Endemol Shine Group has kicked off its digital-first strategy in Asia, expanding the 18-month-old Endemol Beyond unit to the region and appointing former Mindshare Singapore exec Christopher Smith as head of digital and branded content.
The newly opened Endemol Beyond is headquartered in Singapore and comes under Endemol Shine’s Asia managing director Fotini Paraskakis, with a “working closely” relationship with Endemol Beyond International managing director Georg Ramme.
The Asia initiative kicked off with Michelle Phan’s lifestyle channel Icon, which launched in the U.K. and U.S. earlier this year.
Local versions of global digital formats will follow. Details have not been disclosed.
Endemol Beyond will also create new original programmes for Asia.
Endemol’s network of global digital video channels has more than 71 million subscribers and 1,520 million video views since it launched in November 2013.
Date: 1 June 2015