Viacom has recruited Rory Brown, the former president of Turner-owned digital sports brand Bleacher Report, to serve as the new head of digital and social media for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo.
In this role, Brown will help charge MTV’s resurgence as a top youth media brand, according to Viacom. MTV’s total social footprint comprises 250 million followers, according to Viacom.
Brown will report directly to Jacqueline Parkes, who serves as CMO and EVP of digital studios for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. He will also work closely with the Viacom Digital Studios, which is led by Awesomeness vet Kelly Day and helms digital content for all of Viacom’s media brands.
Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories
During his 10-year tenure at Bleacher Report, Brown oversaw content, product, social, programming, and House Of Highlights — an Instagram account dedicated to basketball highlights that counts 12.4 million followers.Viacom notes that Brown helped grow Bleacher from a 13-person team to a massive operation with nine figures in annual revenues and 450 employees worldwide.
“Rory understood the cultural power of sports and broadened its definition beyond scores and stats to transform Bleacher Report into the definitive brand for a whole new generation of fans,” MTV’s group brand president, Chris McCarthy, said in a statement. “Given his proven track record and our massive reach, we are excited to see him do the same with us across music, youth, and pop culture.”
