Warner Bros Discovery announces appointments in UK & Italy
July 23, 2025 13.49 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Warner Bros. Discovery has announced two new appointments for HBO Max in the UK and Italy.

Sasha Breslau joins from ITV to lead content acquisitions in the UK and Alessandro Volpato joins from Prime Video & Amazon Studios as Director of acquisitions for Italy.

The appointments are part of HBO Max’s continuing international rollout with the service launching in the UK and Italy next year, alongside Germany.

Sasha Breslau will oversee content sourcing, rights negotiations, evaluations for acquisition and pre-buy opportunities, identifying high-impact content partnerships as well as partnering with other key stakeholders on strategic programming decisions for HBO Max in one of WBD’s most important international markets.

Breslau will report to Ragnhild Thorbech, SVP of Programming & Acquisitions, EMEA, and will help shape WBD’s content strategy for HBO Max. She assumes the role in October 2025.

Speaking of her appointment, Breslau, said: “HBO’s unparalleled series influenced my early decision to embark on a career in television, so the opportunity to join HBO Max as it launches here is irresistible. I’m thrilled to be working alongside Ragnhild and her talented team, and I look forward to collaborating with new and established partners to build on HBO Max’s streaming success.

Alessandro Volpato will be responsible for cross-functional collaboration with the EMEA Streaming Acquisitions team to evaluate pan-European projects.

Volpato joins from Prime Video & Amazon Studios, where he served as Senior Manager, Content Acquisition, contributing to the launch of original Italian productions such as Pesci Piccoli, Sconfort Zone, Sono Lillo, and international titles like Those About to Die. Previously, he worked for Warner Bros. International as Manager, International TV Distribution in London and, before that, as part of the Strategy team between the UK capital and Los Angeles.

Europe is currently WBD’s fastest growing region for subscriber growth internationally and its biggest market outside the United States. In its first year of streaming in Europe since May 2024, over 2.5 billion hours have been streamed with notable standout performances from its local original productions in Poland, Spain and Turkey.