TWI Appoints Martin Baker As Commercial Director
10/25/04 1:35

TWI has appointed Carlton Content�s former commercial director Martin Baker to take on a similar role at the independent production company.

His responsibilities will include overseeing all TWI�s contractual relationships with broadcasters and co-production partners when he starts next month (Nov 2004).

Baker, 44, will also work closely with Senior Vice President - Production and Business Development, Alastair Waddington, and its Director of Programming and Production - Sport, Graham Fry, in relation to all TWI�s production business, which amounts to nearly 9,000 hours a year. And he will have input into the business development arena overseen by Waddington.

The new appointment reflects TWI�s growing activities across not only its traditional heartland of sports programming, but also in the entertainment and factual fields. This expansion into new areas has seen TWI reap a clutch of international awards for its acclaimed In Colour documentary strand and been the catalyst for burgeoning international sales of entertainment formats like I�d Do Anything, which has currently been sold or optioned in 24 countries. TWI was also recently appointed host broadcaster to the 15th Doha Asian Games 2006, in a joint venture with HBS.

Alastair Waddington said: �We are delighted to welcome Martin aboard. He brings more than 15 years� experience operating at the highest commercial level in television production to TWI and will be a valuable asset as we grow the business even further.�

Martin Baker said: �I am thrilled to be joining TWI, already the international market leader in sports production, but also entering a really dramatic phase of growth in other areas. TWI being jointly appointed host broadcaster for the Doha Asian Games has got to represent one of the most exciting times for any production company given that the event will be the biggest OB the world has ever seen. I am delighted to be a part of it.�


As Commercial Director at Carlton, Baker was responsible for major deals for UK and international co-production, including a $20m international production fund with PBS. Baker was previously Controller of Business Affairs at Carlton, and before that Controller of Legal and Business Affairs at Central TV. Most recently he helped integrate Carlton functions and personnel into ITV plc. For 10 years he chaired ITV�s Talent and Rights Strategy Group and also helped create PIRs Ltd (now re-named the Producers� Rights Agency), the joint venture of ITV and PACT.

ENDS

Further info:
Madeleine Pallas
PR Manager for European Operations, IMG/TWI
tel:  +44 (0) 20 8233 7425/ mob: +44 (0) 7973 326 422
[email protected]

ABOUT TWI

TWI is the television arm of the IMG, the world�s premier sports marketing agency. It is the world�s largest independent producer, packager and distributor of sports programming, distributing nearly 9,000 hours of live events and original programming each year, across 200 countries and covering more than 240 sports. TWI has just been appointed joint host broadcaster to the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006, and with IMG, has renewed its 12-year-partnership with the International Rugby Board to be commercial brokers for the next two Rugby World Cups (in 2007 and 2011.) It is also overseas production and distribution partner for the FA Premier League. TWI�s non sports-programming includes I�d Do Anything and Superstars, for the BBC, and the Colour of War documentary series and Christopher Reeve: Hope in Motion.

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