Below is a compilation of the latest moves in the industry.
Ruben Mendiola will helm mun2, the Spanish-language cabler announced on May 6. Mendiola, who previously was senior VP and general manager of multicultural services for Comcast Cable, will serve as president of mun2. The exec fills the top exec spot vacated by Diana Mogollon, who stepped down earlier this year as executive VP and general manager. Mun2 is the sister network of Telemundo, which is owned by NBCUniversal.
ABC has re-upped Jimmy Kimmel (pictured), extending his contract through January 2017. Kimmel has emceed late-night talker Jimmy Kimmel Live since 2003. News of his deal comes amid a slew of changes in the late-night landscape at rivals NBC and CBS, including Jimmy Fallon’s takeover of NBC’s The Tonight Show and the announcement of David Letterman’s retirement from CBS’ Late Show.
Steve Capus will join CBS, where he will serve as executive producer for CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley and executive editor of CBS News. The former NBC News president will start at CBS on July 7, reporting to CBS News President David Rhodes. Capus currently is the executive in resident at IESE Business School.
Charlie LeDuff has been tapped as national news correspondent for Fox Television Stations. In his new role, he will helm national news reports on “The Americans With Charlie LeDuff” on all Fox O&Os as well as continue to report for WJBK Detroit.
Deborah Collura has been appointed president and general manager of WCNC Charlotte. She will start at the Gannett-owned station n June 2. Collura formerly served as VP of news at Post-Newsweek Stations and VP of news at KPRC Houston.
Stuart Tenzer has been named senior VP of business and legal affairs of Fox International Channels, FIC announced on May 6. Tenzer, who joins from Coast Road Media, will oversea global negotiations for the company as well as support the programming and development team. He will report to Kelly Cline, executive VP of business & legal affairs, entertainment for Fox Cable Networks and Rita Tuzon, executive VP and general counsel for Fox Networks Group.
Jodi Chisarick has been promoted to senior VP and general sales manager, media sales of Twentieth Television, the company announced on May 6. Chisarick, who previously was senior VP of pricing and planning, will now oversee the day to day operations of Twentieth Television’s sales team as well as client initiatives for the company’s programming from 20th Century Fox Television and Debmar-Mercury. The exec will report to Michael Teicher, executive VP of media sales of Twentieth Television. Twentieth Television also announced that it has opened a West Coast media sales office, which is helmed by Mary Strabel, VP of media sales. Strabel reports to Chisarick.
Alan Gregg has been tapped to head Mercury Filmworks’ new European production arm, the Canada-based company announced on May 6. Gregg, who formerly was director of original content Teletoon Canada, will serve as president of European Production at Mercury Filmworks. He will also hold a seat on the animation studio’s board of directors. Mercury Filmworks Europe will be based in Dublin, Ireland and is set to open in fall 2014.
In anticipation of its syndicated debut in the fall, NBCUniversal’s The Meredith Vieira Show announced multiple staff additions.Everett Bradley, a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, will lead the show’s band. Jon Harris will announce. Geoff Rosen and Matthew Strauss will serve as co-executive producers of the talker along with Meredith Vieira, Michael Glantz and Rich Sirop. Meredith bows on Sept. 8, 2014.
The Television Academy appointed on May 5 Heather Cochran as chief financial officer and executive VP of business operations. Cochran succeeds current CFO Frank Kohler, who will remain on at the Academy as a consultant. Cochran will also manage all of the Academy’s business operations. She joins the Academy from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
E! News made a number of moves on May 5. Jennifer Lavin and Melanie Bromley were upped to executive producer and chief news correspondent, respectively, while Dina Sansing was named executive entertainment director. Sansing joins E! News from Us Weekly, where she was West Coast executive editor.
The Cinema Advertising Council has named on May 5 two members to its Board of Directors. Bob Shaw, senior VP of advertising sales at Spotlight Cinema Network, will replace Jerry Rakfeldt. Dave Kupiec, executive VP of sales and marketing at NCM, will replace Cliff Marks on the board. Kupiec will serve as both a level I director and executive director of CAC.
Chris Jansing has been appointed senior White House correspondent for NBC, it was announced on May 2. Alexander, who will report chiefly for Nightly News, has been with NBC News since 1998, most recently anchoring Jansing & Co. for MSNBC. Former White House correspondent, Peter Alexander, has been named national correspondent, reporting on both national affairs and the White House.
Kenneth Tomlinson, the controversial former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, has died. He was 69. Tomlinson topped CPB from 2002 to 2005 and BBG from 2002 to 2007. During his tenures, he was investigated for allegedly working on CPB affairs while at BBG, requesting compensation from both organizations for the same hours, and working more hours than allowed.
National Geographic Channel announced on May 1 that it has expanded its East Coast development team. Nicole Reed has been tapped as VP of development. She most recently served as director, nonfiction and alternative programming at A&E. Igal Svet has come on board as director of development. He joins Nat Geo from 2C Media, where he served as VP of development. The network also announced that Naimah Holmes will move to New York ,where she will serve as director of development.
Joseph D’Amico has been upped to assistant VP, broadcast and public sector group at JVC Professional Products Company, it was announced on May 1. As assistant VP, D’Amico oversees the company’s regional broadcast sales directors and the Broadcast Sales Rep program. He has spent the last six year at JVC as director of broadcast sales.
Author Vicky Kaseorg has published The Tower Builder, which looks at the life of tower engineer Tony Fonseca. The nonfiction work focuses on Fonseca’s rebuilding of the radio towers of WBT-AM Blaw Knox. For more information on the work, click here.
Members of the East and West chapters of the Writers Guild of America have approved a new, three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The contract extends from May 2, 2014 through May 1, 2017.
Alberto Mier y Terán has been upped to executive VP of Univision Television Group, it was announced on April 30. Mier y Terán most recently served as senior VP and general manager of Univision’s KMEX-KFTR Los Angeles. He has been with the company for the last decade.
Vasant Prabhu has been tapped as chief financial officer and executive committee member of NBCUniversal, the company announced on April 30. Prabhu, the former CFO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, will start at NBCU on June 1, succeeding Stuart Epstein in the role. At NBCU, he will oversee operations and technical services, reporting to CEO Stephen Burke.
Chad Rounsavall has been appointed VP of sales for the Nexidia’s media and entertainment division, the company’s announced on April 30. Rounsavall will oversee the domestic sales network at Nexidia and help with the company’s expansion globally. He was previously VP of sales AmberFin.
Mark O’Connell has been hired as VP of content distribution for UP and ASPiRE, it was announced on April 30. O’Connell, who most recently served as VP of TV networks distribution at NBCUniversal, will manage business across UP, ASPiRE and gMovies, reporting to Hal Rosenberg, senior VP of content distribution and marketing of UP.
The Associated Press named three board members on April 30. The appointments are: ESPN’s Rob King, Univision and Fusion’s Isaac Lee, and Cox Media Group’s Bill Hoffman. The announcement came during the AP’s New York board meeting.
Saffron Digital has appointed on April 30 Tom Ramsey as senior director of sales. Ramsey, who most recently worked at Quickplay Media, will help bolster Saffron’s sales and strategic partnerships. Saffron Digital manages and delivers multi-platform video services.
Stuart Tenzer has joined Fox International Channels as senior VP of business and legal affairs, the company announced on May 6. Tenzer, who comes to FIC from Coast Road Media, will oversee FIC’s global negotiations as well as support programming and development execs. He reports to Kelly Cline, executive VP of business and legal affairs, entertainment at Fox Cable Networks and Rita Tuzon, executive VP and general counsel for Fox Networks Group.
