Corus Entertainment division Corus Média has named Brigitte Vincent, a 25-year TV veteran, to the position of vice-president of programming for its French specialty services Historia and Séries+.
Vincent had been director of original productions and Canadian acquisitions for the two services since 2008. Her expertise includes public affairs programs, as well as magazine shows and documentaries.
She is succeeded in that role by Catherine Vidal, who has 15 years of experience in the Canadian television industry – most recently as producer for the production company Baroque, which she co-founded.
In her new role, Vincent is charged with developing the channels, assuming responsibility for strategic management and relationships with industry stakeholders.
In a statement, Corus Média president Mario Cecchini praised Vincent’s “extensive experience, adaptability and understanding of the current and future issues” in the TV industry.
Last year, Corus announced a new agreement with A+E Networks to bring content and branding from the U.S. specialty service History, including the addition of several hit franchises including Mountain Men, Appalachian Outlaws, Down East Dickering and No Man’s Land.
Historia already carries several shows from the History catalogue, including Pawn Stars, American Pickers, American Restoration and Counting Cars, all of which rank among the service’s top-10 most-watched programs. The network will also incorporate History’s signature gold “H” into its logo.
According to the CRTC’s financial summaries, Historia had 2.06 million subscribers in 2013, earning $21.3 million in revenues on national advertising revenues of $7.5 million. Series+ had $32.7 million in revenue in 2013 on national ad revenues of $19.6 million, a 6.6% increase from the previous year.
