iWorld
Bitmovin names Ian Baglow as co-chief executive officer
Baglow to run daily operations as Stefan Lederer turns to strategy and technology
VIENNA: Video-streaming specialist Bitmovin has split the top job, elevating Ian Baglow to co-chief executive alongside co-founder Stefan Lederer in a leadership rejig aimed at accelerating growth and tightening customer and partner ties.
Under the new structure, Baglow will steer day-to-day operations and commercial execution, while Lederer will focus on long-range strategy, product direction and market development. The move formalises a division of labour already taking shape inside the company as it scales globally.
Baglow joined Bitmovin in 2021 as chief revenue officer, tasked with driving customer retention and new client wins. His remit widened in 2024 when he became president and chief revenue and operations officer, putting him at the centre of sales and operational strategy. Before Bitmovin, he held senior roles at BAE Systems and SilverSky, building a track record in scaling businesses, entering new markets and launching products.
“I’m honored to be appointed as co-chief executive, where I will of course continue to work closely with Stefan who I have great admiration and respect for,” says Baglow. “This shared leadership role will allow us to use our highly complementary skills and strengths to take Bitmovin to new levels, and I look forward to solidifying Bitmovin’s market position and contributing to its continued growth.”
Lederer casts the appointment as a natural next step in Bitmovin’s evolution. “Ian has played a key role in driving company growth in recent years, and I believe as co-chief executive, he will be integral to Bitmovin’s sustainable expansion and success,” he says. With Baglow handling operations and partnerships, Lederer plans to double down on “the next generation of our technology, as well as the strategic side of the business”.
Founded in Austria, Bitmovin has positioned itself as a core technology supplier to the streaming economy. It built what it describes as the world’s first commercial adaptive streaming player and launched a software-defined encoding service that runs across cloud platforms. Its cloud-native stack spans encoding, playback and analytics, with a pitch centred on scalability, device reach and ease of integration.
The group counts more than 400 customers worldwide, including DAZN, Fox, MBC Group, Astro, BBC and Warner Brothers Discovery. Headquartered in Denver and Klagenfurt, it also operates out of Vienna, London and Berlin.
As streaming matures into a fiercely competitive infrastructure business, Bitmovin’s dual-chief model signals a company intent on pairing technical ambition with commercial muscle. In a market where performance, scale and reliability decide winners, sharper leadership may prove as critical as sharper code.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
