Dave Finocchio, who founded and recently served as an adviser to Bleacher Report, Turner's fast-growing digital sports brand, is returning as CEO.
He will be joined in overseeing the unit by Rory Brown, who will be elevated to president and will oversee day-to-day operations. Brown, who joined Bleacher Report in 2008, most recently held the position of chief content officer. Based in New York, he will report directly to Finocchio.
After spending the past year as a senior adviser, Finocchio will continue to be based in San Francisco and will report to Turner Sports executive VP and GM Matt Hong.
Beyond Bleacher Report, Finocchio will also work with strategy and finance execs Doug Shapiro and Trey Turner on various consumer and audience initiatives.
“Dave is the original visionary behind the creation of Bleacher Report and has played the most influential role in growing it into the leading media property it is today,” said Hong. “There is nobody better to lead Bleacher Report into its next chapter of growth and extend the brand into new adjacencies.”
As one of its original founders, Finocchio launched Bleacher Report in 2008. According to Turner, the brand has more engagement across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram than any other publisher in the U.S. In 2015, Bleacher Report’s top-rated Team Stream app averaged 230 minutes of consumption per unique each month, No. 1 among all sports apps reaching men 18-34.
Turner Sports has integrated Bleacher Report branding and content into its NBA, Major League Baseball and NCAA basketball broadcasts to an increasing degree in recent years.
