Altice USA said it has promoted Keith Bowen, Altice News & Advertising chief revenue officer, to president of the unit, replacing Jon Steinberg who will leave the company in the spring.
Bowen will now have responsibility for Altice USA news brands Cheddar News, News 12 and i24NEWS as well as the a4 advanced advertising and data business. Before joining Altice USA in 2019, Bowen served as chief revenue officer for Spectrum Reach and earlier served in similar roles for Tribune Media and Urban One (formerly Radio One). He will report to Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei.
“Since joining Altice USA in 2019, Keith has helped our news and advertising businesses experience significant growth and success, and I am confident that the division will continue to flourish under his leadership,” Goei said in a press release. “Jon’s enthusiasm and keen business mind have helped our News & Advertising group achieve great success over the last three years and I offer my gratitude to him and look forward with excitement as Keith brings his invaluable expertise to our news and advertising groups.”
Steinberg founded Cheddar in 2016 and joined Altice USA in 2019 as part of the company’s purchase of Cheddar News. He will serve as an advisor to Bowen over the next several months in advance of his departure this spring, and, after a period of transition, will return to his entrepreneurial roots.
“Jon has been a great mentor for me over the last several years, and I’m excited to now step into his shoes to lead the amazing teams that we have in place at Cheddar News, News 12, i24NEWS and a4,” Bowen said in a press release.
Separately, Altice USA said it has named Kristin Malaspina GM of Cheddar News and senior VP of distribution for Altice News and will be responsible for Cheddar News’ content, growth and operations while continuing to lead the distribution teams across all Altice News brands. She will report directly to Bowen. Malaspina previously served as senior VP of marketing & partnerships for Altice News & Advertising, and, before that, worked for Starz and also spent several years at Time Warner Cable/Spectrum News in various executive marketing and distribution positions.
“I am thrilled to take on the opportunity to lead the Cheddar News team as we further establish the network as a leading source of news for the forward-looking viewer,” Malaspina said in a press release. “Cheddar News has become an important brand among today’s most discerning news viewer, and I’m excited to help lead the incredibly talented Cheddar News team as we look to continue to deliver the exceptional news reporting that our audiences have come to know and love.”
Malaspina joined Altice USA in 2017 as senior VP, marketing and partnerships, overseeing all marketing, branding, partnerships, event opportunities and distribution for the Altice News & Advertising brands. Prior to that, she was VP of distribution marketing, strategic partnerships for Starz as well as VP of marketing for Spectrum Networks. Earlier in her career, Malaspina served as director, product marketing and customer communications for iNDEMAND Networks and at CBS Inc. in a variety of production roles.
“In looking back on my time leading both Cheddar and the Altice News & Advertising group, I remain immensely proud of the work that our teams have done in serving our viewers with the highest quality news reporting and our clients with innovative advertising products,” Steinberg said in a press release. “As I take my next entrepreneurial step, I leave the Altice News & Advertising group, including Cheddar News, in extremely capable hands in Keith and Kristin and look forward to watching what they do next.”
Also: Analysts Search for Meaning in Altice USA Leadership Change
Steinberg’s stepping down is the latest in what have been several management changes over the past few months at Altice USA as it moves to consolidate its brands and beef up its connectivity offerings, beginning in September, when chief operating officer Hakim Boubazine resigned. In December, Altice hired former JP Morgan Chase exec Ben Collier as senior VP of brand, marketing and media, and executive VP of government and community affairs Lee Schroeder said she would step down in July. Earlier this month the company named former Comcast exec Shuvankar Roy senior VP of customer experience. ■
