He will oversee the international division’s growth for its newly rebranded international service Lionsgate+ in the UK, Latin America and Brazil, Canada and Australia.
Starz President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch announced today that global SVOD executive Darren Nielson has been promoted to Executive Vice President, International Networks, taking over for Superna Kalle.
Reporting directly to Hirsch, Nielson will oversee the international division’s growth for its newly rebranded international service Lionsgate+ including P&L responsibility and all aspects of programming, distribution, marketing and publicity in the UK, Latin America and Brazil, Canada and Australia including oversight of Lionsgate+ international original series.
Since joining the company in 2018, Nielson has been leading the international distribution and business development for the Starz-branded digital and linear services and channels, working closely with Kalle to develop expansion strategies, identify and evaluate partner opportunities, and source and negotiate distribution agreements with in-territory partners.
“Darren has been instrumental in building our international business working with Superna since joining the company in 2018. He has a deep knowledge of the global streaming landscape and is a respected strategic executive. We look forward to maximizing growth and profitability of our international markets under his leadership,” said Hirsch.
“Superna did a great job in rapidly scaling an international service from the ground up, forming many new distribution partnerships and building a robust slate of international original series. We are grateful for her leadership and dedication to the company and wish her continued success.”
Kalle added, “Darren has been my right hand in launching and building the international business and has great relationships with key partners around the globe. He will do a wonderful job in leading the next phase of Starz international.”
Prior to joining Starz, Nielson served as director of content acquisition at Netflix, helping grow the service from a domestic DVD business into a global leader in streaming video. Nielson was instrumental in launching and building Netflix across Europe and Asia and managed global licensing relationships with major studios and local partners across both film and TV series.
Prior to Netflix, Nielson held business development positions at Sony Pictures Television and Ascent Media.
Nielson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
