In an indication of huge moves to come for Roku, veteran television executive Charlie Collier is leaving his post as CEO of Fox Entertainment to join the digital distribution platform as president of Roku Media.
Charlie Collier will regulate advertising sales and content for Roku’s owned-and-operated channels highlighted on the streaming platform with the fast-growing number of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels and serving as a key funnel for Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, and other subscription streamers.
Collier is set to move to his new post at Roku in late October and will be situated in New York.
Charlie Collier’s appointment corresponds with other senior-level changes at Roku. Two top executives, Mustafa Ozgen and Gidon Katz have been increased to presidents as Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood promised to make a “next-generation media company.”
Ozgen advances to Roku’s president of gadgets while Katz becomes president of the customer experience; both executives had been senior VPs. Collier, Ozgen, and Katz all report to Wood.
“There is a tremendous opportunity to further accelerate and evolve Roku’s business as the streaming platform built for advertising, and Charlie is the ideal person to help us capitalize on the moment,” Wood said. “He is a proven leader who brings vast experience, a history of evolving businesses, strong creative instincts, talent relationships, and a track record of driving revenue and growth. He will play an integral role in helping us achieve even greater success as a next-generation media company.”
Wood additionally highlighted Roku’s attention to development outside the U.S. as a reason for the new alignment of operations.
“As Roku grows internationally, these positions will help bring more focus to key areas of our business as the global shift to streaming continues,” Wood said. “Charlie, Mustafa, and Gidon bring extensive industry knowledge and leadership experience to Roku. I look forward to working with them and their teams as we continue to innovate and build our position … and our overall global footprint.”
The move comes as Roku is under pressure from Wall Street to address its severely drooping stock cost. The digital distribution platform has developed certainly over the past decade, arriving at an active user base of around 63.1 million as of its Q2 earnings report.
As a distributor with significant national reach, Roku has directed Hollywood’s consideration. In any case, in the wake of spiking through the vast majority of 2021, the organization’s stock cost has plummeted — down almost 74% for the year to date, shutting Thursday at $60.89 per share — amid sector-wide worries that the development of streaming platforms is easing back, especially in the U.S.
Roku’s status as a distributor that has recently ventured into the original content realm, including through its acquisition last year of Quibi’s programming assets, has made the organization challenging to look at in a fish-or-fowl sense by investors. The expansion of seasoned content development and network programmer in Charlie Collier sends the clear message that Wood perceives the organization has hit an inflection point.
Roku has now and again experienced friction with key content providers and distributors over deal terms, including for HBO Max and YouTube television. Acquiring an executive with Charlie Collier’s experience is probably going to assist with smoothing those conversations.
Notwithstanding, Roku’s declaration clarified that oversight of relationships with content providers stays the domain of Tedd Cittadine, VP of content partnerships, “who continues to lead Roku’s relationships with third-party apps and streaming services.”
Roku said Charlie Collier will be tasked with teaming up on “commercial strategy” with Cittadine and Gil Fuchsberg, senior VP of corporate development and strategic partnerships, with Cittadine proceeding to report to Fuchsberg.
Roku ad sales executives Alison Levin (VP of ad revenue and marketing solutions), Louqman Parampath (VP of ad product), and Mirjam Laux (VP of international advertising and content) will report to Charlie Collier. So will Rob Holmes, VP of programming.
“Roku is a pioneer in streaming television and has achieved scale and significant relationships with our partners that will continue to be unique and valuable at this pivotal time in the industry,” Charlie Collier said. “As a partner of Roku, I’ve seen firsthand the power and potential the platform provides advertisers, partners, content creators, and consumers. I’m eager to work with Roku’s talented team to continue to innovate, grow and bring the company and its partners to the next level.”
Charlie Collier’s transition to Roku got the vast majority in the industry by surprise, including a significant number of his Fox colleagues. There’s no word yet on a successor. A Fox representative would just agree that the organization has a “fantastic team” and that a declaration on a new entertainment chief is expected soon.
Charlie Collier and Fox Corp. cast they’re splitting a role as incredibly neighborly. Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp. executive chair and CEO, offered thanks to Collier for assisting with rebuilding entertainment operations on the Fox studio lot following the 2019 sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney. Murdoch referred to Collier’s leadership and “unbridled enthusiasm” as urgent to get a new organization going.
“He and his team have executed a creative strategy in entrepreneurial and profitable ways that leveraged our broadcast leadership to build and support businesses to position us for future growth,” Murdoch said.
Collier returned the sentiment: “It has been a privilege and pleasure to work alongside so many remarkable Fox colleagues,” he said. “Sincere thanks to Lachlan for the opportunity to be a part of the evolution of the storied Fox brand and business.”
Charlie Collier joined Fox Corp. in late 2018 as the organization was being formed following Rupert Murdoch’s sale of his 21st Century Fox assets for Disney, a deal that was finished in March 2019.
Charlie Collier is notable all through the television business as a strong manager of people and a savvy marketer of content. During his residency at Fox, Collier guided the organization’s entertainment procedure and the remaking of its production infrastructure after the detachment from 21st Century Fox. Collier led Fox’s acquisitions of animation shop Bento Box Entertainment, the TMZ celebrity and entertainment news franchise, and the busy production organization MarVista Entertainment.
After the Bento Box deal, Charlie Collier championed the formation of the Blockchain Creative Labs unit to bring Fox into the arising world of NFTs and Web3 content applications. He likewise established the Studio Ramsay production joint venture between Fox and superstar television chef Gordon Ramsay.
In programming, the greatest hit the Fox broadcast network fielded on Collier’s watch was the talent competition series “The Masked Singer” and the successful development of the “9-1-1” drama franchise with “9-1-1: Lone Star.”
Before joining Fox, he spent 12 years at AMC Networks, ascending to the president in 2008. He assisted drive that organization’s remarkable development with the progress of distinctive original series like AMC’s “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” and SundanceTV’s “Rectify.”
Charlie Collier started in cable during the powerful 1990s time of development. He worked in advertising sales at Court TV (presently Turner’s TruTV) before joining AMC Networks in 2006. Before Court TV, he held sales-related posts for A+E Networks, Oxygen Media, and local television ad sales firm Telerep.
Katz joined Roku recently after being important for the group that sent off Peacock in his job as leader of direct-to-buyer for NBCUniversal. Before that, he drove the Sky streaming stage Now and assisted sent off Virgin Media’s VOD with overhauling.
Ozgen, a seasoned tech executive and veteran of the Turkish Navy, joined Roku in February 2019. He has led critical initiatives for the organization including Roku TV, Roku Players, and Roku Ready Soundbars. Before Roku, Ozgen was CEO of SmartKem, a producer of semiconductors. He’s additionally held senior roles at such tech and engineering firms as QD Vision, Sigma Designs, CSR, Zoran, Oak Technology, TeraLogic, and Wind River Systems.
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