Solomon fills ORF role

Austrian pubcaster ORF has appointed a new head for its natural history and science unit, following former chief Walter Koehler’s departure.

European documentary veteran Andrew Solomon will take on the role, spearheading a new team that oversees ORF’s acclaimed Universum strand. He reports to ORF’s head of specialist factual Gerhard Klein, in a structure revealed to C21 earlier this month.

Former Universum chief Walter Koehler took all 13 of his team with him to form Red Bull Media House-backed Terra Mater Factual Studios when he left the pubcaster, and it is likely Solomon will look to hire five new producers.

Solomon will oversee all of Universum’s new blue-chip wildlife, nature and science documentaries. The division’s international coproduction partners include the BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, WDR, Canal+ and NDR Naturfilm – with the latter two among Solomon’s former employers.

He was Canal+’s executive producer at its international documentary investment arm Docstar, which is a joint venture with UK distributor Explore International and Nat Geo. While at Docstar, he inked a 10-film output deal with Universum.

At Germany’s NDR, he was director of its subsidiary Studio Hamburg Documentaries, and has also worked with ZDF Enterprises and UK indies such as Brook Lapping.

“I look forward to the opportunity to further Universum’s exceptional reputation within Austria and internationally as a commissioner, producer and coproducer of the highest quality nature and science documentaries,” Solomon said.

“With my new team we will continue to broaden our appeal abroad and surprise and entertain our audience in Austria.”

Koehler left the pubcaster in December, saying that “conditions just weren’t right” at ORF when the news broke earlier this month. He was openly critical of the pubcaster’s plans for new 3D natural history programmes, telling C21 at Mipcom last year: “When I first saw the new 3D I said to myself, ‘This is bullshit.'”