Mediawan shifts distribution to London as Sally Habbershaw takes charge, signaling a push for bigger international sales.
Mediawan is reorganizing its international distribution at a pivotal moment for European content sales, appointing seasoned dealmaker Sally Habbershaw to head Mediawan Rights and shifting the unit’s leadership base to London — a move that coincides with the planned exit of long-time chief Valérie Vleeschhouwer.
Habbershaw, who leaves her New York role overseeing the Americas at All3Media International, will assume the title of Chief Distribution Officer and take responsibility for shaping global sales and acquisitions across Mediawan’s wide production network.
The group’s catalogue includes high-profile partners and labels such as Plan B Entertainment, See-Saw Films, Drama Republic, Leonine Studios and many others — a library Mediawan says totals roughly 30,000 hours of programming.
The decision to relocate distribution leadership to London signals a strategic pivot for Mediawan as it doubles down on international growth ahead of MIPCOM Cannes.
Company leadership framed the change as part of a broader push to accelerate global expansion and to centralize sales operations in a market that remains a hub for English-language rights trading.
Valérie Vleeschhouwer, who joined Mediawan Rights in 2017 and helped integrate significant distribution businesses into the group in subsequent years, will support the handover before leaving the company.
Her tenure oversaw multiple integration projects that grew Mediawan’s footprint in Europe and bolstered relationships with producers and third-party partners.
What this means at market level Habbershaw’s arrival comes with clear ambitions: to steward distribution for Mediawan’s dozens of production arms and to commercialize forthcoming titles — including new dramas set to debut at MIPCOM such as Sally Wainwright’s Riot Women and Hugo Blick’s California Avenue.
For buyers and agents, the change will be watched closely: continuity of relationships and sales momentum across key territories will determine how smoothly the transition plays out.
My take — a pragmatic, timely move From a strategic standpoint, Mediawan’s choice makes sense. Bringing a senior executive with deep Anglo-American market experience into a London-based role reduces friction when selling English-language and global rights and signals seriousness about winning bigger commissions and co-productions.
At the same time, replacing a Paris-based leader who had overseen important integrations is a risk: institutional knowledge and producer trust are built over years, and Vleeschhouwer’s departure removes a familiar figure for many European partners.
If Mediawan can pair Habbershaw’s commercial contacts and marketplace savvy with a disciplined transition plan, the company should be able to maintain — and likely expand — its international reach.
But the outcome will hinge on execution: preserving established producer relationships while leveraging London’s market access to convert the group’s sprawling catalogue into sustainable revenue growth.
As buyers descend on Cannes next week, Mediawan’s new distribution chapter will quickly be tested in real-time — and the company’s ability to translate a high-profile leadership shuffle into sold deals will tell us whether this was bold repositioning or merely symbolic rearranging.
