Company Launches & Partnerships

WME | IMG has acquired The Miss Universe Organization from Donald Trump, in a deal that include Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. Recently Trump bought NBCUniversal’s interest as part of the settlement of his litigation against NBCUniversal. Prevoiusly, WME entered into a partnership with the company in 2011 and IMG had served as executive producers of both Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants.

Digital content network Endemol Beyond USA launched GetBeyond.US, a direct-to-consumer OTT platform. Programming will include content from YouTube makeup expert Michelle Phan, and add content from Smasher, Endemol Beyond USA’s yet-to-be-released e-sports and gaming network. Endemol Beyond USA designed GetBeyond.US with the help of online-video consulting firm Piksel, which provided Endemol with the new OTT service’s cloud-based video platform.

Disney has partnered with Amazon and Microsoft to increase Disney Movies Anywhere, its cloud-based digital movie service. The service that has upwards of 450 titles is now available on Microsoft Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, and Amazon tablets, will soon be available on Roku and Android TV.

Madison Square Garden is becoming a distinct corporate entity as the company is splitting its sports and entertainment assets on September 30. The company that includes venues like Radio City Music Hall and The Forum will be called Madison Square Garden Co. to be run by MSG’s new CEO, David O’Connor. Andrea Greenberg, who’s currently the EVP of MSG Media will become the CEO of the existing company which will be called MSG Networks and included sports channels MSG Network and MSG+. She will report to Executive Chairman James Dolan. Bret Richter, formerly the EVP of Corporate Finance and Development at Dolan’s Cablevision will move to MSG.

Facets, the child-oriented media arts organization, has launched SVOD service Facets Kids. The company operates the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. The new service aims to connect kids to indie films that are more intellectually challenging than the average children’s fare.

FILM

Kathy Savitt is moving from Yahoo! to STX Entertainment to become their President of Digital. At Yahoo! she headed the company’s global brand marketing, product and performance marketing, audience engagement strategies, and original editorial and video content. The studio recently released their first film, The Gift which has since grossed $44 million worldwide.

Robbie Brenner will start as Partner and President of Film Division at The Firm in late October. He was previously the President of Production at Relativity

Alan Glazer is now a Principal at Trimax Media. He was previously the EVP at Atlas Entertainment.

Legendary’s Asylum Entertainment is increasing its executive team. Ryann Lauckner has been upped to EVP. Joan Harrison has been promoted to Head of Scripted Television and Stephanie Lydecker to Head of Unscripted Programming. Lydecker has hired Matt Shanfield as their SVP. He was previously the VP of Development at Oxygen. Ben Bitoni has been named the VP. He previously had overall deals at eOne, NBC and GRB. Asylum Entertainment’s recently produced the miniseries The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe, The Lost Girls Of Manson and the documentary feature film Happy Valley.

Writer-producer Brian Gewirtz has been tapped as the SVP of Development at Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s shingle, Seven Bucks Productions. Gewirtz, was previously a creative consultant that worked with the company since 2013. In his new role, he will handle the development of television content for Seven Bucks Productions, whose TV series portfolio includes the Johnson-starring breakout HBO comedy Ballers, an unscripted series for USA, and the upcoming Rock the Troops for Spike TV where Seven Bucks has a deal.

Sallie Schoneboom has been named the SVP of Public Relations for IFC. She was previously at NBCUniversal where she served as SVP of communications for Syfy and Chiller. She will now report to Ellen Kroner, EVP and COO for IFC parent AMC Networks.

Elizabeth Kim Schwan has been named the President of International at new film production company, Covert Media. She will join the team at TIFF. The company began in August, developed from a partnership by Paul Hanson and Media Content Capital. They are slated to produce three to four films per year within the $10 million-$50 million budget range.

TV

Devon Graham Hammonds has been upped at A&E Network from Director of Nonfiction Programming VP Development and Programming at A&E. In her new role, she will develop new nonfiction series as well as oversee a team of programmers and several current nonfiction series for the network.

Nina Tassler is leaving CBS after 17 years. She began her career at the network as SVP of Drama Development in 1998. She then became the President of Entertainment in 2004 and chairman in 2014. She will stay on in an advisory role through 2017 when her current contract expires. The Head of Current Programming for CBS Entertainment and their TV Studios, Glenn Geller, has been named President of CBS Entertainment, and will now oversee entertainment programming for primetime, daytime and late night, as well as program development in all genres.

Eric Lehrman has been hired at USA Network as VP of Original Programming. He will develop scripted series and handle production on USA scripted pilots, starting with recently picked up Brooklyn Animal Control. He was previously at All3Media America, which he joined in 2013 and where he headed their scripted division.

David Auerbach is now the SVP of International at MY Entertainment. He was previously the President of Rive Gauche Television.

James Bates and Richard Bond are now the SVPs of Factual Production at Raw TV. Bates was previously an EP at Gold Rush. Sam Maynard has been named the EVP of U.S. Factual Programming at Raw TV. He was previously the Head of U.S. Factual Programming. Louise Norman has been named the SVP of Special Projects at Raw TV, he was previously an EP there.

Jonathan Dueck is now the CEO in addition to being an EP at Essential Media Canada. Joey Case is now the Creative Director in addition to being an EP at Essential Media Canada. Paul Taylor has been named their Head of Development. He was previously a Development Producer at RTR Media Inc.

Cara Dellaverson is now the SVP of Drama Development at NBC Entertainment. She was formerly the SVP of Television Development & Current Programming at Lionsgate.

Laura Fleury has been upped from VP to SVP of Development & Programming at LMN

John Paul Geurts has been upped from VP to SVP of Experience Design at Nickelodeon. Russ Spina has been named the SVP of Character Art, Illustration & Media Product Design at Nickelodeon. He was previously their VP of Illustration & Media Product Design.

Nina Lederman is now pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly the SVP of Scripted Series Programming & Development at Lifetime.

Jeff Lynas has been upped from SVP of Operations and Business Development to the COO at eOne Television.

David Sigurani has been named the Director of Scripted Development at Televisa USA. He was previously a Development Executive at South Shore. Jonathan South has been named the Director of Sales, Worldwide at Televisa USA. He was previously the SVP of Content at Magine AB.

Andrew Stearn has been named the President at Working Title Television U.S. He was previously the President of Television at John Wells Productions.

David Mandell has been upped from EVP and and General Counsel/Corporate Secretary for Mandalay Digital Group to the newly created position of COO at Pop, the CBS and Lionsgate-owned network. Mandell will continue as Pop’s General Counsel, handling legal and business affairs, while adding content distribution, business development and operations to his responsibilities.

Jennifer O’Connell has been named the EVP of Alternative Programming at Lionsgate. She was formerly the Head of US Television at the CORE Media Group. In her new role, she will oversee the development and production of Lionsgate’s unscripted slate across all platforms.

Larry Grimaldi has been named VP of Development & Production at MarVista Entertainment. He was previously a Supervising Producer of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.

Sean Gupta has been named VP of Programming Strategy at BET Networks. He was previously the Senior Director of Business Decisions at Time Warner Cable.

Lori Hall’s role has been expanded to include Planning and Acquisitions in addition to VP of Program Scheduling at Ovation TV.

Heli Koskela has been named the Head of Entertainment at ITV Studios Finland. She was formerly a Creative Director at ITV Studios Finland. Anna Hallenberg will take over in that Creative Director role. She was formerly a Producer at Yellow Film & TV.

Management, PR, Agencies

Lindsay Aubin and Dani Potters are now Agents of Scripted TV at WME. They were both formerly coordinators of Scripted TV at WME.

Jay Byrd is now a Music Agent at CAA. He was previously a Music Agent at WME.

Liz Hart is now an Agent, Alternative Programming & Digital Media at Abrams Artists. She was formerly an Agent of News Talent at Napoli Management Group.

Ian Tarbert is now the VP of Entertainment at Metal Rabbit Media. He was previously a Manager, Marketing at Tribeca Film.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

European ad tech startup S4M has named Brian Cronin to the post of General Manager. The company provides analytics related to mobile ad campaigns. Cronin was formerly the VP of Mobile Solutions and Programmatic at IgnitionOne.

Andrew Regal has been named the Global Head of Wall Street Journal Video. Regal had been Sr. Executive Producer of WSJ Video.

The YouTube ad-buying and video marketing platform Pixability has hired Chris Bennett as its first EMEA Managing Director. Bennett will work out of the company’s newly established London Office.

Scott McMenamin has been upped to President at Final Draft, Inc., a newly created position at the software publisher after 13 years with the company. In his new role, McMenamin will handle day-to-day operations and providing strategic leadership.

Colin Bohm has been upped from VP to EVP, Head of Corus Kids at Corus Entertainment in Toronto. Scott Dyer has had his role expanded to include President of Nelvana, in addition to his roles as their EVP, Strategic Planning and Chief Technology Officer at Corus. Maria Hale has been named the EVP, Head of Content Distribution & Pay Television; She was formerly the VP of Television, Head, Content Distribution & Pay Television. John MacDonald has been upped from VP to EVP, Head, Corus Women and Family at Corus. Gerry Mackrell has been upped from VP to EVP, Head of Airtime Sales. Kathleen McNair has been named the EVP, Special Advisor to the CEO and Chief Integration Officer. She was formerly the EVP of Human Resources, Corporate Communications and Chief Integration Officer. Susan Schaefer has been named the EVP, Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications. She was formerly the VP, Head of Brands, Television and Radio.

Belia Jimenez has been named the VP of Corporate Research at Univision Communications. She was formerly their Director of Corporate Research.

David Liddiment has been named the Non-Executive Chairman at FremantleMedia UK. He was previously the Co-Founder, Creative Director at All3Media.

Katy Chen is now the VP of Unscripted Development at Fullscreen. She was formerly the Director of Development at AwesomenessTV.

Darlene Gilbertie is now the Director of Business Development at Variety Insight. She was formerly a Casting Associate Producer at JS Casting.

Michael Goldfine is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the COO at Fullscreen.

Gary Gorman is now the SVP of Alternative Promotion at Capitol Music Group. He was previously the VP of Alternative Promotion at Atlantic Records.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Christie Smith and Julie Darmody are forming a To-Be Named Joint Venture. Darmody was formerly the President, Manager of Talent at Mosaic while Smith was formerly a talent manager at Mosaic.

Video Content Producer, Shandy Media is consolidating their brands, The Fumble, Hollyscoop, ModaMob, and The Savory – to form media company Obsev (“Obsessed with Everything”) to feature video and editorial content centering on pop culture.

Multiplatform media company Zealot Networks has bought Nirvana Digital, an Indian multiplatform network that operates over 200 YouTube channels as well as its own in-house content studio.

News Corp is acquiring video ad tech company Unruly in a $90-million-dollar deal. The company will continue working with its existing clients as it begins collaborating with News Corp business units.

Production company Citizen Skull is forming its own talent division to be named CSP Management with the target to help social media influencers form brand partnerships and cross over into film and TV.

Film

Shannon Petranoff has been named the SVP of Interactive Marketing at Paramount and will oversee Paramount’s domestic online, mobile and social media marketing. She hails from Snapchat where she was a Creative Strategist. Previous to that she worked at Paramount.

Sam Mercer is now the Head at ILM Studios. His previous credits include a producer role on the upcoming film, The BFG.

Philip Button is now the EVP of International Production & Management at STX Entertainment. He was previously the SVP, Agent of Motion Picture Literary at WME.

Linda Cuevas is now the VP of Media & Distribution at Village Roadshow Pictures. She was formerly the Director of Media & Distribution at Village Roadshow Pictures.

Zoe Fairbourn is now the EVP of Promotions & Integrated Marketing at The Weinstein Company. She was formerly the EVP of Strategic Partnerships at Relativity Media.

John Fischer is now the VP at Temple Hill Entertainment. He was previously the VP at Heyday Films.

Alison Haskovec is now the SVP of Development & Production at Silvertongue Films. She was formerly the VP of Development at Evergreen Studios.

Shannon Olivas is now the SVP of Corporate Communications at Skydance Media. She was formerly the VP of Corporate Communications at The Honest Company.

TV

Cesar Conde has been named the Chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. With this move, Joe Uva shifts from his position as Chairman of Hispanic Enterprises and Content to an adviser on NBC Deportes in Stamford, CT. Patricia Fili-Krusher is now pursuing other opportunities, as of November 1st, 2015. She was formerly the EVP of NBCUniversal.

Gina Mingacci has been hired on as BBC America’s VP in charge of development and current programming to be based in Los Angeles and report to Nena Rodrigue, head of programming and production. She previously served as president of production at New York-based Independent Pictures.

Jana Bennett has been promoted to President and General Manager of History in a move to replace Dirk Hoogstra who has left and will independently produce. Bennett was previously the President of FYI and LMN. Arturo Interian has been upped to SVP of Scripted Programming and Russ McCarroll has been upped to SVP of Development and Programming at the History Channel. Interian was recently the VP of Original Movies for Lifetime. Sean Boyle has been named the VP of Development and Programming. He was formerly the VP of Development at Discovery.

Justin Allen has been named the VP at Middle Man Productions, he was previously an Independent Producer. Erik Olsen is now the EVP at Middle Man Productions. He was previously the Senior Production Executive at LBI Entertainment.

Timothy Kuryak has been named the SVP of Unscripted Development & Production at UP TV. He was previously the SVP of Development at LionTV

William Marks has been named the VP of Business Development at Ovation. He was previously the Head of Accounts at OnCue.

Cindy Davis has been named the EVP of Consumer Experience at Disney/ABC Television Group. She was formerly the EVP of Global Customer Insights & Analytics at Walmart. John Frelinghuysen has been hired on as the EVP of Digital Media, Strategy & Business Development at Disney/ABC. He was previously the SVP and Head of Strategy at AOL.

Augustus Dulgaro has had his role expanded to include COO of ITV Studios Australia, in addition to EVP of Distribution, Asia-Pacific at ITV Studios Global Entertainment. David Mott has been named the CEO at ITV Studios Australia. He was previously the Managing Director at Nine Network in Perth.

Chris Fry has been hired on as an Executive Producer at Kudos. He was previously a Producer on the series, Humans. Jo Strevens is now the Head of Development at Kudos. He was previously a Story Producer on the series The Tunnel: Sabotage.

Glenn Geller has been named the President at CBS Entertainment. He was previously the EVP of Current Programming at CBS Network Television Entertainment Group.

Brian Gewirtz has been upped from Creative Consultant to the SVP of Development at Seven Bucks Productions in New York.

Caley Gray has been upped from Senior Director of Corporate Communications to the VP of Communications at NBCUniversal Content Distribution Group.

Stacy Green has been upped from SVP to EVP of Global Human Resources & Facilities at A+E Networks. Devon Graham Hammonds has been upped from Director of Non-Fiction & Alternative Programming to the VP of Development & Programming at A&E. Lance Still is now the SVP of Strategic Initiatives, Ad Sales at A+E Networks. He was previously the EVP of Promotions & Integrated Marketing at The Weinstein Company.

Scott Grogin is leaving his post as the SVP of Corporate Communications at Fox Networks Group in 2016.

Patrick Kelly has been named the EVP of Business Affairs at TBS & TNT. He was previously the SVP of Business Affairs at Turner Entertainment Networks.

Laura Merle has been named the Senior Director of Corporate Marketing Services at Univision Communications Inc., she formerly worked in the Office of the CEO at Univision. José Morales has been named the VP of Local Marketing Strategy at Univision Communications Inc. He was previously the VP of Content and News Director at Telemundo 47.

Jennifer O’Connell is now the EVP of Alternative Programming at Lionsgate Television. She was formerly the Head of U.S. Television at CORE Media Group. Sandra Stern has been upped from COO to President at Lionsgate Television Group.

Tommy Paul is now the Director of Original Programming at Marvel Television. He was previously the Creative Executive at Shore Z Productions.

Jodie Platt is now the VP of Programming and Development, International Production at Sony Pictures Television. She was formerly the VP of Current Programming at ABC Entertainment.

Pamela Post has been upped from VP to SVP of Original Programming & Series Development at Logo TV.

James Rosenstock is now the EVP of International & Corporate Development at Vice Media. He was previously the EVP of Corporate Development at Discovery Communications.

Sallie Schoneboom is now the SVP of Public Relations at IFC. She was formerly the SVP of Communications at Syfy and Chiller.

Claudia Balzer Scott-Hansen is now the VP of Distribution at 9 Story Media Group. She was formerly the SVP of Group Director, Broadcast, Americas and EMEA at HIT Entertainment.

Management, PR, Agencies

Amanda Hacohen is now the Agent of TV Literary at APA. She previously worked in Comedy Development at ABC.

Mitchell A. Kamin is now the Partner at Covington & Burling. He was previously the Co-Managing Partner, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg.

Sarabeth Schedeen is now a Talent Agent at BRS/Gage. She was formerly a talent agent at Sovereign Talent Group.

Andy Stabile is now an Agent of International TV & Media at ICM Partners. He was previously a Partner and Head of Alternative Department at Kaplan Stahler Agency.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Condé Nast President Robert A. Sauerberg Jr. will take over for current CEO Charles H. Townsend come January. Townsend will become chairman of Condé Nast U.S. Over the past decade, he and Sauerberg helped oversee Condé Nast’s foray into premium digital content creation. Over in the branding division, Will Misselbrook will be Head of Branded Entertainment, and Eden Gorcey will serve as Head of Branded Content, Digital Sales, and Strategy.

Dave Dickman has been named the President of Reelio, an influencer marketing platform that specializes in connecting brands with popular digital content creators. He previously served as Global Head of Sales for iAd, Apple’s in-app advertising platform.

Douglas Parker has been named the Executive Creative Director, UX and Visual Design for People and Entertainment Weekly’s digital entertainment group at Time Inc. He previously served as Digital Creative Director for Bravo and Oxygen.

Michael Winship has been re-elected President of the WGA East along with VP Jeremy Pikser and Secretary-Treasurer Bob Schneider. All ran unopposed in an election where roughly 10% of the guild’s 4,000 members voted for the nine open council seats and all but two of which were won by incumbents.

Dick Glover is now the CEO of Mandalay Sports Media. He was previously the CEO of Funny Or Die.

Tyson Parker is now the Head of Artist & Music Industry Relations at Bell Media. He was previously the VP of Communications & Artist Relations at Universal Music Canada.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has partnered with MCN Fullscreen to form the CBC|Fullscreen Creator Network. CBC has more than 2,000 Canadian content creators currently working with Fullscreen, including vloggers Chris and Crawford Collins. The partnership will allow Fullscreen to team up with Canadian brands including Scion Canda, TD Kids Book Club, and Wolf Blass that are already signed up.

Hearst has invested $21 million in Complex Media, a pop-culture oriented media company aimed at male millennials. Complex operates websites relating to, among other things, music, fashion, food, and movies.

The management and production company founded by Rick Yorn and Ian Montone, LBI Entertainment is teaming with U.S. soccer icon Cobi Jones and London-based football agent Kutner to launch LBI Sports. The new agency will have an emphasis on soccer and on building Kutner’s clientele that includes Frank Lampard, Patrick Bamford and Philippe Senderos along with coaches and TV personalities.

Wild Bunch has launched a TV division and set its first two drama series, Medici: Masters Of Florence and Four Seasons In Havana, with sales to launch at the MIPCOM market. The company will co-produce and distribute series for the international marketplace.

Fandango has bought Ingresso.com, an entertainment ticket subsidiary based in Rio de Janeiro, which has 6 million registered customers and is Brazil’s largest online mobile ticketing service.

Jerry Levin and his wife Laurie Ann Levin are forming The Levin Center For Parkinson’s Transformational Health. Levin was formerly the CEO of Time Warner and his wife was previously an agent at CAA before becoming a psychologist. The new center will be dedicated to removing the stigma and working on the emotional well-being of Parkinson’s sufferers.

Although Media General has planned on buying Meredith Corp. in a $2.4 billion deal, Nexstar Broadcasting could put a stop to it as it has offered to acquire Meredith in a $4.1 billion deal. Nexstar, based in Texas has more than 100 TV stations in 58 markets while Media General services 71 stations.

Film

Drew Simon has been named the SVP of Production at STX Entertainment. Previously, he had been VP Film at the Mark Gordon Company.

Robin Jones has been hired as a Development and Production Executive at genre production, finance, and distribution studio Epic Pictures Group. She will have the goal of building an in-house production slate of 6-8 pictures per year, and on identifying high-profile third party acquisitions for Epic Pictures Group’s domestic distribution arm, Epic Pictures Releasing. She was formerly a development executive at Epicenter Management.

Sylvia Ortiz-Moscato has been named the VP of Research Solutions at Screen Engine/ASI. Previously, she was the VP of Multicultural Division at Ipsos. Christina Parish has been named the SVP of Client Services, in Screen Engine/ASI’s TV Division. Previously, she was the VP of Client Consulting at Nielsen Content. Laura Zilli has been named the VP of Research Strategies, previously, she was the Chief Marketing Analyst at Capstone Global Marketing & Research Group.

TV

Gina Kwon has been named an Executive in Amazon’s comedy department. Kwon is an Amazon Featured Imageindependent film producer and previously worked with Arteta on Chuck & Buck, and The Good Girl, the latter a Spirit Award winner for Best Screenplay for Mike White.

Steve Mosko has been named the Chairman of Sony Pictures TV and will report to CEO Michael Lynton. He will continue to oversee all TV operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment Worldwide. He’s been with Sony Pictures TV for more than two decades, overseeing global television production, distribution of film and TV content and the studio’s international networks.

Gene Stein is leaving Sonar Entertainment, where he was their CEO to pursue other opportunities. Thomas Lesinski, a member of Sonar’s board of directors, has been named interim CEO. Previously he was the CEO and founder of Energi Entertainment and prior to that was the President of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment and President of Worldwide Home Entertainment for Paramount. Also due to Stein’s departure, Sonar’s creative affairs will now be shepherded by Jenna Glazier and Tom Patricia.

Rosemary Mercedes has been upped from VP to SVP of Corporate Communications at Univision Communications Inc.

Marco Arabit is soon to be named the VP of Distribution, EMEA at Legendary Television. Formerly, he was an Sr. Director of International Programme Sales at Viacom International Media Networks in London.

Sean Boyle is now the VP of Development & Programming at History. Formerly, he was the VP of Development at Discovery.

Derek Bond is now the SVP of Production Strategy at Univision Communications. Formerly, he was the CEO of Imagina Content at Imagina US.

Jennifer Barrett is now the SVP, Legal & Business Affairs at FremantleMedia International. Previously, she was the Head of Legal & Business Affairs at Factual & Daytime, BBC. Hayley Dickson is now the Head of Non-Scripted Global Acquisitions & Development at FremantleMedia International. Previously, she was the company’s VP of Television Acquisitions & Development, Global Content.

Alexis Ehrman has been promoted from her position as Assistant to Tripp Vinson to a Creative Executive, Television at Vinson Films.

Derek Ferguson is now the COO at REVOLT Media & TV. Formerly, he was the Chief Growth Officer at Combs Enterprises.

Dirk Hoogstra is now an Independent Producer. Formerly, he was the EVP, General Manager at History & H2.

