Sinclair Adds Management At STIRR Streamer

Sinclair Broadcast Group has named three key members to STIRR’s management team: Adam Ware as general manager, Stacie Anthony as editor in chief and Ben Lister as director of content acquisitions and business development.

Based in Santa Monica, Calif., Ware, Anthony, Lister and their respective teams are finalizing plans for the new OTT streaming service to launch in early 2019. “We are confident that under the leadership of Adam, Stacie and Ben, we will be able to propel STIRR forward and solidify it as an industry-leading streaming service upon launch,” said Christopher Ripley, Sinclair’s President-CEO. “The broadcast industry is rapidly changing, and with their collective expertise, we will be able to stay at the forefront of the latest technologies and services.”

Ware, who will be STIRR’s general manager, brings 30 years of experience in launching and building new media businesses. His career has included leadership roles at Paramount Television, Interactive Corp and FOX Broadcasting Company. Currently, Ware also serves as head of digital media and business development for Tennis Channel, where he launched Tennis Channel Plus, making it the first television network in the U.S. to offer a direct-to-consumer OTT service.

“In joining the STIRR team, Stacie, Ben, and I have a remarkable opportunity to launch and build a truly unique industry-leading OTT service by leveraging the vast local and national programming, marketing, sales and technical resources of Sinclair Broadcast Group,” said Ware.

Serving as STIRR’s editor in chief, Anthony will be responsible for developing and executing STIRR’s editorial, programming and content strategy. Prior to joining STIRR, she worked as the executive editor at Comcast for Watchable, a streaming video network. At Comcast, Anthony worked closely with the Xfinity Video Entertainment Services group to grow their digital offering and linear strategy.

Prior to Comcast, Anthony was senior editor for Whalerock Industries’ celebrity online news destination, Wonderwall.

With more than 20 years of experience in the evolution and development of digital media businesses, Lister will lead STIRR’s business development and content acquisitions, while also working to acquire content across various broadcast networks within Sinclair’s portfolio. Previously, Lister worked with digital video startups for more than a decade, holding leadership roles at companies including Brave Bison (formerly Rightster), Base79 and HAAWK, where he collaborated with video platforms including YouTube and Facebook.