ITVS hires Samsung TV Plus, Hat Trick & Leonine execs

ITV Studios has hired senior execs from Samsung TV Plus, Hat Trick International and Leonine Studios to bolster its global distribution team.

Ed Love joins as senior vice-president of APAC, having previously served as head of Samsung TV Plus, ANZ and Southeast Asia, where he led the company’s FAST and AVOD.

Prior to that, he was exec director at MGM and acquisitions manager at Foxtel.

Also joining the EMEA team and reporting to senior vice-president David Wilcox are Jonathan South and Patrick Phelan.

South becomes vice-president of the Nordics & Benelux having previously been senior sales executive for The Americas, Spain and Portugal at Hat Trick International.

His other prior roles include senior vice-president and head of EMEA at Electus and director of worldwide sales and head of non-scripted and alternative programming UK at Televisa.

Phelan, who recently departed Leonine Studios amid a broader reorg at Mediawan as revealed by Broadcast International, will take on the role of vice-president for German-speaking territories, leading commercial efforts across the region and overseeing CEE.

He was most recently head of international sales at Leonine Studios, joining the company having had spells as vice-president of sales at Sky Vision and director of sales liaison at NBCUniversal.

Phelan was also vice-president of international sales at Sonar Entertainment, and senior sales manager at StudioCanal TV/Tandem Communications.

The appointments come after ITVS reported record profits in 2024 and looks to expand its operations around the world, with a particular focus on ramping up revenues from digital with the launch of Zoo55.

It hired the former co-head of Propagate International, Catalina Ramirez, to work across sales in the Americas earlier this year and recently picked up rights to Vice Studios catalogue, takings its total library to more than 95,000 hours.

Augustus Dulgaro, ITVS’s exec vice-president of distribution for APAC, said Love’s hire was part of his strategy to “constantly review and realign roles to best meet the ever-changing pace of the local market landscape.”

Dulgaro added: “Ed’s deep knowledge and vast experience align perfectly with our ambition to strengthen and grow our business in the region.”

Gisela Asimus-Minnbergh, exec vice-president of distribution EMEA, added: “Jonathan and Patrick are outstanding additions to our team, bringing invaluable regional expertise and established relationships. Their experience will help us deliver exceptional service and content to our clients.”