NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today announced the appointment of Sarah Levy as Chief Operating Officer of its Global Entertainment Group, effective immediately.
In this newly created role, Levy will oversee operations and strategy for MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike, CMT, TV Land, Logo and Viacom International Media Networks and manage the following functions for the Group: Production Management and Operations, Digital, Strategy and Business Development, Research, and Content & Programming Enterprises. Sarah will also help guide Content Distribution, Finance, Business and Legal Affairs and Human Resources functions across these networks. She will report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish.
Bob Bakish said, “Viacom is committed to making the changes necessary to enhance performance, and we are deeply focused on increasing coordination and collaboration across our individual brands. Aligning these network operations under Sarah represents an important step forward to becoming a stronger and more integrated organization. In Sarah’s nearly 20 years at Viacom, she has established a strong track record of success, and has been a key leader at Nickelodeon, helping to drive the network’s long-range strategy and the continued dominance of the brand across every screen and revenue stream.”
Levy said, “I am excited to take on this new role and look forward to working closely with Viacom’s extraordinary operations teams. By taking a holistic view of our networks and establishing a unified and complementary strategy, we will capture the many opportunities that exist to optimize our portfolio for the benefit of our company, distributors and audiences.”
Levy most recently served as COO of the Viacom Kids & Family Group and COO of Nickelodeon prior to that role. During her 18-year tenure at Viacom, she has overseen various businesses and departments ranging from Consumer Products to TV Networks to Ad Sales. Her many achievements include the acquisition and development of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, which has become a category-leading cross-platform success, generating more than $5 billion at retail and over $700 million at the global box office. She has led the way in expanding the Nickelodeon brand to new businesses and has developed key strategic partnerships in consumer products and recreation. She began her career with Nickelodeon in 1998 as Director of Business Development.
Levy received a B.A. degree in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Prior to business school, she worked at The Walt Disney Co. and at Goldman Sachs & Co.
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, apps, games, consumer products, social media experiences, and other entertainment content for audiences in more than 180 countries. Viacom's media networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., Logo, Nicktoons, TeenNick, Channel 5 (UK), Telefe (Argentina) and Paramount Channel, reach over 3.9 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures is a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.
For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
