Press Release Details

Pioneering executive who disrupted sports media takes on new leadership role for MTV’s suite of brands

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 8, 2019-- MTV today named Rory Brown — the pioneering creative executive who helped grow Bleacher Report and House of Highlights into the most disruptive brands in sports media — to the newly created position of Head of Digital and Social for MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo.

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Rory Brown (Photo: Business Wire)

In his new role, Brown will be responsible for building on MTV’s resurgence as a top youth media brand, which now includes MTV Studios, live events such as “Spring Break” and the SnowGlobe Music Festival, leading cable channels and top-rated digital and social content. With 250 million followers, MTV currently boasts the largest social footprint among all entertainment brands (ListenFirst). MTV’s fast-growing “Wild ‘N Out” also boasts the #1 entertainment hip hop channel on YouTube.

Brown will report directly to Jacqueline Parkes, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Digital Studios for MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, and work closely with Viacom Digital Studios.

Most recently, Brown served as President of Bleacher Report, a role in which he oversaw content, product, social, programming as well as the House of Highlights team. During his ten years with the company, Brown helped it grow from a 13-person team and two million monthly unique visitors to more than one billion monthly social interactions, nine figures in annual revenue and more than 450 employees worldwide.

“Rory understood the cultural power of sports and broadened its definition beyond scores and stats to transform Bleacher Report into the definitive brand for a whole new generation of fans,” said Chris McCarthy, President of MTV’s group of brands. “Given his proven track record and our massive reach, we are excited to see him do the same with us across music, youth and pop culture.”

“Rory has a powerful vision for how to connect with audiences where they live, on their terms and across platforms, and he made the closely guarded world of sports work for millennials and gen-Z in a way that legacy brands never could,” said Parkes. “With 250 million followers, MTV is the biggest youth media brand on social media, and we’re very excited to see what Rory creates for our fans across our massive footprint.”

“I’m beyond excited to work with Jacqueline, Chris and all of the talented people on the team leading the resurgence of these iconic brands,” said Brown. “I grew up with MTV and it’s a huge part of my DNA.”

Under Brown’s leadership, Bleacher Report and House of Highlights consistently ranked among the most viewed brands with the mostly highly engaged audience on social media. Bleacher Report is #1 in social engagements among all sports networks (Listen First) and is the #1 media and entertainment brand on Twitter, with nearly 200 million monthly video views (Tubular).

Brown oversaw many of the original series and initiatives that drove Bleacher Report's explosive growth, including "Game of Zones," "The Champions" and "No Script with Marshawn Lynch." He also served on the House of Highlights board of directors, directly managing the team and helping guide strategy for the brand during its explosive growth.

ABOUT MTV

MTV is the leading global youth media brand in 180 countries, reaching 450 million households in nearly 30 different languages across every platform. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, theatrical films and MTV Studios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190408005546/en/

Source: MTV

Trevor Martin, Trevor.Martin@viacommix.com
Lauren Nowell, Lauren.nowell@viacom.com