Dave Chappelle’s Pilot Boy Productions is investing in the subscription podcast platform Luminary behind his podcast The Midnight Miracle amid an executive shake-up that will see Rishi Malhotra take over as Luminary’s CEO.
Malhotra will succeed Simon Sutton, the former HBO president who has served as Luminary’s CEO since 2019. Sutton had informed the Luminary board that he was leaving his position at the end of 2021, according to an announcement from the company on Tuesday, but he will remain on the board.
Terms of Chappelle’s investment in Luminary were not disclosed, but the comedian’s production company will have a seat on Luminary’s board of directors as part of the deal. Ben Jealous, a civil rights leader who was formerly the CEO and president of the NAACP, will represent Pilot Boy Productions on Luminary’s board.
“I chose Luminary because they value artists and share my vision for reimagining audio content,” Chappelle said Tuesday. “The Midnight Miracle and our unique format is changing the podcast experience.”
Malhotra was most recently the co-founder and CEO of JioSaavn, an Indian music streaming service. From 2003 to 2008, he was vp multiplatform program marketing at HBO, managing promotion for HBO programming across platforms and helping build HBO On Demand.
“We are going beyond subscriptions to deliver products that connect fans more uniquely to creators. I’m honored to work with the exceptional team and talent partners at the company,” Malhotra said in a statement. “We are at a crossroads of shaping new media that entertains, educates and elevates us.”