Suzanne McCormack has been hired on as the VP Development at Warner Bros. TV-based Chuck Lorre Productions. She was previously a coordinating producer on all Chuck Lorre Productions series. In her new role she will spearhead the development and production of comedy and drama projects for network and cable.

Sara Kendrick is now the Director of Development at 90 Miles Productions. Previously, she was a Manager of Development at Propagate Content.

Julian Keyzer is now the Director of Business Affairs at NBCUniversal. Previously, she was Sr. Counsel of Business & Legal Affairs at Viacom.

Tiegen Kosiak is now the Director of Development at Cinestar Pictures. Formerly, he was the Executive Assistant to Jennifer Levine at Untitled Entertainment.

Gina Mingacci is now the VP of Development & Current Programming at BBC America. Previously, she was Head of Scripted Television at Superb Entertainment.

Reena Singh has been named the VP of Current Programming at Twentieth Century Fox Television. She was formerly the VP at Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films. Anand Shah has been named the VP of Comedy Development. Singh previously was a development and current executive at USA Network and Universal Cable Productions where she worked on series such as Covert Affairs.

Dave Sirulnick is now the Partner, EP at RadicalMedia. Formerly, he was the EVP of News, Documentaries & Specials at MTV.

Jennifer Storms is now the CMO of NBC Sports Group. Previously, she was the SVP of Global Sports Marketing at PepsiCo, Inc.

Dorothy Toran is now the VP of Production at Monami Entertainment. Previously, she was the Executive in Charge of Production at True Entertainment.

Ali Woodruff has been upped from Executive Assistant to Manager of Creative Affairs at Sony Pictures Television.

Lauren Hurvitz has been named the EVP and Chief Communications and CMO for Turner Broadcasting System. She formerly was at Starcom Mediavest Group and Head of global corporate communications and events at AOL. In her new role, she will be responsible for brand reputation across all platforms, strategic communications, media relations, and publicity and head global communications and corporate marketing, reporting to chairman and CEO John Martin Jr.

Ben Tappan has been named the VP Scripted Programming, reporting to EVP Original Programming Jocelyn Diaz at EPIX. As part of his new role, he will work on the two new series, which head into production this fall. He was previously the SVP of Landscape Ent. and oversaw operations for the TV department for Landscape’s first-look series deal with eOne Television and limited-series deal with Fox.

Management, PR, Agencies

Ben Izzo has been upped to agent at Abrams Artists Agency’s New York-based literary division. He previously had been the departmental coordinator in the literary division.

CAA has upped a number of Agent Trainees. Brian Duckler has been upped from Trainee in Sports Consulting to an Executive in Sports Consulting. Jen Entin has been upped from Agent Trainee to an Executive in the Hockey Department at CAA. Robert Mickelson has been upped from Trainee to Agent in the Music department. Praveen Pandian has been promoted from Agent Trainee in Comedy to TV Lit Agent. Kaitlyn Powell has been upped from Trainee to an Executive in Business Development. Jordan Solomon has been upped from Trainee to Agent in Commercial Endorsements at CAA.

Ben Gorman has been hired as a Talent Agent at Don Buchwald & Associates. Formerly, he was an Talent Agent at Pakula/King. Nick Leicht has been hired as a Talent, Lit Agent & at Don Buchwald & Associates. Formerly, he was an Assistant to Iris Grossman at Paradigm.

Michael Kolodny has been hired as a TV Lit Agent at Kaplan Stahler Agency. Formerly, he was a TV Lit Manager at Fineman Entertainment.

Merideth Bajana has been promoted to manager at Grandview/Automatik. Prior to Grandview, she previously worked in both the lit and talent department at WME. Her current list of clients include producer Jeremy Howe and writer Anna Ziegler.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Nathan Guetta has been named the VP of Product for Condé Nast Entertainment‘s branded video division. Guetta has previously worked as Director of Marketing, Products and Operations at Samsung Electronics, Head of Content Services at Vodafone, and Product and Project Director at Dailymotion.

Will Keenan is heading the startup company, Streamup, he previously was the President of Endemol Beyond USA from November 2013 until last month.

Dermot McCormack has stepped down as President of AOL Video and Studios.

Amy McGovern has been named the VP of Strategic Sales at VideoAmp, a data and software platform for video and TV marketers. Previously, she was the VP of Digital Video Ad Sales at Fox Networks Group.

Larry Aidem has been named the President and CEO of Fandor, an on-demand streaming service for independent and international films. Formerly he was the Head of the Sundance Channel.

Paul Crewes has been named the Artistic Director for The Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts. He was formerly the Chief Executive and an EP at the Cornwall, England-based Kneehigh Theatre. The Center launched in 2013 and offers theater, dance, classical music and other performing arts programming.

Rafe Oller has been hired on as the General Manager of health and wellness-focused Z Living. In his new position, he will head acquired and original programming, distribution, affiliate relations, advertising sales, marketing and operations. Formerly Oller was a media consultant for Firebrand Creative Group, a 360 branding company focusing on broadcast, cable, OTT and theatrical. Tim Krubsack has been named the company’s EVP and Head of Programming and will create and manage Z Living’s entire programming slate. Krubsack previously was as SVP alternative programming for Syfy/NBCUniversal.

Mike Beck has been named the Sr. EP of Development & Production at Time Inc. Video. Formerly, he was the EP for Time Inc. Video. Ian Orefice has been named the Sr. EP of Original & Current Programming at Time Inc. Video. Formerly, he was an EP of News & Sports at Time Inc. Video. Beck has been with Time Inc. since 2007, while Orefice has been with the company since 2010.

Tom Farrell, who Co-Founded The Workshop, an independent production company, will now take the reins as President and CEO. Todd Donnelly has been named the Partner and Director of Business Development at The WorkShop. Formerly, he Co-Founded Viamedia. Ray Murray has been named the Director of Development. Formerly, he was founded Banyan Productions.

Rick Hong has been named the Director of Business Development at Variety Insight. Formerly, he was a Sr. Manager, Partnerships/Development at Fullscreen.

Paul Slavin has been named the President at Open Road Integrated Media. Formerly, he was the EVP, COO at Everyday Health.

Sharon Taylor has been named the EVP, General Manager at Animal Logic. Formerly, she was the company’s Group Head of Production.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Univision Communications (UCI) has partnered with Verizon. Content from a variety of Univision’s programming properties will be seen on Verizon’s Go90 mobile streaming service. Go90 users will be able to access to Univision’s digital network Flama, as well as Univision News.

YouTube channel How to Make Everything has joined the MCN Collective Digital Studio. The channel has almost 32,000 YouTube subscribers.

Online ticket sales company Fandango is launching FandangoLabs, a research and development division with the target of innovating moviegoing products and services, including making the moviegoing experience a more convenient one with such items as advanced ticketing to drive theater attendance. FandangoLabs will explore avenues across location-based services, social commerce, augmented and virtual reality, interactive video, and personalization among others, with an eye on releasing products in 2016.

YouTube stars Caspar Lee and Joe Sugg as well as Dom Smales, the Managing Director and Founder of social media management agency Gleam Futures, have launched Raucous Productions, a new production studio. Raucous’s first project, called Joe and Caspar Hit the Road, well center on a European road trip taken by Lee and Sugg. BBC Worldwide is co-producing the project with Raucous.

Film

Independent film and television distributor Alchemy has named Scott Guthrie as COO, Jim Jenkins will be upped from SVP to the EVP Strategic Business Development and Mergers and Acquisitions and Norbert Hudak will be the SVP Affinity Pods & Business Development. Before Alchemy, Guthrie was the EVP of Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and also spent 10 years with the Walt Disney Company. Jenkins previously worked at Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation’s SVP Business Development. Huak was previously the SVP of Brand Management for the Cinedigm Corp.

Teri Weiss has been named the SVP, Head of Kids/Family Development and Production in the newly created Universal Kids Productions group at Universal Pictures with the goal of searching through the studio’s IP portfolio and develop original content for all platforms, both on its own and through partnerships. Teri previously was the EVP Original Programming for the Preschool Division at Nickelodeon where she worked in various roles for 16 years.

Larry Aidem has been named the President, CEO at Fandor and Non-Executive Chairman at IconicTV. He was previously the President, CEO at IconicTV.

Olivier Courson is pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the Chairman, CEO at StudioCanal.

Anna Culp has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Motion Pictures at Imagine Entertainment.

T.J. Fixman has been hired as a Creative Consultant at Hasbro Studios. He was previously a Sr. Writer at Insomniac Games.

Robin Jones has been hired as a Development & Production Executive at Epic Pictures Group. She was formerly a Development Executive at Epicenter Management.

Josie Liang has been named the VP of Acquisitions & Development at The Solution Entertainment Group. She was formerly a Director of Acquisitions at Focus Features.

Didier Lupfer has been named the President at StudioCanal in addition to Didier’s role as President of Canal Plus.

Matt Phelps has been named the VP of Development at Ubisoft Motion Pictures. He was previously a Creative Executive at Gulfstream Pictures.

Drew Simon has been named the SVP of Production at STX Entertainment. He was previously the VP of Film at The Mark Gordon Company.

Matthew Stein has been named the VP International Film Production at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was previously an Independent Producer.

John Partilla has benne named the replacement to Travis Reid as CEO of Screenvision and will start in May. Partilla was recently the CEO of Minneapolis ad agency Olson. Previous to that he was COO of Dentsu Network West, Global Media Sales President for Clear Channel Communications and Global Media Group President for Time Warner.

Clyde Kusatsu has been elected SAG-AFTRA’s national VP, Los Angeles, and Gabrielle Carteris has been named the EVP, Ilyssa Fradin was elected National VP, mid-sized locals and Samantha Mathis was chosen national VP, actors/performers.

Sirena Liu has been named in the newly created position of Managing Director, China for Twentieth Century Fox. She recently headed the entertainment marketing company FilMworks China, which she founded in 2010 and sold two years later to global advertising conglomerate WPP. She will be located in China and will supervise the studio’s Beijing office.

TV

Susie Fitzgerald has been named the EVP of Scripted Programming at AMC & SundanceTV. She was formerly the SVP of Scripted Development & Current Programming at AMC. Kristin Jones has been named the SVP of International Programming, Development, Acquisitions & Co-Productions at AMC. She was formerly an International Scripted Consultant at AMC. Christian Vesper has been named the SVP of International Programming, Development, Acquisitions & Co-Productions at SundanceTV. He was previously the SVP of Scripted Development & Current Programming at SundanceTV.

Ayelet Bick has been upped from Production Manager to Director of Production at Thinkfactory Media. Joanne Rubino has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Production at Thinkfactory Media.

Nick Borenstein has been upped from Director of TV Development to the VP of TV Development at Hudsun Media.

Lord Burns is pursuing other opportunities (as of January 2016). He was previously the Chairman at Channel 4.

Sebastian Dungan has been named the VP of Original Movies at Lifetime. He was previously the Founding Partner at 72 Productions.

Sarah Jane Flynn has been named the VP of Content at Paperny Entertainment. She was formerly the Sr. Director of Original Factual Content at Shaw Media.

Paul Guyardo has been named the Chief Commercial Officer at Discovery Communications. He was previously the EVP, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer at DIRECTV.

Matt Hanna has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Original Programming at Esquire Network.

Jean Dietze has been promoted from EVP to President of Affiliate Relations at NBCUniversal. Rhonda Brockmann has been promoted from SVP to the EVP of Affiliate Relations Business & Legal Affairs at NBCUniversal. Scot Chastain has been named the EVP of Affiliate Marketing & Development at NBCUniversal. He was previously the SVP of Affiliate Marketing & Development at NBC Television Network.

Rocky Collins has been named the Executive Producer at Vulcan Productions. He was previously an Executive Producer at Science Channel.

Marc Etkind has been named the General Manager at the Science Channel. He was previously the General Manager at Destination America. Rita Mullin is now pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly a General Manager at the Science Channel.

Shannon Jamieson Driver has been named the SVP of Network Marketing & Creative Services at Scripps Networks Interactive. She was formerly the SVP of Marketing & Creative Services at HGTV, DIY Network & Great American Country. Gabriel Gordon has been named the VP of Network Research at Scripps Networks Interactive. She was formerly the VP of Brand Research & Strategic Insights at Food Network & Cooking Channel. Freddy James has been named the SVP of Network Integrated Programming, he was previously the SVP of Strategic Planning & Program Integration at HGTV, DIY Network & Great American Country.

Lindsey Liberatore has been named the VP of Development at TriStar Television. She was formerly the Head of Television at Silent Machine Entertainment.

Katie O’Connell Marsh is currently pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly the CEO at Gaumont International Television.

Shane Murphy has been named the Managing Director at Acorn Media Enterprises. He was previously a Co-Production Consultant at Deadpan Pictures and RTE Television.

Sabrina Padwa has been named the SVP of Business Affairs at ABC Family. She was formerly the VP of Business Affairs at ABC Studios.

Lauren Hurvitz has been named the EVP of Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. She was formerly the Global Chief Communications & Brand Marketing Officer at Starcom Mediavest Group.

Tim Krubsack has been named the EVP and Head of Programming at Z Living. He was previously the SVP of Alternative Programming at Syfy. Rafe Oller has been named the General Manager at Z Living. He was previously the SVP, Marketing at NUVOtv.

Jane Latman has been named the General Manager at Destination America in addition to her role as SVP of Development, Investigation Discovery.

Sonar Board Member Thomas Lesinski has been named the Interim CEO at Sonar Entertainment.

Riley Robbins has been named the VP of Development at Back Roads Entertainment. He was previously the VP of Development at M2 Pictures.

Andres Santos has been named the Sales Manager of International at Televisa USA. He was previously the VP of Sales at Dori Media America.

Anand Shah has been named the VP of Comedy Development at 20th Century Fox Television. He was previously the VP of Development at Red Hour Films. Reena Singh has been named the VP of Current Programming at 20th Century Fox Television. She was formerly the VP of Original Scripted Programming at USA Network.

Gene Stein has been named the President at Gaumont Television U.S. He was previously the CEO at Sonar Entertainment.

Stephen Friedman is leaving his position at President of MTV. He had been at the company for 18-years and had oversaw the Viacom network since 2008. Sean Atkins has been named the President at MTV and will report to Doug Herzog, President of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group. Atkins will handle all creative and business operations for MTV and sister networks MTV2 and mtvU. Prior he was the General Manager and EVP of Digital Media and Strategy at Discover Communications.

Diego Suarez has been named the SVP of International Television Production at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was previously the SVP of Creative Affairs at Fox 21 Television Studios.

Ben Tappan has been named the VP of Scripted Programming at EPIX. He was previously the SVP of Television at Landscape Entertainment.

Marcus Wolter has been named the Chairman of Northern Europe at Endemol Shine Group in addition to his title as CEO at Endemol Shine Germany.

Rob Lee has been named the President of Non-Scripted Programming at Keshet Studios, the recently launched LA-based subsidiary of Keshet International. In his new role he will develop, grow and establish the company’s non-scripted and alternative programming slate, both through adapting KI’s original premium non-scripted formats as well as developing original projects for the U.S. market and beyond. He previously produced Millionaire Matchmaker, Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew, among others through his Bayonne Entertainment and Elephant Walk Elephant production banners.

Management, PR, Agencies

Merideth Bajana has been promoted to Lit Manager at Grandview/Automatik. She was formerly an Assistant to Matt Rosen at Grandview/Automatik.

Megan Brown has been upped from an Agent in Branded Lifestyle to the VP of Branding & Digital at APA. Nathan DeRemer has been hired as a Coordinator, TV Literary at APA. She was formerly an Executive Assistant to Lee Dinstman at APA.

Sherry Gaier has been named a Talent Manager at The Green Room. She was formerly a Personal Talent Manager.

Kaitlyn Flynn has been hired as a Talent & Lit Agent at Don Buchwald & Associates. She was formerly an Assistant at Principato-Young Entertainment.

Garrett Greer has been hired as a Lit Manager at Rain Management Group. He was previously an Assistant to Mina Lefevre at MTV.

Ben Izzo has been upped from Lit Coordinator to Lit Agent at Abrams Artists.

Dave Kaplan has been hired as an Agent, Music at Paradigm. He was previously the SVP at The Agency Group.

Shawn McDonald has been hired as a Talent Manager at Optimism Entertainment. He was previously an Agent, TV Talent at WME.

Maximilian Ulanoff has been hired as an Agent of Digital & Branded Lifestyle at Don Buchwald & Associates. He was previously a Sales Executive at The Joester Loria Group.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Shelley Zimmerman has been named the Head of Scripted Series in a newly created role for Multi-platform production company and MCN AwesomessnessTV. She was previously the SVP of Scripted Programming at Warner Horizon.

Jack Dorsey has been named the permanent CEO of Twitter and will drop his Chairman title. He had served as interim CEO since July, when Dick Costolo said he would step down, and as chairman since Oct. 2008.

Nicola Levy has been named the Global Head of Business Affairs, Digital at Universal Music Group. She was formerly the Head of Business Affairs, Digital at Universal Music Group International.

Stuart J. Epstein is now the Co-Managing Partner of Evolution Media Capital. He was previously the CFO of NBCUniversal.

Irene Manahan is now the Sr. Research Consultant of MFour. She was formerly the Sr. Research Manager at Ipsos.

Patricia Burns has been upped from Supervising Producer to the Sr. Director of Production and Supervising Producer at Spin Master Entertainment. Courtney Sanford has been upped from Producer to the Director of SpindoTV at Spin Master Entertainment.

Ben Smith has been named the SVP, Head of Experience at Hulu. He was previously the Head of Product Management at Sonos.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Endemol Beyond USA has started Smasher, a new digital eSports network. The network is available on YouTube and other platforms. Smasher produces several original series, including eSports competition show Legends of Gaming, which debuted yesterday.

Sports-focused digital consulting firm Omnigon has joined forces with sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media. Together they will develop digital solutions and digital monetization strategies for clients.

Orange Digital Ventures, a digital VC company owned by French telecommunications group Orange, is investing in Afrostream, an SVOD platform focusing on African, African American, and African Caribbean TV and movies. The move will help Afrostream expand its service in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Other investors included TheFamily, Cross Culture Ventures I, L.P., and ACE & Company.

Shutterstock, the stock photography and footage provider has partnered with Red Bull Media House on an exclusive distribution deal. Shutterstock will market and license thousands of aerial, time-lapse, slow motion, adventure, wildlife, and landscape videos, filmed with advanced camera technology and presented in high-quality HD and 4K Ultra HD. The companies have also teamed up to launch Point of View, a content effort to distribute and co-market video highlights featuring Red Bull Media House-partnered athletes who will explore extreme environments.

Univision Deportes, the multimedia sports division of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), announced that it has joined forces with the NBA to launch NBA.com/enebea, the NBA’s official digital Spanish-language destination. The website has live game updates, post-game highlights, and a range of stats on each player and team in the league. It also features exclusive content for Hispanic NBA fans.

DC Comics, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Mattel and Lego have teamed up to launch DCSuperHeroGirls.com, a website showcasing superheroines ranging from WonderWoman to BatGirl. The site will include stories, quizzes, games, and a new digital animated series aimed at girls six to 12 years old. The series’ first episode, Welcome to Super Hero High, premiered October 1, with new episodes to air weekly.

US-based TV channel Eurocinema announced the launch of Eurocinema World, a live channel and SVOD service. The channel will have acclaimed European films and Euro-centric lifestyle content and launch in early 2016, in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Film

Robert Walak will not renew his contract as the London-based President/Managing Director Europe, Production, Acquisitions and Television at the Weinstein Company.

Brad Grey will continue as Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures into 2020 as his contract has been extended.

Lisa Layer has been upped from Assistant Executive Director to Associate Western Executive Director at Directors Guild of America.

Alexis Alexanian is now the President of Production at Locomotive. She was formerly a Co-Producer of Maggie’s Plan.

Jeff Deutchman has been promoted from VP to SVP of Acquisitions & Productions at Alchemy. Brooke Ford is now the EVP of Acquisitions & Productions in addition to Marketing at Alchemy. Scott Guthrie is now the COO of Alchemy. He was previously the COO of Kizzang Sweepstakes in Las Vegas.

Kevin McKeon is now a Creative Executive at The Firm. He was previously the Creative Executive at Relativity Media.

John Partilla is now the CEO of Screenvision. He was previously the CEO of Olson and EVP of Digital Services Group at ICF International.

TV

Dick Costolo is now a consultant on HBO’s comedy Silicon Valley. Previously he was the CEO of Twitter.

Deborah Barak will now be President of Business Operations in addition to the EVP of Business Operations at CBS Network Television Entertainment Group. She will report directly to Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. This year, Deborah marks her 30^th year at CBS.

Mallory Jaffe is now a Coordinator of Original Series Development at Disney Channel. Mallory was formerly the Creative Executive at AwesomenessTV.

Brooke Karzen has been named the EVP of Alternative Programming & Development at Warner Horizon Television. She was formerly the SVP of Alternative Programming at Warner Horizon Television.

Rob Lee has been named the President of Non-Scripted Programming at Keshet Studios in addition to his role as Founder, President at Bayonne Entertainment.

Sean Atkins has been named the President of MTV. He was previously the General Manager, EVP, Digital Media & Strategy at Discovery Communications.

Deborah Barak has been named the President of Business Operations at CBS Entertainment, CBS Television Studios & CBS News. She was formerly the EVP of Business Operations at CBS Network Television Entertainment Group.

Nichole Bardin has been named the Senior Director, Talent & Development at Megalomedia. She was formerly the Senior Director of Development at Sirens Media.

Dafna Linzer has been named the Managing Editor of Politics for NBC News and MSNBC, and will play a key role in driving coverage across the two networks. In this newly-created position, she will help maximize the many opportunities and competitive advantages arising from the combination of our resources, expertise, experience and deep bench of talent on all things politics. Previously, Dafna joined MSNBC in 2013 as Managing Editor of MSNBC digital, following a series of award-winning assignments.

Nora Skinner has been hired by HBO as the new SVP of HBO Programming. In her new role she will oversee the development and production of current and new original drama series, working with drama execs David Levine and Francesca Orsi. Previously she was the EVP of Production and Development at Indian Paintbrush and an executive producer on the Sundance 2015 Grand Jury Prize Winner Me And Earl And The Dying Girl and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Mark Ambrose has been named the VP of Talent at Marvel Television. He was previously the VP of Drama Development at 20th Century Fox Television.

Phil Craig is now an Independent Producer. He was previously the EVP of Chief Creative Officer at Discovery Networks International.

Amy Doyle has been upped from EVP of Music & Talent at MTV and VH1 to the EVP, VH1 & Logo.

Dany Meloul has been named the VP of Programming, French-Language TV at Bell Media. Dany was previously the Assistant General Counsel at Bell Media.

Mike Nunes has been upped from Director to the VP of Current Programming at NBC Entertainment.

Denis O’Connor has been named the Head of Unscripted Programming & Development at Buccaneer Media. He was previously the Creative Director at Big Brother Programming, Initial.

Jennifer Sarlin has been named the SVP of Marketing of TLC. She was formerly the Owner, Creative Director at Benzo Creative.

Alex Villalta has been named the Manager of Creative Affairs at TriStar Television. He was previously the Executive Assistant to Tom Rothman at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Teri Weiss has been named the SVP, Head of Kids/Family Development & Production at Universal Kids Productions. Teri was previously the EVP of Original Programming, Preschool Division at Nickelodeon.

Brandon Zimon has been named the SVP of International Television Sales & Co-Productions at Skydance Media. He was previously the VP of International Distribution at Sony Pictures Television.

Management, PR, Agencies

Due to the Relativity Chapter 11 ruling, there has been a major shake-up at Relativity Sports. President of Relativity Sports Happy Walters along with CFO Andrew Matthews and Co-Chief Operating Officer Greg Shamo have been let go. Founding board member Ron Burkle, who founded The Yucaipa Companies, will now be the Chairman of the Board and has committed $30 million of growth capital to develop the agency. All senior baseball agents have renewed their agreements with Relativity Sports. Two junior agents have resigned. Relativity Sports currently represents 400 athletes in the NBA, NFL and MLB and has plans to add management personnel. Relativity Chapter 11 ruling

Niki Montazaran is now an Agent of Motion Picture Literary at ICM Partners. She was formerly a Coordinator of Feature Literary at Paradigm.

Jelani Johnson has been hired by CAA as an agent in their Motion Picture Literary department. Previously Johnson founded management and production shingle The Mission Entertainment, specializing in repping diversity talent.

Adam Weinstein has been named a Partner at Verve. His clients include writer-director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly. Prior to joining Verve he began his career in 2002 at UTA where he started as a talent agent trainee.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Somasgear has left Microsoft and his position as VP of their Development Division after 27 years at the company. He previously oversaw the engineering of the company’s developer tools and services, programming languages, and runtimes.

Michael Kamprath has been named the CFO of video intelligence platform, Tubular Labs. He was previously VP of Engineering at Quantcast.

Kevin Arrix has been named the Chief Revenue Officer at location-based mobile advertising company Verve. Formerly, he served as EVP of Worldwide Brand Partnerships at SFX Entertainment.

Michael Barra is now the President of Media & Entertainment at The Araca Group. He was previously the CEO of Stageworks Media.

Steve Bellamy is now the President of Motion Picture & Entertainment at Kodak. He was previously the Chairman, CEO at The Ski Channel & The Surf Channel.

Dea Lawrence is now the CMO of Variety. She was formerly the VP of Western Region at TubeMogul.

Jennifer Harkness is now the SVP of Sales & Development at Cream Productions. She was formerly the Co-Founder of Jumpwire Media.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Newsy, the millennial-oriented digital news network has partnered with TV broadcaster Raycom Media: Raycom. In the deal, Newsy content will be featured across its nearly 40 owned and operated linear channels, as well as all of its digital platforms.

Jeremy Holley and Laura Hutfless have founded FlyteVu and are Principals of the company. FlyteVu is a full-service marketing agency that connects brands and, ultimately, consumers with music and artists. Jeremy was previously the SVP of Consumer & Interactive Marketing at Warner Bros. Records. Laura was formerly an Agent in Music Brand Partnerships at CAA. Whitney Byerly is now an Account Manager at FlyteVu in Nashville. She was formerly an Assistant in Music Brand Partnerships at CAA.

Red Arrow Entertainment Group, an entertainment company owned by German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, has launched digital media company Ripple Entertainment. Former FremantleMedia North America execs, Gayle Gilman (CEO) and Jason Ziemianski (CRO) have signed on to the new venture as CEO and CRO respectively.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has launched its diversity fund Three Ticks, with the dedicated aim to increase diversity representation in front of and behind the camera, to open on November 2. The fund will have an initial investment pool of $1.5 million to fund development, production, distribution and audience development. 15 features have already received been funded through Three Ticks, which was initially launched in pilot form back in September last year.

Rick Benattar and Nigel Thomas have launched feature and TV production company, Benattar/Thomas Productions. The new shingle will focus on innovative and commercially driven material across a range of budgets and genres. Benattar was previously an executive at Lorimar, Angry Films and Thunder Road. Thomas founded the UK-based Matador Pictures in 1999 and has produced more than 70 feature and TV films. The new company already has three films in an output deal with XLrator Media that have completed shooting and are slated for 2016 release.

Conde Nast has acquired Pitchfork Media, a website with an editorial focus on music news and reviews.

The women’s lifestyle-centric multi-channel network Kin Community – whose talent roster includes, among others, YouTube megastar Hannah Hart has launched Kin Network Distribution to release Kin videos to Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Scripps’ Ulive platform, and linear TV. Sarah Passes has been hired to lead the division. She previously worked in the digital division of Creative Artists Agency.

Liberty Global, the international cable company chaired by John Malone, has paid $10.8 million for a stake in Bigballs Media, the parent of Copa90, a YouTube channel focusing on soccer fans. The deal values Bigballs at $76 million and also gives Liberty Global the option of increasing its stake in six months.

Film

Jeremy Chilnick has been promoted to the role of COO at Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets. He was an original staffer of the company when it opened in 2004, starting as an assistant. Prior to this new role he was a Partner and Head of Production. In his new position he will oversee all aspects of film, television and digital development, all internal productions, and content delivery.

David Linde is now the CEO at Participant Media. He was previously the Founder of CEO at Lava Bear Films.

Tyler Mitchell is now the SVP of Motion Pictures at Imagine Entertainment. He was previously a Partner at Landscape Entertainment.

Robert Walak is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the President and Managing Director for Europe in Production, Acquisitions & Television at The Weinstein Company.

Brian O’Rourke has announced his retirement for March 2016 from his post as the CFO at the Directors Guild of America. Joan Sumpter will take over in the role. She was formerly the VP of Finance & Administration at Fulfillment Fund

Adam Ainley has been upped from VP to SVP of Finance at Shout! Factory. Kathy Callahan has been upped from Associate VP to VP of Special Market Sales & eCommerce at Shout! Factory. John Rotella has been upped from VP to SVP of Sales. Arlene Shapiro has been upped from Associate VP to VP of Royalties.

Shaun Barber has been upped from SVP to the EVP and General Sales Manager of Domestic Theatrical Distribution at Lionsgate.
Rowan Riley has been named the VP of Development and Production at Burn Later Productions, an independent film finance and production company. She was previously at Anonymous Content, where she was closely involved with The End Of The Tour and Quarry, among other titles. She’s also a Sundance Producing Lab fellow as well as a member of Cinefamily’s Creative Advisory Board.

Christian de Gallegos is now the President at Green-Light International. He was previously the President at International Film Trust.

TV

Karen Leever has been named the EVP and General Manager of Digital Media at Discovery Communications. Previously, Leever served as Head of Digital and Direct Sales at DirecTV. At Discovery, she takes over for Sean Atkins, who became MTV’s President in September.

Danny Cohen will begin pursuing other opportunities in December 2015 after he leaves his post as Director of Television at BBC.

Steve Elliott has been named the VP of Branded Entertainment Development at Comedy Central. He was previously the Creative Director at Pilot.

Stuart Murphy is leaving his post as Director of Entertainment Channels at Sky Entertainment Channels after six and a half years at the company and transitioning into a production deal with Sky Vision to write, direct and develop comedy and drama projects. During his time as Director, Murphy oversaw channels Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts and Sky Living, as well as overseeing the comedy, drama, factual and entertainment commissioning teams. He is a board member of the History channels, Jupiter Productions and is involved with virtual reality company Jaunt.

Jamie Friend has been upped from VP of Corporate Strategy & Insights to CEO, EMEA at Turner Broadcasting System.

Steve Elliott has been named the VP of Branded Development at Comedy Central. In the newly created role, Elliot will oversee branded creation, including episodes, specials, short-form, and social media content for Comedy Centeral’s pages. Formerly, Elliott served as Creative Director at the production companies Pilot and Triple Double.

Tina Exarhos is leaving her post as EVP of Marketing at Creative at MTV to be succeeded by Joe Ortiz, SVP Strategy & Creative, MTV On-Air Promotions. Exarhos previously oversaw all marketing and creative development for MTV, including short-form interstitial content, visual packaging, digital and social marketing, and consumer and trade advertising. Dan Fierman has been named the VP and Editorial Director at MTV News. He was previously the Editorial Director for Grantland where he oversaw the production of acclaimed digital content that, among other things, garnered ESPN multiple Webby nominations.

Chris Goble has been named the SVP of TV Production and Development at Automatik. He was previously a Literary Manager at Grandview. Though separate companies, Grandview and Automatik are partnered together.

Bryan Terry has been named the VP of Development & Programming at truTV. He was previously an Executive Producer at Off the Bat from the MLB Fan Cave.

Darcy Tomlin has been named the VP of Programming & Operations at Discovery Networks International. She was formerly the Senior Director of Programming at Velocity.

Bridget Wiley has been promoted from SVP of Current Programming to EVP at CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. Wiley takes over for Glenn Geller who held the position for two years before being promoted to president of CBS Entertainment last month, replacing outgoing chairman Nina Tassler. Wiley will lead creative affairs for all scripted series on CBS as well as series produced by CBS TV for other networks and streaming services. Additionally, VP Current Programs Amy Reisenbach has been promoted to SVP and will handle all series produced by CBS TV Studios for the CW while continuing to work on several CBS shows, including NCIS.

Lesley Cerwin has been upped from VP to SVP of Entertainment Publicity at NBC Entertainment.

Michael Serafini has been named the VP of Programming at DHX Television. He was previously the Interim Executive Director of Content Planning at CBC Television.

Management, PR, Agencies

Robert Koch is now a Partner at Hansen Jacobson. He was previously a Partner at Jackoway Tyerman.

Margo Liden is now the Agent in Global Branded Entertainment at ICM Partners. She was formerly an Account Executive at Mulholland Drive Entertainment.

Kylie MacKenzie is now an Agent, Commercials & Theatrical at Artistic Talent Agency. He was formerly the Head of Commercials at elev8.

Glen Mastroberte is now Counsel to Latham & Watkins. He was previously the Attorney at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

Brian Speiser has been upped from Agent to VP of Alternative & Factual Programming at APA.

Adam Weinstein is now a Partner, Motion Picture Literary at Verve. He was previously the Agent in Motion Picture Literary at Verve.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Adam Lewison has been named the SVP of Programming, Marketing and Operations at Crackle, Sony’s OTT service. In his new role, he will oversee content acquisition and scheduling, and lead the company’s marketing efforts. Most recently, Lewison served as SVP of Programming and Production at FX Networks.

Gregory Strompolos has been named the Director of Business Development at the social live streaming platform YouNow. Strompolos will be responsible for forging content partnerships with figures in the entertainment industry. Most recently, he worked as Senior Manager of International Networks at Fullscreen.

Jennifer Salant has been named the VP of Business Development at Conde Nast Entertainment, Conde Nast’s branded video division. Salant will oversee syndication and distribution strategy for the company’s digital video network. Previously, Salant was an SVP at the digital media company Mode Media.

Jeremy Barrett is now an Executive Producer at Wondros. He previously founded Paydirt Pictures.

Mark Caplan has been upped from VP to SVP of Global Consumer Products at Sony Pictures Consumer Products.

Thao Hoang is now the SVP of Business Development at Defy Media. He was previously the VP of Content Distribution at Viacom Media Networks. Alex Lin is now the Director of Development at Defy Media. He was previously the Manager of Comedy Development at NBC Entertainment. Christopher Willey is now the VP of Development, he was previously the Head of Development of Digital Networks at Condé Nast Entertainment.

Marcus Wiley is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the Head of Program Planning & Development at Snapchat.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Time Inc. has acquired HelloGiggles, a digital lifestyle publishing start-up for women, co-founded by New Girl actress Zooey Deschanel. The Wall Street Journal reports Time paid an estimated $20 million for the company.

Interactive entertainment company Activision Blizzard has launched a new eSports division. Steve Bornstein, who previously served as CEO of both ESPN and NFL Network, will serve as Chairman of the new division. Activision has nabbed Mike Sepso, the former president of Major League Gaming, to serve as SVP for eSports.

Production studio The Uprising Creative is launching Vehiclevr, a virtual reality content studio. Vehicle will specialize in the production and direction of branded and original VR content and supply production services to partner companies working in VR. Uprising co-founder Jeff Nicholas has been tapped as their Managing Director and Head of Development. Uprising formerly worked on VR projects with partners including CBS Interactive.

WME | IMG has partnered with AGT to build an as-of-yet unnamed platform that enhances the value of consumer’s live event experience with personalized real time offsite and onsite content and engagement. The new platform is planned for an early 2016 release. Events and content will be handled by WME | IMG and the engineers and data will come from AGT.

Universal Sports Network, with its main focus as the Olympic sports channel co-owned by InterMedia Partners and NBCUniversal, is closing November 16. NBCU, which holds an 8% stake in the channel, will pick up USN’s rights to the Olympic sports through 2032.

Film

Production and finance company Macro has nabbed producer Kim Roth as President of Production to handle the slate of film and TV projects that continues to ramp up since its launch earlier this year. Roth previously spent 16 years at Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment.

David Burg has been upped to SVP, Associate General Counsel at Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. The former Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall attorney will report directly to General Counsel Clarissa Weirick.

Robert Walak has joined Universal Pictures International Productions as Co-managing Director. Prior to Universal, Walak worked at The Weinstein Company, acquiring titles including Carol, Macbeth, Paddington and The Imitation Game.

Louise Chater has been named the EVP, International Strategy & Research overseeing all international theatrical market research efforts for Sony Pictures Entertainment. She will report to international marketing chief Michael Horn and work with John Restall, who handles domestic market research. Prior to Sony Chater spent two years at Clarius Entertainment, where she oversaw the film company’s strategy, acquisitions, and slate development.

Grady Gamble is now the COO and CFO at Adaptive Studios. He was previously the Executive Director of Strategic Planning & Business Development at Paramount Pictures.

Magnolia Pictures has also promoted Scott Veltri to VP of International Sales. He previously served as the International Sales Director. Robert Maylor has been upped to his role of Director of International Sales. He was previously the Manager of International Sales at the company. Veltri joined Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing in 2010 and held positions in marketing and acquisitions before moving in to international sales. Maylor joined Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing in 2013 after completing his M.F.A in the Peter Stark producing program at USC’s school of cinematic arts.

Matt Alvarez is now the In-House Producer at Broad Green Pictures. He was previously the EVP of Production and President of the Multicultural Division at Relativity Media. Ella Robinson is now the VP of East Coast Publicity at Broad Green Pictures in New York. She was formerly the SVP, DKC Public Relations.

Rowan Riley is now the VP of Development & Production at Burn Later Productions. He was previously the Producer at Anonymous Content.

Scott Veltri is now the VP of International Sales at Magnolia Pictures in New York. He was previously the Director of International Sales at that company.

TV

FX Networks has upped Gina Balian, Nicole Clemens and Jonathan Frank, to the title of EVP. Balian will continue to handle the strategic development and production of original limited series. Clemens will continue to handle the strategic development of new drama and comedy series. Previously, Clemens was a partner and head of the motion picture literary department of ICM Partners. In his new position, Frank will handle all facets of day-to-day production for the entire slate of FX Networks’ original programming. Before FX, Frank was with Mark Johnson Productions as head of television development.

TV Producer Jimmy Desmarais, best known for French TV series including Panthers and The Returned, has been named the Co-CEO of Atlantique Productions. Atlantique, which is owned by Lagardere Studios, has produced TV series including Transporter and Borgia. Olivier Bibas will serve as Atlantique’s other co-CEO.

Henry Ahn is now the President of Content Distribution & Marketing at Scripps Networks Interactive. He was previously the EVP of Content Distribution & Marketing at Scripps Networks Interactive.

Karen Leever is now the EVP, General Manager of Digital Media at Discovery Communications in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Digital & Direct Sales at DirecTV.

Sergio Alfaro has been named the CEO at Eclipse TV. He was previously the SVP at Pink Sneakers Productions.

Amy Reisenbach has been upped from VP to the SVP of Current Programs at CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. Bridget Wiley has been upped from SVP of Current Programs to the EVP of Current Programs at CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Studios.

Dan Tischler has been named the Head of Development at Rooney McP Productions. He was previously an Independent Producer.

Kelly Webb-Lamb will begin pursuing other opportunities at the end of 2015. She was formerly the Managing Director at Shine TV in London.

The CBC, Canda’s public broadcaster, has nabbed Chris Harris as their new Executive Producer of Digital Scripted Content. Prior to CBC, Harris served as VP of Strategy and Business Development at Secret Location, a Canadian digital content studio.

Jeremy Chilnick has been upped from Partner to the COO at Warrior Poets in New York.

Lucilla D’Agostino has been named the EVP of Current Programming & Development at Sirens Media in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Current Programming at Sirens Media.

Brian Dale has been upped from Development Producer to the VP of Digital Development at Thinkfactory Media. Erika Wadler has been upped from Director of Development to the VP of Unscripted Development at Thinkfactory Media.

Tina Exarhos is now pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly the EVP of Marketing & Creative at MTV in New York.

Saul Goldberg has been named the VP, Head of Unscripted Television at Covert Media. He was previously the Development Executive at Electus.

Andrew Marcus has been named the President at Relativity Television. He was previously the Managing Director at Relativity Television.

Management, PR, Agencies

Luber Roklin Entertainment has upped Ryan Lewis Tunick and Rob Saunders both to manager. Tunick previously worked in WME’s talent department for three years before Luber Roklin. Saunders was previously with MGMT management before Luber Roklin. Luber Roklin’s client list includes Olivia Cooke, Stephen Moyer, Shane West, Ryan Guzman and Hayden Christensen, among others.

David Anderson has been snagged by UTA to be an executive in their Digital Media department. He hails from the Los Angeles office of brand consultancy firm MediaLink, where his clients included Conde Nast, Twitter, Hulu and Funny or Die.

Chris Goble is now the SVP of TV Production & Development at Automatik. He was previously a Lit Manager at Grandview.

Ross Weiner is now an Agent of Theater at ICM Partners in New York. He was previously the Agent of Theater Literary at Paradigm.

Lori York is now pursuing other opportunities She was formerly a Partner of International TV & Media at ICM Partners in New York.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

GoPro has hired Bill McCullough to serve as an Executive Producer for GoPro’s motor sports and team sports channels. Previously, he served as VP of Creative Development and Operations for HBO Sports.

YouTube video marketing company Pixability has nabbed John Baker as its Chief Data Scientist. Prior he served as founder, CEO and Chief Scientist at DataKin.

Video ad marketplace Tremor Video has named John Walsh as its CTO. Formerly, Walsh served as Chief Technology Officer at CareCloud. Company co-founder and now-former CTO Steven Lee will continue to act as a senior advisor to Tremor.

Digital video company JW Player has hired Brent Wood, previously the Head of Consumer Web and Mobile Engineering at Bloomberg LP to serve as CTO. Rick Okin, previously the CTO of Integral Ad Science, will be the VP of Data.

Video supply side platform Altitude Digital has named Toby Gabriner to its Board of Directors. Garbiner previously was CEO of AOL’s programmatic video advertising platform Adap.tv. He currently serves as CEO of social music platform MAGNIFI.

Delia Rodriguez has been nabbed by Univision Digital as Deputy Managing Editor for Audience Engagement. She will handle Univision Digital’s editorial strategy to drive audience engagement.

Trevor Burkins is now the Senior Media Strategist at M Booth in New York. He was previously the Communications Associate at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

David Haddad has been upped from EVP, General Manager to President at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Jason Ziemianski and Gayle Gilman have Co-Founded Ripple Entertainment. Gilman will act at CEO and was formerly the EVP of Digital Content at FremantleMedia North America. Ziemianski will act as Chief Revenue Officer and was previously the VP of Digital Partnerships & Cross-Platform Strategy at FremantleMedia North America.

Adam Lewinson is now the SVP of Programming, Marketing & Operations at Crackle. He was previously the SVP of Programming & Production at FX Networks.

Max Hole is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the Chairman and CEO at Universal Music Group International in London.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Cisco Systems is acquiring OTT video services provider 1 Mainstream. 1 Mainstream has raised about $8.75 million in funding, mostly from the U.K. satellite operator Sky and has about 70 customers, including Sky and CBS news.

The British Film Institute has launched BFI Player+, a new dedicated SVOD service, which will offer subscribers 300 films from its catalogue. The service will also feature a weekly exclusive video recommendation from Mark Kermode, an English film critic.

Digital video content producer Zazoom Media Group has merged with social media video content producer Veuer LLC but will continue to operate as Zazoom Media Group. Veuer founder Steve Charlier will has been named the company’s President. Steve Bradbury has left Zazoom as COO to pursue other opportunities.

IBM will acquire the Weather Company’s digital businesses including business-to-business, mobile, and cloud-based web properties. The Weather Channel will remain a separate entity. Reportedly, the deal is valued at more than $2 billion. The agreement is tentatively expected to close in Q1 of 2016.

Liberty Global, the largest cable company in the world, with 27 million customers across 14 countries, has extended their distribution deal with A+E Networks and is also launching two new HD channels in the UK. The deal covers A+E Networks’ UK channels on Liberty Global platforms across Europe. Lifetime and H2 will be also now be available in HD in both the UK and Ireland for the first time.

Lionsgate and its Grindstone Entertainment Group have extended their long-term partnership with Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films for another five movies, some of which will be distributed through Lionsgate’s newly launched Premiere label. Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films’ slate includes The Heist, The Extraction and The Marauders.

ESPN has closed the literary sports and culture blog, Grantland that was founded in 2011 by sportswriter Bill Simmons. Simmons had left the company six months ago. Chris Connelly was named the interim EIC. Connelly will continue at E:60 and SportsCenter. It’s estimated 40 people will be affected by the announcement. ESPN’s decision to shutter Grantland is reported to have no bearing on its other sites including FiveThirtyEight and The Undefeated.

VFX house MastersFX is launching a division dedicated to original TV content as well as consumer products called MFX Entertainment. The division’s first project will be a revival of the ’80s Halloween-themed toy line The Oh Lantern Family and an animated Halloween TV project based on the toys.

HBO Europe, Nordic and Netherlands have been consolidated under one umbrella. HBO Europe has appointed Herve Payan as their Chief Executive. Line Mykland will serve as COO and EVP of the Nordic region and Ondrej Zach will be named the COO and EVP, Central Europe.

Film

Jay Bastian has been upped from Creative Executive to SVP of Series at Warner Bros. Animation. In his new role, he will develop new TV series and content from properties within the Warner Bros. collection and oversee on-going production and current programming matters related to existing shows. Ed Adams has been promoted from Operations Chief to SVP and General Manager and will head all of the division’s non-production activities.

Jonathan Bing has been named the SVP of Corporate Communications, 21st Century Fox. He was formerly the President of Bing Communications Group.

Jonathan Bader has been upped from the SVP of Business Affairs to the Chief Administrative Officer at Amasia Entertainment. Kathryn Lyn has been upped from Development Executive to the Director of Development at Amasia Entertainment. Brad Liberti has upped from Development Assistant to a Coordinator of Production & Development at Amasia Entertainment.

Louise Chater has been named the EVP of International Strategy & Research at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Louise was previously the EVP of Strategy & Acquisitions at Clarius Entertainment.

Neil Hupfauer has been named the Interim President, Chief Operating Officer at Cinergy Entertainment Group Inc. He was formerly a Consultant at the company.

