Optomen Int’l hires for third-party push

MIPCOM: UK distributor Optomen International is branching out into third-party distribution and has a new acquisitions exec scouting for programming in Cannes this week.

Alex Brudenell

The sales arm of All3Media-owned producer Optomen Television gave Alex Brudenell the newly created role of senior acquisitions exec this summer. His job is to source third-party content that fits with Optomen International’s distribution slate of primetime factual and fact ent programming.

Brudenell joined from Zodiak Rights, where he spent three years as VP of factual acquisitions. He will work on third-party content strategy alongside chief of sales Caroline Stephenson, with the aim of securing rights to up to 100 hours of third-party content by the end of the year.

Stephenson said: “Given Alex’s established track record in spotting and maximising the best global return on rights and Optomen International’s credentials in content sales, we believe we are a serious proposition for any producer.”

The first projects on the third-party slate are Katie Piper’s Extraordinary Births (1×60’), a Broad Bean Media Production for UK network Channel 4, and food format Asian Flavours of Europe (12×30’).

The latter, from Swedish indie Luckyday and currently in development, stars MasterChef winner Jennie Wallden and explores the way Asian food is infusing and inspiring modern European cuisine.

The distributor has picked up worldwide rights excluding Sweden, as Luckyday negotiates a domestic commission.

Optomen International has until now focused on selling content from All3-owned prodcos Optomen and One Potato Two Potato, such as Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, The F-Word, Kevin McCloud’s Escape to the Wild and Mary Queen of Shops.