Epix has hired Jonathan Dakss to the post of chief digital officer, where he’ll help the premium programmer expand its digital footprint.
Dakss reports to Rob Sussman, Epix’s GM and EVP of business operations and strategy, and will be based in New York City.
Dakss joins Epix from NBCUniversal, where he was VP of Media Labs, a tech innovation incubation division, and oversaw programs tied to virtual reality and 360-degree video, social TV and second-screen experiences. Prior to NBCU, Dakss started his own company, WatchPoint Media (sold to GoldPocket Interactive in 2003), based on technology he created at the MIT Media Lab. GoldPocket, an ITV pioneer, was sold to Tandberg Television (now part of Ericsson) in 2005.
“Jonathan’s experience developing new revenue-generating products and business solutions at digital powerhouse NBCUniversal will be a great asset to the EPIX team,” Sussman said, in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have him join us to advance our leadership position and direct a digital team that has been at the forefront of TV Everywhere innovation, being the first cable network to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, Roku, and Android devices, as well as our recent launch of offline viewing on Android and iOS.”
“I’m excited to be working with EPIX, which has been a leader in digital development from its inception,” Dakss added. “The opportunity to build on the innovations that EPIX has introduced as the first network to launch across a number of different platforms is exciting and I look forward to expanding our products into the next generation of digital platforms and experiences.”
Lionsgate, which is in the process of acquiring Starz in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, formed Epix in 2009 with Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
