Harvardwood presents a panel on International TV, featuring Harvardwood Co-Founder Adam Fratto AB '90 (Pukeko Pictures), Eli Shibley AB '04 (IM Global TV), Hayley Babcock (Haley Babcock Media Consulting), and Wes Dening (WDE).

This panel will be discussing various topics related to international TV development, acquisition, and production. Each guest focuses on a different aspect of the process, from beginning to end. We'll be diving in to how creating these programs and formats internationally is different from doing it domestically — what considerations do you have to take into account? What are the best ways to "translate" a show for an American audience, or vice versa? Join us as we delve into the details of this important part of the television industry, as we become more and more global in our entertainment.

Light refreshments at 7:30pm // Panel begins at 8pm

There are numerous parking garages in the area, as well as street parking. View LAFS parking info (note that LAFS and Harvardwood cannot provide parking validation).

• All Harvardwood Seminar events are FREE to dues-current members. Non-members: $15.
• $15 for everybody at the door, regardless of Harvardwood membership status.
• Online registration will close at 2pm Pacific Time on the day of the event. 

Hayley Babcock

Hayley Babcock is a highly respected international television executive with an extensive background at major Hollywood studios in development, production, acquisition and management. She has wide-ranging experience supervising productions, overseeing multiple global franchises, acquiring programming and uniting diverse international partners to work as a cohesive team.

Currently, Ms. Babcock runs HBMC, a consulting business, which counts A+E Television Networks, DRG Distribution and Lloyd Braun’s Whalerock Industries among its clients.

She began her career as a producer for KABC Television. After her profession began in the US, she was recruited by RTL Television Germany to executive produce that country’s first, daily live morning talk show.  Babcock spent the next 7 years developing and producing unscripted programming in Germany and went on to build the alternative department at a broadcaster in Berlin. Eventually she took the position as Head of Development and Executive Producer for Fremantle Media, where she was responsible for popular local versions of Jeopardy! Family Feud and The Dating Game.

Upon returning to the US Hayley's expertise in the unscripted world abroad landed her at CBS International. From there she spent seven years at Fox building their format production division and went on to Sony Pictures TV where she not only ran their unscripted international productions, but worked on strategic creative development across Sony’s global group of production companies. In her leadership roles at these studios, Babcock successfully led worldwide television partners in new show development and acquisition as well as the creative adaptation and local production of global franchises, overseeing an average of 40 shows in production per year. Some examples: Beauty and the Geek; Joe Millionaire; Shark Tank (aka Dragons’ Den); The Simple Life; Temptation Island; Wheel of Fortune and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. 

When Sony’s international production division relocated headquarters to London, Babcock left the studio to remain in the US and took on the role as Head of North American Acquisitions for Shine International Distribution, where she built on her strong relationships with US producers and broadcasters to source and acquire scripted and unscripted titles for international sale.

After 2 years with Shine, Babcock ramped up HBMC and has built a slate of clients both in the US and abroad.

Hayley Babcock received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is fluent in German and conversational in French and is a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Wes Dening

Wes Dening is an Executive Producer with more than ten-years experience overseeing original series development and managing program development, financing, production and delivery. Dening’s production company, WDE, has a track record for retaining international rights and currently has series broadcasting in more than 55-countries worldwide.

Dening most recently sold and Executive Produced Big Crazy Family Adventure (9x1hr and 1x2hr) for the Travel Channel USA. The series follow’s adventurer Bruce Kirkby & his family as they travel 13,000 miles over 96 days without taking a single airplane, to the remove kingdom of Ladakh, India. Prior to producing for the Travel Channel, Dening was Executive Producer of WDE’s The Flying Winemaker series for Discovery Networks International with distribution partners ABC Commercial. This series (13x30) follows world-renowned winemaker Eddie McDougall as he travels across Asia pairing Asian food and people with new world wines that are changing the way we eat and drink. Previous WDE series include The Stafford Brothers for Fox8 Network, with Series 1 & 2 (16x30) filmed across 16-countries following the quest of two Australian DJ’s and their unique entourage to top the world dance music scene and on the international stage. The Stafford Brothers has gone on to sell worldwide through WDE’s distribution deal with DRG in the UK.

