Turner Taps Consultancy to Build Ventures Around TBS, TNT
Time Warner’s Turner has acquired a strategic-consulting firm that it will use to develop new strategies and business ideas around two of its biggest operations, TBS and TNT.
The company said it had acquired the advisory business of BRaVe Ventures, a group that has helped Turner develop its “E-League” interactive sports programming venture, as well as new ad-sales offerings over the past two years. The co-founding partners of that firm, David Beck and Jesse Redniss, will spearhead a business-strategy unit and report to Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT and chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment. Beck and Redniss will serve as Chief Strategy and Ventures Officer and Chief Innovation Officer, respectively.
Financial terms of the pact were not disclosed.
“We have benefited from the expertise of David and Jesse in both business development and consumer experience over the past year,” said Reilly, in a prepared statement. “With the guys now exclusively in our corner we can accelerate the evolution of TNT and TBS.”
The hires underscore ongoing efforts across the media sector, which is working furiously to engage a rising generation of consumers who embrace new behaviors – including binge-watching and on-demand video – that are not as easily monetized as traditional TV viewing.
Prior to BRaVe, Beck worked for Univision, where he served as senior Vice President and head of social media, among other functions. Prior to Univision, he was employed by strategy consulting firm Bain & Company, where he worked with companies such as Comcast and American Express. He received his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his BA from Tufts University.
Redniss spent more than eight years as senior vice president of digital at USA Network. Prior to co-founding BRaVe Ventures, he was the chief strategy officer leading media relationships at Spredfast, a social-media marketing company.
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