Alison Hoffman has been promoted to president, domestic networks, at premium pay platform Starz, a Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) company. Hoffman previously served as the network’s chief marketing officer spearheading its brand and content marketing, driving acquisitions for the Starz app and delivering data-driven insights that support all facets of the business. In her newly expanded role, she will oversee domestic network operations including all aspects of marketing and promotion, product development, distribution, analytics and program operations.
“Alison is a proven and strategic leader in our organization whose talents lie in both the creative and analytical sides of the business. This new role will bring all of the domestic focused functions under one leader and allow her to exercise all of her strengths,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, president and CEO of Starz.
Hoffman was one of the key executives responsible for launching the Starz app and managing the network’s direct-to-consumer business. Over the past year, Hoffman has led Starz’s efforts to build its streaming business, delivering 70% growth year-over-year domestically and outpacing several key competitors. She has worked closely with partners including Amazon, Hulu and Apple to successfully launch Starz on new platforms while continuing to build the Starz brand as a premium streaming content platform appealing to female audiences around the world.
During her tenure, Hoffman launched a master brand strategy for Starz, repositioning the network as a home for acclaimed and diverse original programming. She’s led campaigns for the entire Starz Originals slate, including Power, Outlander, Vida and American Gods enabling Starz to compete for and retain subscribers in an increasingly competitive and fragmented television landscape. In the past year, Hoffman assumed oversight of program operations and built a world-class acquisition marketing and insights & analytics departments for Starz from the ground up.
She joined Starz in 2012 after serving as VP of creative and brand strategy at AMC Networks where she was a key architect of award-winning marketing campaigns for series such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.
Director Christophe Ruggia Found Guilty Of Sexual Assault In France’s First Big #MeToo Trial
A Paris court found a filmmaker guilty of sexual assault on French actor Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 15 in the early 2000s, in the country's first big #MeToo trial.
Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was sentenced Monday to two years under house arrest with an electronic bracelet plus a two-year suspended sentence. Ruggia had denied any wrongdoing.
Haenel, now 35, was the first top actor in France to accuse the film industry of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse after the #MeToo movement broke out. In 2019, she accused Ruggia of having repeatedly touched her inappropriately during and after filming of the movie "Les Diables," or "The Devils," in the early 2000s.
Haenel appeared relieved, breathing deeply, as Monday's verdict was being released. She was applauded by some women's rights activists as she left the courtroom.
The court ruled that Ruggia "took advantage of the dominant position" he had on Haenel at the time. "During quasi-weekly meetings at your home for over three years you had sexualized gestures and attitudes," as Haenel was "gradually isolated" from her loved ones, the court said in a statement.
Ruggia's lawyer said her client would appeal.
He "maintains that he has never touched Adèle Haenel," the lawyer, Fanny Colin, said. "Sentenced in these conditions and on the sole basis of her words seems to us not only unjustified but dangerous."
Haenel, star of the 2019 Cannes entry "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," has in recent years vocally protested what she's called an insufficient response to sexual abuse in French filmmaking.
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