Company Launches
Ross Dinerstein, formerly co-CEO of Preferred Film & TV, launched production company Campfire, which is backed by Content Media. The Los Angeles-based company will make three to five features a year at various budget levels and genres, select television and digital series, and three to four commercials through strategic partners with European-based production companies.They will also provide post-production services for in-house and third-party product.
Aperture Media Partners launched a one-stop film finance shingle with New York Private Bank & Trust. Finance veterans Jared Underwood and Andrew Robinson and will provide capital support. The company plans to fund 15-20 projects during the first year.
Black Box, a new artist development company, will launch next year. The company’s founder, Livia Tortella, is former Co-President and COO of Warner Bros. Records. The company’s artist roster includes Christina Perri, Death Cab For Cutie, fun, and She & Him.
Studios, Networks, and Media Conglomerates
DreamWorks’ Stacey Snider has joined 20th Century Fox as co-chairman of the studio. Snider will report to Gianopulos and will oversee all production and development activities for 2oth Century Fox, Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios, Fox International Productions and Fox Searchlight Pictures. In addition, she and Gianopulos will oversee the studio’s global theatrical marketing and distribution.
Warner Bros. has tapped Universal marketing exec JP Richards to fill its digital marketing post.
Jeff Collins, a 20-year veteran of Turner Broadcasting, joined IMH (the parent company of Myspace, Specific Media, Xumo and Vindico) as chief revenue officer.
Film
Neal Street Productions, the production company co-owned by director Sam Mendes, has been put up for sale. The company was founded by Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.
Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 expanded its executive team with Lindsey Bayman, Mark Bakshi, and Kimberly Locascio.
Television
Fox Broadcasting is beefing up its digital and social efforts and adding to the department's executive staff. The network hired journalist
Maggie Furlong as the new VP of digital and social content.
Kevin Reilly has been named president of TNT and TBS and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment, parent company Turner Broadcasting announced Tuesday. Reilly will report to David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting.
Debbie Reichig has been named to the newly created role of Senior Vice President, Media Sales Research & Insights, Twentieth Television, staring November 10. Reichig served as Chief Revenue Officer of PrecisionDemand. Former CBS and Leo Burnett Worldwide exec Bob Mauro is president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the New York-based organization that administers Emmy awards that fall outside the primetime scope of the West Coast-based Television Academy.
Producer and network exec Phil Craig has been named EVP and chief creative officer for Discovery Networks Intl. He reports to DNI’s J.B. Perrette, and starts in February 2015. Craig will lead DNI’s Production and Development team.
Bill Bost has been promoted to director of development for Skydance Television, the banner behind WGN America’s Manhattan and the upcoming Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie.
Agencies, Management Companies, Public Relations, and Law Firms
Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller’s Caliber Media has phased out the majority of its management business and closed its Wilshire Boulevard office. The company will now focus almost completely on production.
Digital
Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros.’ Ellen launched a new digital video destination called ellentube. The comedian said of the site: “I am so excited to tell you about this. It’s a new thing called ellentube, and it’s a place that you can find videos that are hilarious and interesting. We’re going to post things from the show that you won’t see anywhere else.”
Yahoo appointed Lisa Utzschneider as Senior Vice President, Sales, Americas. She will be responsible for Yahoo's advertising business across the Americas and will report directly to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.
Bunim/Murray Productions has brought on John P. Roberts, former SVP Digital Media at Endemol. He will head up its digital division. The company also promoted former Director of Digital Media Kesila Childers to VP of the division, reporting to Roberts.
Nancy Tellem, Jordan Levin are leaving Xbox Entertainment Studios in the wake of Microsoft layoffs. RLJ Entertainment, started by BET founder Robert L. Johnson, is launching the Urban Movie Channel digital subscription VOD channel, which will offer a mix of comedy, drama, horror and documentary titles.
Music
Def Jam has made some changes to their executive lineup. Rob Caiaffa has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing - he was Senior Director of Marketing & Development. Co-Head of A&R No I.D. will now be EVP and will oversee all A&R. The other Co-Head of A&R, Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua, is partnering with Def Jam to start a boutique label.
PledgeMusic has named Dan Ghosh-Roy as Head of Marketing & Digital Strategy. Ghosh-Roy was most recently Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy, Development & Operations at Ultra Music.
iHeartMedia has hired Adam Denenberg as CTO. Most recently, Denenberg was VP of Engineering at Huffington Post.
Chris Tsakalakis has departed StubHub, the world's largest secondary ticket marketplace. His departure comes as executives from parent company eBay depart that company.