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TBI Weekly: accusations cost Price his Amazon job
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This week, the company most affected by sexual harassment claims outside The Weinstein Co. is undoubtedly Amazon, which has lost a string of top TV executives in the space of a week.
Following the departure of Amazon’s content head Roy Price (pictured) due to sexual harassment claims, the remaining team have dropped one by one for reasons not yet determined or confirmed.
Kicking off the domino effect was Morgan Wandell, Amazon’s head of international productions, who departed to join Apple as head of international creative development. The negotiation began prior to Price’s exit from the company.
Joining Wandell was Joe Lewis, Amazon’s head of half hour and drama series development, who departed the next day without stating reason. Lewis will, however, hold on to a production deal with the company despite allegations he abused his position to get his girlfriend roles.
Last to go was unscripted head Conrad Riggs who was quickly replaced by Amazon’s newly hired creative executive Heather Schuster. His departure has not been linked to misconduct, but does suggest Amazon is clearing the decks for a new regime.
Of course, many other companies have had to face the consequences of sexual harassment claims, including Fox, NBC and Nickelodeon. More will inevitably follow.
The scandal is spreading beyond the Hollywood Hills and into the fashion business, where photographer Terry Richardson is in hot water, and politics, where 93-year-old former president George H.W. Bush has been accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Also in the news…
NATPE has elected Netflix VP of original content Cindy Holland, Universal Television president Pearlena Igbokwe, Facebook head of development Mina Levefre and CBS senior VP of alternative programming Sharon Vuong to its board, and has established a new boadr focused on emerging business models titled NXTGN
Viceland has gained two additional distribution deals in Belgium, following the network’s launch in the country in March, including carriage deals with VOO and Orange
Eccho Rights and Most Production have made a distribution deal for the international sales of brand new Turkish series Life of Secrets
Pulse Films has appointed entertainment finance and business affairs executive Tim O’Shea as commercial director
Pulse owner Vice Media has launched its Viceland channel on Belgian services VOO and Orange
Distributor KABO International has licensed entertainment game show Who’s Who? to Latvian pubcaster LTV
Meetinghouse Productions, creator and producer of the MTV International TV series Clickbait, has launched digital comedy channel, Chuckler.com
German pubcaster WDR has made a deal for new doc-reality show, Back to Life, which was created for Israel’s Channel 10 in partnership with Armoza Formats
TV Azteca has become the first Mexican network to buy and adapt an Ecuadorian show, Tres Familias, through a deal with Peru’s FLI Internacional
Twenty shows from FremantleMedia-owned US classic games network Buzzr have been added to Amazon Prime Video through its Amazon Direct Video platform
SBS in Australia and ZDF and NDF in German are among the prebuyers of France 2 documentary ISIS Next Generation, which Newen DIstribution sells worldwide
The Verizon-, Hearst– and NBCUniversal-backed AwesomenessTV is launching in Italy through a deal with De Agostini Editore and pay TV service Vodafone Italia
Russian kids pay TV channel Gulli has bought 2D animated series K3 from Belgian group Studio100 Media
France’s Lagardere, Sony Pictures Television in Italy and American SVOD service Filmrise are among the latest to buy Zodiak Kids Studios toon series Totally Spies
CBBC in the UK has commissioned a first kids series from UK indie Chalkboard TV, a high school-based drama called Logan High
France’s Groupe AB has entered into an agreement with Activision Blizzard for rights to eSports content, launching a dedicated two-hour block on one of its channels in December
Cannabis-themed online channel 420TV has greenlit production on Medical Marijuana Miracles, a ten-episode 4K series from Scratch Creative
London-based Carnaby International has taken TV distribution to Italian ice-skating extravaganza Intimissi on Ice: A Legend of Beauty
UK online channel BBC Three has commissioned 30 short films under its Things Not to Say banner from Tinopolis Group-owned Mentorn Media
Comedy Central International has commissioned a pilot from Gobstopper TV titled Game Junkies (WT), which is themed around video games
The BBC, Channel 4 and More 4 have commissioned factual shows from UK indie True North
Red Arrow International has picked up distribution rights to new Network Seven crime drama Australian Gangster, which comes from John Edwards’ indie, Roadshow Rough Diamond
Kanal D in Turkey will bring its various telenovelas and dramas to South Africa’s e.tv networks
This week’s top TBI stories:
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