SkyShowtime hires Disney, HBO Max & Netflix execs as streamer’s management roster expands

Hristina Georgieva

SkyShowtime’s senior exec team is expanding after the Comcast and Paramount-backed European streamer landed execs from Disney, Netflix and HBO Max.

Former Disney exec Hristina Georgieva has been appointed as chief business officer, while Brett Horowitz has been named VP of commercial strategy and Anazia Budhwar joins from Netflix as director of content strategy.

SkyShowtime structure

Georgieva reports into SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan and will lead the streamer’s distribution and partnership deals, overseeing opportunities with cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as platforms, device manufacturers and others.

The London-based exec had previously been VP of affiliate distribution & commercial development at Disney and was part of the team to launch Disney+ across EMEA, negotiating its first deals with cable, satellite, and telco partners including in many of SkyShowtime’s territories. Prior to that, she worked at Fox Networks Group and Discovery.

Horowitz, meanwhile, will lead SkyShowtime’s subscriber growth strategy and joins from HBO Max, where he held roles including head of data, insights & planning. Before that he had been CFO of HBO Nordics.

Roberto Soto

Budhwar joins following stints at Netflix, where she was strategy & planning lead. She will work on acquisition and originals strategies for SkyShowtime and previously worked at Comcast-owned NBCUniversal.

Both Budhwar and Horowitz are part of the recently formed team under chief strategy officer, Roberto Soto, who joined SkyShowtime late last year from HBO Max.

Sarhan said Georgieva’s “extensive experience in expanding distribution and delivering revenue” would help drive SkyShowtime’s growth.

The nascent streaming servicereaches more than 20 European markets including the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Croatia, reaching a potential 90 million households. Sarah recently told TBI that the streamer’s local originals are “incredibly important” as it looks to build scale.

On today’s hires, he added: “Along with Hristina, these hires show that SkyShowtime is becoming a magnet for talent throughout Europe. Across the organisation, I’m extremely proud of the team we are assembling.”