Lionsgate has promoted two executives, Adam Frank and Jill Anderson, to lead its transactional home entertainment business.
The move comes amid a strong period for Lionsgate’s home entertainment business — which comprises electronic sell-through (download-to-own), video-on-demand and physical media — with an industry market share of 11.9% in the first six months of the year. It’s the highest sixth-month share in the studio’s history, driven by new releases “John Wick: Chapter Four,” “Plane” and “Sisu,” as well as library titles “Knives Out,” “Django Unchained,” “Dirty Dancing” and “Sicario.”
Frank, a 12-year veteran of Lionsgate, has been elevated to executive VP of global partner management of sales and distribution. He’ll be overseeing the company’s global transactional digital and packaged media operations and heading up sales, licensing and strategic planning initiatives for the home entertainment group. Frank has overseen the digital home entertainment rollouts of “The Hunger Games,” “John Wick,” “Saw,” “Expendables” and “Now You See Me” franchises, as well as TV series like “Mad Men.” Prior to his promotion, he served as senior VP of the studio’s worldwide transactional EST and VOD business. He continues to report to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president of global licensing and distribution Ron Schwartz.
Anderson, who just celebrated her 20-year anniversary with Lionsgate, has been promoted to head of home entertainment sales and partner management. In her new role, she will spearhead the digital home entertainment and packaged media sales teams and report to Frank. Her expanded responsibilities include digital home entertainment sales of Lionsgate’s library and portfolio of brands in addition to her ongoing responsibilities for overseeing packaged media sales. She previously served as senior VP of home entertainment sell-through sales.
During her tenure, Anderson has led Lionsgate’s packaged media home entertainment business for the company’s largest retail accounts, managing the packaged media releases of all major franchise and tentpole titles including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” James Cameron’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran.”
“Our transactional home entertainment business continues to thrive due to our team’s ability to create bespoke windowing strategies for our theatrical releases and library titles and over-convert across their PVOD, transactional EST, VOD and packaged media windows,” said Schwartz. “Adam and Jill are extraordinarily talented “homegrown” Lionsgate executives who are driving our transactional business to one of its strongest performances in recent years. With their strong relationships, industry expertise and business acumen, they will help lead its continued growth while capitalizing on new opportunities moving forward.”
