London/Toronto – Entertainment One Television (eOne Television) announced on May 13 the executive appointment of Stuart Baxter, who joins the company in the role of President, eOne Television International, reporting to eOne Television Chief Executive Officer John Morayniss.

eOne Television International is the company’s television sales and distribution arm. In addition to handling the international distribution for eOne-produced content, the division handles third-party content including output agreements with AMC Networks and El Rey Network.

“Our dynamic international TV business has boomed over the past several years; greatly broadening our abilities through more partnerships with leading networks and top producers and expanding our reach with more people on the ground around the world,” said Morayniss. “Stuart’s extensive experience and track record of success in broadcast, production and sales complements our overall strategy and vision and will certainly drive the division’s next stage of growth.”

Baxter will be based in London, which will serve as the unit’s headquarters, and will oversee all aspects of Entertainment One Television International’s activities including sales, acquisitions, co-production ventures, production financing and strategic partnerships, across the division’s offices globally.

Baxter brings over 20 years of experience in broadcast, production and international distribution to eOne. Most recently, he spent nine years at Sony Pictures, overseeing the distribution of all Sony feature film and television programmes to all media outlets throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This included traditional broadcast outlets for free and pay-TV in addition to new media, mobile operators and emerging on-demand platforms. Prior to Sony, Baxter headed Warner Bros. Intl TV EMEA business development team. Among a number of other relevant roles, Baxter also spent two years as Commercial Director of European Business News where he led a restructure of all the commercial operations and ultimately prepared the company for its merger with CNBC.

“Having watched eOne evolve and grow rapidly over the last several years, I’m delighted to now join John and the team,” said Baxter. “eOne’s ability to offer content creators a major financial contribution towards their projects, broad international expertise and access to a very robust international infrastructure in the industry is unique. There is so much potential as we focus on growth in the European market and with emerging talent around the world.”

The restructure will also see the departure of Peter Emerson, who will work with the company to support the transition through July 2014.

“After six great years with eOne, building its international TV business and a dream team from scratch, the entrepreneur in me felt that it was the right time to move on. I pass the baton on to Stuart who brings a new bag of tricks, and I know he will continue to build on our success and momentum,” said Emerson.

Emerson joined eOne in 2008 through the acquisition of his company Oasis International, which established eOne’s international television unit. Since joining the company in that transformational period, Emerson has successfully broadened the international offering and partnerships of the Television group.

“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Peter over many years, starting from when we were both running our respective TV businesses, which merged and were then acquired by eOne. Since joining eOne, Peter has led the team with vision, passion and exceptionally charming wit. We thank Peter for his leadership and commitment and wish him the best as he transitions to his next endeavour,” continued Morayniss.