Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 1 (Continued from Page 6) he founded it 15 years ago. However in September 2010, Power was forced into administration (the U.K. equivalent to bankruptcy) by Lloyd’s Banking Group, and put up for bidding. Reportedly, the firm was approximately 44 million pounds (U.S. $68.2 million) in debt. CapeTown-basedHoskenConsolidated Investments (HCI), the parent company of Sibido, won the bid, led by CEO Marcel Golding. The amount paid by HCI for Power remains undisclosed. HCI is an investment holding company with businesses in a variety of diverse sectors, including many in media and communications. Sabido Investments is an offshoot of HCI also specializing in financing in investments, which controls companies including top tier SouthAfrican TV network e.tv. Echegaray noted that HCI and Sibido were particularly interested in Power’s distribution arm, and in addition to keeping on all vice presidents in the department, will continue with its same sales and financial teams. “When they looked at Power,” said Echegaray, “They said [distribution] is what is missing in our company.” Meanwhile the search is on for a CEO to head the new Power, who will report to Sabido’s Golding. For his part, Justin Bodle is in the process of developing his own production company, and is in negotiations to do some production for Power under its new management. Echegaray expressed a great amount of respect for Bodle on behalf of the Power team, but also noted that he is “Very excited for the change and looking forward to the support of a large, global company.” Additionally, despite the upheaval, Echegaray reported that Power will be on hand at NATPE. Hollywood’s First Remakes Market The first edition of The Remakes Market was held November 29 through December 1. The market drew participants who hold rights to foreign film, television and book properties together with Hollywoodbased production executives looking to acquire adaptation rights. The market was organized by DISCOP’s Basic Lead and The Media Faculty, a training consultancy based in Paris, and held at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood. Pictured is a morning session of “How To Make It In America.” The second edition of The Remakes Market will take place November 14-16, 2011. Telefe Taps Varela For Int’l Three months after the resignation of Alejandro Parra, Telefe named FernandoVarela (pictured below) International Business director. In his new position, Varela will oversee the Content Sales, Formats and International Production Area. This is a strategic division for the company’s International Business. As the new director, Varela will also be responsible for generating new business and increasing content penetration in old and new platforms. A lawyer who graduated from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and has a postgraduate degree from the Universidad Notarial Argentina and a PhD from the Universidad Católica Argentina, Varela has been working at Telefe International for over nine years. Hungary To Curb Press Freedom Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban is introducing legislation to strictly control media coverage. If the new law is approved, the press cannot devote more than 20 percent of coverage to crime news. Starting this year, Orban will appoint members of the new Media Advisory Board that will have control powers over any media outlet.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5