ITV

Tag: Sarah Levy

  • Viacom signs deal with pocket.watch for small screen content

    Viacom signs deal with pocket.watch for small screen content

    MUMBAI: Kids’ entertainment platform pocket.watch has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Viacom. Under their agreement, Viacom and pocket.watch will develop and produce long and short form content. Viacom will also become the exclusive third-party agent for ad sales on pocket.watch’s YouTube and creator footprint, which the media plans to package Nickelodeon inventory.

    The two companies have already teamed up to develop sketch comedy show Skoogle, created by and starring Kenan Thompson, for Nickelodeon. They are also working on a variety of talent initiatives, including jointly identifying up-and-coming talent and creators where the companies are aligned to generate 360-degree talent partnerships. The creator partners of pocket.watch will also be invited to a variety of Viacom events such as the Kids Choice Awards.

    Viacom’s Paramount Players has purchased a pitch from pocket.watch for a feature film known as The Unboxing Movie. The companies have further formalised a process for collaborative development and expect to work together on a number of content projects over the coming year.

    “Pocket.watch’s unique and comprehensive approach to celebrating the new digital stars of today makes them an outstanding partner for Nickelodeon and our unmatched connections with kids around the world through video, digital and real-world events. It’s great to be in business with them and we are excited to be expanding our relationship with such an innovative new media brand,” said Viacom Media Networks COO Sarah Levy.

    Launched in March 2017, pocket.watch has amassed a number of deals to bring its brand to consumers globally while growing its original intellectual property and creator partner brands, including Ryan Toys Review, the largest YouTube channel based in the US. The platform has raised $21 million since its launch and it gets over one billion monthly views across twenty YouTube channels, with a combined subscriber base of over 34 million.

  • Cyma Zarghami exits Nickelodeon; Sarah Levy named interim head

    Cyma Zarghami exits Nickelodeon; Sarah Levy named interim head

    MUMBAI: Nickelodeon Group president Cyma Zarghami has stepped down from her position after 30 years with the network.

    While Viacom conducts a comprehensive search for a successor to lead Nickelodeon, Sarah Levy, chief operating officer of Viacom Media Networks, will lead the brand on an interim basis.

    During the transition, Levy will work closely with Nickelodeon’s leadership team to manage the brand’s operations. Their focus will be to successfully launch Nickelodeon’s largest-ever content pipeline of more than 800 new episodes and accelerate the brand’s push into new and next-generation viewing platforms, film, live experiences and consumer products, international media reports stated.

    Zarghami joined Nickelodeon in 1985 and was named its president in 2006. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon has become a leading global brand for kids, spanning linear and multi-platform programming, film, live experiences and consumer products. Along the way, Zarghami recruited and cultivated high-performing, diverse talent that always reflected the next generation of kids, and the brand continues to attract the industry’s leading creatives and personalities. Today, Nickelodeon has the highest share of total viewing in kids’ television.

    Nickelodeon, now in its 39th year, includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc., which is a premier global media brand that creates entertainment content including television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, games, consumer products, podcasts, live events and social media experiences for audiences in 183 countries.

    Viacom president and CEO Bob Bakish was quoted in a report as saying, “Over the course of her career, Cyma has played an integral role in growing Nickelodeon into the dominant force in kids’ entertainment. Her instincts for creating content and experiences that kids love have been vital to the brand’s success around the world. Looking to the future, we are excited to build on this strong foundation as we continue to evolve the business and connect with young audiences in new and innovative ways. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Cyma for her leadership and wish her every success.”

    Viacom’s media networks, including Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, VH1, TV Land, CMT, Logo, Channel 5 (UK), Telefe (Argentina), Colors (India) and Paramount Channel, reach approximately 4.3 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide.