Susanne Daniels has held executive positions at many networks and platforms in her time in the entertainment industry — ABC, Fox, The WB, Lifetime, MTV and YouTube — but her mission has remained the same: Find programming that resonates with young people.

That job has only gotten harder as those young audiences have migrated to digital platforms and social media. 

Still, Daniels managed to find a big hit for YouTube — and later for Netflix — with Cobra Kai, a sequel to the popular Karate Kid movies of the 1980s. Who knew that the kids of Gen X, who first fell in love with Daniel-san and his teacher, Mr. Miyagi, would grow up and want to see more? Well, Daniels, for one.

Also: Welcome to the 30th Anniversary of the ‘B+C’ Hall of Fame

Backing up a few years, when Daniels was overseeing programming for MTV, she developed a drama for the cable network called Finding Carter. 

“It was so good, I just loved it,” she said. “But it wasn’t getting a lot of traction even though we were marketing it well. One day, out of complete frustration, I turned to our head of research and said, ‘Where are they? Why aren’t they watching this show?’ And she said, ‘They’re all on YouTube.’ I then started educating myself on YouTube creators.”

Daniels started reaching out to those creators to see if they could work together. When Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s chief business officer, discovered what she was doing, he invited her to lunch and then to work at YouTube. “He told me, ‘You’ll have better success reaching the audience where these YouTubers live,’ ” she said. “I decided he was right.” 

Back to Cobra Kai. “I knew from YouTube’s data that Karate Kid was a highly searched term with our heavy users in a positive way. The pitch was one of the best pitches I have ever heard — they even brought in Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. There was no way I was letting them walk out the door without begging them to bring their show to YouTube.”

Daniels and her team pitched the benefits of YouTube to Cobra Kai’s creative team: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. When they heard Daniels’s enthusiasm, they were in. 

“She saw the vision before anyone else did,” Hurwitz said. “Nobody else was willing to say to us, ‘we’re going to make an entire season,’ but she had that passion, understanding and trust in us.”

She’s always been able to see the business from a producer’s point of view, and that’s helped her lure talent to any platform she’s leading. “There’s so much risk assessment in our business, but Susanne was willing to take a bet on who we were and what we could bring,” said B17 Entertainment’s Rhett Bachner, who launched Broke-Ass Game Show on MTV under Daniels’ watch.

Part of that understanding comes from a  very personal place: her marriage to Greg Daniels, creator and EP of such shows as NBC’s The Office and Parks and Recreation. They met when she was assistant to Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels and he was a writer there. 

After three years at SNL, Daniels moved to Los Angeles to join ABC as a director of reality and variety programming. She then served as VP of comedy at Fox. Her next move was to startup The WB, where founder Jamie Kellner first offered her a job as head of comedy. 

Rolling the Dice at The WB

“What I said to Jamie Kellner was, ‘I’m going to take a chance on your startup network, but I’m only going to take this job if I can oversee all development.’ He didn’t get back to me for a couple of weeks because I think he was desperately trying to find someone else during that time. But he came back and offered me the job I wanted,” she said. “I don’t think it was bravery to ask for more. I just think it was me wanting to maximize my potential.”       

At The WB, she helped develop some of the most generationally defining hits of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, including Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Felicity and Gilmore Girls.

By the time The WB merged with UPN to become The CW in 2006, Daniels and most of the original executives had left. She went on to oversee programming at Lifetime, MTV and YouTube. 

As YouTube’s global head of original content, Daniels also worked with pop superstar Katy Perry on Katy Perry Witness Worldwide and with Barack and Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga and Lizzo on The Class of 2020 Graduation Special.

With YouTube exiting originals, Daniels left in early March. As she considers what to do next, young audiences are always on her mind. 

“I would like to build something for young audiences again and I’m giving some thought as to what that is,” she said. “I truly love the medium of TV.”  ￭

The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame -- the premier industry event paying tribute to the pioneers, innovators and stars of the electronic arts -- returns with a full, in-person live gala celebrating the event’s 30th anniversary. The Hall of Fame celebration will take place at New York’s Ziegfeld Ballroom on Thursday, April 14, 2022.

The new B+C Hall of Fame inductees join the ranks of more than 400 honorees previously recognized by Broadcasting+Cable magazine. The new Hall of Fame inductees (alphabetically) are:

Emily Barr, president & CEO, Graham Media Group.

Nomi Bergman, president, Advance/Newhouse Investment Partnership.

Brandon Burgess, former president & CEO, ION Media. 

Susanne Daniels, global head of original content, YouTube.

Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor and chief legal correspondent, TODAY & NBC News.

Hoda Kotb, co-anchor and co-host, TODAY & TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.

Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman, Universal Studio Group.

Leo MacCourtney, president, Katz Television Group.

Dan Mason, chairman emeritus, The Broadcasters Foundation of America, and past president and CEO, CBS Radio.

Steve Miron, chief executive officer, Advance/Newhouse Partnership.

Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO, Hearst.

Curtis Symonds, president, HBCU GO TV/Allen Media Group.

ESPN, Iconic Network. 

While the Hall of Fame previously has inducted iconic shows, ESPN is the first network to be admitted into the fold. “It’s a tremendous honor for ESPN to receive the first Iconic Network Award from The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame,” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and Sports Content, told B+C/Multichannel News. “When we launched in 1979, ESPN immediately created an indelible bond with sports fans by matching their passion. Thank you to the thousands of dedicated ESPN employees who, over four decades, have continued to create a non-stop immersive sports experience.”

“The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame has always been one of the entertainment industry’s signature events,” said Bill McGorry, chairman of the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame. “In a year like no other, we are beyond thrilled to be able to welcome back our community with a star studded live 30th Anniversary gala that will surely be a night to remember. With great anticipation, we look forward to celebrating together in April.”

