Keshet establishes Canadian base

The global branch of Israel’s Keshet Media Group has continued its rapid expansion with the launch of a new base in Canada in partnership with a local television industry veteran.

Keshet International has hooked up with former Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting and Insight Sports boss Mark Rubenstein to form Keshet Canada, a joint venture that will hold rights to Keshet’s extensive catalogue in the territory.

This comes soon after KI made a similar deal with former Fox Networks Group chief David Haslingden to create Keshet Australia. In December, the group also launched a base in the UK and is building a team in LA.

Rubenstein previously held senior roles at Insight Sports, where he was president and CEO, and Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting, where he was COO. He also held roles at Crawley Films, CHUM and Yahoo!.

“Keshet’s swift international growth in recent years is a testament to the company’s ability to transcend international borders with its innovative scripted and unscripted programming,” he said. “I am looking forward to utilising our extensive network of industry contacts to bring the same level of success to the Canadian market with existing KI properties as well as new content we develop in-house.”

“After launching shops in the UK and Australia, it is only natural to add Canada to our production and creative network,” added KI’s managing director Alon Shtruzman, who brokered the deal.

“We are thrilled to bring Keshet’s catalogue to this exciting market that is home to an increasingly burgeoning entertainment industry. I have no doubt that with Mark’s vast experience we will soon become a prominent player in the Canadian TV landscape.”

Earlier this year, KI shopped broadcast, VOD and DVD rights to Prisoners of War, the Israeli drama series that Showtime’s Homeland was based on, to Video Services Corp. The show will air on Super Channel later this year.