Jeffrey R. Schlesinger was named President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution in May 2013, responsible for distribution of the Studio’s content to all television platforms worldwide, including the sale of previously produced series and feature films to U.S. broadcast and cable outlets, domestic syndication and sales to SVOD and AVOD platforms.
He is also responsible for the business operations of Warner Bros. International Television Production, which has a mandate to acquire or build operating production companies in major territories around the world to create locally produced versions of programs owned by the Studio and to develop original local programming on a market-by-market basis. And, with Peter Roth, President & Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group, he shares oversight of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing. Schlesinger reports directly to Barry Meyer, Chairman, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros.
Previously, Schlesinger served as President, Warner Bros. International Television, a role he held since 1994, in which he oversaw all activities of the division, including production, distribution, investment and strategy.
Prior to that role, Schlesinger served as Senior Vice President, International Television Distribution from 1984–1994, at both Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and Lorimar Telepictures (acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment in 1990). Before that, he served as Vice President, International Sales at Telepictures Distribution.
Before joining Telepictures, Schlesinger was National Sales Manager for the Astral Television division of Astral/Bellevue Pathe (1982–83), responsible for the distribution of programs in Canada for 20th Century Fox, Telepictures, dick clark productions, Rank and EMI Films. From 1979 to 1982, he served as Syndication Sales Manager for MCA/Universal TV in Canada, after serving as an international sales executive in the company’s New York office.
In the late 1970s, Schlesinger worked at The Children’s Television Workshop as the International Production and Distribution Manager, responsible for the worldwide distribution of Sesame Street, as well as the servicing of the series’ numerous co-productions internationally.
Schlesinger began his career as a film editor for CBS’ highly acclaimed, top-rated 60 Minutes. He is a graduate of New York University with a bachelor of fine arts degree in film production.