Youth Entertainment Brand Taps Digital and Studio Production
Executive from Discovery Communications
NEW YORK & SANTA MONICA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
MTV, a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), today named Sean Atkins as
President, overseeing all creative and business operations for the youth
entertainment brand and its sister networks, MTV2 and mtvU. A veteran
media executive with expertise across disciplines, Atkins joins MTV from
Discovery Communications, where he most recently served as General
Manager & Executive Vice President of Digital Media and Strategy.
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Sean Atkins (Photo Courtesy of MTV)
Atkins will report to Doug Herzog, President of the Viacom Music and
Entertainment Group. MTV's programming co-heads, Mina Lefevre, Executive
Vice President and Head of Scripted Development; and Lauren Dolgen, Head
of Reality Programming and Executive Vice President of Series
Development, will report directly to Atkins. The announcement was made
today by Herzog.
"Sean is smart, creative, passionate, and remarkably energized about the
sea change at hand in our industry," said Herzog. "The strength of MTV
lies in its ability to constantly reinvent, and Sean's forward-thinking,
versatile leadership will ensure our brand and business continue to
evolve and deliver for our audience."
With executive experience at Discovery, HBO, and Yahoo!, Atkins has held
leadership positions across development, digital media, production,
strategy, marketing, product development, and consumer products. As GM
and EVP of Digital Media and Strategy at Discovery, Atkins was
responsible for driving the company's original online video strategy and
networks including Revision3, SourceFed, Discovery News, and TestTube.
Atkins was a driving force behind Discovery's 2012 acquisition of
millennial-focused Revision3, among the first strategic acquisitions of
a multi-channel network by a major media and entertainment company. He
also drove content and product R&D at Discovery, shepherding innovative
efforts including Discovery VR and the company's programming JV with Ron
Howard and Brian Grazer, New Form Digital.
Prior to joining the Digital Media team, Atkins ran the West Coast for
Discovery Studios, Discovery Communications' full-service production
studio that develops and produces original programming. In this role,
Atkins managed development and production of all programming out of Los
Angeles, and supervised series including "Penn & Teller Tell a Lie,"
"King of the Crown," "Deception with Keith Barry," "Home Made Simple,"
and "Ultimate Cake Off."
Atkins joined Discovery Communications from HBO where, as Senior Vice
President of Digital Media, he helped conceptualize and build the
platform that ultimately became HBOGo. Previously, he was head of
programming and development at Yahoo! Entertainment, where he oversaw
content development, leading the company's first comprehensive video
strategy and repositioning several verticals to successfully target
Millennial viewers.
Before Yahoo! Entertainment, Atkins was acting-COO for Vulcan
Programming, a project with Paul Allen'sVulcan Ventures and A. Smith &
Co. where he managed the development and creation of a slate of cable
networks. Atkins served concurrently as Executive Vice President of A.
Smith & Co, overseeing development and production for the company's
broad slate of projects with more than 20 networks.
Previously, Atkins held positions with Warner Bros., Mediaconnex and
Disney. At Warner Bros., he headed up programming for Entertaindom, a
new division that ultimately spanned all of Time Warner's digital
entertainment assets before leaving to become the founding CEO of an ad
tech start-up Mediaconnex. Atkins started his career with Disney,
helping develop numerous initiatives including the first international
Disney Channels, original and co-produced shows, and the Disney/ABC
Cable New Media group, which was responsible for managing the cable
network's internet and cross-media programming.
About MTV:
MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global
reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home
of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in
creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and
creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning
content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and
activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and
mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music
fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading
destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom
Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), one of the world's leading creators of
programming and content across all media platforms. For more
information, go to http://www.mtvpress.com.
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MTV
Kassie Canter, 212-767-8476
kassie.canter@viacom345.com
or
Mark
Jafar, 212-846-8961
mark.jafar@mtvstaff.com
Source: MTV
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