“Each year we are completely awed by our Hall of Fame honorees and this class of 2021 raises the bar yet again,” B+C Editor-in-Chief Bill Gannon said. “This class is particularly noteworthy for the visionary and innovative leaders who have changed the industry both before and during the pandemic. The Hall of Fame is thrilled to add these exceptional individuals to the prestigious classes of honorees that have come before them.”

“Broadcasting+Cable’s Hall of Fame is one of the most important events in broadcasting,” Jim Thompson, president of Broadcasters Foundation of America, said. “Their generosity in donating a portion of the proceeds to support the mission of the Broadcasters Foundation of America is admirable, and we cannot thank them enough. Over the past 30 years, the Hall of Fame has contributed more than $700,000 to help our fellow broadcasters who have been hit by debilitating illness, accident, or disaster. We are grateful for the continued support of the Hall of Fame. With their help, we can continue to provide aid to our colleagues in desperate need.”

Since the event’s inception, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Broadcasters Foundation of America, a charitable organization that provides financial grants to those of our industry colleagues and their families who are in acute need due to critical illness or accident, advanced age, death of a spouse or other serious misfortune. In addition, the event benefits The Paley Center for Media, a non-profit organization leading the discussion on the social significance and advancement of television, radio and emerging platforms for the professional and media-interested public.

For sponsorship, table, ticket and advertising information, please contact Jessica Wolin at  jessica.wolin@futurenet.com or 212-685-4233.

For more information please visit the B+C Hall of Fame website.

Follow the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame at #BCHOF2021. ■

NATPE on Tuesday unveiled the recipients of the 14th annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.

The honorees are Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group; Susanne Daniels, global head of original content at YouTube; Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision; Josh Sapan, president and CEO of AMC Networks; and actress, director and producer Eva Longoria.

The honorees will receive their awards at a reception on Jan. 18 at Fontainebleau Miami Beach during NATPE Miami 2017.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Digital video streaming service YouTube will enter the scripted series arena in 2017 with the development of dance-themed series Step Up.

The series, based on the 2006 film the same name, will be executively produced by the film’s producers Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot and Meredith Milton, as well as Step Up stars Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum, said network officials.

The Lionsgate produced film will debut exclusively as the first original scripted series on YouTube Red next year, according to the service.

“I’ve been a fan of the Step Up movies for years and always believed the films would translate into an awesome original series,” said Susanne Daniels, YouTube Global Head of Original Content in a statement. “We know that dance is a hugely successful global category on YouTube, so I’m excited to have a series rooted in such an enormously popular genre on our platform.”

MTV has once again tapped the digital world for a major executive appointment, naming former Condé Nast digital channels content exec Michael Klein as its executive vice president of original content.

Klein effectively replaces Susanne Daniels, who left MTV last July to take over original content duties at YouTube.

Klein will oversee all original programming, development and creative across MTV and its related brands, said network officials. Klein was most recently executive vice president of programming and content strategy for Condé Nast Digital Channels, where he was responsible for programming strategy, development and production for the company’s millennial-targeted digital channels across unscripted, scripted, animation, documentary and virtual reality.

Klein has also held positions at Sundance Channel, where he was senior vice president of programming and development; at Travel Channel, where he served as senior vice president of content; and at TLC, where he was vice president of program production.

He will report to MTV president Sean Atkins, who joined the network in September after serving as executive vice president of digital media and strategy for Discovery Communications.

“Michael is a proven hitmaker with a strong feel for our audience, a keen eye for talent, and a successful track record of reinventing brands through distinctive, creator-driven content,” said Atkins in a statement.  “His leadership and experience are an excellent fit for MTV in this pivotal moment for the network, as we accelerate a new development slate of music and pop culture-inspired programming.”

Klein will take over a network that for a while has struggled on the ratings front and has been looking for a big franchise hit, although the network has had a strong ratings start to 2016. Heading into the last week of the first quarter, MTV’s primetime ratings were up 11% among total viewers and 16% among adults 18-49 with shows such as freshman series The Shannara Chronicles and veteran shows like Faking It, Catfish: The TV Show and Awkward.

Former MTV executive Susanne Daniels is moving to the digital world to head up original programming for YouTube.

Earlier today MTV announced that Daniels, who joined the network in 2012, would be leaving her post. She joins the digital video company as vice president of YouTube Originals, heading up the company's content production.

She will report to YouTube head of content and business operations Robert Kyncl.

“Susanne is an executive whose incredible instincts have led her to consistently generate pop culture hits that audiences relate to and root for,” Kyncl said in a statement. “Susanne’s deep expertise in programming will be invaluable to us and our top creators and help them foster even more ambitious projects for YouTube.”

MTV president of programming Susanne Daniels is leaving the cable network, the second major Viacom Inc. network executive to leave the company in as many days.

Daniels left the company to take over original content duties for YouTube. MTV is not expected to fill Daniels' position, according to sources close to the situation.

Daniels is the second Viacom Inc. network executive to leave the company this week following the departure earlier of VH1 president Tom Calderone.

Earlier in the day Mina Lefevre was promoted to executive vice president and head of scripted development for the network. Lefevre joined MTV in 2013 as senior vice president of scripted programming, launching such original scripted series as Scream, Finding Carter, and Faking It.

Lefevre will report to Friedman.

"Mina has an incredible talent for developing entirely new worlds, stories, and characters that always feel relatable and real to our fans,” said Friedman in a statement.  “As MTV continues to pursue even more ambitious scripted projects, we’re thrilled to have the leadership of a creative, collaborative executive like Mina.”