Comedy Central Announces Changes To Eliminate Walls Between Linear And Digital

Comedy Central has restructured its internal organizational structure to eliminate the walls between linear and digital to create an internal structure that mirrors the way its fans consume content. David Bernath, Executive Vice President, Programming & Multiplatform Strategy now leads all programming for the #1 brand in comedy and Walter Levitt, Chief Marketing Officer, is responsible for the brand’s fan outreach across all platforms. Both Bernath and Levitt will continue to report to Michele Ganeless, President, Comedy Central. These appointments follow the announcement earlier this year of Kent Alterman’s promotion to President, Content Development & Original Programming, who maintains oversight of all content development for Comedy Central.

"We’ve dismantled the department formerly known as ‘digital’ to create an organization that better serves our fans and advertisers," said Ganeless. "Our fans don’t use the word ‘digital’ to talk about content and now, neither do we."

As Executive Vice President, Programming & Multiplatform Strategy, Bernath has expanded his responsibilities to include oversight for the strategy and programming of Comedy Central content across all platforms – linear TV, comedycentral.com, VOD, SVOD, mobile and new emerging platforms. This holistic approach to programming was evident when Comedy Central launched "Drunk History" across multiple platforms before its linear premiere, generating seven million sample views of the new show and driving Comedy Central's most successful summer show launch since 2010.

Walter Levitt, as Chief Marketing Officer, oversees all facets of strategic and creative marketing for the brand including the recently-formed Fan Engagement team which is responsible for social and digital marketing. Under Levitt's leadership, Comedy Central has been widely acknowledged for its innovative multiplatform approach to branding and marketing, and has won numerous marketing awards. His team has also been credited with developing strategic marketing partnerships with key digital brands such as Twitter and Facebook.

Also as part of this reorganization, Steve Grimes has been named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Multiplatform Strategy & Development, reporting to Bernath and Erik Flannigan, Executive Vice President, Multiplatform Strategy & Development, Viacom Entertainment Group. Grimes now adds multiplatform programming strategy to his previous responsibilities overseeing the Comedy Central digital media team and its initiatives. He is also responsible for app development, having recently launched the critically-acclaimed CC: Stand-up app.

SOURCE: Comedy Central