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MUMBAI:
Television format creator and distributor Endemol has announced
that Fotini Paraskakis has been appointed as Managing Director
of Asian Operations.
Fotini
was formerly FremantleMedia Asia director of content, managing
creative, production and content for all the company’s
formats in the region including Idols, Got Talent and X Factor
and supervising over 1000 prime time hours since taking the
role in 2005. She also created and supervised the first ever
live Asia-wide event Asian Idol, bringing together six Asian
winners for a successful Idol contest, targeting 250 million
households.
Fotini
began her career in television with BBC Drama in the UK and
has been based in Asia since 1995. Prior to joining Fremantle
she produced and managed major projects for leading networks
across Asia and the UK, including Star TV, Disney, ESPN, Channel
4, BBC and MTV; holding numerous senior roles on multi-award
winning shows.
As
Asian Operations MD, Fotini will be responsible for Endemol’s
creative, production and format sales activities across Asia
on a day-to-day basis including the company’s joint venture
with Astro in Malaysia. She will report to Asian Operations
CEO Arjen van Mierlo, who will increasingly focus on exploring
new opportunities for Endemol to further expand in the region.
Mierlo
said, “Having someone of Fotini’s calibre helping
to lead our business in Asia places us in a strong position
to pursue further growth here. She has an extraordinary wealth
of experience and will be a valuable asset to our operations
across the region.“
Paraskakis
said, "Endemol is a creative powerhouse with great prospects
for further growth in Asia. The industry here is hungry for
ideas and Endemol’s shows have already proven to be enormously
popular with audiences throughout the region. I’m thrilled
to be part of the team and I’m enormously looking forward
to the challenges ahead.”
Endemol’s
recent projects in Asia include a first series of Fear Factor
for Astro in Malaysia; shot in South Africa and co-produced
by Endemol Malaysia and Endemol South Africa. Also in Malaysia,
hit game show The Money Drop has returned for a second season
on Astro whilst in China Endemol’s latest international
hit Your Face Sounds Familiar continues to be the number one
Thursday evening show across all channels for the third season
in a row on Hunan Satellite TV. In the Philippines Deal or
no Deal has successfully returned on ABS-CBN with a new host
and The Money Drop was recently launched at ABC’s TV5.
In Vietnam the first season of Your Face Sounds Familiar is
outperforming the competition on VTV3 while Step Right Up
is performing strongly on Channel 9 in Thailand.
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