RLJ Entertainment Names New Content Executives

3 Mar, 2015 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

RLJ Entertainment March 3 announced it promoted Mark Ward to chief acquisitions officer of feature films, and hired Angela Northington as new SVP of content acquisitions for the Urban Movie Channel.

Urban Movie Channel (UMC) is RLJ’s most-recent direct-to-consumer video service following Acorn TV, which carries British-centric fare.

Northington will spearhead acquisitions for UMC, while Ward will continue to oversee feature film acquisitions for both Image Entertainment and UMC. Their acquisitions will be distributed in multiple formats, including theatrical and non-theatrical, broadcast television (including satellite and cable), DVD, Blu-ray Disc, digital download and streaming.

For the past year Ward has acquired a slate of titles, including The Rewrite, starring Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney and Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons; and The Cobbler (March 2015) starring Adam Sandler, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi and Method Man.

Ward was instrumental in obtaining cast-driven feature films for distribution on television, box-office, VOD, digital platforms and packaged media for RLJ Entertainment’s Image Entertainment brand. Before Image, Ward was VP of acquisitions for Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Northington has more than 15 years of experience in the Urban entertainment space, working for companies such as Revolt TV, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ cable network; CodeBlack Entertainment; and Simmons Lathan Media Group, the media company founded by Russell Simmons and TV producer Stan Lathan. 

“Mark has been instrumental in growing RLJ Entertainment’s feature film business, so we are delighted to promote him to CAO. With 15 years of experience in the urban market and her close relationships with established and emerging content producers, Angela is an ideal addition to the RLJE team,” CEO Miguel Penella said in a statement.

 

Bookmark it: