Sinclair Names Scott Ehrlich Its First Chief Innovation Officer

Sinclair Broadcast Group today promoted Scott Ehrlich to the newly created position of chief innovation officer.

He will build on the company’s history of innovation and create its first dedicated cross-functional research and development group to coordinate and accelerate efforts across content, technology, audience development and distribution. The new group will also incorporate a corporate strategy function to further innovation and growth across Sinclair and its assets.

Ehrlich, who joined Sinclair in 2017 and was most recently SVP, growth networks and content, will retain oversight of the company’s OTA national networks, Comet, Charge! and TBD, as well as digital and OTT streaming platforms NewsON and STIRR.

Ehrlich has built a track record of creating new ventures in television, technology and new media platforms. He’s held roles spanning licensing, production, creative development, technology, network management and programming.

Ehrlich started in the streaming space in 1996, before video streaming was available. He brought to market one of the first subscription streaming video services in the industry, RealNetworks’ SuperPass, and grew it to over a million subscribers. While at Real, he also negotiated internet rights deals with several professional sports leagues.

Chris Ripley, president and chief executive officer of Sinclair, said: “Scott is a creative and fearless leader with a long history of successful innovation and the skills to develop a startup into a thriving company. We are excited for him to expand his role, infusing the pace and imagination of the startup world as we continue to grow Sinclair and evolve our offerings.”

“I was originally attracted to Sinclair by its rich history of innovation in the broadcast world,” Ehrlich said. “Now, in this new role, I’m excited to carry that forward and cement Sinclair’s place among media companies as a home for fast moving, forward thinking creative talent from all corners of the media industry. Together we’ll light a path to the next generation of media products, a future I’m extremely excited to help steward.”

In a previous role as founder and CEO of Agility Studios, Ehrlich led the development of the award-winning franchise; The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, created by Jon M. Chu, into a multi-faceted business. He also served as executive producer for award winning digital series including Two Bellmen and Business Usual (Marriott Content Studio), as well as licensing content to and from digital and traditional platforms.

Before Agility, Ehrlich founded Impulse Media, where he was a strategic adviser to startups and established companies focused on digital video products, distribution and business models. Prior to Impulse, Ehrlich was vice president of media acquisition and distribution for RealNetworks.

Earlier in his career, Ehrlich was the senior vice president and executive producer of News America Digital Publishing at News Corp. and director of audience development at NBC Cable.

Ehrlich received his master’s degree from The Graduate School of Political Management and his undergraduate degree from Kenyon College.