WarnerMedia Sets Annelies Sitvast as Head of Unscripted For EMEA, Overseeing Content For HBO Max

WarnerMedia has appointed broadcast executive Annelies Sitvast to the newly created role of head of unscripted production for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Based in Amsterdam, Sitvast will commission unscripted programming for streamer HBO Max, which will begin rolling out in Europe by year’s end, and will report into Antony Root, head of original production for WarnerMedia EMEA. Sitvast will join the company in May.

Most recently, Sitvast was head of Net 5, the Talpa Network-backed Dutch commercial television channel. The exec served as a commissioning editor, overseeing content strategy and brand development, including all original programming, production and scheduling.

Prior to this, she was channel coordinator at Net 5, where she coordinated programming and supervised local productions. Before that, Sitvast spent seven years at SBS Broadcasting B.V. as senior acquisitions executive, where she worked on acquisition strategies and advised on brand positioning, content selections and series/slate development for several Dutch TV channels. Sitvast has a production background, having previously worked as editor for several production companies in the Netherlands.

Commenting on the appointment, Root said, “[Annelies] brings a wealth of experience from the world of unscripted programming. Working with our local teams, she will steer our expansion into unscripted across Europe, which is a key part of our original production strategy as we launch HBO Max across the region.”