Ovation restructures programming, marketing teams

US arts-themed cable channel Ovation has appointed new divisional heads for its programming and marketing divisions as part of a restructure.

The appointments of Douglas Strasnick as senior VP, head of programming and content strategy; and Evan Minskoff as senior VP, head of marketing and brand strategy come on the back of Robert Weiss’s appointment as chief creative officer in December.

Strasnick joins from social media company EQAL, where he helped to launch more than a dozen websites. He has also held roles a law firm providing support for unscripted programmes and worked at United Talent Agency and Lifetime Television.

His new role will see him oversee all aspects of Ovation’s multi-platform content, including scheduling and programme planning, acquisitions, coproductions, development, original programming, on-air promotions, VOD and all digital operations.

Both and Minskoff report into Weiss, who said: “I’ve known both of these guys for a long time, and they each bring a fresh perspective to our content and brand. Under their leadership, we will capitalise on the tremendous growth Ovation has experienced over the past six years and expand upon the progress we’ve made in original programming, digital media and social media marketing.”

Weiss claimed by bringing digital media under the programming division and social media under the marketing unit, Ovation would  “exponentially increase its production of original, art-centric programming and boost its ability to successfully market that new content to an increasingly fragmented audience”.

Ovation currently reaches audience of almost 50 million homes across a number of cable platforms.