The CW Network has appointed Erin McIlvain senior vice president of affiliate distribution and marketing, responsible for managing the network’s distribution and overseeing affiliate relations with its station group partners. She begins her new duties immediately and reports to Dana Zimmer, president and chief distribution and strategy officer for Nexstar Media Group, and Dennis Miller, CW president.
Throughout her nearly 20-year career in the media business, McIlvain has held leadership positions in distribution, marketing and affiliate relations for some of the country’s largest cable, satellite and telco providers including Dish Network, Charter Communications and Crown Media Holdings (owner of the Hallmark channels).
She joins The CW from Great American Media, a general entertainment, family-friendly cable network, where she was chief officer, distribution and content strategy. She was one of the founding officers of the company and was responsible for overseeing distribution, government relations, marketing and operations. In less than two years, she and her team grew GAM’s distribution from 31 million television households to more than 50 million, making it one of the fastest-growing cable networks in the United States. She also launched the company’s first direct-to-consumer offering and its first FAST channel.
Zimmer said: “Erin is a strategic thinker with tremendous experience in the multi-channel distribution business and affiliate relations. She has a keen understanding of the linear broadcast, cable, digital, and streaming world, and has a great reputation with our clients. We are excited to have someone of Erin’s caliber join our team and I look forward to working together to raise the bar on CW affiliate matters.”
Prior to her time with GAM, McIlvain was executive vice president for distribution and content strategy for Crown Media Holdings, where she led the team responsible for distribution, including finance, operations, government relations and affiliate marketing for the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama. She spearheaded the launch of Hallmark Drama as a zero-subscriber channel and grew its distribution to more than 40 million television households.
Miller said: “Erin is extremely familiar with our network partners, having worked with all of them throughout her career. As we continue evolving The CW’s programming strategy — adding more live sports and broad-based entertainment offerings — she is the perfect choice to lead our distribution efforts.”
McIlvain graduated from The University of Colorado at Boulder and earned her law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.
https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/cw-names-erin-mcilvain-svp-of-affiliate-distribution-marketing/
