Outdoor Channel has added several seasoned cable industry executives spanning affiliate relations, marketing, research and finance, reporting to CEO Jim Liberatore at the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment outlet. Kroenke bought Outdoor Channel this past May.
The new appointments are: Steve Smith, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing; Bill Osborn, senior vice president of marketing; Scott Long, VP of finance, media; and James Alexander, VP of consumer insights and analytics. They join an executive roster that already included Jeff Wayne, EVPof programming and production, as well as a cadre of executives handling affiliate sales.
“Outdoor Channel has done a terrific job in building a leadership position in serving the vibrant outdoor lifestyle category,” Liberatore said in a release. “These executives have helped to innovate and build some of the most successful brands in our industry, and we will benefit from their extraordinary insight and hands-on management as we execute against our ambitious goals. This talented group will take the lead in bringing the network to the next level by broadening our viewership and expanding our distribution. Combined with the support of our parent company, KSE, we have an exceptional group of resources for growing our network. I could not be more excited about this leadership group and the future of this network.”
Smith most recently co-founded and led the development efforts at start-up MAVTV as chief operating officer, leading it to 40 million homes and the sale of the network. He also spent 15 years at Showtime and began his career with Southern Satellite Inc.
Osborn most recently worked directly for media pioneer Mark Cuban as senior vice president at AXS TV (formerly HDNet), where he headed marketing, on-air promotion, affiliate and ad sales marketing, branding, strategy and research. Earlier in his career he was SVP of marketing at Fox Sports Media Group’s Speed Channel.
Long has more than two decades of experience serving in senior roles in financial and operations management at rapidly growing companies. As VP of finance for KSE’s Media division, he oversees financial management for all of the organization’s media assets, including Outdoor Channel. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of Rocky Mountain PBS.
Alexander served as director of campaign insights for Microsoft and earlier was VP of consumer and strategic research for The Weather Channel.
