BBC Studios today announced the appointment of Sergey Plotnikov as its first Account Director in Russia.

Based in Moscow, Plotnikov is responsible for managing BBC Studios’ key customer relationships in the market and generating business development opportunities to maximise revenue potential across content sales, digital and formats.

The appointment reflects the increasing appetite in Russia for international and British content and the importance of the market as a growth area for BBC Studios.

Plotnikov has extensive experience in Russian broadcasting and takes up his new position after a highly successful tenure as General Manager at Sony Pictures TV, where he was responsible for their portfolio of channels - Sony Sci-Fi, Sony Entertainment TV, and Sony Turbo for over a decade.

He has previously held business development positions with NTV and AFK Sistema where he was responsible for the development and distribution of Stream TV, an interactive pay TV platform. Sergey was also responsible for the concept and development of City TV, an interactive platform with 80 channels on VOD and SVOD.

Commenting on his new role Plotnikov said “ I’m very excited to join BBC Studios at such an important time in its history. As the largest TV distributor outside of the US, it has a great pipeline of tremendous new shows and a strong production house with some of the best creative minds in the industry. I’m looking forward to bringing more quality shows from BBC Studios to the Russian market and seeking out production opportunities in the country.”

Salim Mukaddam, VP and General Manager for CEE, BBC Studios said “I am delighted that we have been able to attract someone of Sergey’s calibre to lead our growth plans in Russia. This appointment demonstrates BBC Studios’ ambition and commitment to the Russian market. Having Sergey based in Moscow will enable us to get closer to all of our key partners, to better understand their needs and to deliver on the big opportunities in the region. I am really excited about the future in Russia and I look forward to working with Sergey to achieve our goals.”

Sergey holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Masters in Nuclear Physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.