Marcel Mares has been appointed country manager, Czech Republic and Slovakia, at AMC Networks International – Central and Northern Europe (AMCNI CNE).
In his new role, he will oversee sales and operations in the two countries, where AMCNI CNE distributes 14 channels in the sport, film and series, kids and infotainment genres.
Based in Prague and reporting to Balázs Hajós, VP of affiliate sales, AMCNI CNE, Mares will be responsible for developing the company’s portfolio of brands and increasing profitability.
Mares is a business development expert with 20 years of experience in both the media and FMCG sectors. At Discovery Communications – CEEMEA, he served as sales, distribution and business development manager for five years. In this role, he achieved full distribution for the networks’ portfolio of channel brands in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Additionally, he integrated the Eurosport portfolio internally and managed its distribution in the two countries.
Previous to his role at Discovery, Mares worked in the FMCG sector at various international businesses, among them Duracell International, Energizer and Philips where, as country manager, he made the company the fastest growing division of the region.
Commenting on the appointment, Hajós said: “We are very excited to have someone of Marcel’s calibre bring his strong business development expertise, excellent sales skills and strategic thinking to AMCNI CNE. Marcel’s appointment will build on our growth trajectory across the Czech Republic and Slovakia and further solidify our portfolio of diverse and compelling brands”.
AMCNI CNE notes that the appointment follows the recent announcement that it has extended its partnership with M7 Group. The deal includes the extension of the carriage agreement for Film+, AMC, Sport1, Sport2, JimJam, Minimax, TV Paprika and Spektrum for subscribers of Skylink in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Further to this, the infotainment channel Spektrum HD has been placed in Skylink’s “Multi” package and the channels have been added to Skylink Live TV.
