Ex-MTV, Elisa Viihde execs take up senior roles at Warner Bros Int’l TV Production in Finland

Warner Bros International Television Production (WBITVP) in Finland has appointed Marko Karvo as director of sports content and business, Joona Kortesmäki as chief growth officer and Erkka Rantanen as senior VP of commercial partnerships.

Marko Karvo

All three execs took up their roles at the start of this month and report to WBITVP Finland’s CEO Antti Väisänen. The appointments follow prodco Akun Tehdas’ acquisition of a majority stake in WBITVP in March.

Karvo is responsible for the management, production, sales and development of WBITVP’s sports businesses. He previously spent 11 years as a programme and content director at MTV, most recently as chief content officer from 2016 to 2024, following which he became a director at Kindernet Entertainment earlier this year.

Kortesmäki has 20 years’ experience in the industry and returns to WBITVP from Elisa Viihde, where he spent three years, most recently as head of development. He was previously head of development and sales at WBITVP for almost five years, before which he was a director and screenwriter at the company. He also previously worked as a screenwriter at Endemol Shine, Fremantle, Banijay’s Nordisk Film TV and YLE.

Rantanen is responsible for the development of the company’s commercial partnerships and the sales of brand-driven, multichannel content solutions. He joins from advertising firm Briiffi, where he was an account director for almost four years. His previous roles include sales director at MTV and chief operating officer of GroupM.

Väisänen and Akun Tehdas’ CEO Aku Syrjä said: “We are purposefully expanding our business operations after the acquisition signed in March. Our goal is to build a modern production company that opens new doors in the transformation of the media industry. We are very happy to have three experienced success makers on our team. It shows our commitment to growth and bold development of our business areas.”