Fox Entertainment Chairman Charlie Collier is leaving the linear network to join Roku.He joins as President, Roku Media, effective in late October, based in New York.The surprising move is a major statement of intent from Roku.Collier will oversee advertising and content at the digital streaming company.
He will run Roku Media globally, managing its ad platform business as well as content for Roku’s owned and operated channels, including The Roku Channel.During his time with the linear network, which came largely after the sale of most of 21st Century Fox to The Walt Disney Company, he was responsible for acquiring free streamer Tubi, launching Studio Ramsay Global with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, launching Blockchain Creative Labs and acquiring Bento Box Entertainment and MarVista Entertainment.Roku has been increasingly getting into the original content game.
It acquired the assets of short-lived, short-form service Quibi and hired former ITV America Chief Content Officer David Eilenberg as Head of Originals.The company has plans to bolster its pipeline of original series and films even further with plans to order around 50 series and films over the next two years.It launched its first feature film – Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas – in December, a follow-up to the canceled NBC series and earlier this week unveiled plans to have an exclusive second window, after Spectrum Originals, for Nick Stoller and Carla Kettner’s Florida dramedy Panhandle.Roku has also been staffing up over the last 18 months; Deadline revealed last year that it had hired two executives from Quibi – Colin Davis was tapped as Head of Scripted Originals and Brian Tannenbaum as Head of Alternative Originals.Alison Levin, VP, Ad Revenue and Marketing
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