The Pennsylvania-born father of three, who began his career as an Army captain, sat down with THR in Hulu's Los Angeles headquarters to discuss his plans to bulk up on originals, how to save struggling shows and the future of Hulu ownership.
Brigitte SireFormer Hulu boss Andy Forssell has joined YouTube network Fullscreen as COO.
The move gives Forssell oversight of day-to-day operations at Fullscreen’s three business divisions, which focus on creators, brands and consumers. He will also oversee the company’s marketing, technology and product development. “Andy is a proven leader who not only understands the new world of online video, he helped build it,” said Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos. “As COO, Andy will help us scale and manage our operation as we prepare for even more growth and innovation.”
Forssell was on the ground floor when Hulu was founded in 2007, helping to grow the company from a team of 10 to more than 700 employees. As senior vp content, the former Army captain oversaw Hulu’s push into original programming with workplace dramedy Battleground and Morgan Spurlock’s docuseries A Day in the Life. When founding CEO Jason Kilar left Hulu in 2013, Forssell became acting CEO. He stepped down in October of that year when Hulu announced that Fox veteran Mike Hopkins would assume the CEO position.
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After leaving Hulu, Forssell became CEO of web video aggregation service Showyou. He joins Fullscreen at a pivotal time for the company, which was founded as a sort of advertising network for YouTube stars. In September last year, Fullscreen sold a majority stake to Otter Media, the joint venture of The Chernin Group and AT&T. The company has since placed a focus on becoming a digital production house, launching a film division for projects such as Our2ndLife documentary #O2LForever and coming-of-age story The Outfield. The company also has a subscription video service in the works that will feature original series starring top YouTubers and licensed web video content.
“The media landscape is changing even faster than many of us would have predicted a few years ago, and Fullscreen is perfectly positioned to capitalize as that evolution accelerates,” Forssell sad. “I look forward to working with George, [president Ezra Cooperstein] and the talented team at Fullscreen to continue building what is fast becoming a truly premier multiplatform media company.”
Forssell, who will report to Strompolos, is also joining Fullscreen’s board.