Kim Roth has been named the President of Production at Macro. She was previously the President, Production at Imagine Entertainment.

David Bates has been hired as the General Manager at Reel FX. He was formerly the Brand Manager, Director of Creative Operations & Creative Director at Bedrock Manufacturing.

David Burg has been named the SVP, Associate General Counsel at Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. He was formerly the SVP, Litigation at NBCUniversal.

Nina Cates has shifted from the Manager, Theatrical Distribution at Magnolia Pictures to the company’s Manager of Publicity. Danielle McCarthy-Boles has been upped from Manager of Publicity & Marketing to the Director of Regional Publicity at Magnolia Pictures in New York. George Nicholis has signed on as the Director of New York Publicity at Magnolia. He was formerly an Account Supervisor at PMK•BNC in New York.

Kira Thompson has been upped from Story Editor to a Creative Executive at Genre Films.

Robert Walak has been named the Co-Managing Director at Universal Pictures International Productions in London. He was formerly the President, Managing Director, Europe, Production, Acquisitions & Television at The Weinstein Company.

David Wardle has been named the VP of Business & Legal Affairs at Saban Films. He was formerly an Associate at Loeb & Loeb.

TV

Gina Balian has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Limited Series at FX Networks. Nicole Clemens has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Series Development at FX Networks. Jonathan Frank has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Current Series at FX Networks.

Laurens Drillich has been named the President at Endemol Shine Latino. She was previously the CEO at Endemol Shine Netherlands.

Sara Helman has been named the VP of Development & Production at TLC in New York. She was previously the VP of Development & Production at Destination America.

Jinny Howe has been upped from SVP to the EVP and Head of Television at John Wells Productions.

Dylan Jones has been upped from SVP, Corporate Communications to the EVP and Chief Communications Officer at Scripps Networks Interactive. Eleni Stratigeas has been upped from VP to SVP of Business & Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary at Scripps Networks Interactive. Simone Nardi has been named the Managing Director of Finance & Operations, International at Scripps Networks Interactive in New York. He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of International at Scripps Networks Interactive.

Julie Merson has been upped from Development Executive to the VP of Development at 44 Blue Productions. Willis Robertson has been named the Director of Development at 44 Blue Productions. She was previously a Manager of Development at Bunim/Murray Productions. Alison Dammann has been named the Director of Development at 44 Blue Productions. She was previously a Manager, Development at Relativity Television.

Gabrielle Neimand has been named the Head, Development & Production at Take Fountain Productions. She was previously the VP of Narrative Films at Participant Media.

Rachel Polan has been upped from Manager to the Director of Television at Lionsgate.

Leigh London Redman has been upped from VP to the SVP of Scripted Programming at Warner Horizon Television. Stephanie Groves has been named the VP of Scripted Programming at Warner Horizon Television. She was previously the SVP of Current Programming at Warner Bros. Television.

Management, PR, Agencies

Mike Esola has left WME where he was a Literary Agent. He is currently pursuing other opportunities.

Cara Lewis has left CAA where she was a Music Agent. She joined CAA several years ago after 23 years with WMA/WME. Her current client list includes Eminem, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora among others.

David Anderson has signed on as an Executive of Digital Media at UTA. He was formerly the SVP at MediaLink. Seth Lawrence has signed on as an Agent, Alternative TV at UTA. He was formerly the SVP of Alternative TV at Rebel Entertainment Partners.

Rob Saunders has been upped from Assistant to Talent Manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment. Ryan Lewis Tunick has signed on as a Talent Manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment. He was formerly an Assistant at WME.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Yahoo has hired Bob Lord as their Chief Information Security Officer to lead the Yahoo security team in the protection of the company’s more than one billion global users. Previously, Lord served CISO-in-Residence at the cybersecurity firm Rapid 7.

The media agency Vizeum, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has named Shoshana Winter as its new Chief Strategy Officer and will drive collaboration across multi-agency teams. Winter previously served as Executive Planning Director, Digital Integration at mcgarrybowen, Vizeum’s sister agency.

Digital marketing company Adaptly has hired Kelley Gott as VP and Head of Strategic Accounts to develop brand and agency relationships. Previously, Gott served as Chief Revenue Officer of social advertising company BLiNQ Media.

Univision Digital has named Carlos Chirinos to the position of Senior Political Editor. Previously, Chirinos spent 15 years at BBC World Service, most recently as Deputy Bureau Editor for BBC Mundo, BBC’s Spanish-language website.

Jason Klarman has been hired as the CMO at online video company Fullscreen. In the newly-created position, he will head marketing strategy for the brand, the company’s integrated marketing business and originals on Fullscreen’s entertainment service. Klarman most recently served president of consulting firm Hashtag Media Ideas.

John W. Eck has been named the Chief Local Media Officer at Univision Communications, Inc. in New York. He was formerly the EVP of Technology, Operations & Engineering at Univision Communications, Inc.

Marcy George has been named the VP of Global Consumer Products at Saban Brands. She was previously the Founder, CEO at David & Goliath Licensing. Scott Rosenbaum has been named the SVP of Business & Legal Affairs. He was formerly the Expert Counsel of Business & Legal Affairs at Mattel Inc. Stan Wan has been hired as a Creative Director of the Lifestyle Group at Saban Brands in Sydney. He was formerly the Director, Co-Owner at North Hill. Jennifer Wexler has been promoted from Consultant in the Lifestyle Group to the SVP of Marketing at Saban Brands. Tori Cook has been named the SVP of Global Retail Business at Saban Brands. She was previously the VP of Retail Business Development at Sanrio, Inc.

Jeff Minsky has been named the SVP of Digital Innovation & Integrated Media at NYC & Company in New York. He was formerly the Director of Emerging Media Investment at Omnicom Media Group in New York.

Brittany Turner has been upped from Director of Social Media to the VP of Digital Video at Adaptive Studios.

David MacMahon Mount has been named the VP of Business Development at Warner/Chappell Production Music in New York. He was formerly a Key Account Director of Cable Productions at APM Music.

Company Launches & Partnerships

3D technology company RealD said in February has been bought by private equity investor Rizvi Traverse Management which has agreed to pay $551 million, including assumption of debt which renders to $11 a share, just 4.1% above the closing price on Friday. Rizvi Traverse Managing Partner Ben Kohn said this of RealD, “the market leading 3D cinema platform with a history of innovation and strong growth prospects. …We are excited to partner with Michael Lewis and the current management team in this new chapter for RealD.”

Google has acquired Fly Labs, a company that focuses in making video-editing apps for the iPhone. The Fly Labs team will also begin contributing to Google Photos, which provides cloud storage for photos and videos, and catalogs images in a way that makes them easily searchable.

The CBS Television Stations group and Health Media Network have joined in a new multi-year partnership. HMN, a Point of Care Media company that uses digital TVs to offer patient education in waiting rooms and medical practices, will now deliver CBS Television Stations’ health and lifestyle content to consumers.

Chinese E-commerce mega-company Alibaba completed its acquisition of Chinese streaming giant Youku Tudou in a deal worth $4.2 billion and will pay $27.60 per American depository share.

In addition to comScore buying Rentrak and selling Digital Analytics, the big data business intelligence service to Adobe. comScore also announced that it has a strategic global partnership in place with Spotify and is launching a “Total Home Panel,” to measure household media consumption across all screens, devices, and platforms.

Private wealth management firm Fleet-Fairhaven has financed a $50 million P&A fund targeted towards U.S. releases for international sales company Double Dutch International (DDI) releases, exclusively for films represented by DDI for worldwide sales rights that are strong cast-driven films with a US release of at least 100 screens. The first movie to be funded will be the animated film Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer, which will receive $15 million. M from the fund, said Jason Moring, president of DDI. Movies from the DDI slate, which will benefit the Fleet-Fairhaven P&A fund, must be strong cast-driven pieces with the ability to get a US release on at least 100 screens.

Activision Blizzard Studios has been launched in an effort to develop films and TV shows based on its hit games including Call Of Duty, Diablo and others and announced their initial production an animated TV series entitled Skylanders Academy. Activision seeks to build on the broad appeal of its games by turning them into franchises that could lead to consumer product sales. Disney alum Nick van Dyk will serve as Co-President. Parent company Activision Blizzard also acquired mobile gaming giant King Digital Entertainment, best known for the Candy Crush franchise. Activision Blizzard spent $5.9 billion dollars on the acquisition.

Film

Jake Bauman has been hired in the new role of Literary Scout for New Line Cinema and be the studio’s primary liaison with the publishing industry, identifying book-to-film opportunities alongside New Line’s existing outside literary agency. He previously had the same role at Chernin Entertainment.

Tom Butterfield has been hired by Content Media as Head of Production in their movie division. He will oversee productions already in the pipeline at Content and be charged with sourcing commercially viable projects for Content’s development and production slate. He previously founded and ran the indie production company Culmination Productions, where he produced a slate that includes the upcoming Life At These Speeds and London Town.

Brenda Gilbert has been named the President at Bron Animation. She will continue to be a Partner at Bron Media Corp. which she also Co-Founded. Luke Carroll’s role of VP of Production has been expanded to include Development has been named the VP of Production & Development at Bron Animation in Burnaby, British Columbia. Teunis de Raat has been upped from VFX Supervisor to the VP of Digital at Bron Animation. Adam Wood has been upped from Creative Director to the VP of Creative at Bron Animation.

Caddy Vanasirikul has been hired on as an Executive of Acquisitions at The Exchange. She started as an intern for the company. Nathaniel McCormick has been upped to the position of Executive VP Worldwide Distribution after three years at the Exchange to report to company founder and CEO Brian O’Shea and will co-lead the worldwide distribution efforts for the company’s roster of films.

Joanne Lee and JR Smith have both been promoted to Director of Acquisitions at IM Global in their LA offices. Prior to IM Global, Lee was at Exclusive Media and at CAA. Weihan Zhang has been promoted to Senior Manager, Sales and Acquisitions Asia. Smith joined IM Global’s acquisitions and productions team in January 2013.

TV

Nicola Andrews has been named the VP of Distribution at Gaumont Television. She was previously the Managing Director at Hemisphere Distribution Ltd.

Jay Bastian has been upped from VP to the SVP of Series at Warner Bros. Animation.

Brian Bockrath has been named the President at Bays Thomas Productions in New York. He was formerly the VP of Scripted Programming at AMC.

Elizabeth Cain has been named the Communications Associate, E! and Esquire Network Publicity. She was previously the Coordinator of Communications at Nickelodeon.

Maria Isabel Figueroa has been named the VP of Marketing at Telemundo Network in Miami. She was previously the VP of Marketing at Sony Pictures Latin America & Brazil.

Cheryl Fullerton has been named the EVP of People at Corus Entertainment Inc. She was previously the VP of Leadership at Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto.

Jonathan Gabay has been upped from Executive Director to the VP of Comedy Development & Programming at FOX Broadcasting Company. Tony Tompson has been upped from Director of Drama Development & Programming to the VP of Drama Development & Programming at FOX Broadcasting Company. Joe Earley will leave his post as the COO at Fox Television Group at the end of 2015 to pursue other opportunities. Samata Narra has been upped from VP to the SVP of Comedy Development & Programming at FOX Broadcasting Company.

Lynneise Joseph has been upped from Programming Manager to the Director of Current Programming at The Africa Channel. Karen Juve has been upped from Director to the VP of Programming & Acquisitions at The Africa Channel. Narendra Reddy has been upped from SVP of Programming & Production to the EVP of Content & Global Operations at The Africa Channel.

Susie Kricena has been named the SVP of Program Acquisitions at Viacom Media Networks in New York. She was previously the SVP of Program Acquisitions at Comedy Central.

Management, PR, Agencies

Mark Owens has been named the CEO of Rogers & Cowan. Previously Owens joined Corbis in 2012 when the company acquired the Norm Marshall Group, serving as CRO. While at Corbis he headed up the company’s media, entertainment and images businesses among other duties.

Keith Bielory has been hired to be an Agent in alternative programming and digital media group at Abrams Artists Agency. Bielory previously worked at PMG Sports and CelebExperts in business development and account management. Fatmata Kamara has been upped from assistant to Agent in the Los Angeles-based theatrical youth and young adult division.

Anne Damato has made Partner at Rain Management Group where she is a Literary Manager. She began her career at Lightstorm Entertainment where she worked on True Lies and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Some of Damato’s clients include Ayanna Floyd, (Empire) , Keto Shimizu (Arrow), Wendey Stanzler (Shameless, Grace & Frankie, Arrow), Millicent Shelton (American Crime, Black-ish, Flash), Miller Tobin (Secrets & Lies, Quantico, Girlfriends Guide) and PJ Pesce (100, Supernatural).

Nick Damiano has been upped to Manager at One Entertainment and will relocate to Los Angeles. One Entertainment’s clients include Idina Menzel, Lorraine Bracco, Scott Cohen, Lola Kirke, Adria Arjona and Paul Sparks among others.

Sarah Early has been signed on as a Digital Media at UTA. She was previously an Agent of Global Branded Entertainment & Digital Strategy at ICM Partners. Drew Welborn has shifted to UTA where he will be a Comedy Touring Agent in their New York office. He will rep established and emerging talent for the touring biz well as in film, TV and digital media. Welborn was previously an agent at WME in the personal appearances department with a focus on comedy and digital talent.

Mike Esola is currently pursuing other opportunities. He was formerly a Literary Agent at WME.

Cara Lewis is currently pursuing other opportunities. She was previously a Music Agent at CAA in New York.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Carlos Chirinos has been named the Senior Political Editor at Univision Digital. He was formerly the Deputy Bureau Editor at BBC Mundo.

Jason Klarman has been named the CMO at Fullscreen in New York. He was formerly the President at Hashtag Media Ideas.

Francis M. Buono has been named SVP Legal Regulatory Affairs and Senior Deputy General Counsel at Comcast and will provide corporate-wide legal advice on regulatory matters and overseeing the company’s legal regulatory advocacy, including filings in federal and state regulatory proceedings and related litigation and appeals. Previously he spent 25 years at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP where he most recently was partner and chair of the Communications, Media & Privacy Department.

Karen Bennett has been named the SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer at Cox Media Group in Atlanta. She was previously the SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer at YP. Deborah Thomas has announced her retirement. She was previously the SVP of Human Resources & Communications at Cox Media Group in Atlanta.

Cameron Blanchard has been named the EVP of Corporate Communications at Condé Nast in New York. He was formerly the SVP of Corporate Communications at NBCUniversal. Tatiana Gonzalez Rama has been hired in a newly created position and will lead CNE’s research and analytics team, spearheading efforts to analyze data and grow audiences across the company’s digital video network. Gonzalez has held analytics positions at Google and, most recently, Spotify.

Scott Braley has been named the General Manager of Programmatic Advertising at Ooyala in New York. He was formerly the SVP of Demand at OpenX.

Bianca Bucciarelli has been named the West Coast Lifestyle Communications Manager at Audi of America. She was previously a Talent Publicist at Vision PR.

Todd Dupler has been named the Senior Director of Advocacy & Public Policy at The Recording Academy in Washington D.C. He was formerly the Director at the Academy.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Lionsgate has made an ownership stake in Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios in a deal valued at an estimated $200 million for more than 50% of the studio. Pilgrim will continue to operate independently under its current management team headed by Piligian. The Studio currently produces 47 unscripted and scripted series across 27 networks, including hits Ghost Hunters, Wicked Tuna and Ultimate Fighter.

AMBI Group has launched a $200 million fund that will fully finance five mid-budget range films, and at minimum ten smaller budgeted features. AMBI Group owners Monika Bacardi and Andrea Iervolino serve as anchor investors in the fund, along with New York based private equity firm Raven Capital Management LLC (“Raven”).

NextVR, a virtual reality live streaming start-up with a focus on live events, has raised $30.5 million in its latest funding round. Formation 8 led the round with others including MSG, dick clark productions, Comcast Ventures, and Time Warner Investments. NextVR raised $5 million a year ago.

Investment adviser The Stagwell Group has acquired Nielsen NRG, one of largest companies that provides movie studios with market research about their releases. NRG will run as an independent entity under the umbrella of the Stagwell family of companies.

The Weinstein Company will lay off between 40 and 50 staffers next week at the Los Angeles, New York and London offices within the film operations including distribution, publicity and legal. Cuts are not expected to affect senior management. The layoffs will mostly involve junior staffers and some mid-level execs and some cuts at Radius-TWC.

Film

Jake Bauman has been named the Literary Scout of New Line Cinema. He was previously a Literary Scout of Chernin Entertainment.

Ben Kim has been named the VP of Development, Film & TV at Electric Entertainment. He was previously a Production/Development Executive at Sneaky Shark.

Aimee LeMaire has been upped from Creative Executive to the Director of Development at Ian Bryce Productions.

Andrew W. Levin has been named the President, Chief Legal Officer at Relativity Media LLC. He was previously the SVP of Government Affairs at T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Kenner Bolt has been named the Director of Acquisitions at International Film Trust. He was previously a Sales & Marketing Executive at MediaXchange. Todd Olsson is now a Sales Consultant at International Film Trust. He was previously the Co-President at Ironclad Films.

Peilin Chou has been named the Head of Creative and Feature Animation at Oriental DreamWorks in Shanghai. He was previously a Partner at Lifefilm Entertainment.

Andrew Gumpert has been named the President, Worldwide Business Affairs & Operations, Motion Picture Group at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was previously the President of Worldwide Business Affairs & Administration at Columbia Pictures.

Amy Hobby has been named the VP of Artist Programs at Tribeca Film Institute in addition to being the Co-Founder of Tangerine Entertainment.

Nathaniel McCormick has been upped from SVP to EVP of Worldwide Distribution at The Exchange. Caddy Vanasirikul has been upped from Creative Executive to the Head of Acquisitions at The Exchange.

TV

Amazon Studios has hired veteran casting director Donna Rosenstein as Head of Casting. She will be based in Amazon Studios Los Angeles’ offices. She began her relationship with Amazon Studios as a casting consultant for the past two years, working on Transparent and popular drama Bosch.

George Sealey has been upped from VP to SVP of Alternative Programming & Development at NBC Entertainment.

Dannah Shinder has been named the Director of Scripted Programming at The Jackal Group. She was formerly a Manager of Creative Affairs at Sony Pictures Television.

Vinnie Malhotra has been named to the newly created role of SVP Documentaries, Unscripted and Sports Programming at Showtime and will oversee the development and production of Showtime’s growing slate of original unscripted and documentary programming, as well as all future documentary theatrical releases. He previously spearheaded the launch of CNN Films.

Courteney Monroe, currently CEO of National Geographic Channels U.S., has been named the CEO of National Geographic Global Networks, to handle global programming, operations and global marketing for the portfolio of National Geographic Channels worldwide. Ward Platt, formerly the COO of Fox International Channels and CEO of National Geographic Channels International, will now be the COO of National Geographic Partners and with Moore will oversee the entire portfolio of National Geographic Partners’ businesses. Susan Goldberg, now Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic magazine, will continue in that capacity and also take on the title of Editorial Director, and handle all of the publishing activities. Jeffrey Schneider, currently EVP Business and Legal Affairs for National Geographic Channels, will now be the EVP of Business and Legal Affairs for National Geographic Partners.

Dave Snyder has been named the VP of Development at Cineflix Media. He was previously the VP of Development & Production at Jigsaw Productions.

Dirk Hoogstra has been named the CCO at Banijay Entertainment. He was formerly a General Manager at History and H2. In his new role he will oversee development, packaging and sales, shepherding new and current projects.

Richard Cook has been named the VP of Talent at Leopard Films USA. He was previously the Head of Television at Pulse Films.

Jessica Driscoll has been named the VP of Communications at Discovery Channel. She was formerly the Director of Media Relations at HBO.

Humberto Duran has been named the VP of News Operations & Production Management at Telemundo. Humberto was previously an Executive Producer at CCTV America.

Francis M. Buono has been named the SVP of Legal Regulatory Affairs & Senior Deputy General Counsel at Comcast Corporation. He was previously a Partner and Chair of Communications, Media & Privacy Department and Chair, Data Privacy & Security Practice Group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Andrew Bott has been named the Chief Financial Officer at FremantleMedia. He was previously the Chief Financial Officer at BBC Worldwide.

Jeff Conroy is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the President, Executive Producer at Original Productions.

Dominic Fails has been named the SVP, Local Media Sales at Univision Communications Inc. He was previously the VP & Director of Sales, Local Media at Univision Communications Inc.

Susan Levison is now pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly the EVP of Original Programming & Production at VH1.

Gary Levine has been upped from EVP to the President of Programming at Showtime Networks.

Christa Robinson has been named the SVP of Communications at CBS News. She was formerly the Chief Communications Officer at Tribune Media.

John Rouse has been upped from SVP to the EVP, Affiliate Relations & Marketing at ABC Television Network.

Shannon Ryan has been named the EVP of Marketing & Communications at Fox Television Group. She was formerly the EVP of Marketing & Communications at FOX Broadcasting Company. Rachel Webber has been named the SVP of Fox Television Group. She was formerly the VP of New Media Business Development at Fox Networks Group.

Mark Sacher has been named the VP of Research at El Rey Network. He was previously the VP of Research at Sprout Network.

Elliott Trice has been named the SVP of Consumer Product at The Weather Company. He was previously the EVP and Head of Product at VivaKi.

Management, PR, Agencies

Molly Barnett has been named the VP of Theatre at DKC in addition to her role as VP of Theatre at O&M. Rick Miramontez has been named the Director at DKC/O&M. He was previously the President at O&M.

Keith Bielory has been hired as an Agent of Alternative Programming & Digital Media at Abrams Artists. He was previously the Director of New Business Development at PMG Sports. Fatmata Kamara has been named the Agent of Theatrical Youth Division at Abrams Artists. Fatmata was previously an Assistant, Theatrical Youth Division at Abrams Artists.

Anne Damato has been named Partner, Literary at Rain Management Group. She was formerly a Manager, Literary at Rain Management Group.

Mark Itkin will retire in January 2016. He was previously a Board Member, Partner, Unscripted TV at WME.

Richard S. Petretti has been named Partner at Sidley Austin LLP. He was previously a Partner, Morgan at Lewis & Bockius LLP. Jack Yeh has been named Partner at Sidley Austin LLP. He was previously a Partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP.

Mike Esola has been hired as a Motion Picture Literary Agent at UTA. He was previously a Motion Picture Literary Agent at WME. Drew Welborn has been hired as a Comedy Touring Agent at UTA. He was previously a Personal Appearances Agent at WME.

Gregg B. Ramer has been named as a Senior Counsel at Loeb & Loeb LLP. He was previously Special Counsel at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. Junzi Tan has been named the Associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP. Junzi was previously a PRC Legal Consultant at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Mark Gordon has been upped to Head of International Scripted Television at ICM Partners where he currently is a Partner. He will relocate to the agency’s offices in London. Anna Stein has been hired as an Agent, Publications at ICM Partners. She was previously a Senior Agent, Literary at Aitken Alexander Associates.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Vox, the digital news site, launched in 2014, has hired Matthew Vree as its Executive Producer of Video. He previously served as Director of Programming and Executive Producer of PBS Digital Studios, which he also co-founded.

