Alex Berger
 | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (September 2021) |
Alex Berger | |
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 Alex Berger in 2000. | |
| Born | March 22, 1962 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S. |
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Alex Berger (born March 22, 1962) is a producer, creator, consultant and entrepreneur in the media field.
Biography
[edit]Childhood and family
[edit]He was born March 22, 1962, in Philadelphia in the US. He is the son of Francine Dreyfus-Berger, a French painter and Dr. Joseph Berger, PhD. In 1972, he moved to France with his parents and his sister Sylvie Berger. After a French schooling, he briefly studied at the University of Pennsylvania, then lived between the US and Europe. He currently lives in Paris, with his wife Florence Servan-Schreiber [fr] and their three children.
Invention of Vizzavi
[edit]In 1997, Alex Berger invents the multi-access web portal Vizzavi,[1] which consists of enabling premium content to travel seamlessly between all of the subscribers and their services and devices ( Canal+ pay TV and CanalSatellite pay channels, AOL Europe subscribers, SFR mobile subscribers, Numéricâble subscribers.)... This system named Vizzavi, was co-owned by Vodafone under the name Vodafone Live.[2] service.
CanalNumedia & VivendiNet
[edit]In 1998, Berger founded and became the first CEO of CanalNumedia and all the gaming activities of the group (2nd worldwide) and football, cinema and photography sites.[3][4]
In 1999 he founded and became the co-CEO of Vivendi Universal Net (VivendiNet) along with Franck Boulben. VivendiNet regrouped all digital contents of:[5]
- Canal+/CanalNumedia (sports and cinema websites and Allociné
- Havas with all of its publications and digital assets such as Scoot, bonjour !, 01.net, la Vie Financière
- Cegetel [fr] (SFR) and Vizzavi
- All the venture capital funds (Viventures) and the incubator @VISO co-owned 50/50 with SOFTBANK
Vivendi, Universal & Canal+ merge
[edit]Once approved by Jean Marie Messier[6] and Pierre Lescure, Alex Berger initiated the discussions with Universal. With the help of Terry Semel, former CEO of Warner Brothers, they approached Edgar Bronfman Jr, CEO of Seagram, owned by Universal. This strategy led to Vivendi, Universal and Canal+ to merge in June 2000.[7]
After the merger was finalised in June 2000, Alex Berger was at a strategic position between Vivendi-Universal CEO Jean-Marie Messier[8] and Canal+ Group CEO Pierre Lescure, head of content and digital. Internal politics and infighting raging, Alex Berger decided to leave Canal+ group in September 2000.[9]
Berger Report (2019)
[edit]On a new organisation for scripted drama series in France
Alex Berger was asked to write a report for the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée- French National Center for Cinema and Animation) on a new organisation of scripted drama in France. The report was commissioned by the CNC to show what and how should be changed in the French market to meet the standards as well as needs in this golden age of scripted drama. The report puts in perspective the changes that need to be made within paradigm shift with the rise of the digital platforms, and how this affects the way of developing, producing and distributing TV series, taking Le Bureau des Légendes/The Bureau as an example.
Television appearance
[edit]In 1992, he interpreted the character of Jean-Robert Günther in L'Émission impossible [fr] on TF1, the first show of the TV presenter Arthur on television.[10] In 1994, he made an appearance on Canal+ in the very last sketch of the show in Nulle part ailleurs of Antoine de Caunes and José Garcia. With the humoristic group Les Nuls as a guest on the set, he made a parody of one of them, Dominique Farrugia[11]
Cinema appearance
[edit]Alex Berger interpreted the character of Caius Tchounus Mogulus, in Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre of Alain Chabat.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Canal exec sees MAP with News - Entertainment News, Business News, Media - Variety
- ^ « 2000: Création, en joint-venture avec Vodafone, n°1 mondial de la téléphonie mobile, du portail Internet Vizzavi. », extrait de la Chronologie du groupe Vivendi, sur le site du Nouvel Obs
- ^ Canal New Media, fer de lance interactif de Canal+
- ^ Canal Plus, Vivendi talk up News pact - Entertainment News, Business News, Media - Variety
- ^ Jean-David Blanc (AlloCiné), Alex Berger (CanalNumédia/VNet) : "Nous croyons à un concept, un service, accessible partout"
- ^ Le jour où le ciel nous est tombé sur la tête, Jean-Marie Messier, 2009
- ^ Chronologie - Economie - Nouvelobs.com
- ^ Article Vivendi's Messier Is Sticking to the Script in Hollywood, de Ron Grover, sur le site de Business Week, juillet 2000
- ^ "Alex Berger quitte Canal+ - Stratégies". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- ^ Arthur : Emission impossible. Intervention d'Alex Berger à partir de la 23e minute
- ^ Sketch de De Caunes et Garcia dans Nulle Part Ailleurs en 1994
- ^ "Alex Berger". Archived from the original on 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
Further reading
[edit]- Profile et background[dead link] sur le site Bloomberg Business Week
- Interview de Alex Berger, sur le site du Journal du Net, pour la création de Canal New Media, août 1999.
- Article "BSkyB and Canal Plus snuggle closer for joint European push", par Simon Bond sur le site de Media Life Magazine, octobre 1999
- Résumé de l'atelier sur les programmes courts, qui s'est tenu à Kuala Lumpur en Malaisie, en avril 2010, et auquel Alex Berger a participé.
- Histoire de désirs, de Pierre Lescure et Jean-Pierre Lavoignat, octobre 2001
- The Man Who Tried to Buy the World: Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal, de Jo Johnson et Martine Orange, janvier 2004