Apple, Warner alums eye $1.1bn slate

Two former Apple executives and a Warner Bros distribution chief have joined forces to launch a production and financing company that’s aiming to develop and finance TV and features worth more than €1bn (US$1.1bn) over the next five years.

Sebastien Janin

Ex-Apple execs Sebastien Janin and Andy Docherty, together with Warner Bros alum Chris Law, have launched Media Musketeers, which has offices in the UK, Netherlands and France.

It will “initially invest in a raft of high-end scripted television projects,” with plans to release up to eight series per year, which the company says will represent “a forecast aggregate production output of €1bn over the next five years.”

The new venture plans to create drama for international markets, helping broadcasters compete for high-budget projects and combining traditional film and TV production practices with digital distribution, social media and “a data-centric” focus.

Andy Docherty

Docherty worked for the BBC, Travel Channel and Liberty Global prior to Apple, where he was responsible for launching and managing the iTunes TV and movie stores across Europe.

Law has had stints at Sony Pictures as VP of Europe sales and was, most recently, MD of TV and digital distribution for Warner Bros Digital Strategy in Europe, while Janin has worked for France’s Canal+ and was responsible for managing Apple’s relationship with indie film producers and distributors.

Docherty said the trio’s “shared mindset, experience and contacts across both the media and tech sectors, ideally position us to exploit opportunities that have been brought about by digital technology, shifts in consumer behaviour and their convergence within an established industry unable to respond easily to radical change.”

Chris Law

Janin added the company would have local partnerships and a presence in key markets, adding it was in talks with a potential partner in the UK who “will act as our local eyes and ears, informing and representing the venture’s interests.”

Deals are expected to be announced in the coming months, alongside the signing of a slate of development projects in Europe and the US.