Singapore – RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network, the recently formed venture of RTL Group and CBS Studios International, have announced the appointment of two senior management executives, effective immediately. Jennifer Batty has joined as Executive Vice President of Programming and Daniel Fung as Executive Vice President of Distribution.
Reporting directly to Jonas Engwall, CEO of RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network, Jennifer Batty and Daniel Fung will be responsible for, respectively, content and distribution of the company’s two channels, the recently launched family-oriented RTL CBS Entertainment HD channel and the upcoming male-targeted RTL CBS Extreme HD channel scheduled to launch in early 2014.
Jennifer Batty is the new Vice President of Programming
Jennifer Batty’s role is to build world-class programme offerings tailored to appeal to Asian audiences, while Daniel Fung is responsible for maximising distribution opportunities for the channels across the region. Both were previously consultants to RTL Group working on its expansion into Asia.
Jonas Engwall, CEO of RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network, commented: “Jennifer and Daniel are heavyweights with tremendous experience in the Asian pay-TV industry and I am excited to welcome them to our team. Thanks to Jennifer’s profound understanding of regional audiences and in-depth content knowledge and Daniel’s exceptional distribution track record and industry connections, the launch of our first channel, RTL CBS Entertainment HD, has been a huge success across our key markets.”
Jennifer Batty has extensive industry experience, gained both in Asia Pacific and Europe. She has most recently worked as a consultant for RTL Group based in Hong Kong, focusing on the expansion of the RTL Group in Asia and was instrumental in launching the Big RTL Thrill channel in India in November 2012. Prior to consulting for RTL Group, she was Vice President of Programming for Star World (News Corp). In Europe, from 2005 to 2008, Jennifer Batty was Head of Programming at Viasat Broadcasting (MTG), responsible for content across its 13 pay-TV channels in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Previously, she worked at Discovery Networks Europe and held various roles at Alliance Atlantis from content sales to content development.
Daniel Fung is a veteran in the pay-TV industry in Asia with experience spanning across business development, channel operations, marketing and distribution sales. He has most recently worked as a consultant for RTL Group based in Hong Kong, focusing on the expansion of the RTL Group in Asia. Prior to consulting for RTL Group, he held various positions at Celestial Pictures, lately Senior Vice President of Distribution and TV Networks, a role in which he managed global licensing and distribution of films, TV content, satellite channels and co-production projects. Previously, Daniel Fung was Vice President of Marketing with Media Banker (HK) Limited and Assistant Vice President at Cable TV Hong Kong Group’s Airtime Sales Department with responsibility for business development of Cable TV Hong Kong.