JJ Miller has been named Executive Producer, Video, for Entertainment Weekly and People. She will oversee the two publications’ video programming across all digital platforms and develop TV and other brand extensions. Miller will report to Jess Cagle, People and EW’s Editorial Director. Formerly, Miller served as Senior Creative Executive at Katie Couric Media.

Multi-platform media company First Look Media has hired Adam Pincus as EVP of Programming and Content, managing programming strategy, development and content production. Previously, Pincus served as EVP of Programming and Production at GroupM Entertainment.

Jonathan Koa has joined Condé Nast Entertainment as SVP of Scripted Programming. He will be responsible for developing and producing scripted television projects for CNÉ. He was formerly a comedy exec at ABC.

Ad-buying platform Centro has upped Grace Briscoe to VP, Client Development, Candidates and Causes. Briscoe will now oversee the Centro unit providing digital advertising technology to political marketers. She previously served as a Regional Director for the company.

Ty Ahmad-Taylor has been named the CEO of THX Ltd. He was previously the VP of Smart TV Services at Samsung.

Tom Burns has been named the CTO of Media & Entertainment at EMC Corporation. He was previously the Director of Post-Production Infrastructure at Technicolor.

Colin Ingram has been named the EVP of MSG Productions at The Madison Square Garden Company. He was previously the CEO at Colin Ingram Limited.

Krista Parkinson is now the Owner of MyGradsGetJobs.com in addition to being a USC Adjunct Professor . She was formerly the SVP at Content Partners, LLC.

Jean-Jerome Peytavi has been named the VP of Strategic Marketing at Allied Integrated Marketing. Jean was previously the Director of Marketing at Metropolitan Opera.

Todd Green has been named the SVP of Digital Distribution at Alchemy. He was previously the General Manager at Tribeca Film.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Comedy Gives Back CEO Amber Lawson has launched a new MCN, Good Amplified, dedicated to helping non-profits with their digital strategies. The MCN’s initial roster of partners includes the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Endemol Shine North America and Just Entertainment Studios have signed a deal with Hologram USA. Hologram USA’s technology can project holographic images of stars both living and dead. Under the deal, Just Entertainment and Endemol will have exclusive rights to develop TV programming using Hologram USA’s technology, including a TV series documenting the “live” performances of holographic celebs. Under the partnership, content will be digitally distributed on FilmOn TV Networks’ FilmOn.com.

Comcast-owned Fandango has inked a deal with movie-theater advertising company National CineMedia. Fandango will offer National CineMedia with exclusive “sets of aggregated moviegoer data,” according to the release. In exchange, theater-goers will be reached with pre-film ads promoting online ticket-buying.

Fox Networks Group (FNG) has formed a new joint venture with former 20th Century Fox Film CCO Tony Sella to develop original content, integrations and promotions, to help brands effectively and organically reach viewers. The branding firm will be named AKS Content. FNG Chief Peter Rice and COO Randy Freer have also signed on to oversee the venture.

Film

Industry veteran Todd Olsson has joined as a sales consultant at International Film Trust while Kenner Bolt has been appointed to the newly created position of Director of Acquisitions.

Josh Reinhold is now the VP at To-Be-Named Matt Alvarez Company He was previously a Creative Executive at Relativity Media.

Betsy Steinberg is now the Executive Director at Kartemquin Films. She was formerly the Managing Director at the Illinois Film Office.

TV

Ovation has signed on John Malkin as its EVP of Content Distribution and will oversee the network’s distribution efforts across all platforms, digital and otherwise. Formerly, Malkin served as VP of Affiliate Distribution at NFL Network.

Thomas Ferguson has been named the Director of Licensing for Endemol Shine North America. He was previously a Manager of Franchise Management at ESNA.

Ten execs have been elected to the National Association of Television Program Executives’ board of directors for a two-year term. The new members are Jack Bamberger (AOL), Nicole Bernard (Fox Group), Charlie Corwin (Endemol Shine North America), Mark Greenberg (EPIX), Keli Lee (ABC Ent. Group), Armando Nuñez (CBS), Eric Rovner (WME), Luis Silberwasser (Telemundo), Simon Sutton (HBO) and Marta Voda (Viacom).

Jennifer Wong Grazier is now the Head of Business Affairs at Legendary Television & Digital Media. She was formerly the VP of Business Affairs at NBCUniversal.

Jonathan D. Hills has been upped from VP to SVP of Digital Media at Bravo Media in New York.

Dirk Hoogstra is now the CCO at Stephen David Entertainment in New York. He was previously the EVP, General Manager at History & H2.

Ryan Jackson has been upped from Manager of Cable Listings & Editorial to the Editorial Chief of Communications at Disney/ABC Television Group.

Michael Engleman is soon to be named the EVP of Entertainment Marketing & Brand Innovation at TNT & TBS. He was previously the EVP of Marketing, Digital & Global Brand Strategy at Syfy & Chiller. Jeff Gregor is now the Chief Catalyst Officer at TNT & TBS. He was previously the EVP, CMO at TNT & TBS.

Richard Frankie is currently pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the EVP of Business Management at Legendary Television & Digital Media.

Carrie Gillogly has been upped from Director to VP of Scripted Programming at AMC.

Jonathan Koa is now the SVP, Scripted Programming at Condé Nast Entertainment. He was previously the Executive Director of Comedy Development at ABC Entertainment.

Isaac Lee is now the Chief News & Digital Officer, Univision Communications, Inc. and CEO at Fusion. He was previously their President of News & Digital.

Rod Lundgren is now a Coordinator of Television Development at Latin World Entertainment. He was previously a Coordinator of Development at NBCUniversal International Television Production.

Vinnie Malhotra is now the SVP of Documentaries, Unscripted & Sports Programming at Showtime. He was previously the SVP of Development & Acquisitions at CNN Worldwide.

Eric Weinberger is now the President of Bill Simmons Media Group and will also EP Simmon’s upcoming HBO talk show. In addition he will handle the building of a new content website and a podcast network and help to develop scripted and non-scripted projects, shortform digital content and other creative projects, as part of Simmons’ first-look deal with HBO. Prior to this post he was at NFL Network, where he helped create and oversee the network’s live studio programming.

Kate Mitchell is now the SVP of Ad Sales at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in New York. She was formerly the VP of Ad Sales at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Courteney Monroe is now the CEO at National Geographic Global Networks. She was formerly the CEO at National Geographic Channels U.S. Ward Platt is now the COO at National Geographic Partners. He was previously the COO, Fox International Channels and CEO at National Geographic Channels International. Jeffrey Schneider is now the EVP of Business & Legal Affairs at National Geographic Partners. He was previously the EVP of Business & Legal Affairs at National Geographic Channels.

Flavio Morales is now the EVP of U.S. Initiatives at Endemol Shine Latino. He was previously the EVP at Big Vida Entertainment.

Kelly Nash is now the Director of Non Fiction & Alternative at AMC & SundanceTV. She was formerly the VP of Unscripted Development at Fishbowl Worldwide Media.

Tom Rogers will be named a Non-Executive Chairman of the Board at TiVo in addition to his post at President and CEO.

Jacqueline Sacerio is now the VP of Television at The Mark Gordon Company. She was formerly a TV Lit Agent at CAA.

Max Taylor is now the Director of Drama Development at Paramount Television. He was previously the Manager of Scripted Television at Endemol Shine North America.

Anne Wahlström is now the Head of Entertainment at FremantleMedia Finland. She was formerly the Creative Director of Productions at Endemol Shine Finland.

Management, PR, Agencies

Josh Glick has been hired by Grandview as a talent manager. He makes the move from Gersh where he was a talent agent with clients that included Olivia Cooke and Diego Boneta.

Beth Blickers is now a Lit Agent at APA in New York. She was formerly a Lit Agent at Abrams Artists. John Pantle has been upped from Agent to the VP of Concerts at APA.

Mark Gordon has been upped from Partner of TV Literary to Partner and Head of International Scripted Television at ICM Partners in London.

Rick Lefitz is now the Partner at Rain Management Group. He was previously a TV Lit Agent at CAA.

Chase Northington has been upped from Coordinator to TV Lit Agent at Verve.

Conan Smith is now the Head of Comedy & TV Packaging at Don Buchwald & Associates in New York. He was previously the Partner at Converge Media.

Nick Collins has been promoted from Talent Agent to Partner at Gersh Agency. Collins’ clients include Taylor Kinney, Eric McCormack and Liam James.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Greg Clayman, Vimeo’s General Manager of Audience Networks, has left to pursue other opportunities. In his role at Vimeo, Clayman headed up the company’s on-demand business. Sam Toles will now take on that role as Head of Global Content and Distribution, a newly expanded position. Toles previously was the VP of Content Strategy & Business Development.

YouTube has hired on Neal Mohan as its Head of Product and Design. Previously, Mohan served as Google’s VP of Display and Advertising Products.

YouTube video marketing company Pixability has signed on Norman Rohr as VP, Global Operations and Strategy. Formerly, he was the Head of SMB Customer Acquisitions and SMB Marketing at Google Canada.

Machinima has hired Don Reilley as VP, Head of National Brand Partnerships. Reilley will oversee deals and staff for domestic sales operations, and will work closely with marketing clients. Most recently, Reilley served as EVP of Global Ad Sales and Operations for Major League Gaming.

Endemol Shine Group’s London-based Kudos has hired Phil Temple as an EP. He joins from the NBC-owned Carnival Films, where he was a development producer after two years as the company’s Head of Development.

Rebecca Kearey has been upped from EVP to President of Fox Searchlight International and will oversee all overseas marketing and distribution functions at the two divisions. Since 2005, Kearey has lead the international marketing and distribution of Searchlight titles.

Bob Bowen has been hired by Amazon Studios to become Head Of Music and will lead the studio’s music strategy, partnerships and licensing; drawing talent to work on its series and movies; and building partnerships and opportunities to leverage the body of musical works for platforms like Amazon’s own Prime Music. He was formerly the President of Music at Relativity Media.

Vernon Church is now the President in addition to his post as COO at TruthCo. in New York. Brian LaRock is now the Head of Finance at TruthCo. He was previously the CFO at NewsCred, Inc. Rajiv Menon is now the Cultural Analyst. He was previously the Research Executive at Flamingo.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Sports-oriented MCN Whistle Sports has signed a content deal with online video site Dailymotion. Whistle Sports will collaborate with upwards of 20 YouTube stars, including Air Japes, Dirty Mike, and Freestyle Factory, to create original programming for over 26 of Dailymotion’s digital channels.

Video technology platform Kaltura has partnered with automotive-centric media company TEN: The Enthusiast Network. Under the deal, Kaltura will give content to Motor Trend OnDemand, TEN’s new auto-enthusiast-oriented SVOD service.

Men’s lifestyle publisher CraveOnline has launched a revamped version of LiveOutdoors.com, its vertical about outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. David Rosenfeld has signed on as LiveOutdoors.com’s Managing Editor. He is a veteran outdoors journalist.

Production company and MCN Collective Digital Studios has signed Family Fun Pack to its family of YouTube channels. The channel focuses on five young children and has garnered over 2 billion views since its launch in 2011.

AT&T has signed a multi-platform, long-term distribution pact with A+E Networks. The deal covers TV Everywhere, VOD, mobile, and linear. AT&T will continue providing A+E’s channels via AT&T’s U-verse TV and DirecTV and add Viceland, the upcoming 24-hour linear TV channel from Vice Media to their offerings.

Film

Rebecca Kearey has been upped from EVP to President at Fox Searchlight International.

TV

Joseph Di Scipio has been upped from VP to the SVP of Legal & FCC Compliance at Fox Television Stations, Inc.

Hector Fabregas has been upped from Director of Local Sales to the VP and Director of Sales at Univision Chicago.

Miriam Brent is now a Script Executive at Duchess Street Productions. She was previously a Development Editor at Raw TV. She will now develop Duchess Street’s slate of high-end, original drama and dramatic adaptations.

Adam Fasullo has been upped from Manager to the Director of Drama Development at Paramount Television.

Thomas Ferguson has been hired as the Director of Licensing at Endemol Shine North America. Formerly, he was the Manager of Franchise Management at Endemol Shine North America.

Simon Foster has been shifted from SVP of Digital Publishing & Business Development to the SVP of Corporate Development at Blue Ant Media. Jamie Schouela has shifted from SVP of Digital Publishing & Business Development to EVP, Canadian Networks at Blue Ant Media.

Lauren Frasca has been hired as the VP of Development at MSNBC Longform in New York. Formerly, she was the VP of Original Programming at The Weather Channel in New York. Nina Weinstein has been hired as the Director of Development at MSNBC Longform in New York. Previously, she was the Senior Producer at RocknRobin Productions.

Albie Hecht is now pursuing other opportunities. Formerly, he was the President at HLN in New York.

Keith Kazerman has signed on to be the Head of Advertising Sales Product Strategy & Development at Discovery Communications in New York. Formerly, he was the SVP of National Advertising Sales at DIRECTV.

Keli Lee has been hired as the Managing Director of International Content & Talent at ABC Entertainment Group in London. Previously, Keli was the EVP of Casting at ABC Entertainment Group.

Tony Sella has been hired as the CCO at AKS Content. Formerly, he was the President of Marketing and CCO at 20th Century Fox.

Phil Temple has been hired as an Executive Producer at Kudos in London. Formerly, he was the Development Producer at Carnival.

Chris Viscardi has been hired as the SVP of Content Development at Franchise Properties at Nickelodeon. Formerly, he was the Executive Producer at Sanjay and Craig.

John Malkin has been hired as the EVP of Content Distribution at Ovation TV. Formerly, he was the VP of Affiliate Distribution at NFL Network.

Jeff Meyerson has been hired as the VP of Comedy Development at NBC Entertainment. Formerly, he was the VP of Original Programming at IFC.

Andrew Moncrief has been hired as the Head of Production at Halyard Park. Formerly, he was the Director of Development at Morgan Creek Productions.

Management, PR, Agencies

Ryan Bartlett has been hired as a Talent Agent at UTA. He was formerly a Talent Agent at Paradigm. Mike Rose has been hired as the Head of Creative Affairs at UTA. Formerly, he was the Content Consultant of Global Narrative.

Nick Collins has been made Partner, Talent at Gersh in addition to his role as a Talent Agent. Josh Glick has been hired as a Talent Manager at Grandview. He was formerly a Talent Agent at Gersh.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Alex MacCallum will now head The New York Times video department. She was previously the Assistant Masthead Editor for Audience Development and Product. She will start the position in January.

Laura Breines has been named the VP and Director of Client Services at Brooklyn-based digital ad agency Big Spaceship. She was formerly the VP, Marketing and Group Engagement Director at HUGE. Duncan Snowden, who has served as Big Spaceship’s Group Strategy Director since 2013, has been promoted to VP of Strategy.

Andy Forssell has signed on to online video company Fullscreen as their COO. He will manage the day-to-day operations of the company’s three divisions: serving creators, brands and consumers, as well as shared services. He also joins the board of directors. Previously he was the SVP of Content at Hulu.

Mina Baban has been hired as a Coordinator of Drama at Amazon Studios. Previously, she was an Assistant to Marc Korman at WME.

Bob Bowen has been hired as the Head of Music at Amazon Studios. Formerly, he was the President of Music at Relativity Media.

Don Reilley has been hired as the VP, Head of National Brand Partnerships at Machinima in New York. Formerly, he was the EVP of Global Ad Sales at Major League Gaming.

Company Launches & Partnerships

The marketing platform, Reelio, which matches brands with digital influencers, has launched Reelio Cares, a division that will focus on matching digital celebs with nonprofits and corporate brands to participate in campaigns that raise awareness for causes. Ava Kelly, Founder and CEO of Love Notes Records, will come aboard to manage the new division.

U.K. digital distributor MoMedia has signed a new content deal with production company Shaftesbury. Under the pact, MoMedia will distribute 37 hours of content from Shaftesbury’s film and TV catalog, market and promote the content and provide Shaftesbury with analytics support.

Oprah Winfrey will be heading a to-be-named book imprint under Flatiron Books, the NYC-based division of Macmillan. The same company that will publish her autobiography, The Life You Want, set for release in January 2017.

Fusion, which launched a VR unit and entered into a content and technology partnership with VR company Littlstar to produce immersive stories and technology in 360 degrees.

Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events will continue their partnership to screen classic films in theaters through 2016. TCM and Fathom Events started their partnership in 2012 to show classic film titles several times a year.

Indigenous Media is partnering with Actor/Producer Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, The Kids are All Right) for the first of four incubators it will roll out over 2016. Powered by the Black List, the first incubator is specifically designed to discover and mentor emerging filmmakers focused on the young adult market.

Film

Chris Ortman has been signed on as VP of Corporate Communications at the MPAA, replacing Kate Bedingfield who left in August to work with VP Joe Biden. Previously, Ortman headed an independent strategic planning and communications consulting firm and before that he was VP of Communications and Corporate Affairs at CreativeFuture, a coalition of movie, TV and content companies opposed to digital piracy. The MPAA also upped Sam Newton to Deputy Director, Corporate Communications.

Irene Yeung has been hired as the VP of Development at Ian Bryce Productions. She was formerly the VP of Development at Vertigo Entertainment.

Indigenous Media, a next generation media company formed by award-winning filmmakers Jon Avnet, Rodrigo Garcia and Jake Avnet has hired two EVPs. Ben Fast, previously Director of Scripted Television at The Weinstein Company, joins as EVP, Development, and Maira Nevarez, former VP of Finance, E! Entertainment and Esquire Television Networks at NBC Universal is on board as EVP of Finance and Operations. Both positions report to Jake Avnet.

Peter McKelvy has signed on to AeroCinema as their SVP of Business Development. He spent 22 years at Discovery Communications, and most recently was managing director, North America, for Epidemic Sound of Sweden, a stock music licensing business.

TV

Skylar Isdale has been hired on as the Communications Coordinator at Sportsman Channel. Formerly she was in the communications department for Lt. Governor of Texas Dan Patrick.

Courtney White, previously a Senior Programming Executive for HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country, has been upped to SVP of Programming for Travel Channel. She will handle all series development and production for the network, leading the Travel Channel programming team based in Knoxville.

Miriam Brent has been hired as the Script Executive at Duchess Street Productions in London. She was formerly the Development Editor at Raw TV.

Alan Yentob is currently pursuing other opportunities. He was formerly a Creative Director of U.K. broadcaster the BBC.

Valerie Cabrera has been hired as the SVP of Distribution at AMC Studios. She was formerly the EVP of TV International at Entertainment One. Melissa Landau has been hired as the SVP of Business Affairs at AMC Studios in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Business Affairs and Deputy General Counsel at Comedy Central and TV Land.

Stephen Driscoll has been upped from SVP of International Sales to the EVP, EMEA at all3media International in London. Sabrina Duguet has been promoted from SVP of International Format Sales to the EVP of Asia Pacific at all3media International.

Linda Ellerbee will retire as of January 2016. She was formerly the CEO at Lucky Duck Productions in New York.

Melissa Gelineau has been hired as the VP of Television & Development at Latin World Entertainment. She was formerly the VP of Development at NBCUniversal International TV Production.

Jared Greenstein has been upped from Executive Assistant to Meryl Poster to the Director, Creative Affairs & Operations at Superb Entertainment. Miura Kite has been hired as the EVP of Scripted Television at the company. She was formerly the Executive Producer and Head, Development at Assembly Entertainment. Logan Kriete has been upped from Coordinator to Manager of Scripted Development at Superb Entertainment. Tesha Crawford has been hired as the VP of Scripted Development at Superb Entertainment. She was formerly the Director of Development at Marvel Television.

Janine Jones-Clark has been upped from Director to the Executive Director of Creative Talent Development & Inclusion at Disney-ABC TV Group. Kristi Shuton has been upped from Analyst to the Senior Analyst of Creative Talent Development & Inclusion at Disney-ABC TV Group. Victor Bui has been upped from Executive Assistant to VP Tim McNeal to a Coordinator of Creative Talent Development & Inclusion at the company.

Lisa Leingang has been hired as the SVP of Scripted Programming at First Look Media in New York. She was formerly the Network Executive at Bravo’s Odd Mom Out.

Tonia O’Connor has been promoted from President at Content Distribution & Business Development to the Chief Commercial Officer and President of Content Distribution at Univision Communications, Inc. in New York.

Hilary Smith has been hired as the SVP of Corporate Communications at NBCUniversal. She was formerly the SVP of Communications at USA Network in New York. NBCUniversal’s Content Innovation Agency has signed on John Harrobin as their CMO, reporting to Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships. Formerly, Harrobin served as CMO of Verizon’s Consumer an Mass Business Unit.

Tanya Shaw has been upped from Creative Director to the Managing Director at Shine TV in London. Tim Whitwell has been upped from Head of Programs to the Creative Director at Shine TV in London.

Richard Thompson has been upped to Executive Director, Operations, Planning and Strategy for Lincoln Square Productions. Formerly, Thompson was the company’s Director of Finance. Linda Berman will come aboard ABC News and Lincoln Square Productions as Director, Scripted Content. Berman was previously an executive producer on ABC’s upcoming Madoff mini-series.

Brent Montgomery, founder and CEO of ITV-owned Leftfield Entertainment, has been signed on as the CEO of ITV America, formerly ITV Studios U.S. Group. Montgomery will head ITV’s U.S. group of businesses, which together produce over 100 programs on 43 networks, mostly focusing on unscripted content.

Management, PR, Agencies

Adam Brill has been hired as a Music Agent at CAA. He was previously a Music Agent at APA. Ben Buchanan has been hired as a Music Agent at CAA in their Toronto office. He was previously a Music Agent at The Windish Agency. Brian Hill has been hired as a Music Agent at CAA in their Nashville office. He was previously a Music Agent at Paradigm.

Fran Curtis has been upped from EVP to the Co-President of Entertainment Worldwide at Rogers & Cowan in New York. Alan Nierob has been upped from EVP to the Co-President of Entertainment Worldwide at Rogers & Cowan. Richard Davis has been hired as the CFO, COO at Rogers & Cowan. He was previously the CFO of the Western Region at CMG.

Russell “Rusty” Weiss has been hired as the Partner at Sidley Austin LLP. He was previously the Partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Adria Petty has joined the directors collective Wondros. Petty’s work in commercials and music videos include projects for Lancome, Target, Converse and McDonald’s.

BitTorrent Live, BitTorrent’s live-streaming product, has hired Monica Piriz as the company’s new VP of Programming and Acquisition. She previously was the VP of Content Acquisition and Strategy at Piksel.

NYC ad agency Sawyer Studios has upped EVP Zachary Soreff to partner. Sawyer specializes in promotional campaigns for both theatrical and digital film and TV releases, including for film Boyhood and The Overnight.

Video advertising platform Videology has hired Richard Hall as the VP, North America Television Strategy. Hall will manage the rollout of Videology’s new Advanced TV Platform. Formerly, Hall served as Director of Product Management, Ad Tech, Video, TV & Mobile Advertising at IPG Mediabrands.

Live-streaming startup Streamup has established a new advisory board to develop original programming. Members to include Endemol Shine North America co-CEO Charlie Corwin, World of Wonder founder Fenton Bailey, and former American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Andy Forssell has been hired as the COO at Fullscreen. He was previously the CEO at ShowYou.

