E! has consolidated its E! News and digital divisions into one operation, dubbed News and Digital, and named John Najarian executive vice president of the new group.
The NBCUniversal-owned pop culture network said bringing the two content-oriented divisions -- including all associated social/interactive and product/operations functions -- together under one umbrella would enable it to align the content strategies of its website, E! Online, and its flagship E! News program, and leverage its news gathering and storytelling efforts to deliver a "relevant, consistent voice throughout our news platforms,” Najarian said in a statement.
Romina Rosado, previously VP, E! Online, was named senior VP, content, for News and Digital, overseeing content strategy, news gathering and reporting, and content curation for both E! News and E! Online. Gerald Abrahamian, was promoted from VP to senior VP, product, technology and operations; he will lead cross-functional collaboration, managing digital product strategy and driving new revenue opportunities, E! said.
E! named Edward Zarcoff senior VP, digital programming & production; he will oversee the network’s digital production efforts with responsibility for all website video production, as well as breaking news and branded-video production for E!’s partner sites and platforms. On the user engagement side, Bryce Kristensen was named VP, social and interactive experiences, responsible for aligning interactive and social strategy across all content, overseeing E!’s social accounts and on-screen experiences, and managing social platforms strategy and partnerships.
“Creating an integrated organization is an important step as we evolve the network’s linear news strategy and multi-screen approach,” Najarian said.
E! Online last week was ranked No. 12 on a list of top 25 social U.S. brands of 2014, released by market research firm Sharablee, which found the website had generated 112 million user actions -- defined as likes, comments, shares, retweets and favorites -- across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
