Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios Appoints Tom O'Brien As President Of The Weather Channel

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Entertainment Studios, one of the largest independent producers and distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations, and owner of eight 24-hour HD television networks now serving nearly 160 million subscribers -- including The Weather Channel television network and its streaming service Local Now -- proudly announces the appointment of Tom O'Brien as President of The Weather Channel, effective immediately. O'Brien will also hold the title of Executive Vice President of Allen Media LLC, Allen's wholly-owned parent company of Entertainment Studios, Inc.

O'Brien will oversee all television and digital operations of The Weather Channel television network and its streaming service Local Now -- including content production, acquisitions, programming, advertising sales, marketing, and all related corporate strategy and development. O'Brien reports directly to Entertainment Studios Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Byron Allen, and will work closely with Entertainment Studios Networks President, Janice Arouh.

O'Brien joins The Weather Channel with a strong operating background across broadcast, cable, and digital. Prior to joining The Weather Channel, Tom was a corporate officer of the Nexstar Media Group. Initially joining Nexstar as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Revenue Officer in 2013, O'Brien was responsible for accelerating Nexstar's transformation into a next generation, multi-media company, expanding their digital portfolio and developing new strategies and business models to drive holistic growth across the company. Prior to joining Nexstar, O'Brien worked for over 14 years in senior leadership roles at NBCUniversal. His most recent role at NBC was as CNBC's EVP/Chief Revenue Officer, where Tom was responsible for transforming the revenue strategy to fully monetize this global, multi-platform brand, growing their digital capabilities and diversifying revenue. O'Brien moved to CNBC from NBC's Television Stations division where he was President and General Manager of the NBC flagship station, WNBC. Before moving to WNBC, Tom was the President and General Manager of the NBC O&Os KXAS in Dallas/Ft. Worth and WVIT in Connecticut.

Recognized for his work in the industry, Tom received the 2015 Technology Leadership Award from Broadcasting and Cable Magazine and was named a 2014 Broadcasting and Cable Digital All-Star.  O'Brien graduated at the top of his class from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the School of Management.

"I have known and worked with Tom for 25 years, and he is a phenomenal addition to The Weather Channel and our Entertainment Studios family," said Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Entertainment Studios. "Tom's extensive corporate leadership experience across broadcast, cable, and digital platforms makes him the ideal executive to join our team as we continue to grow our global media and technology company."

"I'm excited to join the exceptional team at The Weather Channel and Allen Media," said Tom O'Brien. "This is a unique opportunity to help lead the most trusted and number one weather news brand in America. The Weather Channel's track record of success as an industry leader in innovation, advanced science, and technology is simply the best. Our primary goal is to protect and save lives as we continue to reach new audiences and provide an integral service to people across this country."

About Entertainment Studios/Allen Media

Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Raleigh.  Entertainment Studios owns eight 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 160 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, and JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV. Entertainment Studios also owns the LOCAL NOW streaming service, powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Entertainment Studios also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 43 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, Entertainment Studios provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms, and the World Wide Web.  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 and the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK. Upcoming releases include the animated feature ARCTIC DOGS starring Jeremy Renner, Heidi Klum, Alec Baldwin, and Anjelica Huston, 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.

About The Weather Channel

Since its launch 37 years ago, The Weather Channel television network has become the top-rated and most widely distributed weather network in America. The Weather Channel television network has been the leader in severe weather coverage, providing the most comprehensive analysis of any media outlet and serving as the nation's only 24-hour source of national storm coverage. With trusted meteorologists who analyze, forecast and report the weather, its expertise is unrivaled. The network posted its highest ratings in its history during 2017's historic Hurricane Irma and was the highest-rated cable network during recent hurricanes Harvey and Michael. In 2018, The Weather Channel was nominated for an Emmy for its coverage of Hurricane Harvey and brought new life to weather forecasting by introducing its award-winning Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) presentation. For eight years in a row, Harris Poll has ranked The Weather Channel as the "TV News Brand of the Year," and in 2018, the Ipsos poll ranked The Weather Channel as The Most Trusted Name in News media.

About Local Now

Local Now is a streaming service that is changing the way Americans get news about their communities. Powered by The Weather Channel and content partners, Local Now delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. With unique technology that transmits localized information to hundreds of markets across the United States, Local Now delivers the same information seen in a 30 to 60 minute local news broadcast segment, on-demand and in a fraction of the time. Local Now is available on Sling TV, YouTube TV, MobiTV, fuboTV and other major OTT platforms. It is also available in the iOS, Android, Roku and Amazon Fire app stores as well as desktop.

For more information, visit:
www.entertainmentstudios.com
www.weathergroup.com
www.localnow.com

SOURCE Entertainment Studios

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