ITV

Tag: Michael Wolf

  • MTV networks COO Michael Wolf quits

    MTV networks COO Michael Wolf quits

    MUMBAI: There seems to be no end to the executive departures at Sumner Redstone’s Viacom Inc. A day after Gail Berman resigned as president of Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, putting in less than two years in the organization, MTV Networks president and chief operating officer Michael Wolf is also leaving Viacom’s MTVN.

    Wolf left McKinsey to join the media group’s transition to the digital age but is leaving barely a year later.
    According to the company’s website, Wolf and MTVN president of affiliate sales and marketing Nicole Browning will be leaving the company.

    Wolf led the company’s business and technology operations, including advertising sales, affiliate sales and marketing, business and strategy development, business and legal affairs, finance, information systems and technology and production operations.

    Browning oversaw the distribution activities of MTV Networks including MTV: Music Television, MTV 2, mtvU, MTV Tr3s, MTV World, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Spike TV, Comedy Central, Logo, TV Land, Noggin/The N, CMT, VH1 Classic, The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, and BET Networks including BET, BET Gospel, and BET J.

    Earlier last week Wolf had revealed to the media that there was a “gap in perception” in the market about Viacom’s internet activities. He also added, ‘We’ve been able to accomplish a huge amount in the 15 months I’ve been here’. During his tenure, Viacom acquired a slew of internet gaming and film startups, including Xfire and Atom Entertainment.

    Wolf’s departure had been a subject of speculation since Redstone, Viacom’s chairman and controlling shareholder, ousted Tom Freston in September 2006 from his post as chief executive and replaced him with board member Philippe Dauman.

    It was widely believed that Freston, one of the MTV founders, was blamed for the company’s failure to acquire MySpace, the popular social networking site, and the perception that the cable group was being eclipsed by a new generation of youth-oriented media companies.

    In early 2006 Viacom’s research maven Betsy Frank exited the company after nearly a decade. Company sources pointed out that they would be working with Frank on a consultancy basis over a number of projects. MTVN president ad sales Larry Divney also stepped down on 1 April but would continue to be exclusive consultant to the network on their various projects.

    This is the latest in a long line of top ranking executive exits at Viacom’s MTV Networks which in hindsight could now be said to have begun with the resignation of MTV COO Mark Rosenthal in 2004 following Judy McGrath’s promotion to chairman and CEO of MTV Networks.

    The company’s January 2006 split from CBS has led to a huge upheaval in its top management ranks. Wolf’s departure is the latest in this series. MTVN will begin searches for a new COO and a new head of Affiliate Sales and Marketing immediately it has said.

  • MTV networks COO Michael Wolf quits

    MTV networks COO Michael Wolf quits

    MUMBAI: There seems to be no end to the executive departures at Sumner Redstone’s Viacom Inc. A day after Gail Berman resigned as president of Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, putting in less than two years in the organization, MTV Networks president and chief operating officer Michael Wolf is also leaving Viacom’s MTVN.

    Wolf left McKinsey to join the media group’s transition to the digital age but is leaving barely a year later.
    According to the company’s website, Wolf and MTVN president of affiliate sales and marketing Nicole Browning will be leaving the company.

    Wolf led the company’s business and technology operations, including advertising sales, affiliate sales and marketing, business and strategy development, business and legal affairs, finance, information systems and technology and production operations.

    Browning oversaw the distribution activities of MTV Networks including MTV: Music Television, MTV 2, mtvU, MTV Tr3s, MTV World, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Spike TV, Comedy Central, Logo, TV Land, Noggin/The N, CMT, VH1 Classic, The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, and BET Networks including BET, BET Gospel, and BET J.

    Earlier last week Wolf had revealed to the media that there was a “gap in perception” in the market about Viacom’s internet activities. He also added, ‘We’ve been able to accomplish a huge amount in the 15 months I’ve been here’. During his tenure, Viacom acquired a slew of internet gaming and film startups, including Xfire and Atom Entertainment.

    Wolf’s departure had been a subject of speculation since Redstone, Viacom’s chairman and controlling shareholder, ousted Tom Freston in September 2006 from his post as chief executive and replaced him with board member Philippe Dauman.

    It was widely believed that Freston, one of the MTV founders, was blamed for the company’s failure to acquire MySpace, the popular social networking site, and the perception that the cable group was being eclipsed by a new generation of youth-oriented media companies.