Brooke Turpin has been upped from Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships to the VP of Global Consumer & Strategic Partnerships at Variety.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Music video-focused MCN Vevo has bought out ShowYou. ShowYou launched in 2011 as a tool to aggregate multiple social media feeds and has expanded its features to include subscription-based video channels.

IBM has bought out cloud video provider Clearleap. Clearleap has developed video services for Verizon, the NFL, HBO, and others. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t made available.

Scripps Networks Interactive has launched Scripps Lifestyle Studios, a new in-house editorial unit designed to develop lifestyle content across multiple platforms and apps. The studio will create advertising solutions for digital formats, working with Scripps-owned networks such as HGTV and Food Network, to produce bonus content and advertising. Scripps exec Vikki Neil will lead the division as Scripps Lifestyle Studios SVP and General Manager.

Endemol Shine UK has bought a 50% stake in Douglas Road, the shingle created last year by actor and comedian Lenny Henry and BAFTA-winning producer Barbara Emile. Douglas Road is focused on high-end TV across drama, comedy and factual. Its credits include the Sky Arts documentary When Lenny Got The Blues.

FremantleMedia has bout a 25% stake in just-launched Man Alive Entertainment, founded by Justin Gorman, the former head of entertainment at Channel 4. Fremantle has an option to increase its share in the future. Under the deal Gorman will be named the Creative Director and CEO of Man Alive. Man Alive Entertainment will develop and produce large scale entertainment and factual entertainment programming as well as reality, game show and quiz formats. Previously Gorman was exec producer at Objective Productions and Princess Productions. FremantleMedia International has named Caroline Kusser as SVP, Sales and Distribution of its U.S. arm. She will develop FMI’s brand in the region and to maximize opportunities for the company’s content across linear, digital and home entertainment platforms. She was previously an executive at Red Arrow International.
MGM will buy the 45% stake it didn’t own in its United Artists Media Group joint venture from partners Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, and Hearst. Roma Khanna has left her position as head of MGM Television and Digital, which Mark Burnett will now succeed and become the division’s President. The deals are expected to be signed early 2016. Burnett signed a 5-year contract and will report to MGM chief Gary Barber.

Publisher HarperCollins and digital TV studio Insurrection Media are partnering to option and develop science fiction, dramatic and comedic literature for scripted series for digital, television and other distribution platforms. The partnership’s first project is to adapt Mila 2.0, the young adult trilogy written by Debra Driza and published by HarperCollins Children imprint Katherine Tegen Books, for several digital television series.

Film

Oscar- and BAFTA-winning sound supervisor and veteran exec Tom McCarthy has been elected President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. He is currently Sony Pictures Studios’ EVP Post Production Facilities. He succeeds Frank Morrone.

Richard Fox is relocating to China for Warner Bros International. Fox, their EVP, will expand their interests in the region within a joint venture Flagship Entertainment Group. The group was formed with China Media Capital in September to develop and produce a slate of Chinese-language films, including global tentpoles, for worldwide distribution. The venture’s first release is expected in 2016. Fox, who has been in his current position since 1992, will relocate in January.

Rebecca Arzoian has been upped from Creative Executive to the Director of Development at Focus Features.

Sam Newton has been upped from Press Assistant to the Deputy Director of Corporate Communications at MPAA. Chris Ortman has been hired as the VP of Corporate Communications at MPAA in Washington D.C. He was previously the Principal at Ortman Strategies.

Kelly Summers and Scott Guthrie have been named Co-Presidents at Alchemy. Summers was formerly the SVP of Strategy & Financial Planning at Alchemy. Guthrie was previously the Chief Operating Officer at the company. Bill Lee has been named an Advisor to the Board, Investor at Alchemy in addition to his duties as CEO.

Sara Rastogi has been hired as a Creative Executive at 20th Century Fox. She was formerly the Creative Executive at Ridley Scott Films.

TV

Keith Dawkins has been upped from SVP, General Manager to the EVP at TeenNick & Nicktoons in New York.

Adam Glick has been shifted to be the EVP of Business Affairs at Warner Bros. Television. He was previously the EVP of Business Affairs at Warner Horizon Television.

Sandy Varo Jarrell is shifting from SVP of Production and Development for TLC to SVP Creative for Discovery Studios. In the newly created role, Varo Jarrell will handle originating and developing projects for network clients and overseeing the creative direction of all Discovery Studios projects. Howard Lee’s role is being expanded to EVP of Development and Production. He will handle TLC’s entire production and development programming slate originating from the Los Angeles, New York and Silver Spring, MD, offices and will continue his role as General Manager of Discovery Life Channel reporting to Daniels.

Willard Scott will retire from NBC’s Today after 35 years with the morning news show. Scott’s final appearance will be Tuesday.

Amy Savitsky will be the new SVP of Development and Programming at A&E Network in their non-fiction development, working closely with fellow SVP Development & Programming Shelly Tatro. Savitsky and Tatro will manage the programming and development team. Savitsky has spent more than 10 years at Discovery Communications, most recently serving as SVP of Development for TLC.

Skylar Isdale has been hired as the Communications Coordinator at Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks. She was formerly the Executive Assistant at Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

Katie O’Connell Marsh has been hired as the Head of Global Live-Action Television at DreamWorks Animation (as of January 2016). She was formerly the CEO at Gaumont International Television.

Brent Mitchell has been upped from VP of Marketing, Advertising & Digital/Social to the SVP, Consumer Marketing at E! Entertainment and Esquire Network.

Simon Shalgosky has been hired as the Head of Entertainment Development at Lion TV. He was previously the Head of Development, Non-Scripted at Keshet International.

Disney/ABC Television Group has promoted Skarpi Hedinsson to the position of CTO. He’ll oversee developing tech strategies and solutions for the company’s products and services, including its digital technologies. Formerly he was the company’s SVP of Technology and Platform, Digital Media.

Rachel Smith has been upped from VP to the SVP of Current Production at Bravo Media in New York.

Renu Thomas has been upped from SVP of Technology & Operations to the EVP of Media Operations, Engineering & IT at Disney-ABC Television Group.

Courtney White has been hired as the SVP of Programming at Travel Channel. She was formerly the VP of Programming at HGTV, DIY Network & Great American Country in Knoxville.

ITV has acquired a controlling interest in Leftfield Entertainment Group from its founder and CEO Brent Montgomery making ITV the largest unscripted independent producer in the US.  Brent Montgomery has been hired as the CEO at ITV America in New York. He was previously the Founder, CEO at Leftfield Entertainment in New York. Adam Sher has been hired as the Chief Creative Officer at ITV America. He was previously the Chief Creative Officer at Leftfield Entertainment. Ed Simpson has been hired as the EVP of Business Development & International at ITV America in New York. He was previously the SVP of Business Development & International at Leftfield Entertainment. Chris Valentini has been hired as the Chief Operating Officer at ITV. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer, General Manager at Leftfield.

Alana Rosu has been hired as the Director of Talent Relations & Events at FX Networks. She was formerly the Manager of Branded Entertainment at NBCUniversal.

Karen Ross has been hired as the Managing Director at Sidney Street Productions (as of January 2016). She was formerly the Creative Director of MasterChef.

Management, PR, Agencies

Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel’s Lotus Entertainment have launched a management division named Lotus Management. The division will work with writers, directors and content creators across all aspects of their careers. Lenny Beckerman will head the division as Principal. He was previously the EVP at Uber Content.

Larry Goldhar has retired. He was previously the Co-Founder, President, Toronto Office at The Characters Talent Agency. Jennifer Goldhar has been upped from VP to the President, Toronto Office at The Characters Talent Agency in Toronto.

Management 360 has named Justin Grey Stone, Chris Huvane, and Gabriel Cohen as new Partners, boosting their partners to 14. The Talent Managers have clients that include Margot Robbie, Johnny Galecki, Dakota Johnson, Chadwick Boseman, and Blake Lively. Ana Bedayo and Charlie Gavshon have been promoted and will become talent managers.

Rob Greenwald has been upped from Publicist to the VP at Forefront Media. Samantha Srinivasan has been hired as the SVP at Forefront Media. She was formerly the Principal at Sechel PR.

Ellen Jones has been upped from Coordinator to an Agent in TV Production at ICM Partners. Matt Sorger has been upped from Coordinator to Agent in International TV & Media at ICM Partners in New York.

Dan Limerick has been hired as the Head of TV Business Affairs at WME. He was previously the EVP of Business Affairs at Warner Bros. Television. Andrew Wang has been hired as an Agent in TV Literary at WME. He was previously an Agent in TV Literary at Paradigm. Catherine Sugar has been shifted from Head of TV Business Affairs to the Head of Business Affairs at Global TV of WME.

Ben Mench-Thurlow has been upped from Coordinator to Agent of Adult Contemporary Music, Concerts Division of APA. Guy Richard has been hired as the VP in the Adult Contemporary Music at Concerts Division at APA. He was previously the VP in Adult Contemporary Music at The Agency Group/UTA.

Rob Miller has been hired as the Agent in Alternative TV at CAA in New York. He previously founded and was the President at Peleton Entertainment in New York. Daniel Pine has been hired as the Agent of Alternative TV in CAA. He was previously the Agent in Packaging at Peleton Entertainment.

Oren Segal is now a Principal at Management Production Entertainment. He was previously a Partner at Radius Entertainment.

Tyman Stewart has been upped from SVP to the President, Vancouver Office at The Characters Talent Agency in Vancouver.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Vice Media has named David Purdy as its Chief International Growth Officer, a newly created position. Formerly, he served as SVP of Content and Video Product Management at the Canadian telco Rogers Communications. At Vice, Purdy will oversee building and expanding upon global partnerships.

Multi-channel network Collective Studio 71 has hired Adam Boorstin as EVP of Global Digital Distribution. Formerly, he was Head of Partnerships at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. Collective Studio 71 was formed earlier this year when Collective Digital Studio merged with Studio 71.

Refinery29 has promoted Amy Emmerich to the position of Chief Content Officer, a newly created position. Emmerich will oversee driving content strategy and distribution. Previously, Emmerich held the title of EVP, Programming.

Forefront Media has named Samantha Srinivasan as its new SVP. She was previously running her own company, Sechel PR for four years. She will bringing clients Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer and Jonathan Stern. Rob Greenwald has been promoted from Publicist to Forefront’s VP. His clients include Jim Gaffigan, Tony Hale, Marc Maron, Haley Joel Osment, Rob Riggle and Reggie Watts.

John Brody has been hired as the EVP of Global Sales & Partnerships at WWE. He was previously the SVP of Sponsorship & Media Sales at NFL in New York.

Richard Hall has been hired as the VP of TV Strategy at Videology. He was previously the Director of Product Management and Advanced TV at Cadreon.

Adria Petty has been hired as the Director at Wondros. She was formerly the Director at Missing Pieces.

Lisa Anderson has been hired as the Manager of Unscripted Development at Fullscreen. She was formerly an Associate Producer of Non-Fiction Programming at Lifetime.

Ben Fast has been hired as the EVP of Development at Indigenous Media. He was previously the Director of Scripted Television at The Weinstein Company. Maira Nevarez has been hired as the EVP of Finance & Operations at Indigenous Media. She was formerly the VP Finance at E! Entertainment and Esquire Network.

Jacqueline Saturn and Piero Giramonti will be General Managers for Caroline in addition to their duties General Managers at Harvest Records.

Erika W. Burton has been hired as the EVP, General Manager at Digital Domain. She was formerly the Studio Executive at DreamWorks Animation.

Company Launches & Partnerships

MCN Fullscreen has launched a new SVOD service and hired three executives. Martin Keely, previously of MLB Advanced Media, will serve as General Manager of the new service. Randy Ahn, previously a product exec at Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios, be the SVP of Product Strategy and Trent Good, formerly at Netflix and Hulu, will be the service’s SVP of Design.

A+E Networks has taken a stake in the cooking brand Panna. Panna’s subscription app features detailed video recipes by well-known chefs. The two companies will collaborate on FYI: 12 Hacks of Christmas, a series of 45-second interstitials, set to air every night during FYI’s primetime lineup, ending December 24.

Fusion is joining forces with the National Hispanic Foundation of the Arts to start a film scholarship challenge for young multicultural filmmakers and digital journalists. Winners will be awarded a scholarship funding to produce their films (short documentary and fiction film) which will be featured and distributed across Fusion’s various television, digital, and OTT platforms.

CBS Sports Digital has bought 247Sports, a property featuring numerous team-specific sites spanning multiple sports. All 247Sports content will now be incorporated into CBSSports.com‘s assets.

MCN and multi-platform production company AwesomenessTV has signed an SVOD distribution deal with video services provider Vubiquity. The deal will bring numerous AwesomenessTV series, including Fifth Harmony Takeover and Makeup Mythbusters, to the Middle East, Africa, Southeastern Europe, and most of Latin America. The content will be available through Vubiquity SVOD platforms.

Yahoo and NBC Sports Group have renewed and expanded their digital partnership, including Yahoo’s fantasy sports products. The deal brings expanded content including Premier League soccer highlights, NBC Sports Regional Network team reports and Golf Channel content. It also spreads the scope of digital and on-air experiences beyond desktop to mobile and Tumblr.

Screenvision, The No. 2 seller of movie theater ads, has forged a strategic alliance with KAOS Connect, founded by former NCM Fathom Events execs Shelly Maxwell and Dan Diamond. They will be offering movie theaters with non-Hollywood content, such as concerts and Broadway performances, to help fill seats on weekdays when attendance is low.

Film

Pam Kunath has been named the EVP of Content Strategy at Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. She was previously the EVP, General Manager at Screen Gems. Zach McGee has been named the SVP of Business Affairs at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. He was previously the SVP and Head of Business & Legal Affairs at Miramax.

TV

Graham Elliot, a judge on Fox’s MasterChef since its launch back in 2010, says Season 6 will be his last. Season 6 of the cooking competition wrapped in September and was renewed in July for a seventh.

Carolyn Bernstein will be on board as the EVP, Head of Global Scripted Development and Production at National Geographic Channel starting January 4. She was formerly an executive at Endemol Shine. Bernstein will be NatGeo’s first dedicated scripted executive for the cable network, to be based in Los Angeles.

Julie Holland has been promoted to VP Communications at Endemol Shine North America. In her new role, Holland oversees all unscripted communications efforts for the company, as well as PR initiatives surrounding its brand, integration, commercial partnerships and ancillary products group. Holland previously led consumer publicity campaigns for several top unscripted programs at Endemol.

Nate Kirtman, the SVP of Corporate PR for NBC Entertainment has left the company and is now pursuing other opportunities.

Patrice Baillargeon has been named the VP of Unscripted Content at Project 10 Productions. She was previously the Partner, Director, Executive Producer at The Order Productions.

Mark Burnett has been named as the President of Television & Digital Group at MGM. He was previously the CEO of United Artists Media Group. MGM bought the remaining 45% interest that Burnett and Hearst Corp held in United Artists Media Group in deals valued at $233 million. Burnett’s and Roma Downey’s interests in United Artists Media Group will be absorbed under the MGM Television Group umbrella. Roma Khanna, previously the President of Television Group & Digital at MGM, is leaving the company.

Michael Connolly has been named the Head of Television at Vertigo Entertainment. He was previously the Principal at Mad Hatter Entertainment. Melissa Lora has been hired as a Coordinator in the Television department at Vertigo Entertainment. She was previously the Executive Assistant at Bad Robot Productions.

Kristin Martini has been upped from Manager of Production & Development to the Director of Television at John Wells Productions.

Lauren Paget has been promoted from Development Executive to the Director of Development at Assembly Entertainment.

Jorge Dominguez has been upped from VP to the SVP of Art & Design at Univision Communications Inc. Sam Abiad has been named the SVP of Ad Sales Operations & Local Business Strategy, Univision Communications Inc. (New York) He was previously the SVP of Commercial Excellence & Operations at Univision Communications Inc. Hilda García has been named the VP of Digital Local Media at Univision Digital. She was previously the VP of Multimedia Content & Community Development at Entravision Communications Corporation.

David Doyle has been named the VP of Production & Non-Fiction Development at Litton Entertainment. He was previously the President, Executive Producer at Ampersand Media.

Skarpi Hedinsson has been named the Chief Technology Officer at Disney-ABC Television Group. She was previously the SVP of Technology & Platform, Digital Media at Disney-ABC Television Group.

Sandy Varo Jarrell has been named the SVP of Creative at Discovery Studios. She was previously the SVP of Production & Development at TLC. Matthew Vafiadis has been named the VP of Current Production at Discovery Channel. He was previously the SVP of Production & Development at Ellen Rakieten Entertainment.

Caroline Kusser has been named the SVP of Sales & Distribution at FremantleMedia International. She was previously the Managing Director at Carokusser.

Howard Lee has been named the EVP of Development & Production at TLC and General Manager at Discovery Life Channel (Silver Spring, MD). He previously was the EVP of the East Coast division.

Mauricio Piccone has been named the SVP of Reality Programming at Telemundo in Miami. He was previously the Co-EVP at Endemol Shine Latino (Miami)

Daniel Suratt has been upped from EVP of Digital Media & Business Development to the President of Corporate Development, Strategy and Investments at A+E Networks (New York, as of January 1st, 2016). Amy Savitsky has been named the SVP of Development & Programming at A&E. She was previously the SVP of Development at TLC in Washington D.C. Sean Cohan has been named the President of International and Digital Media in New York, as of January 1st. He was previously the EVP of International at A+E Networks.

Management, PR, Agencies

Edwin Hayfron was hired at BWR Public Relations in the Talent office and will report to BWR Executive Vice Presidents Melissa Raubvogel in New York and Nicole Perna in Los Angeles as of January 10. He was formerly a Senior Publicist at Premier PR.

The following Counsels have been made Partner at O’Melveny & Myers: Nima Amini (Hong Kong), Melody Drummond Hansen (San Francisco), Jaroslaw Hawrylewicz (New York), Shelly Heyduk, Don Melamed, Anton Metlitsky (New York), Danielle Oakley, Bimal Patel (Washington DC/New York), Scott Sugino (Tokyo), Cassandra Seto, and Silvia Vannini.

CAA has promoted several Agent Trainees: Justin Cahill has been upped to Music Agent in Nashville, Joe Della Rosa and Luke Rodgers have been upped to Film Finance & Sales Agents, Monique Francis and Amanda Jimenez have been promoted Executives in Marketing, Ryan Vogt has been upped to Licensing Agent. In addition, Lori York has been hired as an Alternative TV Agent at CAA. She was previously the Partner, International TV & Media at ICM Partners.

Gabriel Cohen, Chris Huvane, and Justin Grey Stone have been named Partner in the Talent department at Management 360. They are currently Talent Managers. Ana Bedayo has been promoted from Assistant to Evelyn O’Neill to Talent Manager. Charlie Gavshon has been upped form Assistant to Justin Grey Stone to Talent Manager.

A.B. Fischer, a Literary Manager at The Shuman Company, has been named Partner.

Marc Shaer has been hired as a Talent Manager at Bohemia Group. Marc was formerly a Talent Manager at Apex Talent Group.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Steve Hasker will take on the role of COO in addition to his role as the Global President and COO of Nielsen Holdings plc as of January 1st.

Sarah Harden has been named the President of Otter Media. She was previously the EVP of Strategy & Investments at Otter Media.

Ynon Kreiz is pursuing other opportunities (as of January 11th, 2016). She was previously the President at Maker Studios. Courtney Holt will be promoted from Chief Strategy Officer to the EVP, Head at Maker Studios.

Andreea Gleeson has been named the VP of Marketing at TuneCore (New York). She was previously the Digital VP of Marketing at Lord & Taylor.

Roy Sekoff, a founding editor of The Huffington Post and the current President of HuffPost Live, is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

Univision Digital has named Alberto Cairo as their Visualization Innovator-in-Residence. In the newly created role, he’ll act as an internal consultant, helping to establish guidelines and strategy for visual information content across the company’s digital platforms. Cairo previously held positions at the University of Miami.

Company Launches & Partnerships

NEP Group has bought Mediatec Asia Pacific, extending NEP’s video display capabilities into Australia and other countries in the region. “Mediatec Asia Pacific has an exceptional reputation for service in the Australian market. I am very pleased to have them join NEP as we continue to expand our international video display and live events business,” commented NEP Group CEO Kevin Rabbitt.

Startup StartApp has created a platform to help publishers and advertisers monetize, distribute, and advertise apps. It partnered with Inneractive, a mobile ad exchange, to develop a new programmatic video ad exchange. It has inventory for more than 150 countries and more than 2,000 apps.

Univision Communications and Grupo Televisa are behind a new initiative to offer Latinos with more opportunities in the U.S. media and tech sectors in 2016, including education, mentorship and career development programs. The initiative “will create opportunities for a new generation in our industry at this critical time when it’s so important for diverse voices to be heard,” commented Alex Nogales, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

AT&T and DirecTV have started to link their operations after a $69 billion deal and will both raise their rates. U-Verse TV subscribers can expect $2-$4 monthly price hikes and other increases in other fees such as the “Regulatory Video Cost Recovery Charge” and a “Broadcast TV Surcharge.” DirecTV’s monthly rates will be jump $2 to $8 on most TV packages, as of Jan. 28. Other fees will also rise.

The African American Film Critics Association has relaunched the AAFCA Seal of Approval Program for film marketers and distributors. Titles that receive the AAFCA Seal of Approval must meet quality standards, including cultural/historical relevance, and are appraised by a special panel of AAFCA members, film journalists and academics.

Film

Josh Berger has been named the new Chair of the British Film Institute, making him the first American to head the most powerful film body in the UK. He will take over for the current chair Greg Dyke when his term expires in February. Berger is the President and Managing Director of Warner Bros in the UK, Ireland and Spain.

TV

CBS Chief Les Moonves is expected to become chairman of the board for CBS Corp. following the death of Sumner Redstone, 92. Redstone currently controls both CBS and Viacom through his National Amusements holding company. His interest will pass to his trust run by seven trustees.

Commentator Josh Elliott has left NBC Sports. Previous to that position, he was one of the hosts on Good Morning America. He is currently pursuing other opportunities.

Adam Fierro will not be returning in his position as Executive Producer of Narcos for Season 2. Fierro took over for Chris Brancato, who exited as showrunner in April for an overall deal at ABC Studios. Jose Padilha and Eric Newman are returning as EPs and working with the series’ writing team on the season. The Netflix drama returns in 2016.

Lika Blank has been promoted to general Producer at CTC Media, an independent broadcast company in Russia. Blank was previously head of the Domashniy and CTC Love channels.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has signed on former Google exec Michelle Guthrie as Managing Director, effective May 2016. In the new role, Guthrie will head editorial content and join ABC in April to replace outgoing exec Mark Scott.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has signed on Abby Ho to head up its new CBC Fullscreen Creator Network. The MCN launched in late September in a partnership that is intended to bring Fullscreen’s content to a Canadian audience, while providing the CBC with an expanded digital portfolio. Ho had previously been an interactive producer with the CBC since 2013 and was in charge of the broadcasting corporation’s digital comedy brand, Punchline.

Scripps Networks promoted John Feld to SVP of programming and production and Steven Lerner to SVP of programming and production for Scripps Networks Interactive. Scripps Networks Interactive named Suzanne Underwald as SVP, business and legal affairs, content distribution & marketing. Scripps Networks Interactive has launched HGTV, Food Network, and Travel Channel on Apple TV. Pay-TV subscribers will be able to access programming on demand or watch live streams of the nets.

