SANTA MONICA, CA and VANCOUVER — Lionsgate has appointed Jared Goetz, a 22-year veteran of Walt Disney Company, to the newly created position of president of North American television distribution. Goetz will report to Jim Packer, Lionsgate president of worldwide television and digital distribution.
A Lionsgate press release on August 1 said the appointment comes as the company continues to ramp up its domestic and international sales and distribution operations to handle one of the largest independent television businesses in the world. Lionsgate boasts a film slate that encompasses more than 40 theatrical releases a year, a 16,000-title film and television library, and a roster of programming from Starz, which Lionsgate acquired in December 2016.
Goetz will head the team responsible for licensing Lionsgate and Starz content across all broadcast, cable, pay TV, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and other digital platforms in the U.S. and Canada.
“I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the best distribution executives in the business,” Goetz said in the press release. “I look forward to using what I have learned from each of them to continue developing an already strong distribution team at Lionsgate. I’ve been deeply impressed by the rapid growth of Lionsgate’s content engine and the entrepreneurial spirit driving that growth. I couldn’t be more excited to become part of such an innovative and forward-looking studio.”
Prior to joining Lionsgate, Goetz worked for 22 years in a series of executive roles at Disney, culminating in his most recent position as senior vice-president of pay television and digital sales, and general sales manager for SVOD, for Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution.
During his tenure at Disney, he licensed countless Disney-produced films and television series to national cable channels and local broadcast stations. He also managed day-to-day sales of all theatrical and television content to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Google and Bell Media’s Crave TV in North America, and spearheaded significant recent SVOD deals.
“I have known Jared for his entire career, and he is one of the most accomplished executives in the business,” Packer said in the press release. “He has managed every kind of content licensing deal to every platform imaginable, and his grasp of the marketplace and where it’s headed will be a great catalyst for our continued growth. His knowledge, relationships and major studio experience make him an invaluable addition to our leadership team.”
