Bravo Thursday named Jerry Leo to the newly created position of senior vice president, program strategy and acquisitions, where he’ll now be responsible for overseeing program planning and scheduling across all the network’s multimedia platforms.
Leo, who previously served as vice president, strategic program planning and scheduling, will work with the development, production, advertising and research teams to “maximize and integrate programming opportunities for the on-air, online and wireless platforms,” the network said.
“Jerry has been the architect of many of Bravo’s creative scheduling strategies—pioneering the now often imitated show stacking and hand-off strategy for new shows,” Frances Berwick, Bravo’s executive vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “He is now bringing that creativity and passion, along with an encyclopedic knowledge of the competitive landscape to all our platforms.”
Prior to joining Bravo, Leo held a number of positions at VH1/MTV Networks, including vice president of program planning where he was responsible for scheduling all programs, series, stunts, theme weeks and cornerstone events.
During its upfront presentation in New York last week, Bravo announced it would increase its original programming hours by 45% in the upcoming season.
Along with airing its final season of Project Runway before it sashays away to Lifetime, the NBC Universal-owned network will debut three new series including: The Real Housewives of New Jersey; The Rachel Zoe Project, a docu-drama on the celebrity stylist, and Date My Ex, a reality dating series featuring Real Housewives of Orange County alums Jo De La Rosa and Slade Smiley.
