Newen Studios will see a change in governance in April.
Pierre Branco, former Country Manager of Warner Bros Discovery for France, Benelux and Africa, will join Newen Studios.
Rodolphe Belmer, the Chairman & CEO of TF1 group, will be appointed Chairman of Newen Studios.
Since being acquired by TF1 group, Newen Studios has become a leading European player in production and distribution. Newen is now a diversified group, whose labels and programmes have achieved strong brand recognition thanks to its talented people.
In 2023, Newen Studios had a footprint in 11 countries; was home to 50 labels; produced about 4,000 hours of content, from soaps and TV movies to cartoons and feature films, plus documentaries and magazine shows. Newen also distributes a catalogue of 12,000 hours of programmes.
After an initial development phase, TF1 group’s ambitions for Newen Studios remain as strong as ever. Pierre Branco’s role will be to embed Newen as the leading European studio with French roots, and as the go-to partner for traditional broadcasters and media platforms in France and internationally.
After six years at Newen Studios – during which he led the company’s expansion, particularly on international markets, brought in new talent, and set up a new organisational structure in France – Romain Bessi has decided to step down as head of Newen. Over the next few months, he will continue to work with Rodolphe Belmer at TF1 group to support the ongoing developments.
Rodolphe Belmer, TF1 group CEO, says:
I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Romain Bessi for building a studio of European standing, in a particularly tough competitive environment. The proliferation of content providers, the rise of streaming, and competition between global players are creating new opportunities for exacting and innovative production and distribution companies. So I am delighted to welcome Pierre Branco to lead a new phase in the development of Newen. During a brilliant career at one of the leading US studios, Pierre has acquired unrivalled knowledge of the global content, broadcasting, production and distribution market. That experience, coupled with his business acumen and strategic capabilities, mean that Pierre is ideally prepared to meet Newen challenges, with the support of talented colleagues in France and internationally.
Pierre Branco
During a 17-year career at Warner, Pierre Branco (aged 41) held a variety of management posts in Europe. In each of those posts, he played a key role in delivering the group’s international strategy and developing high added value projects in TV, digital and streaming.
From June 2021, he held the post of Country Manager for France, Benelux and Africa, with responsibility for all of Warner’s local operations: films, TV and video sales, TV channels, streaming and local production. Under his leadership, Warner France launched some of its latest successful French cinema releases: Simone, le voyage du siècle (no.1 French film at the box office in 2022) and Bernadette in 2023.
Pierre Branco holds a Masters in Political Sciences from IEP Paris, and a Masters in Media Management from the Sorbonne. He also holds a Masters Degree in Contemporary History, also from the Sorbonne.