    In early 2006 Viacom’s research maven Betsy Frank exited the company after nearly a decade. Company sources pointed out that they would be working with Frank on a consultancy basis over a number of projects. MTVN president ad sales Larry Divney also stepped down on 1 April but would continue to be exclusive consultant to the network on their various projects.

    This is the latest in a long line of top ranking executive exits at Viacom’s MTV Networks which in hindsight could now be said to have begun with the resignation of MTV COO Mark Rosenthal in 2004 following Judy McGrath’s promotion to chairman and CEO of MTV Networks.

    The company’s January 2006 split from CBS has led to a huge upheaval in its top management ranks. Wolf’s departure is the latest in this series. MTVN will begin searches for a new COO and a new head of Affiliate Sales and Marketing immediately it has said.

  • MTV greenlights global show ‘Meet Or Delete’

    MTV greenlights global show ‘Meet Or Delete’

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV and mtvU have greenlit Meet or Delete. This is the first MTV series to premiere to a global audience and roll out on every MTV platform.

    The series, developed in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) PC business as a core component of its new global marketing campaign, follows college students as they size each other up and decide if they’d like to meet, based solely on the contents of their hard drives.

    The show will roll out internationally and utilise virtually every MTV asset, including mtvU, mtvU.com, MTV, MTV.com MTV2, broadband channels mtvU Uber and MTV Overdrive, MTV wireless, the MTV Store and even the massive MTV 44 1/2 high definition TV in Times Square.

    The first episode will premiere on mtvU Uber at mtvU.com on 10 May and subsequently debut across MTV’s global network, including local channels in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Five more episodes will follow in the fall. In addition, each of the local MTV channels outside the US will air another four locally produced episodes of Meet or Delete on-air, online and on wireless handsets.

    As a complement to the programming and marketing campaign, MTV and mtvU are launching 14 regionalised Meet or Delete online hubs with episodes from around the globe, unseen footage, interactive games, free music downloads, updates on previous cast members, casting calls and more. The global hub will launch on 10 May and be available at www.meetordelete.com. Meet or Delete will also hit college campuses and other hot spots across the US this summer as part of mtvU’s upcoming VJ search.

    MTV president and COO Michael Wolf says,”PCs have become the emotional hard drive of our global audience, making the premise of Meet or Delete relevant everywhere in the world. We are thrilled to collaborate with HP on this groundbreaking project – a milestone in our drive to deliver great content, worldwide, on every device – and it’s a prime example of the innovative programs we are developing for top global companies.”

    HP senior VP global marketing for the personal systems group Satjiv Chahil says, “We are delighted to join with MTV, working together at the forefront of the entertainment industry to meet the emerging demand for more personal, digital content that is always available, always connected.

    “HP is the one company with the digital expertise to simplify the entire digital entertainment experience, making access to personal content – through any medium, using any device, at any time – a reality.”

    MTVu GM v says, “College students are the first adopters of emerging media and technologies, which enables mtvU to serve as a creative laboratory for new types of on-air, online and wireless short form programming. Meet or Delete offers a fascinating look at the degree to which students now live their lives online, and we look forward to working with HP to tell this story on a global stage.”

    Meet or Delete offers a new twist on getting to know someone, be it for dating, identifying your next roommate or picking a new band member. In the pilot episode, Amanda Alpert of the University of South Carolina Columbia is given unlimited access to the computers of three potential dates she’s never met.

    With the opportunity to explore the deepest reaches of the guys’ hard drives, from a remote location and with nothing else to go on, she checks their e-mail, music playlists, pictures, recently visited websites, video files, IMs with their friends, etc. The guys watch in horror as she goes deeper and deeper into their digital persona, finding info and files they never planned to share with anyone.

    The pilot episode premieres on mtvU and the network’s all-access broadband channel, mtvU Uber at mtvU.com, on 10 May. Meet or Delete is executive produced by Eric Conte.

    HP’s new PC marketing campaign, themed The Computer is Personal Again focusses on the highly individual and personal relationships people have with their computers. The worldwide campaign includes traditional, web and viral marketing elements, such as the Meet or Delete series and online community, that will be rolled out across key countries in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia over the next six months. The deal with MTV was brokered and will be managed on a global level by Zenith Optimedia and CBS Viacom Plus.