Warner Bros veteran Mickie Steinmann, who has led the studio’s Canadian operations for nearly two decades, is set to retire later this year.Toronto-based Steinmann sent a note to colleagues and friends on Wednesday revealing that he has made the decision to retire on October 1.Steinmann is responsible for the licensing of Warner Bros content into Canada, spanning AVoD, SVoD, pay TV and free TV, as well as overseeing output deals, licensing negotiations, format sales and coproduction negotiations.His role is a crucial one, as Canada is reputedly the most lucrative single market for American studios to license their content.During his tenure, he has been responsible for all Warner Bros Television and HBO offices and staff in Canada, overseeing channels, branding, digital, wireless, AVoD and SVoD as well as new media strategies for Canada.Earlier in his tenure, he led the launch of a WBTV AVoD service in partnership with Rogers Sports & Media in 2009, as well as the launch of the Cartoon Network Canada linear channel in 2012. Elsewhere, he also led the negotiations for the Canadian remake of The Bachelor, which ran for three seasons starting in 2012.Steinmann was promoted to his current position, MD and senior VP of Canada, in 2016. He had spent the prior decade as VP and general manager of Canadian operations after joining Warner Bros in 2000 as VP of sales with oversight of Scandinavia, Benelux, Israel and the Middle East.Before arriving at Warner Bros, Steinmann was the director of international TV sales at Sony Pictures Entertainment, based in London, and prior to that was VP of international TV sales at Gaumont.Following his retirement, the Canadian content licensing team will continue to report to David Graber, exec VP of content licensing, based in Burbank.“Mickie is a tremendously talented and strategic executive who has successfully and skillfully managed a constantly changing media landscape, driving consistent growth in the Canadian marketplace,” said Graber.“While we are sad for him to leave and will miss his energy, collaboration and expertise, we wish him all the best in his retirement.”
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