The station group chooses the former senior EVP and chief content officer of AT&T and its DirecTV subsidiary to succeed Kim Guthrie, who announced earlier this month that she was leaving.
Cox Media Names Daniel York President-CEO
Cox Media Group wasted little time in finding a successor to CEO Kim Guthrie who left the company earlier this month.
The newcomer is Dan York, an experienced programing acquisition and advertising sales executive who resigned from AT&T in February.
“He has an outstanding record of leadership in this industry, and of operating efficiently, creating strategic vision, and inspiring organizations to innovate and grow. I’m excited to welcome Dan,” said David Sambur, co-lead partner of private equity at Apollo Global Management, which acquired a majority stake in CMG last year and triggered a shakeup in top management.
Steve Pruett, who will continue executive chairman of CMG, said York has “a background of success in media, content, distribution, operations, and successfully leading large organizations. Most importantly, he embraces contemporary thinking as the media landscape continues to evolve.”
York said he was looking forward to his new assignment. “I have always admired and respected the unparalleled quality of CMG’s 90-plus TV and radio stations, digital and advertising platforms, and the company’s unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.
“The past few months have underscored that there is no substitute for the most important and valuable content in the ecosystem — market-leading local news and entertainment.”
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Guthrie was one of two top execs to leave CMG since Apollo took over last year. The other was Jane Williams, EVP of television. She retired and was succeeded by Paul Curran, who headed CMG’s Orlando properties. Bill Hendrich remains as EVP of radio, a post he has held since 2015.
York has a reputation as a tough negotiator, earned in part from a 2016 Justice Department lawsuit that charged DirecTV with colluding with other MVPDs in Los Angeles to block carriage of SportsNet LA, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The suit was settled in 2017.
York began his TV career in 1987 at HBO, becoming VP and general manager of HBO/Time Warner Sports.
He joined the InDemand PPV service in 2000 and, after four years there, moved to AT&T as president, content and advertising.
In 2012, he was named chief content officer for DirecTV and, after AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015, he was upped to SVP and chief content officer for AT&T.
Comments (3)
Insider says:
May 29, 2020 at 12:40 pm
The hatchet man arrives to make the cuts his predecessor would not.
He’ll last a few years and then be replaced by Daniel Sargent.
FederalGuy says:
May 29, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Wait! Did the business change??? I thought this was a TV station group? From personal experience of a Cable Guy tied to content coming to Tribune as CEO, I can tell you it was a disaster and no understanding of the TV station business. If they want to make cuts, hire a bean counter
2018bstyrevr says:
June 1, 2020 at 7:33 am
Cox is in Trouble..First hiring Steve Pruett who was run out of Sinclair..What’s that tell you?? Sinclair, the same company that was fined 50 million dollars for their underhanded dealings with Tribune…Then this guy..from the same company that allows CNN to spread their BS every day..The poor people of CMG..a once very good broadcaster..Reminds me of what happened to Gillette Broadcasting when a clown named Pearlman bought them and a company named New World screwed it up so bad they had to sell to Fox..