Management, PR, Agencies

Full-service ad agency, offering strategic marketing, multi-platform media planning/buying, Young & Laramore has hired Taylor Harruff as a Brand Action Strategist and Christopher Weiper as a Web Developer.

Content-powered engagement agency, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing named Adam Jackson as Executive Creative Director and Peter Sloterdyk as Group Account Director.

International advertising, marketing and public relations agency Ogilvy & Mather has promoted Anthony Wong to Worldwide Effectiveness Director.

Award-winning digital agency specializing in search engine marketing, social media, mobile marketing and web design and development, 360i named Geline Midouin as Chief Talent Officer. Midouin will head recruitment, professional development and human resources across all agency offices. Geline was previously at Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, where she served as SVP of global human resources and resource management, supporting their global brands.

Austin agency GSD&M has hired Shannon Jensen and Sam Nelson as Associate Media Directors. Jensen was previously at TM Advertising, Nelson was formerly at LIN Digital. The agency has also added three Account Supervisors: Marie Graw, Patty Liendo and Brandon Santos. Graw joins from BI Worldwide, Liendo from Latinworks and Santos from Carmichael Lynch.

Atlanta agency 22squared has promoted John Stapleton, naming him Chief Creative Officer. Stapleton had been EVP and Chief Creative Director.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Andi Poch has been named SVP of Sales at CBS Local Digital Media. Poch was previously SVP of Integrated/Digital Sales and Strategy at Townsquare Media.

Rodrigo Velloso will head the video-gaming division of Twitter. Previously, he was the Director of Gaming Partnerships at YouTube.

Investment app Acorns has hired Jennifer Barrett as VP of editorial and founding editor of Grow, Acorns’ new digital magazine. She was formerly a Personal Finance Editor for CNBC. Tom Arrix, former VP of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook, is expanding his advisory role with the company as Chief Revenue and Partnership Officer.

IBT Media has named Arbell Noach VP and Director of social media, reporting to CMO Mitchell Caplan. Noach was most recently engagement lead at Doremus.

Enterprise social media marketing platform that helps marketers manage audience experiences and monitor brand engagement, Spredfast named Eric Anderson as Chief Revenue Officer.

Framestore, the Bafta and Oscar-awarding winning creative studio that offers a range of visual effects, production, direction and post production services, has upped Lucy Killick to managing director in their Montreal offices.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Relativity Media has acquired Trigger Street Productions and has named Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey Chairman of Relativity Studios and Producer Dana Brunetti as President. Together, they will guide Relativity’s resurgence in feature films and scripted television, and expected in their new positions beginning next month. Trigger Street’s track record includes Best Picture-nominated films such as Captain Phillips and The Social Network, as well as the Emmy-nominated House Of Cards and Recount.

Hulu and Sony now have a new multi-year content deal. Several new series, including The Shield, Party of Five and Dawson’s Creek will be available on Hulu. And several new films from Sony’s archive, including Jerry Maguire, Midnight in Paris, and My Best Friend’s Wedding, will be coming to Hulu as well.

ICM Partners is expanding its Los Angeles office. While their corporate headquarters will remain at the same address, 10250 Constellation Blvd, they will move from floors 7, 8 and 9 to the top five floors of the same high rise and occupy 112,000-square-foot of new space to be renovated and designed by HOK. As part of the shift, ICM Partners will have exclusive signage atop the building. The new design will include a two-story sky lobby, outdoor terraces, high-tech functions and a central, internal staircase that connects each of its five floors.

Major League Baseball has secured a three-year deal with Le Sports, a unit of Chinese streaming services provider LeTV. MLB games will be shown live in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau beginning this month. Le Sports will broadcast 125 games per season and MLB-related programming in Mandarin over various platforms.

The Chernin Group has acquired a 51% stake in the website Barstool Sports, a comedy, sports and lifestyle media content brand started in 2004 by David Portnoy. It has since become one of the fastest growing sports websites in the past decade by delivering popular text, video and podcast content across its website, app and social platforms. Mike Kerns, President of Chernin’s Digital department and President Jesse Jacobs will join Barstool’s board of directors.

Sony Music will bring its content slate to Verizon’s mobile streaming service Go90 via a multi-year agreement to distribute multiple Sony Music-produced series on Go90. The first three series are Crashed a hidden camera comedy show, competition series Car Star and a concert series called A Live Festival. Multi-hypenate Milo Ventimiglia and digital studio StyleHaul are exclusively releasing the scripted series Relationship Status on Go90 as well.

Go-Pro and YouTube have partnered to create 360-degree video content. “We can leverage traditional content to market a VR-viewing experience. It’s not either-or; it can be both,” said GoPro CEO Nick Woodman. YouTube will also begin supporting HDR (high dynamic range) video.

Universal Music Group and iHeart Media, the nation’s largest radio station owner, are joining forces on a series of virtual reality concert experiences. Full shows by four artists will be produced as part of the iHeartRadio VR Concert Series held at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles. The debut of the VR series will overlap with iHeartRadio Music Awards, which will broadcast live on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on TBS, TNT and truTV on April 3.

MCN Fullscreen and GroupM, the media-buying arm of WPP, have joined on a venture named Playa, an influencer marketing partnership where GroupM and WPP clients will have first-look access to content produced by Fullscreen’s creators, and agencies will have access to Fullscreen’s analytics tools. Fullscreen will work with GroupM and WPP, coaching them on how to create ad campaigns featuring digital content creators.

21st Century Fox has entered into a preliminary agreement with Osterhour Design Group, a virtual and augmented reality and smartglass designer. Under the deal, 21st Century Fox would gain a minority stake in Osterhour, and become the company’s principle outside investor with the ultimate goal to merge ODG’s tech with 21st Century Fox’s entertainment content.

Film

Film and TV Producer Pam Williams and indie Producer Effie Brown have joined Lee Daniels Entertainment. Williams was previously the Principal of Pam Williams Productions and President of Laura Ziskin Productions where she produced Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Brown’s credits include Dear White People and she recently served as a producer on HBO’s Project Greenlight. She also executive produces and writes the hit series Empire.

Universal General Sales Manager Mark Gaines is retiring after 39 years at the studio. Steve Bunnel will take over as EVP and Head of Sales. He was previously Uni’s Distribution SVP and Assistant General Sales Manager. Bunnell came onboard Universal last year and worked with Gaines on matters relating to licensing of Universal theatrical releases.

Andrew England has been named the CEO of National CineMedia. He was previously the CMO of MillerCoors in Chicago. Kurt Hall has been named the Retirement & Advisor of National CineMedia. He was previously the CEO of National CineMedia.

Bo Liebman has been promoted from Coordinator to Story Editor at Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert’s EMJAG Productions.
Bill Bost has been upped from Director to the VP of Development at Skydance Media.

Sandra Condito has been named the President of Production at Straight Up Films. She was formerly the President of Acquisitions & Production at Pantelion Films.

Andrew Essex has been named CEO of Tribeca Enterprises. Best known for operating the Tribeca Film Festival, the company also operates several other branded entertainment businesses. Essex previously was the Vice Chairman and founding CEO of the creative agency Droga5.

Jasmine Daghighian has been upped from Coordinator to a Creative Executive at Imperative Entertainment.

Julie Dansker has been upped from Director to the VP of Sales & Marketing at The Orchard. Danielle DiGiacomo has been upped from Director to the VP of Acquisitions. Dan Truong has been upped form Director of Strategy & Finance to the VP of Release Strategy and Financial Planning at The Orchard.

Tara Farney has been upped from a Creative Executive position to the VP at Vinson Film.

Andrew Norman has been upped from Story Editor to the position of Creative Executive at Original Film. Karina Rahardja has been promoted from Executive Assistant to a Creative Executive position at Original Film.

TV

Time Warner has extended Jeff Bewkes’ employment agreement for another three years and he will remain as Chief Executive. “Since becoming CEO, Jeff has transformed the company to focus on video content, capitalized on the combined strength of Turner, HBO and Warner Bros., and delivered consistently strong operating and financial performance,” said Steve Bollenbach, the company’s lead independent director.

Carolyn Bernstein has been named the EVP of Head of Global Scripted Development & Production at National Geographic Channel. She was formerly the EVP at Endemol Shine Studios. Hamish Mykura has been named the EVP of Programming & Development at National Geographic Global Networks in London. He was previously the EVP and Head, International Content at National Geographic Channels International.

Jonathan Bingaman has been promoted from SVP to the EVP of Domestic Cable Sales at CBS Television Distribution. Robert Schildhouse has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Digital Licensing & Distribution at CBS Television Distribution.

Dexter Cole has been upped from VP to the SVP of Program Scheduling & Acquisitions at TV One (Silver Spring, MD).

Genevieve Croteau has been upped from Senior Director of Personnel to the VP of Human Resources at Sirens Media. Caroline Self has been upped from Executive Producer to the VP of Programming at Sirens Media.

Steven Lerner has been named the SVP of Programming & Production at Scripps Networks Interactive. He was previously the SVP of Programming at HGTV, DIY Network, and Great American Country. John Feld has taken over Lerner’s previous position and been upped from VP to the SVP of Programming & Production at HGTV, DIY Network, and Great American Country. Suzanne Underwald has expanded her title of SVP of Legal Affairs to include Business & Legal Affairs, Content Distribution & Marketing at Scripps Networks Interactive.

Jim Hoffman has been named the EVP of Program Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives at A+E Networks in New York. He was previously the EVP of Sales & Marketing at NBC Entertainment.

Julie Holland has been upped from Director to the VP of Communications at Endemol Shine North America.

Jonathan Karsh is now a Principal at Shiny Objects Entertainment. He was previously the SVP of Creative Affairs at Relativity Television.

Laura Lancaster has been named the President at Alcon Television Group. She was formerly the EVP of Drama Programming at NBC Entertainment.

Maggie Leyden has been upped from Client Manager of TV to the Senior Client Manager of TV at The Orchard. Kellie McElderry has been upped from Manager of Sales & Marketing to the Director of Sales & Marketing.

Hernan Lopez has left Fox International Channels where he was CEO and will start a new venture to be announced. The decision came as Fox International Channels is consolidating its global channels under its regional hubs in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Under the new structure, the FIC banner will be discontinued and Jan Koeppen will become President of Fox Networks Group Europe. Carlos Martinez and Zubin Gandevia will hold their same positions in Latin America and Asia.

Hilary Zaitz Michael has been named the Director of Development at Groundswell Productions. She was formerly an Executive at Your Face Goes Here Entertainment.

Gretchen Palek has been upped from Head of Talent Relations to the SVP, Talent & Casting at Leftfield Entertainment. Simon Thomas has been upped from Executive Producer to the VP of Programming.

Allison Rawlings has been named the SVP of Corporate Communications at NBC Entertainment. She was formerly the Head of Public Relations at DreamWorks Animation.

Shana C. Waterman has been named the Head of Television at One Race Television. She was formerly the SVP of Event Series at FOX Broadcasting Company.

Tim Hincks is stepping down from his post as Endemol Shine Group President and will leave later this year. “The last 17 years have been an incredible and exhilarating ride,” said Hincks. Hincks first came onboard Endemol in 1999 following his position in factual and current affairs programming at the BBC. Hincks will continue to serve on the Corporate Advisory Board of the National Theatre.

Management, PR, Agencies

Erin J. Cox, Benjamin J. Horwich, Heather E. Takahashi and E. Martin Estrada have been named the Partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson where they practice as Attorneys.

David Riggs is now a Sports Agent at WME. He was previously the VP of Integrated Sales & Talent Marketing at WWE. Michael Finkle has been upped from Coordinator to Agent in the Theatre department at WME. Paul Gongaware has been promoted from Assistant to Peter Wiederlight to Music Agent. Joe Izzi and Samantha Leon have been upped from Coordinator to Talent Agent. Josh Levy and Ross Raphael have been promoted from Coordinator to Agent in the Unscripted TV department. Carolyn Moneta has been upped from Coordinator to Agent in the Commercials department. Alex Rabens has shifted from Music Agent at the Windish Agency to WME. Danny Treibatch has been upped from Coordinator to Talent Agent.

Jennifer Gabler Rawlings has been named the CEO at Omni Artists Limited. She was formerly a Talent Manager at Principato-Young Entertainment.

Chris Regan has been named the SVP of Film & Digital at DKC. He was previously the VP of Film Publicity at Ginsberg/Libby.

Allen Vainshtein is now an Associate at McKuin Frankel Whitehead. He was previously the VP of Business & Legal Affairs at 3 Ball Entertainment.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Full-service ad agency 22Squared has promoted several staffers. John Stapleton, a 15-year vet of the agency, will now serve as CCO. Previous Associate Media Director Anne DiNapoli has been named the Director, Paid Social and Digital. Genna Franconi, formerly VP and Director of Strategy is now the Team Account Director. Saya Heathco, formerly VP and Group Strategy Director is now the Director of Strategy. Meg Jokinen, formerly VP and Management Supervisor, will now serve as Account Director.

Leonora Epstein has been named the Executive Editor at the Time Inc. owned HelloGiggles, a mobile- and social-first brand geared toward millennial women. She previously served as the Deputy Editorial Director of BuzzFeed.

Jonathan Schroeder has been upped from VP of Strategy to the EVP of Advertising & Technology at Ribbow Media.

James Loftus has been named the SVP of Business Development & Operations at STX Digital (San Francisco/Burbank). He was previously a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Andi Poch has been named the SVP of Sales at CBS Local Digital Media. He was previously the SVP of Integrated Digital/Sales & Strategy at Townsquare Media.

Ashley Newton has been named the President at Capitol Music Group and EVP of Creative/Special Projects at Universal Music Group. She was formerly the President at Columbia Records.

Company Launches & Partnerships

Sky Atlantic will be the exclusive home to Showtime programming in major European markets under Sky’s new long-term licensing agreement with CBS Corp. The deal encompasses all countries where Sky is present, including the UK and Germany among others, with a total of 21 million subscribers. This is the biggest international deal to date for Showtime and the first time its content portfolio has been licensed to a single media company across numerous European territories. Customers will also have on-demand access to the Showtime catalogue via Sky Go. Alongside scripted content, Sky gains an exclusive option to take all new Showtime distributed unscripted shows.

Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures and Universal Pictures are closing in on a deal for a $500 million movie slate financing deal to run five years and cover 25% of the budget of each film. Universal requested a distribution fee of 12.5% and excluded Fast And Furious, Jurassic and Illumination Minions franchises. On films Universal shares with Legendary, Perfect World would conceivably take 25% of Universal’s limited stake, on films like the Bourne Identity franchise and the Tom Cruise-starrer The Mummy. The funding will include $250 million equity with the rest in debt.

As reported in Film & TV Deals, Fred Bernstein has started a new Los Angeles-based production company, named Astute Films. Bernstein’s experience includes stints as President of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Companies, SVP of the MCA Motion Picture Group (the former parent of Universal Pictures) and President of Worldwide Production at Columbia Pictures. The production company launches with $50 million in private equity funding. The company has signed on Dominique Telson as VP of Development and Production. Telson was previously the VP of Original Programming for Showtime.

Hernan Lopez has founded Wondery, a new podcast network. He was previously at Fox for 20 years, most recently as the CEO at Fox International Channels. Wondery will be a hub for curating existing podcasts with new titles. The ‘audio on-demand network’ will focus on mobile users. Wondery has joined forces with San Francisco-based ART19 tech firm to help with distribution infrastructure and dynamic ad insertion across multiple podcasts.

Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman have founded independent production company The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC). Eli Holzman will have the title of CEO and Saidman, the title of President. Holzman was previously the President at All3Media America while Saidman as previously the EVP of Development & Current Programming at All3Media America. Rachel Dax has been named the EVP of Head of Production. She was formerly the SVP of Production at Endemol Shine USA. Steve Erdman is now a Coordinator of Development. He was previously the Coordinator of Development at All3Media America. Matt Zien has been named the Director of Development. He was previously the Manager of Development at All3Media America. Andy Olymbiou has been named the VP of Head of Finance. He was previously the Director of Finance at 495 Productions.

SpectreVision, the genre production company founded by Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, has signed a deal with Ubisoft to develop and produce original and interactive virtual reality content. The SpectreVision team will work with Ubisoft’s FunHouse Studio in Montreal.

CAA has acquired London-based sports marketing agency Brandrapport. Brandrapport specializes in sports corporate consulting and “experiential” marketing. Its client list includes Nestle, Prudential, and Samsung. Andy Kenny, who was the Managing Director, will now be the Head of CAA Sports Consulting. CAA will now rep upwards of 130 NFL athletes. CAA Sports Consulting, founded in October 2011, has negotiated more than $2 billion in sponsorship rights deals.

Russia’s Gazprom-Media and China’s Shanghai Media Group have signed a deal that covers collaboration on the production and distribution of content across film, TV and digital. Gazprom-Media, under Russian energy giant Gazprom, includes the media assets NTV and TNT TV channels as well as top film company Central Partnership. The state-owned Shanghai Media Group controls over twelve radio stations, TV channels and pay TV networks and publications. It also has a strategic association with Disney that comprises the co-production of films and development of TV shows.

FreemantleMedia has acquired a 51 percent stake in Israel’s Abot Hameiri. Founded by Eitan Abot and Guy Hameiri in 2006, the production company specializes in entertainment formats, scripted reality and drama. Their credits include local versions of The X Factor, Survivor and Amazing Race. Abot Hameiri also develops and produces its own formats, including Power Couple.

Infront Sports & Media, under parent company Dalian Wanda Group in China, has bought 51% of Omnigon, a consulting firm that helps sports, media and entertainment providers to develop mobile apps and websites. Omnigon’s client list includes World Rugby, PGA Tour, NASCAR, AS Roma, Fox, Fox Sports, Miami Heat and WWE. The New York-based firm will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity, keeping its brand name.

James Huntsman and Todd Slater have founded Blue Fox Entertainment, a sales representation and completion funding company to help indie filmmakers place their films of different genres with buyers for theatrical and digital release. They’ve already have the Sigourney Weaver narrated documentary, All You Need Is Love and Havenhurst from the producers of Saw.

Film

Randy Lake has been upped from EVP to the President, Studio Operations & Imageworks at Sony Pictures and he will oversee all operations, strategy and planning for Sony Pictures Imageworks and the Post Production Services, Production Services, Global Mastering and Servicing, and Asset Management divisions.

Stephen Emery has been named the EVP of Acquisitions & Development at The Solution Entertainment Group. He was previously the EVP of Development & Production at Circle of Confusion.

Wendy Lidell has been named the SVP of Theatrical Distribution & Acquisitions at Kino Lorber. She was formerly the President at International Film Circuit, Inc. in New York. Elizabeth Sheldon has been named the COO at BOND/360. She was formerly the SVP at Kino Lorber.

Jack Sheehan has been upped from Coordinator to the Manager of International Sales at Lotus Entertainment. Previous to Lotus he worked at QED International, WME and Northwestern Mutual.

Adam Stone has been named the President of Entertainment at Phenomenon. He was previously the President of Production at Vertigo Entertainment.

TV

Steven Moffat is leaving his post as the Showrunner, Head Writer and EP of the hit series, Doctor Who, after the upcoming Season 10. In his stead, Broadchurch EP Chris Chibnall will be taking over. Moffat has been at the helm of the series since Season 5 in 2010.

Beau Ferrari has been shifted from EVP of Operations to the EVP of Corporate Strategy & Development at Univision Communications Inc. Jorge “Pepo” Ferradas has been named the President, Music Division of Univision Communications Inc. He was previously the SVP of Touring at Live Nation in New York.

Jason Zajac has been named the EVP of Strategy & Business Insights at NBCUniversal. He was previously the Partner, Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group in San Francisco.

Charlie Corwin and Cris Abrego have been named the Co-Chairmen of Endemol Shine Americas in addition to their titles as Co-Chairmen, Co-CEOs at Endemol Shine North America.

Nick Borenstein has been named the Director of Scripted Programming at First Look Media. He was previously the VP of TV Development at Hudson Media in New York.

Georgia Brown has been named the EVP of Global Scripted & Factual Content at FremantleMedia in London. He was previously the SVP of Scripted at FremantleMedia International.

Hector Campos has been named the VP of Programming at UP. He was previously the VP of Programming & Acquisitions at CMT.

Mioshi Hill has been named the VP of Non-Fiction Programming at Lifetime. Mioshi was formerly the SVP of Development & Creative Affairs at Hudson Media.

Michael Katz is now a Senior Development Consultant at CMJ Productions II Inc. in Montreal. He was previously the VP of Programming, Production and Marketing for A+E Networks International.

Anna Mallett has been named the COO at BBC Studios. She was formerly the Director, Project Lead at BBC Production. Charlotte Moore is now the Controller at TV Channels & iPlayer at BBC. She was formerly the Controller at BBC One.

Alberto Ciurana is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the President of Programming & Content at Univision Communications Inc.

Josie Crimi has been named the EVP of Development & Production at Scott Brothers Entertainment. She was formerly the VP of Development & Production at General Purpose Entertainment.

Ana De Moraes has been named the Head of New Formats at TwoFour in London. She was formerly the Creative Director of Development Central at BBC.

Peter Fincham is now pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the Director, Television at ITV in London. Kevin Lygo has been named the Director of Television at ITV in his stead. He was previously the Managing Director at ITV Studios. David McGraynor has been named the Chief Finance & Operating Officer at ITV Studios. He was previously the Finance Director at ITV Studios. Julian Bellamy has been named the Managing Director at ITV Studios. She was previously the Managing Director at ITV Studios UK.

Kim Shillinglaw is now pursuing other opportunities. She was formerly the Controller at BBC Two and BBC Four.

Matt Stein has been named the SVP of Marketing at Animal Planet and Science Channel (as of February 1st, 2016). He was previously the SVP of Marketing, Promotion & Creative Services at BBC America.

Emily Morgan has been named the Executive Producer of National Productions at Zone3. She was formerly the Senior Director of Original Lifestyle Content at Shaw Media in Toronto.

Marissa Ronca has been upped from SVP of Development & Original Programming to the EVP of Head of Programming at truTV. Puja Vohra has been named the EVP, Marketing & Digital at truTV. Puja was previously the SVP of Marketing & Digital at truTV.

Management, PR, Agencies

Crystal Johns has been named a Broadcast News Agent at Bienstock, the news and broadcast division of UTA. Johns will represent clients working in network and cable news as well as in top local markets. She was formerly at CBS News, where she was the Director of Talent Development and Diversity and responsible for recruiting talent for the Division and for the oversight of employee development and mentoring programs.

Crystal Johns is now a Broadcast News Agent at Bienstock/UTA. She was formerly the Director of Talent Development and Diversity at CBS News.

Miles Lozano is now an Agent in Alternative Programming & Digital Media at Abrams Artists. She was formerly the Agent Trainee at Abrams Artists.

Katherine Rowe is now the Principal at Rowe PR. She was formerly the SVP, Head, New York Office at Shelter PR.

Jennifer Sims has been named the Senior Account Executive at BWR Public Relations. She was formerly the Account Executive at ID Public Relations.