Dening’s television experience is vast and impressive. Wes began producing and hosting on Network Ten’s award winning national program Totally Wild from 2004-2008 in Australia, was nominated for a TV-Week Logie for his work on Totally Wild: Antarctica, before moving to NYC in 2008. In the US, Wes has worked with multiple networks, including TruTV for truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest, Sony’s “In The Qube” and even starred in his very own series on Disney Channel called Code:9, with an episodic high of 3.4million viewers. 

Adam Fratto AB '90

Adam Fratto is a creative executive and producer with an international track record in TV development, current programming, and production.

Currently, he is co-Executive Producer of HAVEN, a supernatural drama based on Stephen King’s “The Colorado Kid,” airing on Syfy in the U.S. and 100+ cable channels abroad. This hit show has just wrapped its sixth season in Nova Scotia. He is also co-Executive Producing SEA CHANGE, a backdoor pilot for Lifetime TV and Mar Vista Entertainment.

In addition, Adam is working with Pukeko Pictures, sister company to New Zealand's famed Weta Workshop (LORD OF THE RINGS, AVATAR, DISTRICT 9), overseeing live-action content and developing a global slate of TV and feature projects. The first of these is in postproduction: an edgy fantasy epic called CLEVERMAN, based in aboriginal mythology, for SundanceTV, Australia’s ABC, and Red Arrow Entertainment.

Other Pukeko projects generated and managed by Adam include: an epic JOAN OF ARC series created by Craig Pearce (Gatsby, Moulin Rouge); a gritty sci-fi thrillerdrama called PRISON EARTH for Pivot; a fantasy series based on the acclaimed LOWTOWN novels, written by David S. Goyer and Matt Fraction, for Universal Television; and a John Rogers-penned adaptation of the fan favorite comic RAT QUEENS, in partnership with Heavy Metal Entertainment.

Originally from upstate New York, Adam is a graduate of Harvard University and USC’s graduate program in Film & TV Production, where he produced the environmentally themed, Emmy-winning documentary WALKING WITH GIANTS.

He began his career at Mutual Film Co. (Speed, Saving Private Ryan), then served as Creative Executive for Michael Douglas's Furthur Films. There, he helped develop WONDER BOYS, ONE NIGHT AT McCOOL’S, DON’T SAY A WORD, and SWIMFAN.

In 2002, Adam joined Piller/Segan as Vice President, overseeing cable and broadcast development and also serving as Associate Producer on THE DEAD ZONE and WILDFIRE and Co-Producer on GREEK. He was also Associate Producer of indie feature BICKFORD SHMECKLER’S COOL IDEAS (Patrick Fugit, Olivia Wilde, Matthew Lillard). From 2008 to 2011, Adam helped launch Atticus Entertainment, managing sports icon Jim Lampley’s first-look deal with HBO.

He is a member of the TV Academy, the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, and the Producers’ Guild. He is also co-Founder of Harvardwood, an international association of 5,000+ alums in arts, media and entertainment (harvardwood.org). A lifelong sinophile, he has lived, worked and studied in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong. He currently resides with his family in South Pasadena, California.

Eli Shibley AB '04

Eli Shibley joined IM Global Television in July 2015 as President of International Distribution and Co-Productions. In addition to managing sales of the growing IM Global scripted slate, Shibley oversees acquisitions of third party scripted and unscripted projects from US, UK, and international content partners. A nimble and independent distribution alternative in the increasingly dynamic world of international television, IM Global Television takes a borderless approach to television by encouraging strategic partnerships between content creators and key US and global buyers.

Shibley came to IM Global Television from Electus, where he served as the Senior Vice President of International Media and Formats and was instrumental in sourcing international formats for the U.S. market, including the Golden Globe winning CW series JANE THE VIRGIN with RCTV and Aquarius Television; DOC MARTIN with Buffalo Pictures and DRG; and WORLD'S END with Sagafilm. Prior to joining Electus, Shibley co-founded the London sales team for Shine International, and helped launch Reveille International in Los Angeles. He got his start in entertainment as an Agent Trainee in TV Lit for Paradigm after graduating with a BA in Sociology from Harvard University.

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