Constantin’s Jochen Koestler tapped to lead Leonine Studios’ non-fiction group
Germany’s Leonine Studios has named Constantin Entertainment executive Jochen Koestler as its new executive VP of non-fiction, starting on January 1, 2024.
Jochen Koestler
Under a newly unveiled plan, Koestler will lead the company’s non-fiction group, which includes Gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion, Hyperbole Medien, i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production and SEO Entertainment, alongside Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel.
The pair will jointly head the unscripted division for a year before Koestler takes sole responsibility in January 2025.
In addition to his exec VP role, Koestler has been named co-MD of Cologne-based i&u TV, a production company specialising in information and entertainment programmes.
Andreas Zaik will remain as MD and chairman of the management board of i&u TV, while Christian Meinberger remains MD of i&u TV and Hyperbole Medien.
Koestler is joining Leonine Studios from Constantin Entertainment, where he has served as MD since 2017. At the company, he has worked on titles including Amazon comedy format Last One Laughing, reality series Germany Shore, K11 – Kommissare im Einsatz for Sat.1 and Darf er das? – Die Chris Tall Show for RTL.
He also helped lead and build out Constantin’s documentary division, which produced titles including BILD.Macht.Deutschland? (Amazon) and Der Anschlag – Angriff auf den BVB (Sky).
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Jochen Koestler, one of Germany’s most accomplished and successful non-fiction producers, to our team. He is one of the few who combines impressive expertise in both entertainment and documentary production,” said Kogel.
“I am convinced that Jochen, who brings a wealth of experience, will successfully keep the i&u TV entertainment production business on our growth path and also position it for further expansion in the future with genres such as reality.”
Zaik added: “i&u [has] achieved strong growth during the past few years. In the process, the importance of the entertainment sector within our production business has increased above average. Jochen Koestler’s appointment to the management team of i&u TV reflects this development.”
Koestler said: “It’s a great privilege to take on these new tasks and goals and I’m going to embrace this responsibility with great pleasure and passion. I’m very much looking forward to working with my new colleagues and especially with the great team at i&u TV in Cologne.”