Tamer Ahsan has signed on to Pakula/King & Associates as a Talent Agent. He was previously at APA where he began his career in the mailroom in 2012 and quickly moved up the ranks to a talent coordinator position. His client list includes veterans Barbara Hershey, Mitch Pileggi and Patrick Duffy.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Suzanne Kolb is now the EVP and General Manager, Discovery Digital Networks and will oversee the company’s portfolio of 70+ web-native brands and series, original digital development, Discovery VR and social partnerships. Kolb will split her time between Discovery’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. She was formerly the President of E! Entertainment, and responsible for Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Chelsea Lately, Botched and Total Divas.

Alex Roetter, the SVP of Engineering, Skip Schipper, the VP of HR, Katie Stanton, the Head of Media and Kevin Weil, the Head of Product are all leaving their posts at Twitter, after confirmation by CEO Jack Dorsey. will be leaving his post as CEO of Twitter. Jason Toff, a Product Executive at Vine is also leaving. Following the shake-up, Twitter COO Adam Bain will also handle the revenue-related product team, the Media team, and HR, while CTO Adam Messinger will be taking on engineering and consumer product, design and research, user services, and Fabric under a single group.

Geoff Elsner has been upped from Director to the Executive Director of Business Development at Variety Insight. Carolyn Horwitz has been named the Managing Editor at Variety. She was formerly the Executive Editor at Entrepreneur magazine.

Tamoor Shafi has been named the Chief Digital Officer at Relativity Media. He was previously the Founder, CEO at Omnia Media. Court Coursey has been named the Chief Investment & Strategy Officer at Relativity Media LLC and Managing Partner, TomorrowVentures. Court was formerly the Managing Partner at TomorrowVentures. Kenneth Halsband has been named the COO of Relativity Media in addition to his title as President, Physical and Post-Production at Relativity Studios.

Matt Sawin has been upped from VP of Commercial Development to the SVP of Marketing & Commercial Development at Caroline.

Company Launches & Partnerships

ComScore has completed the stock swap acquisition of Rentrak it spoke of last fall. The deal will allow comScore to measure more than 260 million desktop screens, 160 million mobile phone screens, 95 million tablet screens, 40 million television screens, 120 million video-on-demand screens, and 40,000 movie theater screens making it a powerful tool to analyze the digital and TV audience.

Condé Nast Entertainment is forming CNE Studios and it will be headed by Emmy-winning producer/director Al Edgington. The studio will produce unscripted television series developed by CNE. CNE now has five unscripted television series in production or on the air. The studio will grow CNE into a full-service production company, developing and producing projects in film, television and digital video.

Julian P. Hobbs and Elli Hakami are teaming to launch Talos Films. Based in New York, Talos will produce content for global audiences including event documentaries, docu-dramas, scripted and unscripted series and formats. Sky Vision, the international distribution and production arm of Sky and UK-U.S. indie October Films and funding the company. Hobbs most recently headed up scripted development and production at History. Hakami was formerly MTV’s EVP of Current Series and Programming, with credits including Catfish and The Challenge.

Brian Flanagan and Vidiots founders Michael and Anthony Amoia are joining together to launch new full-service production house Switchblade Entertainment to produce non-scripted television, documentaries, sports programs, and commercial content for cable, digital and mobile. They will operate in a 20,000 square foot production facility in New York, where all types of content can be created, edited and distributed in one facility. Flanagan has executive-produced over 40 non-scripted TV shows. Vidiots will slowly fold into the Switchblade banner.

Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin have launched Eureka, a production company in partnership with FremantleMedia with an office in LA and three projects set up at cable networks. Culvenor was previously Endemol Shine’s SVP of Development and Franklin was their EVP of Programming. They’ve previously developed, adapted and produced franchises such as MasterChef, The Biggest Loser, The Voice, Fake Off, The Apprentice and Project Runway.

IMAX Corporation has signed a distribution and marketing partnership with the Discovery Channel. The deal includes 18 months of exclusive paid global television rights for up to 10 IMAX documentary films to be released through the IMAX Original Film Fund (Fund), following the titles’ theatrical release across the IMAX institutional theatre network. This marks IMAX’s first television distribution agreement for original content. Discovery Channel will air IMAX documentaries worldwide following their theatrical IMAX release, and consult on development, production and marketing.

Subscription-based digital service Premo, set to start next month, has signed content partnership deals with Gravitas Ventures, Oscilloscope and Cinedigm. Its goal is to become a major source for digital entertainment aimed at multicultural millenial viewers. Premo will stream content on multiple platforms including short-form programming.

Film

21st Century Fox announced they will trim $250 million from its personnel costs. Per the corporate statement: “We are looking across our film and television businesses to transform certain functions and to reduce costs. As part of this process, which is in its early stages, today some colleagues from Fox Networks Group and 20th Century Fox will be offered a generous benefit package if they opt to voluntarily leave the Company.”

Sophie Cassidy has been upped to SVP Production and Acquisitions at Open Road Films. She was previously VP Production & Acquisitions and joined Open Road in 2014 and was part of Lawson’s team acquiring and producing films such as Mother’s Day, Oliver Stone’s Snowden and 50 Shades Of Black.

Joshua Deitell has been promoted to the position of VP of International Sales and Acquisitions from Manager of Sales and Acquisitions at The Solution Entertainment Group. Deitell will oversee international sales efforts for Asia and Eastern Europe for all of The Solution Entertainment Group’s feature film productions and sales titles. Deitell joined in 2013 as a development coordinator and rose through the ranks to his newly appointed role of VP.

Randy Lake has been upped from GM and EVP to the President of Studio Operations & Imageworks at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Peter Lawson is now pursuing other opportunities (as of March 2016). He was previously the EVP of Production & Acquisitions at Open Road Films.

John McCauley has been upped from CMO to the Chief Strategic Development Officer at Screenvision.

John Logan Pierson has been named the VP of Features at Film 44. He was previously the Director of Film & Television Production at The Weinstein Company.

Christopher Wells has been named the Director of Repertory Programming, the Quad Cinema at Cohen Media Group in New York. He was previously the Programmer at the IFC Center.

TV

Michael Ellenberg will leave his post as EVP drama development for HBO but will segue into a production deal with HBO. Casey Bloys has been promoted from EVP of Comedy to President, HBO Series, Late Night and Specials and will oversee drama series following Ellenberg’s leave. Bloys began at HBO in 2004 as Director, Development, HBO Independent Productions, and after several promotions was named EVP in 2013.

Jimmy Jellinek has been named the VP of content marketing and digital innovation for TBS and TNT. Jellinek will lead the development of all content marketing for TBS and TNT, multi-platform content publishing and social media amplification.He was previously the President of Entertainment and COO for Playboy Enterprises and the Editorial Director of Playboy and Playboy.com.

Elaine Bedell will leave her post as Director of Entertainment and Comedy at ITV at the end of February. She had been at ITV for seven years and responsible for ordering and overseeing a wide-ranging slate of hit programs including Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Anna Bean has been upped from Coordinator to Manager of Development at Jupiter Entertainment in New York. Harrison Land has been upped from Senior Director to the VP, Development.

Lisa Behlendorf has been upped from VP to the SVP of Production at Original Productions. Susan Terrill has been upped from Development Casting Director to the VP of Talent at Original Productions.

Lesley Grant has been named the Senior Development Producer of Scripted Programming at Temple Street Productions (Toronto). She was formerly the Drama Production Executive at CTV. Laura Notarianni has been upped from Director to the Senior Director of Scripted Programming. Trish Williams has been named the VP of Scripted Programming. She was formerly a Co-Executive Producer of the series Saving Hope.

Helen Gregory has been named the Creative Director at Pinewood Television (UK). She was formerly the Co-Creator, Co-Executive Producer at The Catch.

James Murdoch has been named Chairman of pay TV conglom Sky TV. He is succeeding Nicholas Ferguson. Murdoch joined the board in 2003 as Chief Exec and previously served as Chairman from 2007 to 2012. Murdoch also became Chief Exec of 21st Century Fox, which owns a 39% stake in Sky, in 2015.

Tim van Rongen has been named the SVP at Simon Cowell’s joint venture with Sony Music, Syco Entertainment. Rongen co-created the Starmaker format and was an on-air judge on the Dutch version of the show. In 2010, he joined Talpa Media Group as a Global Casting Director and was executive producer for The Voice and The Voice Kids.

Ruth Anne Herman has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Human Resources at Fox Networks Group.

Tom Lerner has been named Manager of Television at Storyscape Entertainment. He was previously the Executive Assistant of US Scripted Television at Entertainment One. Sandy Shenkman has been upped from Director of Development to the VP of Television at Storyscape Entertainment.

DJ Nurre has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Programming & Development at 3 Ball Entertainment.

Noel Siegel has been named the Head of Production & Development at Bray Entertainment in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Production & Development at National Geographic Channel in Washington D.C.

Bob Tuschman is pursuing other opportunities. He was previously the GM, SVP at Food Network in New York.

Michelle Van Kempen has been named the Head of Policy & Development at The Non-Fiction Producers Association. She was formerly the Co-Principal, Executive Producer at Film Garden Entertainment.

Christian Vesper is now pursuing other opportunities. Vesper was formerly the SVP of International Programming, Development, Acquisitions & Co-Productions, SundanceTV in New York.
Assaf Blecher has been named the VP of Development and Content at Israel’s Keshet Broadcasting. He will oversee development of non-scripted content including game shows, entertainment and reality I their LA offices. He was previously VP, Development and Programming for TV and Digital for Dick Clark Productions and MD of Keshet DCP.

Sharon Hall has been named President, Endemol Shine Studios, the scripted shingle under Endemol Shine North America. Previously she launched Alcon’s TV division in 2012 and was President of Alcon Television until she left in July, producing such projects as Alcon’s first scripted series, The Expanse for Syfy.

Laura Nichols has been named the in the new position of Chief Communications Officer at National Geographic Partners. She was previously the Global Communications EVP for the MPAA.

Caroline Perez has been named VP of Development and Production, Science Channel. She will be responsible for bringing new series to the network while supervising the development and production of concepts to green light, in addition Perez will scout writers, producers and talent for new programming. She was previously VP, Production & Development at Destination America.

Management, PR, Agencies

Counsel Craig Averill has been named Partner at Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy & Worob, LLP.

Kevin Herrera is now the Principal at moopsy. He was previously the Head of Digital at Gersh.

Gary Stiffelman is now a Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP. He was previously a Partner at Ziffren Brittenham LLP.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

It’s expected Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will announce more widespread layoffs and business unit closures after Q4 earnings reports are released. This follows the closure of its Yahoo Screen video hub with a cut of 10% of the workforce (around 1000 employees), today that number is reportedly “up to 15%.”

Adrian Benjamin has shifted from Manager of Client Services to Client Manager, BracketPro Sales Lead at Omnigon in New York. Becki Wronko Civello has been upped from Managing Director to VP of Client Services. Joanna Solowey has been promoted from Director to the VP of Marketing & Communications. Jake Stone has been upped from Senior Manager of Client Services to the Director of North American Sales. Manish Dayal has been upped from Director, PMO to the VP of Client Engagement and Managing Director in their Los Angeles office.

Lori Rovner has been upped from VP to the SVP, Business & Legal Affairs at Skydance Media. Ashley Johnson has been promoted from Executive Assistant to Creative Executive at Skydance Media. Carolyn Harris has been upped from VP to the SVP of Television at Skydance Media.

Suzanne Kolb has been named the EVP, GM of Discovery Digital Networks (Los Angeles/San Francisco). She was formerly the President at E! Entertainment.

Valeska Rodriguez is now a Research Coordinator at Variety Insight. She was formerly a Tracking Assistant at Variety Insight.

Nick Soares has been named the CEO at GoDigital, Inc. He was previously the CEO at Distribber.com.

Amanda Berman-Hill has been named the SVP and Head of West Coast Writer Relations at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. She was formerly the VP, Creative at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Jennifer Knoepfle has shifted from SVP of Creative to the SVP and Head, West Coast A&R at Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Alisa Coleman has been upped from Senior EVP to the COO at ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.

Andrew Robbins has been named the Senior Director of Film/TV Music at Manhattan Production Music. He was previously the Director of Film/TV Music at MusicBox.

Company Launches & Partnerships

According to reports several companies are looking to acquire MCN Defy Media with Viacom as the likely buyer. Reportedly the asking price is in the $500 million range. Defy Media is a multi-platform media business that includes owned and operated sites for teens, young adults – both female and male, video properties and apps.

Rovi and Intellectual Ventures will combine assets into one comprehensive licensing program to focus on over-the-top offerings. Under the deal, Rovi will serve as the exclusive partner for IV, licensing the companies’ combined patent portfolio exclusively to OTT customers.

PYPO, the female oriented digital comedy platform, has partnered with New York Magazine. Under the deal, NY Mag’s The Cut section will debut a PYPO original comedy video each Sunday.

MCN streaming service fuboTV has partnered with 15 new linear networks, all of which are now available on the subscription service. These include Univision, Pivot, El Rey and REVOLT among others.

Kimberly Fox has signed on to MadRiver Pictures as a Partner and will launch an International Sales Arm. The new division will oversee sales and distribution on all MadRiver films as well as films from Vendian Entertainment, that made a strategic investment in MadRiver. Fox will continue to run Megan Ellison’s Annapurna International label and rep all of Annapurna’s titles internationally.

IBM has acquired The Weather Company’s Digital Businesses including TWC’s mobile, cloud-based, web, and B2B properties. The company’s cable channel is not part of the acquisition, though the channel will license weather forecast data and analytics from IBM. The impending acquisition was initially announced in October 2015. As part of IBM’s acquisition, TWC CEO David Kenny will now serve as head of IBM’s Watson platform business. Michael Rhodin, who launched the platform business, will serve as Head of Watson Business Development.

Fandango has acquired M-GO, a streaming service previously owned by Dreamworks Animation and Technicolor. The service features movies and TV shows from a variety of networks and studios.

Film

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has named Julie Menin as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Menin, is a lawyer, activist and consumer advocate and campaigned for Manhattan Borough President in the last election. She served previously as Commissioner of Consumer Affairs.

Peter Schlessel is leaving his post as CEO of Focus Features come April. Schlessel will oversee the release of the division’s upcoming releases of Race, London Has Fallen and The Young Messiah before his departure. Current Focus COO Adrian Alperovich, Marketing President Christine Birch and President of Acquisitions Lia Buman will also leave Focus Features in April. Peter Kujawaski, Managing Director of Universal Pictures International Productions, will become the chairman of a reorganized banner that will combine UPIP and Focus. Robert Walak will be upped from UPIP Co-Managing Director to President. Abhijay Prakash will shift from EVP of Film Strategy at Universal Pictures to COO of Focus Features.

Shyama Friedenson has been named the EVP International Marketing at STX Entertainment. In her new post she will be the liaison between STX and its distribution partners overseas and develop the international marketing strategy for STX and supervise international marketing initiatives. She most recently was the Head of International Marketing at StudioCanal.

Sophie Cassidy has been upped from VP to SVP of Production & Acquisitions at Open Road Films.

Joshua Deitell has been upped from Manager of Sales & Acquisitions to the VP of International Sales & Acquisitions at The Solution Entertainment Group.

Jeff Maynard has been named the Head of Post Production at Moon River Studios (Rincon, GA). He was previously a Consultant at Relativity Media.

Lauren Russell has been upped from Creative Executive to the VP of Production & Development at StarStream.

Jeff Small has been upped from Chief Operating Officer to co-CEO at Amblin Partners in addition to his title as President. Amblin Partners also extended CEO Michael Wright’s contract in a multi-year deal.

Bradley Wald has been named the CFO and SVP of Business Operations at LAIKA in Portland. He was previously the Chief Commercial Officer at NBCUniversal International TV Production in London.

TV

Sumner Redstone has stepped down from his post as Executive Chairman at CBS and Viacom and will become Chairman Emeritus at both corporations. It’s been confirmed that Les Moonves, currently CEO at CBS, will take over as Executive Chairman. Philippe Dauman, currently CEO of Viacom, has been named Executive Chairman at Viacom. Shari Redstone voted “no” on that decision at Viacom and will remain Non-Executive Vice Chair. Dauman is a member of the seven-person trust which includes Shari and will control Sumner Redstone’s 80% stakes in Viacom and CBS after his passing.

Tom Christie has been upped from President, Distribution, Business Development and Network Operations to Chief Operating Officer at Showtime Networks Inc. With over 25 years of service at the company, Christie will continue to have oversight of the planning and execution of future strategies and new business ventures.

Joe Earley has signed on to be President of The Jackal Group, Gail Berman’s joint production venture with Fox TV Group. The move comes after he left Fox after 21 years as an executive. In his new post he will oversee all areas of The Jackal Group’s television, film, theater and digital divisions.

Tony Biancosino has been named the SVP of Development at Original Media in New York. He was previously an Executive Producer at Fatstache.

Assaf Blecher has been named the VP of Development & Content at Keshet Broadcasting (Tel Aviv). He was previously the Managing Director at Keshet DCP. Howard Burch has been named the Head of Drama at Keshet UK (London). He was previously the Head of Television at Vertigo Films.

Lee Ann Chmielewski-Larsen has been named the EVP of Production at Viacom Kids and Family Group in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Production at Nickelodeon Group.

Noah Danoff has been named the VP of Development at non-scripted TV production company Magilla Entertainment in New York. He was previously a Freelance Development Producer. Jason Fox has been upped from GM to the President at Magilla Ent. Sabine Kertscher has been upped from Director of Post-Production to the VP of Post-Production. Sean Lee has been upped from VP of Current Series to the SVP of Current Series & Development at Magilla Ent. Courtney Maglione has been upped from Casting Producer to the VP of Talent at Magilla Entertainment in New York. Chris Potocki has been named the Concept Commander at Magilla Entertainment in New York. He was previously a Freelance Producer. Dominick Pupa has been upped from Showrunner to the VP of Current Production at Magilla Ent. Josh Abrahamson has been upped from Development Producer to the VP of Development.

Chris Dickie has been upped from Manager of Development to the Director of Development at Endemol Shine Studios. Alex Soler has been upped from Coordinator to the Manager of Development at Endemol Shine Studios. Sahar Vahedi has shifted from Executive Assistant to Russ Buchholz to a Coordinator of Development at Endemol Shine Studios.

Kamico Drakes has been upped from Director of Development to the VP of Development at Collins Avenue. Michael Hammond has been upped from SVP of Production to the Chief Operating Officer at Collins Avenue. Sandi Johnson has been upped from VP to the SVP at Current Programming. Lindsay Schwartz has been upped from VP to the SVP of Development & Business Affairs. Ben Ziertan has been named the Development Producer. He was previously a Development Producer at Discovery Studios.

Michael Ellenberg has signed a Production deal with HBO. He was previously the EVP of Programming at HBO. Casey Bloys has been upped from EVP of Programming to the President of Series at Late-Night & Specials at HBO.

Jo Honig has been named the Principal at Omelette Bar Productions in New York. She was formerly the EVP of Development at True Entertainment in New York.

Jimmy Jellinek has been named the VP of Content Marketing & Digital Innovation at TBS & TNT. He was previously the President of Entertainment and Chief Content Officer at Playboy Enterprises and Editorial Director at Playboy.

Nick Johnson has been named the SVP of Digital Ad Sales Strategy at Turner Ad Sales in New York. He was previously the SVP of Digital Media Sales at NBCUniversal Sports in New York.

Eddy Moretti and Spike Jonze are now Co-Presidents of Viceland, the new cable network from the digital news and documentary giant Vice Media. Jonze is also the Creative Director of Vice Media. Moretti is also CCO at Vice Media. Guy Slattery has been named the GM at Viceland. He was previously the EVP of Marketing at A&E, History, and H2 in New York.

Stephen Joy has been named the Director of UK & SVOD Sales at Content Television in London. He was previously the Director of TV & Digital at Koch Media UK.

Carla Lewis-Long has been upped from VP to the SVP of Distribution & Affiliate Relations at Pivot in New York. Jerry Blake has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Business & Legal Affairs at Pivot.

Nicholas Ferguson has left her post as Chairman of Sky in London and will pursue other opportunities beginning in April 2016. James Murdoch has been named Chairman of Sky, to take effect in April. He is also the CEO of 21st Century Fox in New York.

Caroline Perez has been named the VP of Development & Production at Science Channel in New York. She was formerly the VP of Production & Development at Destination America.

Neil Regan has been named the VP of Programming at Travel Channel (New York/Knoxville) He was previously the SVP of Current Programming & Development at Zodiak New York.

Hazel Steward has been named the SVP of East Coast Development at True Entertainment in New York. She was formerly the SVP of Media & Channel Operations at Starclub.

Tiffany Trigg has been named the SVP of Unscripted Development & Current Programming at DiGa in New York. She was formerly the Showrunner and Director of the series, Find My First Love.

Bruce Tuchman will leave his post as President at AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global in New York in April and will pursue other opportunities.

Kevin Vargas has been upped from SVP and Head of Production to the COO at Left/Right Productions in New York. Anneka Jones has been upped from SVP of Development to the EVP of Development & Current Production at Left/Right Productions in New York.

Anna Wasylenki has been named the VP of Development at General Purpose Entertainment in Toronto. She was formerly an Independent Writer and Creative Producer.

Robert Wimbish has been named the Director of Programming at HGTV & DIY Network in Knoxville. He was previously the Director of Business & Legal Affairs at Scripps Networks Interactive. Maggie Zeltner has been named the Director of Programming at HGTV & DIY Network in New York. She was formerly a Producer on the series, America’s Next Top Model.

Management, PR, Agencies

Rick Faigin has been upped to EVP of Brand Marketing at PMK*BNC. Krista Guilfoyle has been upped to SVP of Brand Marketing.

Agents Kristen Billings, Molly Bruns, Brian Goldberg, Trevor Kossack, and Louiza Vick have been named Partners at Worldwide Production Agency. The agency provides specialized representation to producers, cinematographers, designers, and editors in all areas of the entertainment and advertising industries.

Amanda Burnett and Lily Safran have been upped from Coordinators to TV Lit Agents at UTA.

Kevin Cotter has been named the Director of Literary Affairs at Anonymous Content in New York. He was previously the Creative Executive of Book Scout at Floren Shieh Productions.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier have been named the Co-Executive Chairman of Boat Rocker Media and Co-President at Boat Rocker Studios in Toronto. Boat Rocker Media, an expansion and rebranding of Temple Street Productions, includes a division specializing in original digital content, games, apps, virtual reality, and YouTube video. They were both previously the Co-Presidents at Temple Street Productions. John Young has been named the CEO at Boat Rocker Media in Toronto. He was previously the Managing Director at Temple Street Productions.

Zarin Jaffe has been named the Counsel to Business & Legal Affairs at Skydance Media. He was previously an Associate of Legal Affairs at Skydance Television.

Nancy Silverstone has been named the Head of Acquisitions & Content Strategy at 108 Media Corpin Toronto. She was formerly the VP, Program Acquisitions at Starz Network in Colorado.

Jeni Mulein has been named the VP of Scripted Development at Fullscreen, the multi-channel media company owned by AT&T and The Chernin Group. Previously, Mulein served as VP of Event Series at Fox Broadcasting.