Endemol Hires TV Veteran Rico Martinez As Chief Programming Officer

Endemol North America’s digital network, Endemol Beyond USA, has added new talent to its team. TV producer-director Rico Martinez has joined the company as its new chief programming officer.

Martinez will be in charge of Endemol Beyond USA’s content and programming with an emphasis on comedy, scripted originals, music, and reality. As such, he’ll be helping some of the company’s talent like Pitbull, beauty YouTuber Michelle Phan, and Viner Brittany Furlan create premium content for their fans. Working out of the company’s Los Angeles office, Martinez will report to its president, Will Keenan.

“Rico is one of the few people in the entertainment industry right now who has producing experience with television geared towards a younger demographic combined with real credibility and success in the digital space,” Keenan told Variety in their exclusive coverage of the hire.

Martinez comes to Endemol with substantial experience in writing, producing, and directing both digital and traditional TV properties. Online, he has experience working with Maker Studios. He was an executive producer and director for Oh, You Pretty Things!, created in partnership with Nylon TV. He also produced, wrote, and directed the series In Transition starring Maker partner and comedienne Margaret Cho. Before that, he worked on shows at MTV, VH1, NBC, Fox, Oxygen, A&E, The History Channel, and more.

Martinez is just one of many recent hires Endemol’s announced within the past year. As such, we’re expecting to see the company roll out a lot more initiatives and content very soon.