Atrium adds Alchemy co-founder

Drama commissioning club Atrium TV has appointed the co-founder of transatlantic production group Alchemy Television to head up its international sales.

Nick Witkowski

Nick Witkowski has been named director of global content sales at MTG-backed Atrium, which was launched by ex-CBS president Howard Stringer and Jeremy Fox, CEO of UK distributor DRG, at MipTV earlier this year.

It is targeting US$5m-per-hour drama series and aims to create high-profile scripted content for regional OTT players and telcos.

The model sees Atrium teams based in London and LA finding and developing suitable projects and sharing them with club members who can then decide if they wish to invest.

Witkowski joins recent entrants at Atrium including creative head Quinn Taylor, who is based in LA, and UK-based development exec Dave Clarke, who is finding suitable projects.

He will be based in Atrium’s London office and will be responsible for working closely with Atrium TV club members as projects come to fruition.

Witkowski has held numerous senior positions during his 30-year TV career, including roles at Central Television, TVS and Chrysalis Television.

He was a co-founder of now defunct Alchemy, which created more than US$250m worth of production, and more recently has worked on shows for BBC Worldwide, Red Planet Productions and Cineflix Studios.

He has also helped finance and exploit productions including Shackleton for Channel 4 in the UK and A&E in the US, Diamonds for Canada’s CBC and France’s Canal+, and ITV series Marcella.

Fox, CEO of Atrium TV, said the company would shortly be announcing the first round of members to join co-founder Viaplay as well as its first programming slate.

“Nick brings with him huge amounts of valuable experience from the international drama world and a genuine passion for the end product,” Fox added. “He is also incredibly well liked in the industry and has a track record for getting results, so we are delighted he has chosen to spend the next part of his exciting career with Atrium.”

Witkowski said: “Jeremy, Howard and the team are developing something really special with Atrium so I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to use my existing experience and apply it to such a clever new model in the industry.”