Madison Square Garden Co. has hired Ryan O’Hara, the former head of TV Guide Network, to the newly created post of president, content, distribution & sales.
Reporting to MSG CEO Hank Ratner, O’Hara will oversee MSG Media, which includes the MSG regional sports networks and the Fuse national music network, plus MSG’s corporate technology and marketing partnership divisions. Reporting to O'Hara will be Mike Bair, president of MSG Media; Sean O’Donoghue, MSG's chief technology officer, and Ron Skotarczak, executive vice president of marketing partnerships.
“As we continue to seek ways to strengthen our legendary brands and pursue strategic growth opportunities that expand our business, it is critical that we have the strongest and most experienced management team in place,” Ratner said in a release. “We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. O’Hara, who will bring decades of leadership and management expertise to enhance the effectiveness and alignment of our operations, resulting in even greater success and growth for The Madison Square Garden Company.”
Most recently, O’Hara was CEO of The Topps Co. He left that position earlier this year. Before that he held key management positions at Gemstar TV Guide International, including president of the TV Guide network, tvguide.com and TV Guide Broadband. He left TV Guide in early 2010, after he had repositioned it as a fulltime entertainment service and after it was acquired by Lionsgate. While at Gemstar, he also served as president of the horse-racing channel TVG Network.
Earlier, he held positions at BSKYB in London; at Fox Cable Networks and Fox/Liberty Networks; at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and at Nestle USA.
