Amazon names Jeff Blackburn to lead global media & entertainment

Jeff Blackburn

Retail giant Amazon has hired Jeff Blackburn to a new role overseeing its entertainment and media efforts around the world.

Blackburn becomes SVO of global media & entertainment at Amazon, with a remit that covers Prime Video and Amazon Studios.

He will start on 7 June and will also oversee podcast devisions including Wondery, as well as games, music, game streamer Twitch and Audible.

Blackburn reports to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos until he moves to become exec chairman. He will then report into Andrew Jassy, who takes up the role in Q3.

The appointment marks a return to Amazon for Blackburn, who had been with the company since 1998 and was central to Amazon’s streaming efforts until he took a year off in 2019.

It is seen as a strategic move ahead of Jassy taking up the top job at Amazon, as the incoming CEO has little experience of film and TV.

Blackburn’s arrival comes a year since Amazon hired Sony Pictures Television ex-chairman and former Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins to oversee its video entertainment businesses.

Hopkins, Steve Boom, Don Katz, Mike Frazzini and Emmett Shear will now report Blackburn. Amazon Studios execs including chief Jennifer Salke report into Hopkins.