There’s a change at the top of E!
Network president Adam Stotsky on Monday announced plans to leave the cabler, ending an 18-year run with parent company NBCUniversal and a three-year tenure as head of E! A replacement for Stotsky has not yet been determined. Stotsky is working closely with Frances Berwick, president of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment’s lifestyle networks, on the transition. Berwick will assume Stotsky’s responsibilities in the interim. It is unclear if Stotsky’s position will be filled. His last day will be at the end of the month.
“Adam has played a pivotal role in evolving and growing E!’s brand over the past five years. More importantly, he has been an inspiring leader for the E! team and a great partner to me. We would not have been able to realize the success we’ve enjoyed without his mix of business savvy and creative skills. We wish him the very best,” Berwick said in a statement.
Stotsky was elevated to president of E! in February 2016, adding the unscripted-focused cabler to a purview that included the now-all-digital Esquire Network. At the time, Stotsky was serving as GM of E! and added unscripted oversight and development responsibilities to his role with the pop culture-focused cable network. He first joined E! in 2014 as part of a larger reshuffling that saw NBCUniversal’s lifestyle business move to Berwick’s oversight.
During his time with NBCU, Stotsky rebranded the former Style network as Esquire and had roles at G4 and as NBC Entertainment president of marketing. He also spent time working at Syfy (as vp global brand strategy and market development).
For E!’s part, the cabler exited the scripted space last year and shifted its programming strategy to a greater focus on entertainment news programming. During his time with E!, Stotsky oversaw franchises including Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Total Divas, Very Cavallari and Botched, as well as live events including Live From the Red Carpet and its acquisition of the People’s Choice Awards.
Stotsky’s memo to staff is below.
Team E! (and colleagues across NBCU),
I wanted to share with you that after 18 years I will be leaving NBCUniversal, a company I respect and people I have loved working with. It’s been a journey of great pride and accomplishment.
I feel blessed to have had four distinct lives inside NBCU — SYFY, NBC, Esquire Network, E! Entertainment. Each offered a different challenge, yet there was always a passionate and dedicated team ready to rise to the occasion and push the brand and business forward.
The past 5 years with E! have been incredible. Together we transformed a singular hour of TV news and a popular website into the market-leading multiplatform publisher of pop culture/entertainment news, now delivering over a billion engagements a month. We launched our first scripted efforts, expanded E!’s signature live coverage beyond red carpets to our own award show with “People’s Choice Awards” and earned our status in fashion via partnerships with The Met Gala and New York Fashion Week. And most importantly, we cemented E!’s position as a global pop culture powerhouse.
Thanks to our extremely talented team, we have accomplished what we set out to do and E!’s future is bright. I will be working closely with Frances over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition. It has been an honor and privilege to work by your sides.
With respect and gratitude,
Adam
