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The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's commercial arm, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide, has today announced that Jacob de Boer is to join its Global Brands business as Commercial Director, working across all the brands in the portfolio. 

Reporting directly to Marcus Arthur, MD Global Brands, de Boer will help grow the brands by working in conjunction with the Managing Directors and Commercial Directors of Doctor Who, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Earth and Top Gear to grow revenue and profitability across multiple formats and in key markets. Jacob will initially concentrate efforts in key European territories where the brands have a strong TV presence, including Holland, Germany, Russia and Poland.

Of de Boer's appointment, Marcus Arthur says: "Jacob's knowledge of growing revenues from brands across multiple formats will benefit the business in the UK and in emerging markets.  I am hugely looking forward to him joining the team."

De Boer joins ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide from Endemol's Dutch production offices where he was Head of Business Development, responsible for generating new business and new funding models, exploiting Endemol’s intellectual property across multiple platforms and building third party partnerships.

Of his new role, de Boer adds: "Over the years ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide have created some of the world’s most entertaining and powerful brands and I greatly look forward to help grow this part of the business globally."

A trained lawyer, he began his career with Endemol Entertainment in Holland as Legal and Business Affairs Counsel, becoming Head of Business Affairs of the International Distribution division two years later. 

In 2000 de Boer moved to London and joined Two Way TV, where he became Head of Content Acquisition. He rejoined Endemol in 2001 as its Head of Commercial Affairs in the UK where he looked after the exploitation of ancillary rights opportunities around Endemol's key properties. In 2004 de Boer moved to Celador International as Commercial Director, overseeing commercial deals across multiple platforms and responsible for investigating new revenue streams for the company's portfolio before joining Endemol for a third time twelve months later.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide's Global Brands business was set up in March 2008 to drive greater value from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide's leading brands. The business, originally created to manage Lonely Planet and Top Gear, now also manages Doctor Who and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Earth, an international aggregating brand for all the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's natural history content. All four titles account for about 17% of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide's total revenues.

Chris Charlton