MTV Networks’ Entertainment Group has promoted Erik Flannigan to Executive Vice President, Digital Media. The promotion was announced by Doug Herzog, president, the Entertainment Group, to whom Flannigan reports. Flannigan is based in the New York City offices of Comedy Central and Spike TV. He was formerly Senior VP, Digital Media, Comedy Central and Spike TV, a position he assumed in autumn, 2006.
The Entertainment Group is comprised of a multi-platform portfolio of brands featuring the Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land cable channels as well as internet sites AtomFilms, AtomUploads, GameTrailers.com and Xfire.
Flannigan supervises the linear channelsâ€? digital media teams, overseeing the networks’ digital programming initiatives, to maximize revenue growth opportunities for the group. He will now oversee all of the Entertainment Group’s digital businesses as well.
In addition to the television network properties, Flannigan adds oversight of the popular video gaming site GameTrailers.com and PC-gaming application Xfire, as well as soon-to-be-integrated iFILM and SpikeTV.com which will be merged later this year as Spike.com to create the Webâ€?s leading destination for men of 18-34 of age. Flannigan will also continue to supervise Atom Films and its UGC sister site AtomUploads (formerly Addicting Clips), VIACOM’s popular video-streaming sites, as well as representing all the channels’ interests within MTV Networks.
“Erik, in his short tenure here at MTVN’s Entertainment Group, has already had a major impact on our business,” said Herzog. “His new responsibilities reflect my confidence that his sophisticated understanding of digital media trends and his vision of how all of our brands can best capitalize on the evolving opportunities means we have exactly the right man in this crucial role.”
Flannigan joined MTVN from AOL in Los Angeles in 2006, where he had been VP of programming, responsible for strategic and operational oversight of Moviefone.com, AOL Music, AOL Radio and AOL Television. Before that, he was at Buena Vista Datacasting/The Walt Disney Company (2003-2005) in Burbank, CA as VP of programming, overseeing programming and acquisitions for MovieBeam among other prestigious posts.