Sky Studios expands Nils Hartmann’s role to take in German originals

European pay TV broadcaster Sky has extended the role of Nils Hartmann at its original production arm Sky Studios, adding oversight of operations in Germany to his existing role in Italy.

Hartmann, previously senior director of original production for Sky Italia, is now senior VP for Sky Studios Deutschland and Italia.

The native German will lead the development, commissioning and production of Sky Original dramas and comedies for Sky Deutschland while retaining his current responsibilities for producing scripted Sky Originals for Sky Italia.

In a statement, Sky said the aim was to further boost its ability to create must-see original content as it ramps up its Europe-wide investment in Sky Originals over the coming years.

Hartmann, who has been with Sky Italia since 2003, has produced a range of Sky Originals out of Italy, from Romanzo Criminale to Devils and Gomorrah.

Sky Deutschland’s forthcoming slate of scripted originals includes Autobahn, Tender Hearts and Chameleon, and returning series Das Boot, Der Pass and Babylon Berlin.

Hartmann will continue to report to Sky Studios’ chief content officer Jane Millichip while working closely with exec VP of programming for Sky Deutschland Elke Walthelm and exec VP of programming for Sky Italia Antonella d’Errico, who maintain overall responsibility for Sky’s content offering in Germany and Italy respectively.

The move follows the departure of Marcus Ammon, who was senior VP of original production prior to his move to Bavaria Fiction in June.

In an email to staff today, Millichip said: “I’d particularly like to thank Frank Jastfelder, Oliver Uenzen and Andreas Messerschmidt for their incredibly hard work and stewardship of our German team over the past few months as we sought a replacement for Marcus Ammon. I’d also like to specifically call out Sonia Rovai for her superb creativity, passion and oversight of our scripted slate in Italy. With Nils’ expanded role, Sonia will now be taking on day-to-day leadership of our scripted teams in Italy.”