Adam Barth joins as Paula Warwick is upped and Isobel Hughes steps down
Avalon has brought in Night Train Media and NENT Studios UK alum Adam Barth as part of a restructure that sees the retirement of long-term distribution chief Isobel Hughes, Broadcast can reveal.
Barth has joined the Taskmaster and Starstruck indie as senior vice-president of scripted and digital distribution, while Paula Warwick is upped to head of distribution in the wake of Hughes stepping down.
He will work alongside Carly Hardman-Betts, who continues as senior vice-president of global formats and programme sales.
Barth will be tasked with exploiting Avalon’s existing catalogue and its slate of scripted projects, building on the work of Hughes and Hardman-Betts over the past decade. The duo have sold shows from Avalon’s library of more than 4,000 TV episodes into 150 markets across linear, cable, streaming and AVOD platforms.
Warwick steps up from her current Avalon role, where she was responsible for the roll-out of the Taskmaster format in international markets.
Under the new leadership structure, she will head the distribution team managing titles including BBC3/Max co-pro scripted comedy Starstruck, late night show Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, hit returner Not Going Out, four-series Sky/FX title Breeders and Bafta Craft-winning Channel 4 smash Catastrophe. Her remit also includes unscripted formats like Taskmaster and Dog’s Behaving Very Badly.
Barth’s appointment follows his exit from Night Train late last year, where he was head of commercial & distribution and director of co-productions for the media group, including Eccho Rights, which Night Train acquired in 2022.
He had worked at Eccho since 2021 when the company set up shop in the UK with him as director of development and co-productions.
Barth has worked, and is an executive producer, on shows including Vanishing Triangle, As Long As We Live, The Inheritance, Granite Harbour and the upcoming Safe Harbor. Prior to Eccho, Barth worked at NENT Studios UK (formerly DRG), where he was commercial director & SVP for EMEA.
Warwick, who has over two decades’ industry experience, has launched numerous global TV franchises including MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, The Biggest Loser and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Before joining Avalon, she held positions of head of international formats at Lionsgate, head of international productions at Shine Group and commissioning editor for entertainment at ITV.
Hardman-Betts joined Avalon’s distribution team in 2007, working across all territories and across both scripted and unscripted series. During her tenure, she has overseen the expansion of C4’s Taskmaster as a franchise in more than 10 territories.
Laura Kennedy, Avalon chief exec, said: “I know Paula, along with a brilliant team, will continue to build on Isobel’s success. I would like to say a massive thank you to Isobel for her dedication over the years, scaling Avalon’s distribution business into an independent powerhouse.”
Warwick said: “To head up the distribution business at Avalon is an incredible opportunity and I’m excited to continue working with its world-class creative teams, to bring the absolute best shows across scripted and unscripted to our partners around the world.”
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