MUMBAI: Turner International’s Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific has been beset with some bad news or the other emerging from it over the past couple of years. Restructuring, layoffs and the sudden stepping down of its long serving boss Steve Marcopoto earlier this year all caught the headlines.
A hunt for his successor was on, the company had stated at the time of Marcopoto’s announcement.
The good news now is that the company has announced his replacement. And it is international television executive Ricky Ow who will be joining Turner International as President of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific effective January 2014. The announcement was made by Gerhard Zeiler, President of Turner Broadcasting System International.
Most recently Executive Vice President & General Manager for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks Asia, Ow will lead Turner International’s portfolio in the Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.
As President of Turner APAC, Ow will have executive oversight for all entertainment and kids networks, the digital and media services offered, the distribution of CNN’s services in that region, and all licensing and merchandising activity in APAC.
“We are delighted that Ricky is joining us and look forward to the leadership and wealth of international media experience he will bring to one of the most strategically important areas of Turner International,” said Zeiler in a press release. He continued: “His vast experience in the region, his successes in launching and establishing channel brands both locally and regionally, his experience in local content production, as well as his deep understanding of sales and marketing, make him the ideal choice to lead our business in the Asia Pacific region into the next stage of growth. Looking with fresh eyes at our business as a true leader, he will be a strong addition to Turner International. We all look forward to working with him to extend our core brands and build international scale.”
“I am very excited to join Turner and it is an honour to work with Gerhard and the team that has built some of the most valuable media brands in the world including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Pogo and Turner Classic Movies,” said Ow. “This is an opportunity to leverage on our incredible heritage of creativity and innovation to grow a dynamic portfolio of iconic brands, to develop new ventures and to strengthen relevance and value for our viewers, partners and the business community.”
Ow joins Turner after a 14-year career at Sony Pictures, most recently as Executive Vice President & General Manager for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks Asia. In that role, Ow was responsible for overseeing the networks business across Asia as well as developing new channel opportunities in the region. He also had oversight of SPT’s two Korean joint ventures, AXN Korea and Animax Korea. Prior, Ow was the Senior Vice President & General Manager, Networks Asia, overseeing the company’s channel brands, including AXN India and Animax India. He joined SPT in 1999 as Head of Sales and Marketing. Under his leadership, AXN became the leading English language general entertainment channel in Asia while SPT Networks Asia grew into a bouquet of entertainment brands including “One”, the leading Asian language channel in Southeast Asia. Additionally, Ow has led SPT’s networks in Asia to pioneer various award-winning pan-regional entertainment productions. Prior to joining SPT, Ow held positions at SBC Enterprises (now Mediacorp TV), Asia Business News, and CNBC.
