French Pay TV Giant Canal Plus Hires Olivier Bibas as Head of French Drama, International Co-Productions
variety.comLeo Barraclough International Features EditorOlivier Bibas is to join the French pay TV giant Canal Plus as head of its fiction label Création Originale.
As such, Bibas will be responsible for Canal Plus’ French drama and international co-productions. He starts on Feb. 14.Bibas will report to Gérald-Brice Viret, managing director, French TV Channels and Programs at Canal Plus Group, who said Bibas’ “vision, recognized expertise and talent will be invaluable in proposing new major series with worldwide appeal.”Fabrice de la Patellière, who has held the position of head of drama at Canal Plus since 2002, will now move into production and partner with Studiocanal, under the direction of Anna Marsh, to develop ambitious French and international series, for both television and platforms.
In a statement, Canal Plus said it would like to thank De la Patellière for “his tremendous contribution to the numerous successes” of Création Originale, which he launched over 15 years ago with Arielle Saracco. “His expertise, flair and talent have helped raise French fiction to a whole new level of ambition, making the Création Originale a label recognized worldwide for its know-how.”Bibas began his career at Canal Plus in 1995 before joining the Lagardère Group in 2004.
Since 2011, he has been executive producer and managing director at Atlantique Productions, a subsidiary of Mediawan acquired in 2020.
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