability, especially in the shadow of a looming recession. Undoubtedly, content is still the most important factor for broadcasters, streamers and viewers alike. “Content is still probably the most – for sure, in my opinion – the most important [factor],” in terms of consumer choice, said Warner Bros Discovery International president Gerhard Zeiler, who said that as well as continuing to invest in local content the company was of course investing in franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and more. Unsurprisingly, Jan Koeppen, president of IP powerhouse The Walt Disney Company EMEA, also said that in an era of choice, content would be the deciding factor. Said Koeppen: “Even with economic woes that we have right now, people are going back to quality, and I think great content will win.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Online video is taking up the role of growth engine for the Asia Pacific video industry as free-TV in the region moves into long-term decline, says a new report. The video sector is forecast to remain robust this year, but recession could deal a blow to sector performance in 2023. Video sector revenues – defined as subscription fees and advertising generated by free TV, pay-TV and online video platforms – in 14 Asia-Pacific markets are forecast to will grow by 6.4% in the current year to reach $143 billion, according to Media Partners Asia.

K.J. Yossman Warner Bros. Discovery Intl President Gerhard Zeiler has set out the company’s post-merger strategy, re-iterating his belief in cinema as well as his commitment to “local stories,” despite the fact that HBO Max recently halted local original programming across a number of European territories, including in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey. “If you want to be a global player, you have to have relevant local stories,” Zeiler said at the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) annual convention in London on Tuesday morning. “I mean don’t misunderstand me, the big kids will always be the Batmans, the Elvises, the Black Adams, which premieres next month here in the U.K.” He also pointed out that WBD invests in local films, citing productions in Japan and Germany, as well as streaming content.

Gerhard Zeiler has talked up the “development of franchises” including Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones as the key priority for the merged entity six months after he was handed the top international role.

previously speculated, HBO Max’s reality segment and live-action family originals unit are being downsized given Discovery’s successful footprint in the unscripted realm. Instead, HBO Max is expected to continue emphasizing scripted originals.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAfter weeks of speculation, Warner Bros. Discovery is ready to reveal some of the changes that will take place at HBO Max, in advance of next year’s anticipated combination of the HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services. And as expected, HBO Max will downsize its reality programming department.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBig name executives including Kevin Mayer, Uday Shankar and Punit Goenka are among the headline speakers confirmed at APOS, the Asian media and entertainment conference, in September.Having been held in various online formats during the COVID pandemic, APOS is to return as an in-person event this year. However, it shifts from its usual April slot to Sept.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWarner Bros. Discovery has set out its India, Southeast Asia and Korea (INSEAK) leadership team under Clement Schwebig, as president and managing director.The Thursday announcement follows just hours after a similar announcement of the EMEA leadership team under Priya Dogra.Both Schwebig and Dogra report to Gerhard Zeiler, president of international for the merged company.

Manori Ravindran International EditorWarner Bros. Discovery has set out its long-awaited international leadership team under Gerhard Zeiler.Zeiler, as announced earlier this month, is the newly installed president of international for the merged company, and oversees the global channels business with a “dotted line” to international streaming lead JB Perrette.

The final bow has been placed atop the $40 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, forming one of the largest pure content players in the media business.

Among the leadership announcements, Warner Bros. Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich, HBO/HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys, and Warner Television chairman Channing Dungey will continue in their respective roles, reporting to Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

David Zaslav will have a tight grip on the operations of Warner Bros. Discovery under the management structure unveiled for the new company that is set to emerge on Monday, Variety has learned.Zaslav, as longtime observers predicted, has opted to have a direct-report relationship with the leaders of the businesses he doesn’t know as well as he does cable channels and advertising sales, per individuals close to the situation.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery is cleaning house among the top ranks at WarnerMedia ahead of the close of the two companies’ merger, which is expected to occur Friday, with six more executives shown the door Wednesday, Variety has learned.According to a WarnerMedia spokesperson, the newly cut WarnerMedia players include: Jennifer Biry – Chief Financial Officer, Jim Cummings – EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer; Tony Goncalves – EVP, Chief Revenue Officer; Christy Haubegger – EVP, Communications and Chief Inclusion Officer;  Jim Meza – EVP, General Counsel, WarnerMedia; and Richard Tom – Chief Technology Officer.Notably remaining with the soon-to-be-combined company, which will be renamed Warner Bros. Discovery and run by current Discovery CEO David Zaslav, is Gerhard Zeiler, president of WarnerMedia International, a source close to the internal leadership changes confirmed to Variety.

Gerhard Zeiler, head of international at WarnerMedia, has moved to make good on a promise to integrate the entertainment company's businesses outside the U.S. and bring them together as "One WarnerMedia International," rounding out his leadership team on Thursday.

AT&T's WarnerMedia unit on Wednesday promoted Whit Richardson to the role of president, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, Latin America, effective Aug. 1.