Fuse on Monday named TV One-Comedy Central veteran Brad Samuels its executive vice president of content distribution, leading a new affiliate sales team that will handle the music network and MSG Networks.
Most recently, Samuels was executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing at TV One. Under his leadership, the channel grew to reach new levels of subscribers and secured agreements with top distributors. He also worked for more than 10 years in affiliate relations at Comedy Central as executive vice president of affiliate relations.
Samuels will report directly to Fuse president Eric Sherman.
Samuels will be joined by Guy Cacciarelli, vice president of content distribution for the Western Region, and Peter Tulloch, vice president of content distribution for the Eastern Region.
Fuse’s newly established Content Distribution Department is responsible for serving and expanding affiliate relations, and identifying and distributing content across all platforms, as well as pursuing international distribution and business development opportunities for Fuse.
In addition, the team will also handle all affiliate sales and marketing functions for MSG and the newly branded MSG Plus, formerly FSNY.
“When Fuse transitioned from Rainbow to MSG, we had the opportunity to take a fresh look at the structure of the department and how a growing network like Fuse should approach content distribution,” Sherman said in a prepared statement.
“Collectively, the team will collaborate to create international distribution opportunities, gain more subscribers and build long-term, profitable relationships,” he said. “Given Fuse’s demographic and music focus, we are well positioned to deliver across all the content needs of our distributors including HD, VOD and broadband.”
Cacciarelli will report to Samuels and collaborate with Tulloch to formulate and implement an aggressive distribution strategy for Fuse and MSG Networks. He will oversee and participate in day-to-day management of key affiliate and prospect relationships in the Western Region.
Cacciarelli comes to Fuse with 16 years experience from MTV Networks where he most recently served as senior director of sales.
Tulloch will work out of New York, focusing on the overall strategic direction of content distribution for Fuse and MSG Networks, and serving all clients in the Eastern Region. Prior to Fuse, Tulloch was the regional director of product management for Comcast’s fourth-largest operating region, Philadelphia. In this role, he oversaw product management for core and digital video, high-speed internet, digital telephone and programming.
