Winfried Debertin

Winfried Debertin
Born	(1953-01-24) January 24, 1953 Osnabrück, West Germany
Occupation(s)	Writer, producer

Winfried Debertin (born 24 January 1953 in Glandorf in Osnabrück West Germany) is a producer and director who owns the production company Penta TV. He studied communication and social sciences, as well as political science in Münster. In 1977, he became the editor at the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). Since 1988, he has worked as a director and producer. He was awarded the 2006 ECHO Klassik Award in the category "Classical Music for Children".

Biography

After completing his studies, Debertin initially managed the project study group "Preschool Television" with the focus on Sesame Street. Since 1977, he has been active in the NDR editorial. Since 1988, Debertin has worked as a freelance producer, writer and director. He developed series, film concepts and movie characters (e.g. for Hallo Spencer, Spencer Holiday Tips, and Rollercoaster) for the NDR. He is a songwriter with approximately 600 titles under his name. He has more than 20 years of experience as the managing director of Penta TV GmbH and Penta Merchandising (formerly "B.G.M.M.").

Background to the invention of "Hallo Spencer"

Debertin invented the TV series "Hallo Spencer" in the late 1970s. During that time, he was sick in bed and heard that a "replacement series" for the American children's series Sesame Street was necessary. In 1977, the broadcasters felt that American influence was too great and that a new German puppet series for the German children's television should be designed by the NDR. As early as 1978, the filming of the German Sesame Street in Studio Hamburg began. Dolls such as 'Tiffy' and 'Samson' were built for this purpose under American supervision. A year later, Debertin invented "Hallo Spencer", to be broadcast at the same time as Sesame Street and Spencer survived in that programming slot.

Until the late 1980s, along with his then partner, Angelika Paetow, he headed editors of broadcast and wrote almost all the lyrics. He became managing director of the film and television company PentaTV with which he initiated many more productions (e.g. "Leonie Lionheart", "Tricky Toons", "The Adventures of Max and Molly", "The supercool Südpoolgang" and most recently "Little Amadeus"). Debertin's works were often seen on television; Hallo Spencer applies, also due to the long production history as its most successful series. Many of the Penta series were produced on behalf of NDR, SWR, HR, ARD / Ki.Ka and ORF.

Success and reception

Debertin experienced the highlight of the success of his television series "Hallo Spencer" in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In this period, most merchandise was produced and the consignment was first marketed internationally. In addition, Debertin became independent and founded his own production company, which began production in 1992 in parallel with a second puppet series: "Leonie Lionheart". In the late 1990s, the success declined: in 1999 "Hallo Spencer" lost its traditional NDR broadcast date (Friday, 6pm) and was taken off the KiKA program.

Debertin's last major success was in 2006, when after many years of production, the animated series "Little Amadeus" was published in KiKA and reached remarkably high ratings. Soon after, the episodes were broadcast in more than ten other countries. The second season was released in 2007. Debertin's work was received with appreciation by the critics and was given the rating "highly recommended" and awarded an ECHO Award.

Controversy

For the invention of series and the characters, Debertin still earned much recognition by the Spencer fans: His motivation to revive the series is one of the reasons for its popularity among fans. Especially the last 38 episodes, which were produced in the years 1995-2001 of PentaTV include (in addition to the episodes from the first years and all city episodes) to the productions on which he remarkably had much impact. In these three seasons, only a very limited number of characters occurs and also the actions to be validated by Einspieler films to frame actions. For these reasons, they are among the least popular episodes of the fan base and yet they were all released in 2007 on DVD, including bonus material.

(Lexiklopedia.de October 2012)

In April 2011, NDR employees reported that Debertin have under the consequences 238-275 material that was already paid mixed, to the cost of production (PentaTV currently produced alone) Low to halten. This material is cut-outs from old Hallo Spencer sequences in which the rights of the NDR are. The rights to several episodes that sold Debertin at EM.TV, - thus confirming the NDR - are also neither with him nor with his company. Consequently, it was tested over several months, to what extent PentaTV had violated by selling it to a third party of the right.

The thing was flying in the course of a check by the NDR revision that had led to the fall of 2009 the transmitter. Until then, the waste material in the "Hallo Spencer" episodes had noticed anyone - including any employee of Ki.Ka, who also showed. The editorial director (fiction and program acquisition) of the children's channel is the way Debertin's brother Sebastian.

(Abendblatt.de)

Whether filled by Angelika Paetow in 2010 "at his own request" toward displacement related to the television film department of NDR with the problems Debertins is unclear. reported the Hamburger Abendblatt, with its displacement would any "semblance of a mixture of want to "avoid personal and professional interests.

In May 2011, Debertin wrote a reply to an article about him. It was printer in the newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt a month later.:

In Hamburger Abendblatt [...] it is [...] in an article under the heading Medienmacher about me: "In the last delivery, it came in 2001 apparently to irregularities: NDR employees reported that Debertin mixed old, already paid material under the new episodes . He also had to sell "Hello Spencer" sequences at EM.TV, although the rights subject to them at NDR "To this end, I note: There were no irregularities in the last delivery of produced by my company Penta TV "Hallo Spencer" episodes in 2001. The use of old material in the production of new episodes took place in express agreement with the competent NDR employees. I have not sold any "Hallo Spencer" episodes at EM.TV, where the rights lie at NDR.

(Winfried Debertin, 11.05.2011)

In editorial tail, was pointed out that the Abendblatt maintained its representation. Obviously the editors doubted statements about the credibility of Debertin.

The various ideas for new Hallo Spencer projects that presented the Debertin Spencer fans in recent years, have unfortunately still not been realized. Only 72 more episodes were released after the first DVD appearance on DVD. 2010 was first suspected in Spencer forum that PentaTV was insolvent. In fact, in 2009, the first insolvency proceedings over its branch companies (for example Penta Creative Concept GmbH), then Debertins core company, were opened. Debertin is indicated as the sole debtor and representatives of all the companies concerned at unternehmensregister.de; a source of information is also called insolvenz-bekanntmachungen.de. In December 2015, Debertin announced in a public letter that he was "become insolvent third-party manipulation" by and regret, that nothing has changed "despite phoning German courts" to the state.