Ovation TV, the independently owned arts and entertainment channel, said it has hired John Malkin as executive vice president of content distribution, reporting to CEO Charles Segars. He leads the network's distribution efforts across all platforms, Ovation said. He replaces Brad Samuels, the former EVP who left to join Bloomberg TV, per Ovation.
Malkin was VP of affiliate distribution at NFL Network. During his tenure, the National Football League-owned network increased by distribution by 22 million subscribers, securing carriage deals with Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications and more than 400 cable companies in the National Cable Television Co-Op, Ovation said. NFL Network, with 69 million subscribers, had distribution difficulties early on that it overcame largely by expanding its roster of live games. Ovation, which has about 46.5 million subscribers, had a major distribution challenge in 2013 when it lost Time Warner Cable carriage, but it regained that key affiliate in January 2014.
Malkin also has held network-affiliate distribution posts at Fox News, E! Entertainment Television and MTV Networks.
Ovation’s senior vice president of content distribution and partnerships Mike Pons and VP of affiliate marketing Randy Rovegno report to Malkin.
