BYRON ALLEN'S ALLEN MEDIA DIGITAL HIRES HAROLD MORGENSTERN AS PRESIDENT OF DIRECT ADVERTISING SALES & PARTNERSHIPS

Veteran Advertising Sales Executive to Lead Direct Advertising Sales and Partnerships Across Allen Media Group's Digital and Streaming Platforms

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Byron Allen's Allen Media Group (AMG) proudly announces the hiring of Harold Morgenstern to the position of President of Direct Advertising Sales & Partnerships. In this newly-created role, Morgenstern will oversee all direct digital advertising sales, brand sponsorships, and revenue partnerships for the AMG free-streaming AVOD services HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THEGRIO, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP, and LOCAL NOW--the free-streaming AVOD service, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, entertainment and lifestyle content. Morgenstern will be based at the AMG offices in New York City.

Morgenstern comes to AMG from his most recent position as Chief Revenue Officer of the streaming media service and client–server media player platform Plex, where he oversaw global revenue generation in over 190 countries inclusive of programmatic and direct ad sales, content development, ad operations, ad sales marketing, ad tech and product organizations. Prior to Plex, Morgenstern was Senior Vice President, Head of National Advertising Sales for Pluto TV/Paramount+ and an active member of their leadership team, which led to Pluto's acquisition by Viacom/CBS. He also served as Senior Vice President of Digital and Linear Ad Sales for Discovery where he played an integral role in the development of OTT and SVOD ad sales strategy and execution. While at Discovery, Morgenstern earned an Interactive Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Multiplatform Storytelling. Morgenstern got his start as Director of National Advertising Sales for ESPN.com. Morgenstern received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from State University of New York at Buffalo and is currently working to complete a Master of Science degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications from Northwestern University.

"Allen Media Group celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year, and the addition of veteran ad sales executive Harold Morgenstern to our ad sales team will enhance the aggressive campaign to grow Allen Media Digital," said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. "Harold will play a vital role in leading our rapidly expanding digital ad sales team worldwide as we execute on the growing number of advertising, branding and partnership opportunities."

"As massive growth continues within ad-supported digital and streaming platforms, I am excited to join Byron Allen and the Allen Media Group team," said Harold Morgenstern, President of Direct Advertising Sales & Partnerships. "Better than any company I have ever seen, the Allen Media Digital portfolio is extremely well-positioned for exponential global growth."

About Allen Media Group 
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO, THIS TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group also owns the streaming platforms HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THEGRIO, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP and LOCAL NOW--the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 70 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017's highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.

In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased The Grio, a highly-rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors.

For more information, visit:
www.allenmedia.tv

SOURCE Allen Media Group