About a week after announcing its purchase of a majority stake in AXS TV and HD Net Movies, Anthem Sports and Entertainment said it has hired two industry veterans -- Randy Brown and Peter Cohen -- as senior vice presidents.
Brown was named SVP of Distribution, and will be responsible for driving and supporting Anthem’s strategic relationships across all platforms including linear, on demand, digital and mobile. Brown has had leadership roles with ESPN, Tennis Channel, Outdoor Channel and most recently served as EVP of Distribution at OneWorld Sports.
Cohen was named SVP programming strategy & content development and will develop strategic programming initiatives and digital opportunities for Anthem's content, production and live events across multiple platforms. Cohen has held senior management roles at HBO, MTV, Billboardlive, The Box Music Network, MuchMusic and CNN International. Both men had served as strategic advisers to Anthem in the past.
“Randy and Peter have each achieved a high degree of professional success throughout their respective careers, and I am delighted to announce they are joining the Anthem team and will continue expanding Anthem’s rapidly growing revenue base and content portfolio,” said Anthem CEO Leonard Asper in a statement. “They are key members of what is evolving as an extraordinary management team that will help accelerate our growth and expansion into the future.”
Anthem agreed to purchase a majority stake in AXS TV and HDNet Movies on Sept. 9. In addition, AXS founder Mark Cuban and entertainment personality and producer Steve Harvey hold minority stakes in the combined company.
The addition of AXS TV beefs up Anthem’s portfolio of sports programming -- like Impact Wrestling and Fight Network -- with WOW: The Women of Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling -- and adds shows like The Big Interview with Dan Rather and music content like TrunkFest with Eddie Trunk, AXS Concerts and Rock and Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar.
