HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. ("CME" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CETV) (Prague Stock Exchange:CETV) today announced that John K. Billock has been appointed to CME's Board of Directors and will serve as the non-executive Chairman of the Board. CME also announced the appointment of three additional Directors to its Board: Gerhard Zeiler, Iris Knobloch and Doug Shapiro.
In a joint statement Michael Del Nin and Christoph Mainusch, Co-Chief Executive Officers of CME, said: "We are pleased to welcome this accomplished slate of executives to our Board of Directors and are very excited to have John at the lead. The depth of operational and strategic experience they bring will be invaluable to the Company and its shareholders as we strive to maximize the value of our leading brands."
John Billock said: "CME has such a unique collection of broadcast assets with leading audience shares. I'm privileged to have this opportunity to begin working with CME's Board of Directors and executive management team during this important period in the Company's development."
Mr. Billock serves as a Member of the Board of Advisors at Simulmedia, Inc. He previously served as a Director of TRA Inc. and TiVo Research and Analytics, Inc. from 2007 to 2011. He also served as a Director of Juniper Content Corporation from January 2007 to December 2008. Prior to that, he was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Time Warner Cable from October 2001 to July 2005. Before joining Time Warner Cable, Mr. Billock was with Home Box Office from 1978 to 2001, and served as its President of the US Network Group from 1997 to 2001 and as its President of Sales and Marketing from 1995 to 1997. Before joining HBO, Mr. Billock was a product manager with Colgate Palmolive Company. Mr. Billock received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from Boston University.
Mr. Zeiler is the President of Turner Broadcasting System International. Prior to joining Turner in 2012, he was the Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group from 2003 to 2012 and was a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann AG from 2005 to 2012. Mr. Zeiler served as Chief Executive Officer of RTL Television from 1998 to 2005. Before that, he was Director General of Austria's public broadcaster, ORF, from 1994 to 1998, Chief Executive Officer of RTL II from 1992 to 1994, Chief Executive Officer of Tele 5 from 1991 to 1992, and Secretary General of ORF from 1986 to 1990. He started his career as a journalist and later spokesman for two Austrian Chancellors.
Ms. Knobloch has served as the President of Warner Bros. France S.A. since 2006. She is also an independent Director of Accor S.A. Before returning to Warner Bros, she served as the Senior Vice President of International Relations of Time Warner Inc. from 2001 to 2006. Ms. Knobloch served as Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Warner Home Video's European management team from 1996 to 2001 in Los Angeles, London and Paris. Prior to that, Ms. Knobloch was an attorney with Norr, Stiefenhofer & Lutz and O'Melveny & Myers, where she provided strategic counsel on international transactions to major U.S. and European media and entertainment clients. Ms. Knobloch received a J.D. degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, Germany, in 1987 and L.L.M. degree from New York University in 1992.
Mr. Shapiro was named Senior Vice President, International and Corporate Strategy at Time Warner Inc. in September 2013. He joined Time Warner in Investor Relations in 2007, becoming head of the group in 2008. Before that Mr. Shapiro was as a senior analyst at Banc of America Securities from 1999 to 2007, covering the cable and satellite TV and media conglomerate sectors, and was the head of the Media and Telecommunications research team. Mr. Shapiro received a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Michigan and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
CME is a media and entertainment company operating leading businesses in six Central and Eastern European markets with an aggregate population of approximately 50 million people. CME broadcasts a total of 35 television channels in Bulgaria (bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady, bTV Lady+1, Ring.bg and Ring.bg+1), Croatia (Nova TV, Doma, Nova World and MiniTV), the Czech Republic (TV Nova, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport, Fanda, Smichov and Telka), Romania (PRO TV, PRO TV International, Acasa, Acasa Gold, PRO Cinema, Sport.ro, MTV Romania, PRO TV Chisinau and Acasa in Moldova), the Slovak Republic (TV Markíza, Doma and Dajto), and Slovenia (POP TV, Kanal A, Brio, Oto and Kino). CME is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CETV."
For further information visit: www.cme.net