EXCLUSIVE: A little over two years after the close of Lionsgate‘s $4.4 billion acquisition of Starz, the companies have stepped up the integration of their television operations under Lionsgate Entertainment CEO Jon Feltheimer. Merging are the companies’ TV physical production and post-production units, legal and TV music departments as well as aspects of business affairs and TV finance related to production. There are no current plans for eliminating positions as a result of the consolidation.
Under the integration plan, which comes three months after the exit of Chris Albrecht as Starz CEO, the premium cable network’s original programming and areas related to development, including business affairs and finance, will remain autonomous. They will maintain their current organizational structure and will continue to report to Starz COO Jeff Hirsch.
I hear a search is underway for a top creative executive to partner with Hirsch in running the network.
Here are details about the reporting structure of the newly merged Lionsgate-Starz operations.
The combined Lionsgate and Starz physical production operation will report to Lionsgate Chief Content Integration Officer and Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs and Lionsgate Television Group President Sandra Stern.
An integrated Lionsgate & Starz TV production finance operation will report to Beggs and Stern as well. TV production business affairs will be under the leadership of Stern, and an integrated legal affairs operation will be led by Starz EVP and General Counsel Audrey Lee.
A combined Lionsgate and Starz post-production operations will be under SVP of TV Post-production Bobby Williams and SVP of TV Post-production Bobby Williams and a unified TV music department will be under the purview of EVP of TV Music Russell Ziecker.
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