Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks
The 30-year MTV vet oversees more than 145 channels and 300 sites, helping the music net reclaim its post at the forefront of popular culture with cable's top-rated series, Jersey Shore. Elsewhere, hits such as Tosh.0, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have made MTV Networks' Comedy Central the No. 1 net among the advertiser-beloved males 18-to-34 demo.
Former MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath has formed a joint venture with Sony Music aimed at developing multimedia content targeted to millennials.
“There’s so much great content out there, we will need to find some new ways to reflect the creativity of a new generation,” McGrath told the New York Post, which first reported details of the new gig.
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According to the Post, McGrath’s venture is named Astronauts Wanted: No Experience Necessary and will target TV, the Internet and mobile devices. Its soundtrack to expected to go beyond the music on Sony’s label rosters, which include some of the biggest names in pop and rock — among them: Adele, Justin Timberlake and One Direction.
McGrath, whose career at MTV began at the network’s launch and continued for 30 years, was responsible for guiding the channel out of the music video era and into unscripted programing such as Jersey Shore and Real World.
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After McGrath left MTV in May 2011, she was courted by numerous networks and private-equity firms — but it appears Sony’s Doug Morris won out. The Post reported that McGrath has been at the company for a few months but signed a contract only last week.
A rep for Sony Music would not comment at this time.
Twitter: @THRMusic
