BY BOB JENKINS Britain’s Power Corp. is a unique and dynamic company that has grown exponentially in the 12 years since Justin Bodle founded it. Now, after nine months getting his feet under the table, head of Worldwide Sales, Chris Philip, spoke to VideoAge about the company’s plans for a very exciting future. When Bodle founded London-based Power in 1995, it was the only company outside the U.S. actively developing barter, especially in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Now, it is the only European independent able to secure a commitment for a minimum run of 13 episodes for its new adaptation of Robinson Crusoe for U.S. TV network NBC, while simultaneously distributing two soaps, As the World Turns and Guiding Light , both currently airing on another U.S. TV network, CBS. The journey from a small single office selling other people’s content to a major supplier of primetime drama such as Flood, Ice , The Day of the Triffids and, of course, Robinson Crusoe , has been an exciting one, and, following the appointment of Philip as president of Worldwide Sales, the future looks every bit as exciting. Philip joined Power in April from NBC Universal, where he was vicepresident, Latin America, responsible for the distribution of NBC Universal’s TV and film library across all platforms in Latin American markets. At the time of his appointment, Bodle described Philip as “an entrepreneurial leader,” adding, “his appointment is central to Power’s commercial aspirations and current expansion strategy.” While at Universal, Philip teamed up with Ben Silverman, now co-chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, to launch Reveille, a Los Angeles-based production and distribution company, which was founded by Silverman with backing from Universal. “Entrepreneurial” is the word that Silverman used to categorize both Philip and Power. “Power,” commented Silverman, “is a very entrepreneurial company and Chris, being both quick and nimble, fits perfectly into this mold. He is,” added Silverman, “honest, direct, extremely loyal, and cares about his friends, and that separates him from the pack because sales is all about relationships.” In the months since joining Power, Philip has overseen the doubling of the sales force and the opening of a new office in Miami, Florida, under the guidance of Pepe Echegaray (who joined the company from Carsey-Werner). A second office has been opened in Singapore under the stewardship of George Sakkalli, who joined Power recently from Granada International, where he had been responsible for sales to Asia. Mark Dineley has assumed responsibility for Digital Media, in addition to continuing his previous role overseeing Power’s advertiser-funded deals across all international territories. An announcement regarding the appointment of a new vice president of Home Entertainment is due shortly. It has, Philip acknowledged, “been a very busy start to my time at Power.” In addition to the deal with NBC for Robinson Crusoe , for which Power retained international rights, meaning, as Philip pointed out, that “in light of the writers’ strike, we will be one of very few companies at next year’s L.A. Screenings with a brand-new series,” the presence in their catalogue of two U.S. network soaps in addition to the event miniseries, feature films and TV movies makes Power, as Philip observed, “one of the most attractive independents in Europe.” “We are now looking,” revealed Philip, “at an annual production slate of between four and six ‘event’ miniseries, our two on-going series and around 10 TV movies. Additionally,” he continued, “we have entered into a first-look agreement with a major Miami-based producer, who opening to generate local production. And,” he went on to explain, “in the past we have used international pre-sales to fund our productions, and, while we will continue to use this model, we will now be able to integrate U.S. Network funding into the equation, which will give a huge boost to our funding ability, and the products that I have already mentioned will play a significant role as locomotives [titles that drive deals] for future sales.” Of which there should be many. In addition to the developments already listed, Power is, revealed Philip, “developing with Reveille, a new scripted comedy format which we acquired from Latin America, which will be produced for the U.S. market. Details,” he promised, “will be released shortly.” And Philip has been busy lining up an impressive slate of challenges for Dineley, the new vp, Digital, and his yet to be announced colleague heading up Home Entertainment. “We are,” said Philip, “working with independent producers to develop and distribute youth-focused programming for both mobile and the Internet,” adding, “I want to ensure we fully exploit all our rights across all platforms. As part of this ambition, I would expect that, over the coming few months, Power will announce a number of new, genre-specific platforms which it will either own, or in which it will, at the very least, be a major partner.” V I D E O • A G E JA N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 18 C o m p a n y P r o f i l e Power: A Mix of Bodle & Philip Set to Fuel Great Expansion will be delivering a number of Englishlanguage features aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market every year.” Although this deal had not been formally announced at press time, and consequently Philip was not able to name the producer concerned, he was prepared to comment: “The U.S. Hispanic market is a huge market, and one which, in terms of feature films, the Hollywood majors have left largely unaddressed, although they have had some success with series. This cross-over is a very complex market to address, and I believe that after more than a decade in this market, I understand these complexities and I know that the producer with whom we are working understands them perfectly.” “We are determined,” said Philip, “to use the local offices we have been Power thriller Mistaken A shot from Jekyll, a TV movie Power will debut at NATPE Chris Philip, head of Worldwide Sales at Power
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