Acorn TV Hires Former FilmStruck Exec Kerensa Samanidis as GM of International

Acorn TV, the OTT service from AMC Networks that specializes in British content, has hired Kerensa Samanidis as its first GM of international, the streamer announced on Tuesday morning. Samanidis previously served as GM of FilmStruck International, which shut down in November. As general manager, Samanidis will oversee the overall development, management and operation of the streaming service for all markets outside of the Americas. In 2018, Acorn TV expanded into dozens of territories including Mexico, Spain, Scandinavia, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Based in London, Samanidis will report to Matthew Graham, general manager of Acorn TV Matthew Graham. “We’re thrilled to have Kerensa join the Acorn TV family and grow our international subscribership,” Graham said. “Since launching in dozens of territories last year, we’ve seen extraordinary worldwide interest in the service and its first-rate catalog of exclusive international dramas, mysteries, and comedies. With Kerensa’s past success with streaming services, we expect her to play a vital role in our continued international growth.” During her 10 months at FilmStruck, Samanidis oversaw content acquisition and programming, product, marketing, and community management for the service’s international division. Prior to that, she devised and launched services for Sony PlayStation, British Film Institute and Warner Media’s Adult Swim. Rakhee Birdi, another FilmStruck alumni, has also joined Acorn TV as marketing director for the company’s international division. She previously led marketing at FilmStruck International and was head of subscription marketing for News Inc. in the U.K.